Hi Eric,

I use ArchiCad 15. I had been trying to use my windows settings to show the window in my floor plan, but its not working. Any reason why?

[Reply]

Hello Eric,

I am a newcomer to ArchiCAD and I am very excited to learn this new tool and to assist my business partners company in floor plan design for several builders in our area.

I have many years of computer experience from Application Development to Network Administration and look forward to taking on a new role in computer technology such as Computer Aided Design.

I have watched your FREE videos online and see that you take your time in your approach to teaching the program of ArchiCAD….

I hope to make ArchiCAD a success in my life with your training.

Regards, Mark Dill

[Reply]

Eric Bobrow Reply:
May 1st, 2013 at 11:26 am

Mark -
Welcome to the Best Practices Course!
I look forward to seeing your progress, and helping you whenever you have a question.
Best regards,
Eric

[Reply]

Eric, I have noticed that in the Objects area, especially in the bedroom sections that Archicad is lacking a lot of standard furniture such as dressers and chest of drawers and such. There are not that many bed options either.

Am I missing them somewhere or are there truly not objects to bring in for these?

Also, do you have any advice or tutorials on how to properly use the free GDL objects that many sites have that you can insert in drawings? I have found more furniture at other websites but cannot seem to get them to insert in my drawings.

Thanks as always for any assistance.

[Reply]

Eric Bobrow Reply:
May 1st, 2013 at 11:44 am

Todd -

In ArchiCAD 16 Graphisoft has integrated in the capability to search for objects (within the Object Settings dialog, in the upper left) by name or keyword and to automatically find, download and embed objects from http://www.bimcomponents.com (the website they have set up for sharing ArchiCAD objects). Try using this search capability and see what is available that way.

With regards to other sites, in general, if you can download objects as GDL files then you can add them to your ArchiCAD project. In the Object Settings dialog you can use a button in the lower left to Load Other Object, then browse and select the GDL file. The new object will then get loaded and added into the embedded library for the project.

After you have loaded an object into a particular project, you can use the File menu > Libraries and Objects > Library Manager to export embedded objects to a local folder for reuse in other projects (to export, in Library Manager highlight one of the embedded objects then use the Export Embedded Subtree command; to import later into another project, use the Load Other Object to bring in one at a time, or use the Add button within the Library Manager to add a Linked Library folder).

Eric

[Reply]

Hey Eric,
Just read on the web “Massive botnet using brute force attack to target WordPress sites”, hope that it does not afect your site. Here is the link.

Take care. Angel

http://www.theverge.com/2013/4/13/4218846/massive-botnet-using-brute-force-attack-to-target-wordpress-sites

[Reply]

Eric Bobrow Reply:
April 13th, 2013 at 10:03 am

Angel -
I have read about this ongoing situation and understand that the threat is real and dangerous. However, I have a secure password (we were hacked once last year) and I just had the site checked for malware by http://www.sucuri.net and verified as clean.
Thanks for passing along the info and the link to the article.
Eric

[Reply]

Just watched 3 of Eric’s You Tube Quick Tips. Have used ArchiCAD since Version 5.5, now on Version 16 and consider myself to be quite knowledgeable in the AC domain. However Eric has very useful tips on how to change materials, window/door renumbering, importing/updating pdf information and specific changes that have been tedious and toke a long time, and have been simplified by his quick tips.

Have decided to take a class on Friday mornings of Eric’s Tips/Best Practices Sessions to refresh and augment my knowledge of this vast program. Every single time I watch one of Eric’s videos I learn something about another way to perform a task that simplifies something or teaches me another way to do my work. You go Eric! Thank you.

[Reply]

Eric Bobrow Reply:
March 29th, 2013 at 11:56 pm

Beverly -
Thank you for your kind words.
I appreciate that you took the time to post them here!
Eric

[Reply]

Eric;
I purchase the software Artlantis to make a more realistic rendering, but so far I have not been bale to do anything better that what ArchiCAD actually does.
I am sure is because I am not using the software right. Is there any course you have in development.

[Reply]

Eric Bobrow Reply:
March 7th, 2013 at 6:59 am

Ignacio -
At this point I do not plan to offer a training on Artlantis. I suggest that you do a Google search for Artlantis video training and you’ll find a few videos created by Athol Phillips. Here is a link to some of them:
http://artlantis.ning.com/video/video/listForContributor?screenName=m12bw7qo1py4
Eric

[Reply]

Eric,

I have just installed upgrade ac16 from ac13. Now AMT cannot open on ac13 because it was unable to find the application to help it do so. What process is required ? Thanks, Peng Lee

[Reply]

Eric Bobrow Reply:
February 5th, 2013 at 12:56 am

Peng -

When you upgrade your ArchiCAD software you can still open older files, however sometimes the operating system doesn’t quite know which tool or program to use. You may start ArchiCAD manually, then tell it what file you want to open.

I suggest that you get the upgrade for MasterTemplate, which costs $95, so you have the latest version that is designed to run with AC16 and the AC16 Library. You may order the upgrade by logging in to the MasterTemplate member website, where you will find a link in the left hand sidebar for the AMT Upgrade.

Feel free to email or call me to discuss this and to go over any questions.

Eric

[Reply]

Eric, do you sell the Cadimage products? Being with a school, and with Cadimage being from New Zealand, it might take an act of Congress for us to be able to purchase it. Do you have a suggestion for an easier way?

[Reply]

Eric Bobrow Reply:
January 30th, 2013 at 7:48 am

Hey Todd -
Yes, I am a reseller for Cadimage products. You can order through my company at the same pricing as they quote on their website. Will that make it easier for you?
Eric

[Reply]

ToddFulmer Reply:
February 6th, 2013 at 5:37 pm

Well, I just checked their website and I see that for a 10 seat license it is about $1500 and I know we cannot do that right now. That was for the framing solution program. So, I think we will have to wait and work our way towards adding that program. Thanks for the info.

[Reply]

Eric Bobrow Reply:
February 6th, 2013 at 6:05 pm

Todd -
I suggest that you send an email to Cadimage – they make some of their products available without charge for students, so you may be able to get the framing solution free or for a reduced price.
Eric

ToddFulmer Reply:
February 6th, 2013 at 7:50 pm

Thank you. I have been investigating whether or not your Master template option is something that I need to have for class. Can you tell me if it would be of value in a classroom setting? I think I can see the value in an office but I may be able to create a template for classroom use.

There was a message on that page asking if you can install it on more than one computer. I have not seen an answer to that. Is it a one machine option?

Thanks!

Eric Bobrow Reply:
February 6th, 2013 at 9:46 pm

Hi Todd -

MasterTemplate is good for two distinct purposes:

1) A robust office standard that improves production efficiency and consistency.
2) A learning tool – a demonstration of many best practices principles embedded into the project structure.

As an office standard, only one license needs to be purchased for it to be used throughout an office (or school / classroom). It is expected that it will be customized or adapted as needed, then copied around so everyone has the same template for starting projects.

As a learning tool, you will find MasterTemplate an excellent adjunct to the Best Practices lesson videos. It may be a bit too complicated for students to use directly on their initial projects, but you can use it to demonstrate principles, and encourage them to copy and incorporate some of these into their own projects.

The Sample Project supplied with MasterTemplate provides an example file that can be studied and “reverse engineered” – basically, you can see what settings and layer combinations are used to create different drawings and schedules.

Please let me know if you have any additional questions.

Eric

ToddFulmer Reply:
February 7th, 2013 at 3:39 am

Eric, I contacted Cadimage and they did tell me we can use the software free with our education software. Thanks for recommending I check into it.

[Reply]

HI Eric

i signed up today and just wanted to know how do i get the copy of the my speed Download?

[Reply]

Eric Bobrow Reply:
December 22nd, 2012 at 8:48 am

Michael -
I’ll be processing the orders next week for the MySpeed licenses. I’ll be in touch by email with the info you need. Thanks for joining the course!
Eric

[Reply]

Where did you
“clarify fine distinctions of tool usage or raising issues such as combining the Floor Plan Cut Plane and a new Viewpoint of the story (plan) to create a split level home plan is clever and more BIM-like than my previous solutions.” as Mark Moscrip
mentioned 617 days ago?
I’m attempting a split level residential project and need all the guidance I can get. Week 18 can’t get here soon enough.

I’ve really benefited from the course!

[Reply]

Eric Bobrow Reply:
December 22nd, 2012 at 8:49 am

Stewart -
As you know, we covered this topic for you in a coaching call shortly after you posted this comment. Please let me know if you have any additional questions about it.
Eric

[Reply]

One more question.
Do you have any videos in the courses explaining how you can modify exterior or interior walls to show different finishes in different rooms that are all part of the same wall? I mean having the front wall of the house include a bedroom, bath, living room and dining room and even though it is one wall, I want to show different finishes in each of those rooms. I thought I might have to break the wall in each room but that appears to leave a joint line on the outside at the breaks.

Any ideas come to mind?

[Reply]

Eric Bobrow Reply:
December 22nd, 2012 at 8:53 am

Todd -
I answered this question in the recent video tutorial (that I mentioned in response to your other comment, immediately below). Basically, you will avoid having the break line on the outside wall when you adjust the intersection priorities properly, so that the interior wall “gives way” to the exterior wall rather than passing through it. Watch the video and you’ll understand!
Eric

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Eric, do you have any videos or tutorials that explain the proper way to create a two or three story building? We are entering a competition where we are required to create a college living type of facility and our plan is to have a three story facility. I am just curious as to whether I should do the following, this is what I am currently thinking.
1. Have a 9’ ceiling height for each floor.
2. Create the first floor and have the interior walls measure 9’ and the exterior walls measure 1’ taller.
3. Create a slab on top of that floor that is 1’ thick.
4. Then recreate the same floor measurements for the second floor and then do the same for the third floor.
Does this sound kind of correct or do you have another suggestion? I am trying to figure out what is the best way to do it using Archicad 15.

