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Celebrating a Milestone Sharing ArchiCAD Knowledge
In 2010 I shifted my professional focus from selling ArchiCAD software to training ArchiCAD users, and started actively creating and sharing ArchiCAD tutorial videos on YouTube.
Less than 5 years later, my ArchiCAD Tutorials YouTube channel has reached an incredible milestone:
2 MILLION VIEWS from ArchiCAD users in over 200 countries around the world!
There are a lot of ArchiCAD users who want to learn how to use the software better, and it appears that many have found my ArchiCAD tutorial videos to be useful and inspiring. In fact, there are 12,698 of them who have subscribed to my channel!
To celebrate, I’m announcing two initiatives today that will run through the end of July.
1. BE MY GUEST…
All ArchiCAD users are invited to enjoy three complete training presentations (each more than one hour in length) in the Masters of ArchiCAD Summit and Training Series at no charge.
Sign up for your FREE Masters of ArchiCAD Guest Pass here.
2. EVERYTHING IS ON SALE…
All of my ArchiCAD training products and resources will go on sale at special reduced prices. I’ll post details here shortly.
[time remaining for this special offer…]
FREE STUFF
When you sign up for a Guest Pass, you’ll get access to recordings of three live webinar trainings, previously only available to paying members of the Masters of ArchiCAD website:
1. Case Study: How a One Man Office Does Large Complex Projects using ArchiCAD from A to Z
As a sole practitioner, architect Andrew Passacantando uses ArchiCAD as an essential tool for the entire lifecycle of complex residential projects, from initial hand sketches and design development through construction drawings and final renderings and take advantage of BIMX Docs to communicate with the client and contractor.
One of the highlights of the Masters of ArchiCAD Summit, Andrew’s incredibly detailed and elegant work is clearly presented through a carefully organized set of actual photos of the project under construction interlaced with screenshots of the beautiful 3d ArchiCAD model and “backstage” views of the design and documentation process.
2. ArchiCAD Best Practices and the Ultimate Template
I’ve been teaching ArchiCAD Best Practices and developing and refining MasterTemplate for a very long time.
This presentation gives you the 7 Keys to Best Practices and explores how to apply these powerful principles in actual practice.
When you know how to work with ArchiCAD’s built-in structure and underlying philosophy, you’ll find yourself “going with the flow” instead of fighting and wasting effort, and ArchiCAD will yield its ultimate power in your hands.
3. ArchiCAD Working Drawings Without Details
Is it really possible to eliminate drafting 2D detail drawings? Can you ensure that your specification documents are totally integrated with your design model, and always up to date?
UK architect Tim Ball has developed a strategy and optimized the methods of modeling in ArchiCAD so that he no longer has to draft his details. The model is so detailed that the detail drawing are generated automatically, only requiring annotation and minor touch-ups. In addition, the specifications are integrated into the model, and his spec documents are compiled and managed inside ArchiCAD, which ensures that they are always up to date.
Watch as Tim gives an overview of his process and shows how he sets everything up, then answers questions from architects in this 90 minute excerpt from his recent Masters of ArchiCAD training course.
Sign up for your FREE Masters of ArchiCAD Guest Pass here.
NOTE: Details of my big MASTERING ARCHICAD SALE will be announced shortly…
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MasterTemplate for ArchiCAD 19 To Ship in July; Special Pre-Launch Offer Announced
Following last week’s public release of ArchiCAD 19 by Graphisoft, I have started work on developing the next version of MasterTemplate, the leading independent template for ArchiCAD with over 1,225 users from 67 countries.
AMT19 is expected to ship in the second half of July for both U.S. (imperial) and International (metric) editions. It continues the tradition (since 2007) of building in proven, field-tested Best Practices methods into the framework of your ArchiCAD project file, saving you time, helping you be more organized and efficient, and giving you more consistent, higher quality results.
As always, the new template will provide full compatibility with the new ArchiCAD version, including the latest library and features introduced this year.
Please read through this post carefully, as there is a LOT here:
- powerful new features based on the latest insights of ArchiCAD Masters
- special discounted pre-launch pricing available through Friday July 10
- valuable bonuses to encourage you to buy now rather than wait
- an invitation to send in your suggestions, ideas and feature requests
The pre-launch bonuses (revealed below) are actually worth more than the price of MasterTemplate. They’ll be of tremendous value to you and your practice. I’m really excited about how much I can offer you this year!
NEW IN MASTERTEMPLATE 19
In addition to compatibility revisions, we will be adding new components to MasterTemplate based on the insights I’ve gained from the Masters of ArchiCAD Summit presentations as well as the courses in the Masters of ArchiCAD Training Series by Tim Ball and Andreas Lettner.
