ArchiCAD Tutorial | How to Create a New 3D Object with Custom Hotspots and 2D Symbol

acbestpractices.com - In this ArchiCAD tutorial you'll learn how to create your own 3D object from elements in your model, complete with custom hotspots (selection and snap handles) on plan as well as in 3D. Easily redraft the 2D symbol (which is normally scripted in GDL by ArchiCAD) to simplify it and to add in an opaque fill to cover up items below the object. Discover how to rotate your custom object to a different axis orientation to simplify the creation of certain forms.

This tutorial was inspired by a question from Francois Swanepoel, who emailed me after posting on ArchiCAD-Talk asking how to create an object with hotspots in precise locations in both 2D and 3D:
archicad-talk.graphisoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=39…

A discussion ensued and Roberto Corona (www.archiradar.it) contributed some very interesting GDL scripting ideas, as well as a graphical approach (which I had independently come up with). It is this graphical method that I demonstrate in this video, along with some other useful tips and tricks.

Here is a link to the 3D Hotspot library part that I created and demonstrate in this video:
dropbox.com/s/hmfb8nm7scko6u9/Hotspot-Placement…

No warranty is implied (and no direct support will be offered), but feel free to use this if you wish to do similar things with your custom library parts. It was made in ArchiCAD 16; a similar part could be created quickly in any other version of ArchiCAD, but this one will only work inside ArchiCAD 16.

NOTE: I made one mistake in this video (that I know of) - I dragged a copy of an element by pressing and releasing the Option key on my Mac, and said that on PC it would be the ALT key - it's actually the CTRL key that does this on Windows. Thanks to Onutatanasiu for pointing that out.

If you like this video, you'll love the Best Practices Course - acbestpractices.com - a comprehensive training resource for ArchiCAD users.