Thanks and any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Reply]

Eric Bobrow Reply:
December 22nd, 2012 at 8:51 am

Todd -

I took your question as the inspiration for one of my latest ArchiCAD video tutorials:

ArchiCAD Tutorial | Multi-Story Buildings: Basic & Advanced Strategies
http://youtu.be/jTg9qQ1IX7c

Please watch the video and let me know if it answers your questions sufficiently.
Eric

[Reply]

Hi Eric,

I want to get back using ArchiCad, though it is not my current field of work. I am still hoping to someday to use the skills. What’s the best way to find some motivation?

Thanks,

[Reply]

Eric Bobrow Reply:
November 10th, 2012 at 6:14 am

Chesnel -

This is an interesting question. Perhaps it will be more interesting to work on your skills in the context of a real or imaginary building design. If you can find or borrow some drawings for a building, you could challenge yourself to make a nice 3D model of that building as well as some of the construction documents.

Alternatively, if you have time, you might try to find an architect who uses ArchiCAD and apprentice yourself – offering to do work for free or at a low wage. That way you would have a mentor (perhaps) who could help you when you get stuck, and you would have the motivation of doing work that someone else needed.

I wish you the best in your journey towards ArchiCAD mastery – please let us all know how it goes!

Eric

[Reply]

ChesnelHenry Reply:
November 11th, 2012 at 5:15 am

Thanks Eric,
I am going to do just that.

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Hi Eric,

We have just purchased the best practices course with the DVD set and master template for our office in London. We are currently working on a number of projects in Archicad 16 and have a specific question which has come up today.

Is it possible to link elements to each other so that if one element changes it automatically adjusts the other accordingly.

For example if I have a wall element and a slab element ending on the edge of the wall. Is there a setting so that if I move the wall the slab edge will automatically adjust to the new outer face of the wall?

Many thanks,
Deon

[Reply]

Eric Bobrow Reply:
November 1st, 2012 at 5:07 pm

Deon -

Welcome to the Best Practices Course!

With regards to this question, there is no general method to link elements that will work in this case.

Some relevant options:

1) You can group elements, such as a set of chairs with a table, or an entire out-building. Then when you select one of them, and drag it or make multiple copies, the entire set will move or copy together. This will not work for your context, since the slab should not move, only the relevant edge should adjust.

2) To adjust the position of a wall along with a slab, you may use the marquee tool. Enclose the relevant elements inside the marquee, then with the marquee tool remaining active, click on the edge of the slab or the corner of the wall to start the Stretch action. Move the cursor either manually or with Tracker or Guide Line input and click or enter the destination point. The wall will move (assuming that both ends were enclosed, the edge of the slab will adjust in sync, and all will be well…

This will actually also adjust the other walls that were “attached” to the main wall, as all enclosed “nodes” will move together. The other ends of these walls will remain anchored, so they will get longer or shorter as appropriate.

I hope this is helpful.

Best regards,
Eric

[Reply]

I ordered DVD＄79,but only received a quickstart and the best practices course 1 ~ 3 DVD 3 piece, the lack of 4 to 6, and I do not know why？

[Reply]

Eric Bobrow Reply:
October 17th, 2012 at 5:04 am

Hello Yu Jung -
At this point, there are 4 disks completed. The other three (disks 4 to 6) will be produced as I finish up the remaining lessons in the course over the next few months. They will be sent out one by one to everyone who ordered a set. I apologize for the confusion, and promise that you will get these disks as soon as possible.
Eric Bobrow

[Reply]

Eric, thanks very much, I’m in with no problems mate

[Reply]

Hi Eric
Took the plunge after using one or two of you training videos.

Have to design a multi-sided garage roof so thought it would be a good start with your roofing course.

Here’s to the Journey

Martin Kelly

[Reply]

Hi Eric,
Recently, I had to change my email address.I’ve updated my profile details but still don’t appear to be receiving any emails to this new address.
Regards,
Tom

[Reply]

Eric Bobrow Reply:
September 22nd, 2012 at 9:20 pm

Tom -
I have updated our email address in our main system, so you should start receiving emails again. Unfortunately, changes in your profile in this membership website are not synchronized automatically with our main system Thanks for letting me know about the issue so I could process this in our main system.
Eric

[Reply]

Q: What steps are required in the Sections/Elevations default settings so that the elevations do not show elements beyond glazed doors or windows. You may already have covered this in one of your previous coaching calls. Where ? can I find this.Regards, Peng

[Reply]

Eric Bobrow Reply:
September 3rd, 2012 at 8:58 pm

Hello Peng -

The control for this option is available in the Section or Elevation Settings dialog under the Model Display panel > Uncut Elements > Transparency. If this is unchecked, then you will not see anything beyond the glazing.

If this option is checked, then you will see inside, as long as the glazing is using a material that is transparent. Technically, I think it looks at the material setting and if it is more than 70% transparent, it considers it “see through” for this purpose.

Eric

[Reply]

I just downloaded Archicad 16 and tried use it to open a file I created following the quick course (used 15 before). I noticed that in floor plans and elevations the furniture was missing. In floor plans I have brown dots in place of it and if I click it gives me the name of what is there but no actual object.
May be there is a certain way to transfer from 15 to 16 so it doens’t happen?

[Reply]

Eric Bobrow Reply:
August 9th, 2012 at 7:21 pm

Hello Nina / William -

The problem you are encountering likely has to do with the fact that you have downloaded the USA ArchiCAD 16, while your earlier work (when you were in Russia) was done with the International ArchiCAD 15. The USA and INT libraries are rather different, sharing a few of the same parts but the brown dots are placed wherever ArchiCAD cannot find a good match.

I suggest that you download the INT version of ArchiCAD 16 and try it again. When you work with the same distribution (INT or USA) you will not have this problem, as ArchiCAD 16 will recognize the parts used in ArchiCAD 15 without a problem.

Eric

[Reply]

Nina Reply:
August 9th, 2012 at 10:47 pm

Hello, Eric
Thank you for your reply. Both 15 and 16 are US versions, I don’t use INT. Sorry not to have mentioned that before.

[Reply]

Eric Bobrow Reply:
August 9th, 2012 at 11:26 pm

Nina -

If that’s the case, then perhaps ArchiCAD is not loading the library properly. Check the File menu > Libraries and Objects > Library Manager to see if it is loading the ArchiCAD Library OK or not. Are you getting a Library Loading Report indicating missing parts?

I suggest that you review Module 4 of the Best Practices Course, which focuses on Library Management and Migrating Projects.

Eric

I’m having a problem. Whenever I click on a window, the navigator palette turns off. This didn’t happen before and I’m not sure how to correct the problem.

[Reply]

Eric Bobrow Reply:
August 2nd, 2012 at 2:05 am

Terry -
You have accidentally triggered the Navigator Auto-hide feature. To turn this off, simply right-click in the Navigator title bar, and when the popup menu comes up, select (and turn off) Auto-hide. All will be back to normal!
Eric

[Reply]

How can I to add to buy the best practice courses and Quick Start Course DVD?

[Reply]

Eric Bobrow Reply:
July 17th, 2012 at 5:19 pm

Yu Jung -

Near the top of the browser window, you’ll see the navigation menu for the course website. Select the Best Practices Course menu, and choose “Get the Course on DVD”.

You’ll see a web page that describes the DVD set, and you may click the Add to Cart or Buy Now button to place your order. This will take you to a standard shopping cart checkout page, where you may enter your payment details.

The Best Practices Course DVD set of 7 disks includes the QuickStart Course DVD, so you don’t need to order both.

Eric

[Reply]

Hi Eric,
You may have already answered the question, but I did not find it when I logged in last time. I need to know if there is a way to increase the fonts of the drawing tools without necessary increase the font in window?
Mine drawing tools look so small I can barely see them.

Thank you,

chesnel

[Reply]

Eric Bobrow Reply:
April 18th, 2012 at 4:31 pm

Chesnel -

Unfortunately, I do not know of a way to increase or change the size of interface elements such as the drawing tools without changing the overall screen resolution (setting your monitor to a lower resolution will make everything bigger onscreen).

This might be an interesting question to post on ArchiCAD-Talk, since someone there might know how to do this.

Eric

[Reply]

HI, Eric,

I have log out and loged in but I can not access the video.

Fardin

[Reply]

Eric Bobrow Reply:
April 16th, 2012 at 5:53 pm

Fardin -
I have tested your account by logging in under your name, and can see all the videos properly. Sometimes there can be a problem with the browser cache, in which your browser does not update the page because it thinks that the page has not changed since your last visit. You may need to empty your browser cache to force it to reload the page.
Eric

[Reply]

Eric,

Coaching question: Is there a way to ‘lock’ the viewport, or drawing window, once it has been placed on a layout sheet? (I’ve only searched for this feature within the ‘drawing selection settings’ thinking that is my best option.)

If there is a reason why this would not be a good idea, that would be helpful to know.

Rex

[Reply]

Eric Bobrow Reply:
March 21st, 2012 at 5:18 pm

Rex -

You can select the Drawing on the Layout and use the Edit menu > Locking > Lock command to lock this drawing into position. I checked, and it does not impede the Update command (either Auto-Update or a manual Update) so the drawing can still remain up to date with the View it is displaying.

While I can’t see any reason why this would be a particularly bad idea, I’m not sure exactly why you would want to do it. If you need to adjust the position or any of the Drawing Settings, you would need to unlock it.