For example, based on Tim’s pioneering work, we’ll provide a new IFC-based data structure to facilitate preparation of specification documents directly from the template-based project file. We’ll also include a substantial number of new Complex Profiles that may be used as-is or adapted for your design context; these will make it easier and faster to build detailed ArchiCAD models.
Andreas will be working with me to provide a number of carefully chosen Cinerender “Scene” presets that will speed up your visualization process while providing a well-modulated set of quality choices. You’ll work around the traditional trade-off of quality vs. speed (since in general, higher quality renderings take more time). These Scenes make it easy to get quality renderings appropriate for your design phase, modeling process, workflow and deadline time frames.
I’ll also be working to include some of the tools and methods shared by other ArchiCAD Masters during the February Summit conference. Better support for BIMx Pro will be incorporated, as well as additional quantity calc tools.
HAVE SOME SUGGESTIONS, IDEAS OR REQUESTS?
With each new version of MasterTemplate, I am always interested in adding more useful and/or cool features suggested by users. It’s also the perfect time to resolve any bugs or unnecessary limitations in previous versions of MasterTemplate.
If you’ve got ideas, suggestions or feature requests, please email support@bobrow.com. I promise to respond to each and every note you send in, and examine it for possible inclusion in this year’s template upgrade.
HOW TO BUY MASTERTEMPLATE 19
MasterTemplate 19 costs $297, the same as previous versions.
- In our Pre-Launch Special Offer, you can buy MasterTemplate now for only $247, saving $50.
You’ll get AMT18 immediately, and will receive AMT19 as soon as it is released.
For more info and to purchase your license, please visit the MasterTemplate website. Scroll down and click the orange button that says “Yes, I Want to Start Optimizing My ArchiCAD Projects NOW”, then make your payment with credit card or PayPal and you’ll get an immediate email with instructions for how to login and download the template. You’ll also get access to a series of training videos that will make it easy for you to integrate MasterTemplate into your office.
Note that one license covers an entire office, since I expect that the template will be become your new “office standard”. There is a full 90 day Money Back Guarantee, so you can even try the template out on one or more of your current projects, then decide whether you want to keep it.
If you already have a MasterTemplate license, you may upgrade for $127.
- As part of our Pre-Launch Special Offer, you can purchase your upgrade right now for only $97, saving $30.
To upgrade your template, login to the MasterTemplate website member area with your email and password, then click the link in the left-hand sidebar for the MasterTemplate Upgrade. Click the Buy Now button and follow through our secure shopping cart checkout, and you’ll get a confirmation via email that you’re all set up for AMT19.
As soon as AMT19 is released, everyone who has purchased a license will get notification via email.
AMT19 PRE-LAUNCH BONUSES
Everyone who purchases MasterTemplate 19 between now and next Friday July 10 will get a FREE Bonus of my upcoming 4 week Masters of ArchiCAD Training Course:
This series of lessons is normally sold for $197, but you’ll get it free!
It will give you what you need to take best advantage of ArchiCAD 19.
Class 1 will focus on the new features of ArchiCAD 19. Learn how to use the new Permanent Guide Lines, Tab Bar and single window interface, PDF Improvements, 3D Surface Painter, enhanced Graphical Interface for Library Parts, Labeling and Listing Enhancements, and Point-Cloud Support.
Class 2 will show you the easiest ways to migrate your projects into the new version, including transitioning your ArchiCAD Library and Favorites. We’ll also look at migrating your Template and bringing it up to date with the latest tools and methods in ArchiCAD 19.
Class 3 will be a compilation of Lessons from ArchiCAD Masters, based on the top presentations made in the recent Masters of ArchiCAD Summit and Training Series. Discover the key insights that enable these masters to produce their work faster and better than other users. Whether you have attended the Summit and previous classes in this series, or not, you’ll get a precise, actionable set of ideas and methods you can implement into your practice.
In Class 4 we’ll revisit the 7 Keys to Best Practices for ArchiCAD, my classic presentation from 2011 that codified the most important principles to understand when running your project. I’ll integrate the latest gems from the ArchiCAD Masters along with the most up to date features of ArchiCAD 19 to give you a road map for what to focus on this coming year to optimize your usage of ArchiCAD.
This $197 course (yours FREE with purchase by Friday July 10) is part of the 2015 Masters of ArchiCAD Training Series. It runs from July 22 through August 19 on Wednesdays at 1 pm PDT. All sessions are recorded and posted for permanent reference, so you don’t have to attend live – however if you do join us on the webinars, you’ll be able to ask me questions and enjoy the comments and questions of other ArchiCAD users from around the world.
