Autotext in ArchiCAD using the Project Info control
Today I am going to share some insights into how to make better use of the Project Info in Archicad. Keep reading as I am I going to take you through a few ways to step things up a notch in your ArchiCAD workflow.
You may be familiar with the Project Info if you have been using ArchiCAD for a while, especially if you have been setting up the master layouts for your drawings. As a default, the master layouts are populated with information stored in the Project Info, such as client, company, site details etc, being an integral part of the ArchiCAD template. In short, the Project Info handles general project details, which can be edited with ease, at any later stage, when the template is applied to a new project. Yet, this type of information hardly ever changes within the same project, so how can the Project Info be used more actively?
Project Info can be used with Autotext
I love using project info for my autotexting because it saves so much time when managing an ever-evolving project, such as project-specific notes and details specifications. In simple terms, if you have a note that needs to be added to various drawings such as sections, plans and details, try adding it as autotext instead of copying and pasting the note. This way, if the note needs to be amended later on in the project, you can quickly go and change it in the Project Info. The advantage is that the change will take effect in all the instances you have placed that auto-text.
Project Info can be integrated with ArchiCAD Documenting Tools
Any information stored in the Project Info can be placed anywhere in the project, from worksheets and schedules to layouts, labels and even added to elements IDs. For example, if you create a new Project Info entry called, say, Note 1, then type <Note 1> in the parameter string of a custom text, it will nicely replace it with the actual value of the Project Info Keyword. This can come in handy if you are using a label that annotates the building material of an element, but it requires additional details in the form of Custom Text.
<Note 1> can be then typed in the Custom Text box, so that the data is extracted straight from the Project Info. This waives away the need to locate and edit label by label, as in the case of plain text added in the Custom text field. By doing this, you are speeding up the working process, centralising the data and revising it throughout the whole project.
Quick tip: since ArchiCAD autotext displays the value, rather than the name, it is important to use the Find and Select tool to identify the location of your notes in the Project Info when using the special characters method ‘<>’. If you choose to select the notes from the autotext drop-down menu, simply highlighting the text will point you to its actual location.
Project Info notes can be scheduled
Any notes linking back to the Project Info can also be used in ArchiCAD Schedules & Lists, through the Property Manager. ArchiCAD Autotext cannot be scheduled directly since the schedule won’t read the actual value, as highlighted in the image below. However, the Project Info data can still be listed through Expression-based properties. In the sample schedule below, you can see that although Note 1’s value is not read as part of the Element ID, the Project Info Note provides Note 1's value, when added to the Scheme Settings as a custom property. A real-life application for this function is capturing detailed specification changes without modifying the Building Material or Surfaces in the model.
Project Info can be edited outside ArchiCAD
You can export the Project Info to Excel to extract any information from the project that needs to be used in schedules and reports adjacent to the ArchCAD file. The .xml file can also be amended in Text Editor/ TextEdit for OS and fed back into ArchiCAD. This way, non-ArchiCAD users can edit the project information externally, without the need to access the project. Once imported, the information is automatically updated in the Project Info and consequently in all the placed instances throughout the project. Needless to say, this is extremely useful if the specifier needs to input data into the project, without navigating to every drawing to make an amendment.
Project Info is transferable
Project Info can be transferred to a different ArchiCAD project, by simply exporting and importing it from the dialog box. This is a very useful tool for enhanced coordination between projects within the same organisation, particularly when one project has been developed to a greater extent and the information is required to be passed on to a new project, as part of the office template. One thing to be aware of is that the information in the 'host' file would be overwritten by the imported .xml, so ideally you would import the Project Info before adjusting the project-specific information, to avoid losing information.
The Autotext in ArchiCAD is a powerful tool, impossible to be fully covered in the few examples above. Since there are so many clever ways to integrate autotext in the ArchiCAD workflow, I would be curious to know how are you taking advantage of it to reduce time spent on repetitive tasks and maximise performance, so feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments box below.
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