Now perhaps there is another reason behind your question. If you would like to keep the Drawing unchanged as the View is modified, perhaps as a “record copy” for a particular milestone or point in time, then instead of locking the Drawing you may use the File menu > External Content > Drawing Manager, select the Drawing in the list, and use the Break Link icon at the top of the dialog box. Then this Drawing will never update; its status will change to “Embedded” and it will remain as a record of the state of that View at that point in time.

Eric

[Reply]

Eric,
I am a high school drafting teacher. My question to you is, “now our school has purchased your Best Practices Program is there a way that my students can access and study these lessons at home?

[Reply]

Eric Bobrow Reply:
March 1st, 2012 at 5:57 pm

Alan -

I’m very glad that your school purchased the Best Practices Course, and that your students are learning ArchiCAD!

Students at your school may get their own account to login to the site at home for a small fee per student. Registration for student accounts is done in bulk; you can simply send in a list of names and email addresses. I’ll contact you to go over the details and make arrangements.

Eric

[Reply]

Hi Eric,

Quick question. I had purchased the disc copies of your Best Practices course. To date I have received only disc 1 and 2 which go through week #9. Do you know when I can expect the rest of the discs? Thanks!

Jim

[Reply]

Eric Bobrow Reply:
February 6th, 2012 at 7:59 pm

Jim -

At this point, three disks have been produced and sent out to members who purchased the DVD set – disks 1 and 2 (that you mentioned) and also the QuickStart Course DVD. The others will be produced as I finish up each batch of lessons, and sent out one by one as soon as they are ready.

I am finishing up Week 13 now, and should have Week 14 done within the next week or so; at that point I will produce the next DVD in the series, covering Weeks 10 – 14.

Eric

[Reply]

Ann HelenHassel Reply:
November 21st, 2012 at 10:51 pm

I have also purchased the discs and am wondering if they are sent or not. Haven’t received any, maybe because I live quite far away, oh well in Norway anyhow.

Hope to hear from you.

Ann Helén

[Reply]

Eric Bobrow Reply:
November 21st, 2012 at 11:02 pm

Ann Helén -

I got your email about this a couple of days ago, and looked up our records. For some reason, although your enrollment was processed, I did not get an email notification about the DVD order, so no disks were shipped. When I discovered what had happened, I ordered them from our manufacturing facility, and they should ship out today by air mail. You will probably receive them next week.

By the way, I replied to your email address right away (2 days ago) but it appears you might not have gotten my email. Please check your inbox or spam filter to see if you can find my reply – I’d like to make sure we can communicate easily about anything that you need!

Eric

[Reply]

I have a Coaching Call on my calendar for today, Jan 31, 2012 at 9:00AM. No?

-JS

[Reply]

Eric Bobrow Reply:
January 31st, 2012 at 9:22 pm

JS -

Yes, there was a coaching call today (January 31) at that time.

Your coaching program membership is active since you signed up for the course in October 2011 and it runs through April 2012. An email was sent out on January 25 with registration links for the January 26 and 31 calls, and it appears in our records that you opened it (the system can track that in many cases).

To attend the call, of course, you would have needed to click on one of the registration links and signed up, then you would have gotten an email with the link for attending the session.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Eric

[Reply]

Eric.

Newby Achicad user Architect from decades on Intergraph, Microstation, etc. You are obviously a techno talent, but I think your teaching demeanor is even better. I am attempting to cram years of equivalent experience into a month transition window- impossible without you or a new hire, thanks for sharing your insight!

Quick question- went through the Quick Start sessions and the Best Parctices up to week #5 and noticed the model house you developed had floor and roof framing componenets, foundations, exterior materials, etc. that was not covered in lessons. Did I miss a sequencing? Was I to go through the ‘Coaching Calls’ between the two courses?

Thanks,
Randy.

[Reply]

Eric Bobrow Reply:
January 9th, 2012 at 8:23 pm

John -

Thank you for your positive feedback about my teaching demeanor. I’m glad you have found the training materials helpful in your fast-track learning process.

With regards to your question re the missing content – no, you have not missed something in between QuickStart and Best Practices. Obviously QuickStart is a brief introduction, and it cannot and should not cover all the details of using ArchiCAD.

Best Practices is independent of QuickStart, and does not simply pick up where QuickStart leaves off. It starts with a general overview, and then goes into organizational principles, then later goes through 3D design and finally 2D documentation processes. Along the way, it is expected that all important work processes and tools will be addressed in some manner.

The house model used in the demonstrations is derived from MasterTemplate, where it is provided as an example of how all the elements of a project tie together. There are many parts of the house that demonstrate techniques and options that are possible within ArchiCAD, and it functions as a learning tool for MasterTemplate users to study.

For more information about MasterTemplate, please see http://www.actemplate.com.

Eric

P.S. Feel free to browse through the Course Index to the Coaching Calls to see where topics like those you mentioned are discussed. You’ll find the Course Index under the site navigation menu (above) in both the Best Practices Course menu and the Coaching Calls menu. This Google Doc is a searchable resource that allows you to see what topics are covered in each call, and at what point of the call (e.g. 13:18 through 25:50 would mean that the topic started 13 minutes and 18 seconds into the call, and ends at 25 minutes 50 seconds). This means you can open up a recording and jump right to the area in which your topic of interest is discussed.

[Reply]

Eric

Our firm standard has always to put a grey or in autoCAD parlance “Out of function” floor plan under the framing plan. Is there a way in the view settings to accomplish this for the framing plans. You may have covered something similar in one of your coaching calls/ modules but I was unable to find it.

I echo many of the other notes herein, you ar a great teacher of the program.

Thank You
Jonathan

[Reply]

Eric Bobrow Reply:
December 19th, 2011 at 6:56 pm

Jonathan -

Thanks for your kind words about my teaching materials.

With regards to your question, one way this can be accomplished easily is by creating a layer combination and associated View of the background information that you place onto the Layout sheet with a special pen set in which the pens are all grey. You will then place the framing plan information (properly aligned) on top as a separate drawing with the pens set to stand out appropriately.

Another option is to draw the framing plan information with different pens than anything else in your plan, and create a special pen set that has these pens black or in a bright color, while all the rest are set to grey. This has the advantage that it is a single View and Drawing; the main limitation is that you have to have the discipline to draw the framing information using distinct pens from everything else.

Eric

[Reply]

Eric, I have been blown away by The Best Practices Course. For many years now I have attempted to become proficient in my use of ArchiCAD. There is no doubt that ArchiCAD is a powerful tool and that its BIM approach is hitting the mark for our present day constructability needs in architectural drafting. However, the full use of this powerful tool is only realized to the extent to which the user is knowledgeable and proficient in its use. This course opens the door to that knowledge and proficiency. The course is extremely organized and your teaching method and style allows for individual growth at their own pace. I have been amazed over and over again as this course has progressed. You have explained in great detail the “How To’s” and have left nothing to chance. You are an excellent teacher. There is nothing like this course out there and WHAT A VALUE! I can’t think of any educational tool that I have every purchased that beats this value. You have provided more than anyone would ever expect. Thanks again!

[Reply]

Eric, I am making my way through your QuickStart course, and I’m really pleased with it so far. I started with AC ver 6 about 10 years ago, and it is amazing how much there is to learn from folks like you who are willing to organize and share.

Over the years I’ve experienced at least as much time lost as time gained using AC in my little projects in my sole practice because Graphisoft’s User guide and Help functions are both hard to read and missing a few sentences here and there that might just be helpful to a user like me. So your conversational presentations, complete with your tone of voice and mouse movement, fill in very nicely.

If you are open to a suggestion for future modules, if you haven’t done them already: 1.) Library management, and 2.) using a grey penset to develop live background plans for electrical, structural, etc., plans. For several projects, I’ve used the “Patch” feature to develop a grey floor plan background to overlay these special systems in a darker pen. But if the architectural floor plan changes, I have to update the patch and realign it with the outlets, switches, etc. If the background were “live,” I could change the electrical plan more readily.

The AC library system is not as easy to manage as Graphisoft believes it is. For all these years, the library, where all the files are, and how and where to add new items has been a huge stumbling block. Fussing with the library accounts for many of the hours I have lost over the years.

[Reply]

Eric Bobrow Reply:
October 29th, 2011 at 7:42 am

Bob -

Thanks for your comments and your positive feedback about the QuickStart Course.

Regarding library management, the Best Practices Course has several lessons on this topic. It is definitely a confusing area for many users. Fortunately, Graphisoft has made it easier in the last couple of versions to migrate projects forward and to manage custom library parts. The embedded library now makes it simple to add new items and keep track of them inside the project, while still retaining the flexibility to export or share them with other projects if you wish.

Re the use of alternate pensets, this is a topic that I will be covering in some depth in an upcoming lesson in the Best Practices Course.

I’m not sure I understand why you are using the Patch feature for the grey floor plan background. You can achieve the same effect in either of two ways that will keep the background “live”:

1. Overlay two plan drawings on the layout sheet, one as a background with the grey penset, the other showing the electrical elements with normal pens. Layer controls for each View will allow you to isolate the elements that you want to show in each mode.

2. Instead of changing the entire penset to grey, just do this for the pens used for walls and other elements to be seen as a background. Make sure to use a distinct pen or pens for the electrical or featured elements, and have the penset show these in color or with solid black instead of grey. Then you can have this all in one View and therefore one Drawing, without needing to use a Patch.

You may want to consider upgrading your QuickStart membership to the full Best Practices Course so you can get the benefit of the other lessons on these important topics. You can get full credit for what you paid for the QuickStart Course when you register for the full course. To sign up and get this special credit, simply go to the navigation menu above and select The QuickStart Course > Upgrade to the Best Practices Course.

Eric

[Reply]

Eric

Hello, the time I have spent viewing the course videos has been greatly rewarded. Whenever you say that the following command is one which many users are unaware of it seems to always include me.