ONE MORE THING!
If you’re purchasing MasterTemplate for the first time (rather than upgrading), I’ll throw in a free 90 day membership in my ArchiCAD Coaching Program worth $97.
When you’re a member of the coaching program, you can send me your ArchiCAD-related questions any time, and I’ll give you my personal assistance!
You can email me your questions, and I’ll email back, or I’ll address your challenge, issue or topic in one of my regularly scheduled Coaching Calls. These are live two-hour webinars in which I’ll open up your file (if you send me one) and work through your question, demonstrating how to use ArchiCAD in the most effective manner to resolve your design or documentation challenge.
My ArchiCAD Coaching Program has always been limited to members of my Best Practices Course, but now, for the first time, you can get access to my personal support line when you purchase MasterTemplate.
The 90 day membership is normally $97, however you’ll get it free when you purchase MasterTemplate during our pre-launch special promotion.
For more info and to purchase your license, please visit the MasterTemplate website.
Learn How to Use ArchiCAD’s Cinerender Tools to Create Beautiful Renderings
Next week we launch the new online ArchiCAD training course with Andreas Lettner on Cinerender Methods, Tips and Tricks. I chatted with Andreas today and we discussed the course as well as his background as an architect, instructor and technology innovator.
The course starts June 17 and will broadcast live via GoToWebinar for 4 consecutive Wednesdays. Lessons will be recorded and posted for permanent reference on the Masters of ArchiCAD website.
For more information and to register for the Cinerender course, click here.
ArchiCAD Tips and Tricks: Managing the Favorites Palette
I’ve just posted Managing the Favorites Palette, one of my classic ArchiCAD Tips and Tricks articles which had never been available online. I encourage you to read it so you can take full advantage of Favorites, a very powerful yet underutilized feature of ArchiCAD.
The article was published in ArchiMAG back in 2011. ArchiMAG is sadly long gone, however this article will now have another life. I’ve updated one image to show the simplified search option within the Object Settings dialog (introduced in ArchiCAD 15), and added a note about Building Materials, however otherwise this has stood the test of time and still applies just as much as when it was written.
The Favorites palette is built into ArchiCAD, however from what I’ve seen, not many users use it on a regular basis. It gives you quick access to frequently used components and remembers their settings. Once you’ve gotten them set the way you want, you won’t have to waste time the next time you place a similar element.
I have a video tutorial showing how to get started with the Favorites palette, quickly populating it from a developed project then importing it into your template or a new project.
This article goes further, and will help you manage your Favorites, which can be a little confusing when you upgrade to a new version of ArchiCAD or want to migrate them from one project to another.
How to Create ArchiCAD Working Drawings without Drafting Details
Earlier this week I interviewed Tim Ball, an advanced ArchiCAD user in the UK, to learn more about how he develops his ArchiCAD model in a way that virtually eliminates manual 2D drafting of Details.
The 10 minute video shows the evolution of his project workflow over the past few years, from independently created Detail drawings through model-based Details and now pure-model Details.
How to Create ArchiCAD Working Drawings without Drafting Details – Interview with Tim Ball
Tim has also figured out how to embed textual data into his elements in a way that makes it possible for ArchiCAD to automatically generate and compile accurate specification documents that are fully based on the model.
I believe his workflow is a bit tricky to master, however ultimately much more efficient. In addition, it increases the consistency of the drawings, since everything (even details and specifications) is based on the intelligent 3D Virtual Building model.
MASTERS OF ARCHICAD TRAINING SERIES STARTS NEXT WEEK
Tim will be teaching how to implement his methods in the upcoming online training course Working Drawings Without Details, which kicks off on April 15.
Tim’s course is part of the Masters of ArchiCAD Training Series, a set of five short courses running over the next 6 months taught by carefully chosen ArchiCAD experts.
I’m looking forward to sharing these training courses with ArchiCAD users around the world. Sessions will be broadcast live once each week, and recorded and posted for easy, permanent reference in the website member area.
I hope you can join us on this journey of discovery along the path of mastery. When you implement some of these strategies of the Masters of ArchiCAD, you’ll become more efficient, productive and profitable.
Plus, you’ll be able to enjoy your work more.
As Tim says: “You can focus on the fun, sexy part of ArchiCAD – the 3D modeling and design – and virtually eliminate the boring 2D stuff.”
Please let me know if you have any questions, comments or feedback.
Eric