I have been a user since version 9 but as a one person operation I have had no one more knowledgeable than myself to ask questions of or learn from. Your course has been a godsend.

I am finding that, through trial and error, I have learned to do many things correctly and how to work around the tool boxes and settings. You are showing me how to do so far more quickly and efficiently.

Next to purchasing ArchiCad this has been my best business investment.

Eric these words do not begin to express my gratitude for what you have done and are doing for those of us using this software.

Thank You!

Ewell

[Reply]

Eric,
Just checking in to make sure that you are OK.

Earl

[Reply]

Eric Reply:
September 29th, 2011 at 7:18 pm

Earl -
I am fine, thanks for asking. From your separate email, I understand that you have not received any emails from me since August 29. I have sent quite a few emails to course members during the past month. I checked, and these were all sent to your email address on file.

To be specific, there were emails sent to you and other course members on the following dates:
Sept. 26, Sept. 21, Sept. 15, Sept. 13, Sept. 10, Sept. 8, Sept. 7, Sept. 4, Sept. 1

Please check your spam or junk mail folder to see if they somehow got filtered. Let me know.
Eric

[Reply]

Hi Eric,
I wanted to let you know I have been thrilled with every part of your Course so far. I truly had a phobia around CAD usage and had for years struggled with getting into Archicad, even though I had staff trying to assist.When I found out about your ‘Best Practices Course’ I hesitatingly signed up. Boy what a worthwhile decision.I finished the main Course to date and the QuickStart Course yesterday and logged my comments this morning. A short way into both areas of your ‘Courses’ I actually started looking forward to logging in each day and hearing your next instalment and all the little tips an gems. An added bonus is that I really enjoy your unique way of presenting things, congratulations on creating such a special and invaluable learning tool ! I eagerly look forward to the next instalments on the main Course.
regards,
Craig

[Reply]

Eric

Just to let you know that I have really been enjoying the course so far. I have watched all the videos including the QuickStart course videos. Even though I am a fairly experienced user I learn something new from every video even if it is only a tip, trick or shortcut. I say only but these are in fact little gems which make using ArchiCad that much easier and quicker. Furthermore, it is very reassuring to know that most of my ‘practices’ are considered to be ‘best’.

I have also watched all the Coaching Call videos and learnt from those too.

I look forward to the rest of the course(s) and more Coaching Calls.

Regards

Richard

PS. I would recommend to all other members that they watch all the videos in full and in real time so that they discover those gems!

[Reply]

Eric Reply:
August 22nd, 2011 at 9:14 pm

Richard -
Thank you for your feedback. I’m so glad to know that even the QuickStart lessons are teaching an old dog new tricks! ;->
Eric

[Reply]

Hi Eric,

I was wondering if it was possible to have an option for members to be identified in some sort of member’s list to facilitate networking. Sometimes it feels like we lonely ArchiCAD user’s are lost in the Autodesk wilderness out here and being able to locate other user’s in our area would be very useful. Just a thought…

[Reply]

Eric Reply:
August 22nd, 2011 at 9:16 pm

John -
I apologize for not replying to your comment sooner. This is an interesting idea. I’ll ponder how to implement a member’s list on a voluntary basis. Perhaps as a Google Doc which can be accessed with a password that’s only known to course members. I’ll let everyone know once I’ve got something set up.
Eric

[Reply]

The into videos were fantastic. I’m looking forward to the course.

I would also be looking forward to ordering the DVDs if the checkout site recognized my user name and password.

[Reply]

Eric Reply:
June 26th, 2011 at 11:59 pm

David -
Thanks for signing up for the course. I’m glad to hear you liked the intro videos so much.
I believe your DVD order actually went through. I’m out of the office right now, but I’ll check on it and make sure that you get the DVD added on to your order.
Eric

[Reply]

Your Best Practices Course turned out to be what I have been waiting for since I have been working with Archicad since version 11. And this Enounce Myspeed program you threw in with your Best Practices Course helps me a lot when I want to search for a little part of a video I have seen already.

Super!

WHO van Staveren
architect bna
Nieuwegein, NL

[Reply]

Dear Eric,
Housekeeping help comment
Week 6: Tip: Parameter Transfer – DOWNLOAD does not download.
May need link to be repaired.

Enjoyed your Webinar lat night 11pm my time 9am Tues your time.
A good intro.
Turns out I’ve been looking at your website since just before the previous time you had the $200 off offer But simply could not afford it then.
So I bought the Best practices course yesterday – not knowing you’d sweeten the deal even further.
No regrets about that.
I think the course is great value for money.
I’ve been using AC since 81.
Ran my own practice on AC9 and 10 and then drifted into construction/project mgt.
Dow want to get back up to speed and found AC14 and MEP modeling got pretty sophisticated.
So really looking forward to getting back to basics and learning much better habits than I had over recent years.
More power to you
Oh, and thanks for emailing me a last-hour link to webinar. The second email never did come through, despite me registering from various email addresses all of which resulted in the first acknowledgement email arriving just fine.

[Reply]

Eric,
Thanks heaps for your video’s.
I’m in Australia, Country Victoria.
The Coaching video’s are really appreciated, although I never really have enough time to view them in real time.
I have been able to learn more than any of my past – wasted surfing.

I was wondering.

With master template, can I purchase it for less than the recommended $275 USD?

Hope to have direct contact – one day.

[Reply]

Eric Reply:
May 15th, 2011 at 8:26 pm

Stephen -
Thanks for your kind words about the value of the coaching call videos.
As a member of the Best Practices Course, you may purchase a license for MasterTemplate for $195, a savings of $80 off the standard price. I will email you a link so you can go ahead and purchase it at the reduced pricing. By the way, you will get AMT14 now and a free upgrade to AMT15 when it’s ready (probably in the June/July timeframe).
Eric

[Reply]

Eric-during a recent coaching session (maybe office hours) the topic of “garage doors” was explored. Has there been any further progress on the topic?

Don

[Reply]

Eric Reply:
May 13th, 2011 at 9:27 pm

Don -
No, I don’t believe there has been any further exploration of garage doors in any other coaching call. I haven’t seen if Graphisoft has improved the object library in ArchiCAD 15 in this area – I don’t have a copy of AC15 yet.
Eric

[Reply]

Quisiera saber si existe alguna manera de comprar su curso pagando con moneda de Venezuela ya que no puedo comprar dolares en mi país.

[Reply]

Eric Reply:
April 23rd, 2011 at 4:43 pm

Thanks for your inquiry. We accept payments sent via Western Union, which may be made in your local currency and will be converted automatically to U.S. dollars. Please email me at registration@acbestpractices.com and I will send you all the information you need to register.
Eric

Translation by Google Translate / Traducción por Google Translate:
Gracias por su consulta. Aceptamos pagos enviados por Western Union, que se puede hacer en su moneda local y se convertirán automáticamente a dólares de los EE.UU.. Por favor envíeme un correo electrónico a registration@acbestpractices.com y te enviaremos toda la información que necesita para inscribirse.
Eric

[Reply]

I am particularly interested in initial set up. Establishing layers, libraries, etc. I haven’t been able to stay with the web programs and keep my office open at the same time. When will the disc versions be available?

Stewart

[Reply]

Eric Reply:
April 13th, 2011 at 5:39 pm

Stewart -
The disk for the first month is in my hands – it arrived yesterday from the reproduction house! I’m waiting to hear from a few people I sent copies to, so that I can get their feedback to make sure it works for them nicely. Assuming it works OK (it should) then I’ll have all the disks mailed out by the end of the week.
This is the disk for the first month’s lessons, weeks 1 through 4 plus the first two coaching calls. I’ll prepare the disk for weeks 5 through 9 as soon as that content is completed. Now that I have the format for the on-disk presentation, the conversion process should be quick and routine. Subsequent disks will be prepared after each set of 4 or 5 weeks of materials are completed.
Eric

[Reply]

Eric Reply:
April 20th, 2011 at 7:58 pm

For the record – the first volume of the disk set went out on Friday April 15, 2011 by mail to everyone who ordered one. I have received reports from several people saying they arrived safely and work well. If anyone has any questions, or problems playing their DVD, please send an email to me at support@acbestpractices.com.
Eric

[Reply]

Hi Eric,

I’m having trouble migrating a project from ArchiCAD 11 to ArchiCAD 14. Initially, I can view the project perfectly in the 3D Window, but as soon as I try to look at any of the plans in the View Map the project disappears. I can’t even back up to when I first pasted it into my new project.

I’ve sent an email with the compressed file, screen shots and a thorough description of the steps I took. I’d really appreciate it if you could take a look at it.

Thanks again,

Mariya

[Reply]

Eric Reply:
April 12th, 2011 at 7:14 am

Mariya –

Without looking at the file itself, my hunch is that you have copied and pasted the model without coordinating the layers with the template. This means that the model information is on layers that do not exist in MasterTemplate, and therefore when you click to activate any of the standard template views, those layers are turned off. As a quick test, try turning on all layers in the Layer Settings dialog, and see if your project reappears.

I’ve addressed this layer synchronization process a number of times on the MasterTemplate site and I think even in the Best Practices Course somewhere along the line. In general, it’s best to use Attribute Manager to modify the layer naming in a copy of the project file to match MasterTemplate, then when you copy and paste the elements will show up on layers that the Views and Layer Combinations can manage.

Eric

[Reply]

Eric,

I note that AMT “out of the box” has layer settings, pen sets etc. appropriate to the view and the development stage of the project.

As an example, the floor plan in PRELIMINARY DESIGN view uses 04 Building plans Master Template penset and uses 03 Architectural 100 in the GROUND FLOOR of the FLOOR PLANS 1:100 (FLOOR – ROOF – FOUND’N) clone view file.

Likewise the model view options, layer combination settings also alter to give the pre-determined result which you have obviously thought through in a great deal of detail.

I feel that if I fiddle with layer settings in an ad hoc manner (as has been my habit in the past) and if I introduce my favourite pen settings etc. I will destroy the logic you have built into your Master Template.

Can you give a broad brushstroke run through on the logic behind your view settings?

regards

Iain

[Reply]

Eric Reply:
April 12th, 2011 at 7:15 am

Iain -
I’ll be happy to address this on the next coaching call. You may also find extensive information on this topic in the MasterTemplate manual.
Eric

[Reply]

Eric, all?/lots of my ArchiCAD files have errors in something or other. So I regularly get the message “Errors occurred during the last operation” when generating a 3D view, i.e. all my drawings are in 3D so most of the drawings will stall with this message and need an ‘enter’ click to proceed.
So is there a smart procedure to find/identify these actual errors and then be able to get them sorted & gone?
regards, David

[Reply]

Eric Reply:
April 12th, 2011 at 7:26 am

David -

Most of the time these errors have to do with invalid parameters for library parts; occasionally they may pertain to improperly formed polygons (for example, looping like a piece of a figure 8, where nodes backtrack over each other, sometimes in a tiny area that is hard to see).

If you’re getting a message that summarizes the fact that there were errors (as you described) without seeing the details, then you’ve turned off “Interrupt with error messages” in your Work Environment > Imaging and Calculation section. In order to troubleshoot these errors, you’ll probably need to turn this back on, so that you can see what elements are causing the problem.

Most of the time, the error messages will have an ID indicated, and you may be able to search the project using Find and Select to isolate the element with that ID. Sometimes you may need to do some brute force process of elimination analysis, by selecting part of the project and showing only that part in 3D (using Show Selection/Marquee in 3D, or by turning on and off layers), to see if the errors are occurring in that group of elements vs. other elements that are not being selected to view in 3D.

Once you’ve isolated one or more problematic elements (e.g. windows, doors, objects most commonly, or perhaps a mesh or slab) you’ll need to look closely at the parameters or geometry. In the case of library parts, the most common cause of error messages in my experience are when sizes are set outside a reasonable limit; setting something to 0 size to try to hide or eliminate it can cause error messages. Sometimes it may have to do with missing Fills or Materials that are being specified in the parameters for the part. If it is a polygon element, look closely at areas with many nodes close together to see if they “make sense”.

If you’d like to send me a file for examination, I can use it for demonstration of trouble-shooting techniques during a coaching call. I know that the next call is rather early for Australians (noon Pacific Time is perhaps 5 am for you), but there will be one of the calls this month at 3 pm Pacific, which should be a more reasonable time for you.

I hope this quick answer is somewhat helpful, and as I said, I’m happy to take one of your files as a case study for demonstrating trouble-shooting to other course members.

Eric

[Reply]

Hi Eric, I have a couple of questions:

1) Is there a way to create stairs without picking creating it completely in the menu? So what I’m asking is if I can draw my staircase, in a way that would show me how many stairs I have left if I want to make a turn or two or add a landing? I remember doing this, but I’m not sure if I’m remembering it from a different software program.

2. How do I change the default font that will print in all places on all my documents from Arial to Country Blueprint?

3. How do I save views of my CDs with black backgrounds and the architecture and words in white? This is not something I plan on printing, but rather how I’d like my images to be viewed in an interactive document I am creating.

4. Is there a way to add molding to all the walls without having to go into (I think it’s called) complex wall menu?

Thanks in advance. Also, I’m so glad we’re starting week 8. I’m totally confused about where I’m supposed to start drawing. Right now I do everything in either the story I need things to appear on in the Project Map or in Preliminary Design underling Modeling in the View Map.

Thank you,

Mariya

[Reply]

Eric Reply:
April 11th, 2011 at 9:59 pm

Mariya -
These are all good questions for our upcoming Coaching Call this Wednesday. I’ll answer some or all of them during the call. I hope you can attend – of course, you can watch the recording if that’s not possible.
Eric

[Reply]

Hi, I have to convince my partner to use Archicad- he is an All-Plan- Nemescheck/ Autocad man. First of all- he asked me where can I select “ortho” command- when you can draw only on x and y axes. I use the shift key- but he dared me to find him this command or configuration. Please help me!:)

[Reply]

Eric Reply:
March 29th, 2011 at 9:27 pm

Roxana-Elena -

There is no “ortho” command in ArchiCAD.

The shift key is one way you can constrain your direction of movement, and Guidelines are another way. If you have Guidelines turned on, you will see them show up near your cursor when you are gesturing to draw a line or drag an element near to an axis line; then you can move along that guide and easily maintain the ortho relationship using the automatic snap to that virtual line.

Both the shift key and the guide lines will work for other angles as well, so they are more flexible and configurable than traditional ortho modes. So it depends on your point of view – do you want something that is easy to work with and more versatile (as we have in ArchiCAD) or do you want something “foolproof” but perhaps more limited in application (as in “ortho” mode). I can’t say one is better – but I’m very happy with the techniques we have available in ArchiCAD.

Eric

[Reply]

Hello Eric,
How do I import the 3D objects found in sweets and various suppliers into ArchiCAD? The options are Revit and others. The object folder is different with 14 from the version of 7 that I last used. I know I ought to wait but I need “object” information right now. Does that make sense?

After being away and going to the dark side for several years it is nice to be working in true BIM environment and I look forward to your course material to assist the transition.
Regards,
Jim

[Reply]

Eric Reply:
March 23rd, 2011 at 8:11 pm

Jim -
You may bring in 3D objects from a variety of sources using different methods.

1) File menu > Libraries and Objects > Open Object will allow you to select a DWG file and create a new native ArchiCAD object from it. It will contain the geometry but the materials will be simple colors based on the pens used in the original DWG file. It is possible to parametrize the materials but this requires some additional manipulation of the object file. I will cover this in the section of the course on creating your own objects.

2) You may import 3DS files if you install the free Goodie called 3DS import. Go to the Help menu and select ArchiCAD Downloads or ArchiCAD Goodies (depending on which version of ArchiCAD you have) and you’ll go to a page on the Graphisoft website that has various free add-ons to ArchiCAD. Look for and install the 3DS Import plugin. You’ll then have new commands under the Design menu that will import 3DS files and convert them to native ArchiCAD objects. They will come in with materials if the 3DS file has them available. NOTE: 3DS files tend to be polygon intensive, so use with care – you can slow down your file if you add a lot of these.

3) You can bring in SketchUp objects (SKP) if you are on Windows and install the free Google Earth Connections plug-in (available on the Graphisoft website). This allows you to browse and import components from the 3D Warehouse that Google manages. If you are on Mac, you can potentially import these objects using a Windows version of ArchiCAD then copy the converted objects to use – they end up cross-platform, even though the plug-in is only available for Windows.

4) You can import elements from Revit using IFC import. Basically, you need to place the Revit components into a Revit file, then save a copy of the file in IFC format, then import the IFC file into ArchiCAD. During the import, the components will be translated into ArchiCAD native objects.

I hope this brief introduction is helpful. This is a deep topic, and this is all I can share with you right now – but more will be included in the course later on. If your requirements are urgent, I can help you on a consulting basis; alternatively, we could deal with one of these (pick one of items 1 through 4) and send me a file (DWG, 3DS, SKP, etc.) during a coaching call.

Eric

[Reply]

does anybody know if there is a way to zoom in and out of the preview window. (like you do in Artlantis for anyone who is familiar with that porgram.) would be nice if you could do the same in Archicad???

[Reply]

Eric Reply:
March 23rd, 2011 at 8:14 pm

Noel -

I’m not sure if this is possible. I believe the scale of the preview window is set by the extents of the plan image, and can be refreshed and update if you change what layers are turned on and off. So for example, if your site boundary is showing, your preview will be shrunk down so it includes the site; if you turn off the layers with site information, and refresh the preview window, I think it will resize to show the building larger.

Also note that you can detach the preview window from the docked position and resize it to be larger if you wish. This is not as powerful as being able to zoom in and out like in Artlantis, but it will be helpful sometimes.

Eric

[Reply]

Hello Eric,
I’m enjoying the course very much, and I have heard you are considering running an additional course on GDL script. If you do decide to run this course, myself and I am sure a lot of others would be interested in taking it. I feel that it would also make sense for you because you only make the videos once and further to making extra money on this course you can include them in future courses – thus increasing your profits and you further improve the marketability of the course. Hope you run this course kind regards Antony

[Reply]

Eric Reply:
March 23rd, 2011 at 8:01 pm

Antony -
After I complete the creation of the current course materials (which will take a while) then I’ll certainly consider additional modules including one on GDL. Thanks for your suggestions and encouragement.
Eric

[Reply]

Eric,

Your “Coach Calls” are very, very helpful.
I enjoy them!
I like your presentation style!
-you tell me what you are going to show me,
-you show/tell me,
-you show/tell me what you told/showed me!!!

Very helpful, as by the third time I might just understand…. maybe.
I love ArchiCAD, but I am slow.

Best wishes,
Jim

[Reply]

Eric Reply:
March 16th, 2011 at 10:11 pm

Jim -
Thanks for your feedback – I greatly appreciate your kind words!
Eric

[Reply]

Hello Eric,

It is a stroke of genius for you to offer this course, well maybe a stroke of insanity considering the amount of work involved. Other than ArchiTalk, which is a lifesaver, I have limited AC support. Mine is a solo practice, so this course is like having an “seasoned hand” at my disposal. Thanks for sharing, the price of admission is well worth the information presented.

The Best Practices information is well organized and the screen capture videos are a great delivery method. In addition to the BP presentation, there are many shortcuts and tool handling tips that are invaluable to the solo AC user. Imagine, I have no one’s shoulder to look over, no one muttering “aha, that’s how you do it”. To watch you clarify fine distinctions of tool usage or raising issues such as combining the Floor Plan Cut Plane and a new Viewpoint of the story (plan) to create a split level home plan is clever and more BIM-like than my previous solutions.
I have read your AECBytes articles, watched the free videos on your websites, and have been impressed with both your passion for ArchiCad and willingness to share with the AC community.

My gushing accolades out of the way, here’s my question:

The placement of a legend of visual favorites on a worksheet has me stumped. Worksheets seem to only allow primitives; no elements such as walls; nor objects. Obviously, you have worked around this limitation. After reading your AECbytes, Tips and Tricks, Issue #30 (May 29, 2008), sadly, I am still unable to replicate your feat. Any guidance would be appreciated.

Mark
PS. How does one add a mug shot to the member profile?

[Reply]

Eric Reply:
March 16th, 2011 at 9:18 pm

Mark -
Thank you for your kind words!
I will be addressing the question of visual favorites in the materials for Week #6, coming very soon!
Re adding a photo (“mug shot”) – it looks like you’ve already figured it out…but basically, go to the Account > Membership Profile page, and follow the link and instructions there.
Eric

[Reply]

Just logged in for the first time… Thank you very much for this opportunity. I really want to master ArchiCAD!

[Reply]

Hi Eric,

I look forward to seeing how easy all those painful hours of learning without much help could have been…

[Reply]

Hi Eric

Looking forward to get your expert tips on different topics through this course -

even for the coming ver. AC 15 !

S.Thalberg

[Reply]

Eric Reply:
March 10th, 2011 at 8:07 am

Welcome Steinar -
I believe you are the first person in the course from Norway.
Just before you signed up tonight, we had someone from Mozambique, another from Spain, one from Romania, and just at the midnight deadline, Ben Ling from Vancouver Canada. What a wonderful world community of ArchiCAD users – I’m thrilled!
Eric

[Reply]

hi Eric,
Its done, after a little cajoling from your side. Since I make live architecture using ArchiCAD, no investment to enhance the effectiveness of this [very]smart software can ever be wasted. Looking forward to this!
ciao – Gerard Bolt

[Reply]

Eric Reply:
March 8th, 2011 at 7:48 pm

Gerard -
Welcome to the Best Practices Course!
I’m glad to see you are investing in yourself, and look forward to working with you.
Eric

[Reply]

Hi Eric,
I’ve just signed up for the course… found your YouTube and AECbytes Tips&Tricks really helpful.

Thought I’d pass on a couple of observations from my initial login experience. Firstly, the User Profile does not default to the correct country from the sign-up information. It defaults to United States… had to update my profile to Australia. And secondly, the Login page is not remembering my details and the login page appears to be coded to prevent the browser from using it’s own code to remember login details (at least that’s whats happening with the Google Chrome browser).

After teaching myself ArchiCAD for about 12 months, I’m looking forward to exploiting the power and efficiency of the program through your course.

Cheers… Graham

[Reply]

Hi Eric,
So far so good, and I really appreciated the 4 part template description. I had never looked at the program so logically in it’s entirety. I was trying to find a description of the full course – will you be doing an in depth explanation of the tools? Specifically, I really struggle with the mesh tool and I would love to get a series of simple exercises with which to practice (elevating points, creating hole, editing heights, etc…).
Thanks,
Diane

[Reply]

Eric Reply:
March 3rd, 2011 at 6:46 pm

Diane -

Thanks for your comments.

As I noted in an email a couple of weeks ago, the course outline is now posted on this page:
http://www.acbestpractices.com/member-home/the-course/outline/

You can also reach the Course Outline page from the site navigation menu under The Course.

I have a section scheduled for working with the mesh tool which I’m sure you’ll appreciate.
Best regards,
Eric

[Reply]

Eric,
I just got this and am in the preview mode…I just noticed that your pricing that I say on the home page has expired…as it is past Dec. 31, 10…and today is Jan. 25, 11…so what is the price now?
Marsh

[Reply]

Eric Reply:
January 25th, 2011 at 10:47 pm

Marsh -

Thanks for your note and your interest in the course. Registration is currently closed, but I am planning to reopen it for one week in mid-February for a price of $497 (rather than the $397 opening launch special).

The reopening, as well as the price change, is happening because I have a bunch of ArchiCAD resellers and distributors who would like to share the course with their user lists – which is great – and I will be giving them some commission for each of their clients who signs up.

Since you signed up for the free preview, you’ll be getting emails from me over the next few weeks telling you about new website materials and the relaunch details. Stay tuned!

Eric

[Reply]

as a remotely located sole practitioner ,your course is the right thing at the right time, I am looking forward to each episode and the developing format…..the comments on accreditation are of great interest….this would be a natural development to help integrate the course in the landscape of what we do…where ever we are positioned on a GPS

[Reply]

Re: Updating the Master Template
I’ve had the pleasure of finding funky remnants of previous projects enough times on printed files
that I avoid doing things on the fly if at all possible. The core value of the template is to have a reliable base document to produce consistent results in your work. It doesn’t take much time to alter your template to a ‘current’ status, and if it does, you can simply save it as a work in progress until you complete the task.

[Reply]

Eric Reply:
January 20th, 2011 at 12:45 am

John -
Very well said! I agree 100%.
Eric

[Reply]

I have been an Archicad user for about 3 years, and have only viewed a couple of sessions, but each of the sessions has addressed things I didn’t even know Archicad could do. I have tried a lot of different types of training, but Eric seems to have a better understanding of how Archicad was designed to be used. Looking forward to my next session.

Robert Stensland – Dallas Texas

[Reply]

As this course evolves, will you provide a forum for communication, questions, etc. between members? Dave

[Reply]

Eric Reply:
January 6th, 2011 at 9:33 pm

Dave -

Great idea! I have Simple:Press Forum on the MasterTemplate website, but am looking at the much more sophisticated (and complex) vBulletin system. I’ll try to get something set up within the next week or so.

If you have any further suggestions or ideas concerning this topic, please reply here or send me an email.

Eric

[Reply]

Hi Eric,
Thank you for letting people view a preview of your Best Practices! Unfortunately for me, I cannot take advantage of your course due to the economy. I still do not have any work, and it seems from talking to others in Santa Cruz that things are very slow right now.
Also, I really liked what you had to say about the turning point in your career! And I am glad that this is all working out so well for you. It was very inspiring to me, and I hope that I will be able to find a turning point too.
May you and your family have a very Happy New Year!
Yvonne Vail

[Reply]

lastima que no tenga una version en español

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Eric Reply:
January 6th, 2011 at 9:35 pm

Perhaps I might be able to translate the materials into Spanish at a future date. There are several members of the Best Practices Course from Spain or Latin America. I am definitely interested in this, but it will have to wait for a while.

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bonjour
je ne commprent pas longler si vous pouver menvoiyer les coure en frencai
et merci
mrci jai cliquer sur se web syt que vopus mavait donne mais il ya aucin reponse

[Reply]

Eric Reply:
December 29th, 2010 at 6:24 pm

Fadwa -

Please excuse me – my French is not very good.

I believe you asked whether the course is available in French. I’m sorry, at this point the course is English only. However, I will be preparing written transcripts of the videos, which might make it easier to understand compared to the spoken word. One can even try using Google Translate with the transcripts to get a rough translation to help follow along.

The image above is not a video, so clicking on it will not play anything. The actual videos are found under The Course heading in the various modules for each week of the course.

Eric

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How can i download other Achicad Tps too?

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Eric Reply:
December 29th, 2010 at 5:01 am

Jeffry -

You will find a lot of my tips on the MasterTemplate website:
http://www.actemplate.com

There are videos under the Video Tips menu, and articles in the Tips and Tricks menu.

You will also find useful the page with Tips from MasterTemplate Users:
http://www.actemplate.com/tips-tricks/tips-from-mastertemplate-users/
which compiles a lot of postings by our subscribers, with links to many other sites.

In addition, you may enjoy the daily Tips from CadimageWorld:
http://blog.cadimageworld.com/topics/tip-of-the-day

Eric

[Reply]

Hi Eric,
Can you send me other Achicad tips that you think i should known by now… by the way no video appear.

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Eric Reply:
December 29th, 2010 at 4:56 am

Jeffry -

There are no videos on this Home page. To access the videos available to you with your free preview membership, please click on the navigation menu for The Course and select Week #1: The 7 Keys to Best Practices. From that page, you will see links to each of the three course modules for that week. On each of those pages, you will see the videos.

You may also go directly to the three modules using these links:
http://www.acbestpractices.com/member-home/the-course/week-1/7-keys-part-1/
http://www.acbestpractices.com/member-home/the-course/week-1/7-keys-part-2/
http://www.acbestpractices.com/member-home/the-course/week-1/7-keys-part-3/

Eric

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Hi, Eric,

What’s up? I can’t access any of the videos. I’m behind and need to get caught up.

Thanks.

Wendy

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Eric Reply:
December 28th, 2010 at 7:50 am

Wendy -
I sent you an email explaining the problem. Please call me so we can straighten it out. Thanks!
Eric

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Eric,

Just downloaded and viewed your Best Practices videos. This is a high-end course indeed!
Eric, you are a wizard!

WHO

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Eric Reply:
December 28th, 2010 at 7:50 am

Thank you so much for your enthusiastic feedback! Glad you dropped by – there’s lots more coming, if you sign up for the full course. Let me know if you have any questions about signing up.
Eric

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Just had a quick look at week 2/ part 1 “getting organised” tutorial and thought you might like to share a handy application R-Name ( Mac and PC) that allows batch renaming of files. I noticed you were manually renaming the generic “Project” into specific “Smith House” manually.

R-Name allows this to be done in a few seconds. Just drop the Master folder onto the application icon and a dialogue comes up asking if you want to rename a batch of files, or add additional file info. I think it is free or shareware.

We have found this saves a lot of time.

Robert Biscoe

[Reply]

Eric Reply:
December 10th, 2010 at 2:56 am

Robert -
Thanks for sharing the information on R-Name. I had used batch renaming utilities in the past, but haven’t for a while so I didn’t have the information handy. A utility like this one (and there are others you can find if you search) is particularly useful if you prefer to have all your project subfolders to have an identifier (the name or numeric ID of your project).
Eric

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Eric,
It’s been interesting—I’m inspired—watching the tension in your progress, going through the changed relationship with Graphisoft, reading the—too many for me—email sales pitches, putting a class together on Best Practices. At this point I’d say it’s a grand success; gathering a large diverse group of people and almost $40k in your pocket, a big chunk of worthwhile work for the new year. You’re sharing insights and a vision shaped by years of immersion in architecture offices learning how to use a powerful tool well. In the MasterTemplate you’ve put this experience into form, providing a practical level of structure and access to a pathway for folks to follow, work within*. I see that coalescing your insights into a single course of instruction, Best Practices, is both smart business and potentially of great help to your class members, myself included.

The general point of my email addressing and likely affirms what you already know: the people who’ve signed up for the class are your client, your base of support; we/I want greater facility with the tool. If there’s anything to offer you it’s to possibly course-correct your process and give a few ideas. Speaking beyond career and $, I suggest that serving your base client well is perhaps a doorway into greater depth as well as financial success. The following centers around this basic idea, exploring what it means to serve well. We’re around the same age; my perspective, like your I’d bet, has been hard won and made conscious through my life experience. Also, my art background has fostered the idea of quality, essence, meaning as essential elements that engender the depth I’m speaking of here and desire in my own life.

Please bear with my biases, my abruptness where it shows. With that introduction Eric here are the basics of what’s occurred to me:

The tuft stuff first. Boost the serving-my-client activity, cut back (please) on the salesman activity. (For me emails from you with words in capitals like ‘URGENT’ amount to noise, yelling. Giving me a just a moment or a day to decide if I want/need to spend another $100. for a DVD after I’ve just—painfully—put out $400. just pisses me off; how about a week or a month; why manipulate those who are supporting you. Frankly, my life is important not your sales. Please stop imposing your needs; it may work for sales but.. it’s obnoxious. (As is my rant). Maybe you’re a salesman by nature** or maybe you can let what was constant in your role as Graphisoft representative rest. For now, I’ve paid for you to be an educator, I’ve paid for your services, that’s what I’m after. You’ve communicated your vision, you’ve landed on firm ground, you are safe (I assume for the moment). Perhaps, allowing some time for the course to sink-in for people is in order. Perhaps, the exercise of trusting that your good work will, in due time, offer the acknowledgements (marketing blurbs) that will help you continue to bring in more business. Perhaps, surrendering to the flow of the vision you’ve created, enjoying the process of learning to communicate well is what’s in order—the more meaningful activity. Trust in all forms is, I think, another great gift.

Be an informed User Advocate for us: embrace the practical benefits of this unfettered manner of thinking—you’re no longer a Graphisoft representative.. This freedom allows you to look at ArchiCAD from the user’s point of view. For example: ask the question “What’s missing in ArchiCAD”? There are many areas that are weak. In some the novice user gets led around by the nose thinking it’s their lack of knowledge rather than *poorly conceived software design solutions. Talking about these weaknesses will give us a heads up; that’s helpful for someone alone in the trenches. Shed some unbiased light on the current state of ArchiCAD and maybe come up with workarounds. Design solutions in concert with your base community; solutions that work with their needs first. (ie. this evolving discussion on the use of Graphisoft’s supplied GDL library parts was really helpful in understanding my struggle was with poor tool design not my ability to understand ***

Love your clients. Challenge yourself to serve their needs, enjoy it with all the talent, knowledge, and care you can muster…and then some. Current study of “happiness” says that bringing all of one’s talents and abilities to a meaningful goal is how we culture a deep sense of peace in our lives. I think we’d agree, making money is about taking care of your families needs and is fundamental. I imagine this point sounds odd. For myself caring for the people who trust that I’m working for them, a genuine attitude of caring, lets me put my ego aside and really listen to their needs. I’m always enriched when bringing this attitude into practice.

Best Practices Talk: facilitate community by providing an online chat room, help us talk among ourselves. Respond to what develops by further structuring the chat room into a website. Listen and respond to what’s said. If you can serve this group of people striving to integrate ArchiCAD into their practice, do so. Your participation as advocate would no doubt be welcomed. With further appreciation of the user point of view your ability to understand fundamental problems will be enhanced. All this would likely lead to more creative solutions and opportunities. Many of us are sole practitioners and can use a smaller, more focused forum for working things out.

Use new (better?) models of ‘explaining’ concepts and ‘systems’ based visual learning tools. Don’t get me wrong here, I think you’re doing a good job of it. How about reaching out beyond an outlining method of structured learning—for the visual thinkers in the group. Explaining things with video is a communication art worth developing. Generally I get your movies; I especially liked your recent “Favorites” video; it’s succinct. You seem to have scripted it or know so clearly what your demonstrating you are present. I think when I’m present I connect, I’m easier to read. (The first in the series was kind of slow and stiff for me. No offense you’re a handsome guy—but, I don’t want to see that much of you). Here are a few points worth considering:
-Systems thinking facilitates learning: Understanding hierarchies of information in context helps me learn. Just like ‘good design’, when the link between two items is made clear a larger context is exposed, experienced, understood, appreciated; more brain synapse connect. So… by continually having access to the big picture while exploring levels of detail I see the why of it all, the gestalt more easily. I find that the visual device of Mind-Mapping to an excellent tool to provide quick access to lots of information—visual links of parts and wholes. Here’s some great software that if used in your videos (your file could be made available to us on the web) would far surpass the outline view of what’s being addressed: The Brain
-Capturing the essence, elegant explanation (I’ve mentioned this to you in a phone conversation awhile ago.) The videos from this website are masterful at capturing sometimes difficult concepts in short segments of visual explanation; CommonCraft . I think working with ArchiCAD while explaining something holds the same dynamic elements for an elegant presentation of ideas. Again your ‘Favorites’ video did this well.
-Example of not so good video learning: Learn Virtual wastes my time; sitting in a virtual classroom for an hour and getting 40 minutes of useful information is a drag. I don’t want to watch the cursor move while the presenter is thinking what to do next or struggling with whatever. I assume the presenter follows an extremely loose outline, no script. Also there’s a very poor search script which doesn’t allow finding videos on specific topics, these video are minimally scripted, based on outlines, and not editing.
-Let me search for a particular topic on the fly, while I’m working on a job (Not sure how you’d do this but I know it would be helpful. If say I want to review How to Save a Favorite folder and not waste time looking at the whole video make this available somehow. Actually, this could be integrated into a master mind-mapping file, again, on the web.

There you go Eric.

Respectfully,
John

*I remember thinking, as the world and potential of computers and software first struck me back in the 80’s, software has the potential to be extremely powerful. Users submit to the rules and structure that has been designed. Submit is the right word; stepping in to the software designers construct we are at the mercy of their abilities, limitations, lack of care or resources, vision, at least until we learn enough to know what we are dealing with.

**I’ve heard people who are salesmen are easy to sell to. It’s as though a salesman doesn’t understand or can’t let himself see the distinction between his/her needs—to sell—and their ‘customers’ needs. In defining a person as a ‘customer’ that person is no longer seen. The role customer/salesman is contrived crap. Even with this perspective of mine I find it helpful to occasionally give time to a person who believes in something. I’ll listen, maybe this thing will serve me.

***This is why I like the Rill Architect’s On Land open website . James Murray is an expert user. His lack of formal ties with Graphisoft allows him to be a very strong voice and advocate for less sophisticated users.

[Reply]

JonathanWeaver Reply:
December 15th, 2011 at 11:18 pm

An excellent and thoughtful critique to the course as it progresses.

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Eric,

Well….So far so good. We’re only just getting started. There is so much to learn about Archicad.

Your Best practices Course allows me the time I need to review and implement the information you are teaching.

I have already been able to expand my ability to use Archicad effectively by participating in your course. I look forward to gaining additional insight into Archicad with your help and guidance.

Thanks,

Greg

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Eric,

I have now downloaded and viewed the first components of your ArchiCAD Best Practices Course.

As a veteran ArchiCAD user, and one time ArchiCAD Reseller, based in Western Australia, I am very re-assured to see that we are generally on the same wavelength, across all the ArchiCAD fundamentals – even though we are on opposite sides of the planet.

Having said that, there is always something to learn and I can already see that some of my own general ArchiCAD practices/setup could and would benefit from an update in accord with all of your Best Practice suggestions.

From a general (ArchiCAD) eduactional aspect, I am very impressed by your high standard of presentation, the quality of the Course content this far and your easy to understand manner of delivery. I would recommend that all “novice” ArchiCAD users get on board with Eric as soon as possible.

Bruce

[Reply]

Eric,

Sweet! ArchiCAD should be set up with MasterTemplate from the get go! And now a very practical and informative tutorial to learn and be more productive within ArchiCAD is icing on the cake. Eagerly looking for to the next course.

Thank you very much,

Will

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Hello Eric,

Even after using ArchiCAD for several years now, and being a regular subscription member for both archiplus and Learn Virtual, I still typically find something in each of your discussions and articles, and especially your “Master Template,” I didn’t know, or a better way of doing things.

You seem to have a knack for teaching as you are very good at what you do, patient and very clear in your presentation.

Looking forward to seeing the rest of the course material!

Thanks,

Chris

[Reply]

Hi Eric,
I thoroughly enjoyed your first Lesson. The presentation was well presented and though basic in nature – we all need reminding of the little things that add to the larger picture. I dont think you can emphazise the “file structure” enough – so often we jump in with both feet and find we could have saved so much more time, had we set the file up appropriately.
I look forward to all the lessons – your knowledge is unmeasurable – thanks for allowing us to learn from you.
Gerald

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Eric,

I have been a fan of yours since you launched Master Template 12. I am self-taught, but continue to try to learn all I can about Archicad. I learned tons just from purchasing and reviewing Master Template. I incorporated Master Template into my designs and have stuck with it ever since. That got me hooked and have since been following you and your “life transition”. Lucky for us you decided to do this. I have watched all of your online videos prior to this tutorial and, after watching the first videos of the Best Practices Course, I can’t wait for next weeks course. You keep me motivated to continue learning, designing and trying your tips. I wish I could go back a few years and apply what I have learned from you. Life would have been much easier!

[Reply]

Hello again Eric,

Comments from Australia

We are looking forward to getting into the next edition of your tutorial. We watched the first week as a group of 6 and found the 7 principles good and believe the cut-aways are great. ( not that we don’t like looking at your face)

We are a small office of intermediate to advanced ArchiCAD users and hopefully your ongoing sessions will cater for a range of users without going over the basics in depth. ( although it is always good to get a refresher on basic concepts you thought you fully understood!)

OFFICE TEMPLATES
Our aim is to revamp our office template by the end of this year, using the Master Template as a starting point. We have found that over time our own template has beed tweaked and adjusted by various users and has become a bit muddled. It is important to keep an archive of a successful template to avoid dilution over time. Alternatively a CAD manager needs to keep control over any changes requested by office users.

We intend to work through the best practice course as an office group, while working on our new template. Hopefully this will allow us to understand your methodology while customising your template to suit our own best practices.

LAYERS
We like to keep things as simple as possible and limit the number of layers and layer combinations in a template. We also like to keep layer names simple. (Call a wall a wall principal) Project users can add additional layers or combinations if required for a particular project but our aim is to have a template that copes with 90% of situations.

FAVORITES AND GRAPHIC FAVORITES
We like the idea of your graphic eye dropper method of viewing and selecting objects and will probably use this conjunction with the favorites tool. As you discussed in tutorial 1, it is worth setting up a template properly and once. It is a fair bit of work to customise any template to local building code conventions and office standards, however if the effort is put in it should provide huge benefits.

Our small office of 7-10 people have users of varying degrees of ArchiCAD skills. I have noticed that if we put some effort in at the beginning of a project and discuss standards that is produces better documentation. If a new project comes into the office we would recommend doing some design development and discussing the required building elements and objects. If there are new wall types, windows or doors required, these should be set up in the graphic and or text favorites before the office starts work in earnest. In this way the object types, pen types, settings etc will be consistent, no matter which team member is working on the project.

TRANSITION-ing for old templates.
When you get used to a standard office template and come across a new template concept as the Master Template we have initially found it takes a while before users adapt to new layer names and combinations. We all get stuck in our own ways of doing things i suppose!

We are hopeful that by spending some time setting up our new template based on Mater Template that we will have some in house training to educate all office members about the new way of doing things. We intend to have two architects review the Master Template and customise it to our own office. Once we have tested this on some trial “dummy”projects we will hold an office tutorial to explain the new template, prior to releasing the template for general use.

We will probably then hold some feedback sessions to seek comments for improvements. Hopefully this will allow us to build on the framework of the AC template while incorporating additional ideas by our own office.

This template will then be saved under a new name for example. If new ideas or template modifications are requested over time these can be incorporated ( pending review) and the template version be upgraded to v2 etc.

When we get a better understanding of the Master Template we may create a cuple of versions to suit particular project types. Small residential, Education, Industrial, etc.

CADIMAGE
We have started using teh CADIMAGE design and documentation suites in conjunction with ArchiCAD and find many of these tools great and seem a bit difficult to implement. We will try to incorporate Revision Manager into the template master titleblocks, but have found it a bit tempremental so far. Not sure if anybody else has found it successful?
Stair Builder, Window and Door Builder, Coverings, etc will all be incorporated into our Master Template favorites.

Anyway these are just a few of our initial thoughts on teh Best Practices Course and the ACMasterTemplate.

Robert Biscoe
Biscoe Wilson Architects
http://www.biscoewilson.com.au

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Eric,

Your advice about saving often and keeping backups cannot be more obvious but it is impressive how many people either do not pay enough attention to this or simply delegate it to somebody at the office who more often than not just procrastinates about it or does it a few times and then lacks the discipline to make this work.

I personally can say that the value of doing this regularly is priceless!!!! Four years ago my office was broken into, a total of 10 computers were stolen. Thankfully from even then I had a foolproof backup discipline that is not even boring to do (I will describe in a minute) which I would recommend to any of your other users. To bring into perspective the importance of doing backups, not long after my burglary I found out that the same had happened to another practice similar to mine, but the firm owner lacked knowledge in technology and just assigned a draftsman in charge of the backups. The draftsman never did them, and nobody was keeping track of it. They lost over 9 months of work, had to start from scratch on projects they were working on, had to redo entire sets of plans of projects recently completed, and worst of all were even sued by a couple of clients for not delivering projects on schedule and for losing their projects information!!!

My personal backup system is based on the premise of discipline and organization, and maybe being a bit of a workaholic. I have a small firm, where staff members are obligated to copy every day their day’s work to the main server. Myself, as the firm owner, have a desktop computer at my office, a desktop computer at home, and a laptop for working on the go. Working efficiently means keeping them in sync.

Therefore, I use synchronization software to be able to take my work home and back. What I do is that at the end of the day, I sync my office server with my office desktop, then my office desktop with a portable high-speed external drive (preferably FireWire 800 or e-sata), then when I get home, I sync with my home desktop to do some work. If I am going to work on the go, the I also sync with my laptop. At the end of the night I sync the night’s work back to the portable drive, to take to the office the next day, and at the start of the day I do the inverse of the process. Even though it sounds complicated, it is not at all, I do this in less than 5 to 7 minutes overall every time, since the key to synchronization software is that it only copies files that are changed or new, so it is really fast to do.

Currently my computers are all Macs, and for which the best one I have found so far is Chronosync 4, which I highly recommend. When I worked on PCs, the best I had found is Viceversa Pro. Both are simple and capable softwares.

If you analyze my system, I always have a total of 5 always current and updated copies of my data (server, office desktop, home desktop, portable drive, and laptop) and to this I add two more, since both desktops I have hooked up to external drives which do automatic backups through Apple’s Time Machine – seven backups in total!!!!!

Hopefully some may find value in this and implement it. I can say that this saved my business four years ago. I did not lose even a day of work, bought new computers for everybody and in a couple of days was back up and running.

[Reply]

@Xavier – I will make sure that the materials and explanations can be understood by both USA and International users. I’ve done this before for MasterTemplate, and will do my best to serve all users here in the Best Practices Course. Please let me know if any of the terminology or references are unclear.

@Gerald and Wendy – I will look into this at a later date. Right now I need to focus on creating and delivering a great course!

@To All – Please continue to add your comments and questions. You can use this page for general notes; if questions relate to specific content or materials, it would be good to make your comments on the individual page that you’re referring to.

Eric

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Hi Eric,

Please pay attention to include materials and explanations also for International (No USA) users.

As you know there are some differences between USA and INTL. versions.

Thanks in advance !!!

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That would be nice, Gerald; I agree. If official AIA learning units were available, that would be even better.

There’s a process a CEU provider has to go through to get approval to do that, though; it’s not just issuing a certificate. I don’t know if Eric is planning to do it.

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Hi Eric,
Quick question?- will it be possible to receive a Certificate of Completion for each course – as an Architect we need to obtain LU’s Learning Units in order to complie with our local licensing board.
This could be a very good marketing tool for you too.

I’m excited to be learning from the BEST!

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Looking forward to this! and especially appreciate the DVD option since my internet connection is slow.

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Sia -

Thanks for letting me know about the email issue you’re experiencing. I don’t know what this error message means.

At this point, all emails sent to xyz@acbestpractices.com (where xyz could be any text) are automatically forwarded to my personal email ericbobrow@gmail.com.

Please try sending an email directly to ericbobrow@gmail.com and let me know what happens.

Eric

[Reply]

Eric, I have tried sending you e-mails to all addresses I have for you, and keep getting similar message to the one below:
Your message did not reach some or all of the intended recipients.

Sent: Tue, 23 Nov 2010 13:32:59 -0800
Subject: Fwd: Undeliverable: Fwd: Undeliverable: Please Call Me

The following recipient(s) could not be reached:

support@acbestpractices.com
Error Type: SMTP
Remote server (74.208.5.3) issued an error.
hMailServer sent: .
Remote server replied: 500 Line limit exceeded

hMailServer

[Reply]

We have only just started to investigate your Master Template this year, and are looking at ways of customising to our office practices. We look forward to viewing the Best Practice videos as part of our office training and hope it will assist both new and experienced ArchiCAD users standardise ways of modelling and documenting.
Regards,
Robert Biscoe
Biscoe Wilson Architects

[Reply]

Thank you – I’m excited and looking forward to the journey we’ll be taking together!
Eric

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Really looking forward to this, as mentioned before you are the master of easy explanations. I expect my work to speed up (and possibly tidy up) over the coming weeks as I soak up these best practices and build them into my workflow.

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I feel excited and I’m glad to be working with you.

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