Week #7 – Interactive Legends
7-2. Interactive Legends – Advanced Setup Using A Worksheet

ArchiCAD Training (Best Practices Lesson 7-2)

This 20 minute segment shows how to set up a Worksheet with a Trace Reference of the Legend to allow quicker access to the kit of parts.

My innovative approach (pioneered in MasterTemplate) involves placing the main Interactive Legends on the plan as a Hotlinked Module. Access to the Legends is through an independent worksheet as a Virtual Trace reference. This makes the parts appear in a separate window from the plan, allowing one to go back and forth very quickly between legends and work area.

Please post your comments and questions below.

Eric

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ArchiCAD Training: Interactive Legends – Advanced Setup Using A Worksheet

Let us know how you feel... (9 comments so far)

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  1. JoepVanOs
    7 years ago

    Hi Eric,

    Does hotlink means that when updating the legend file the worksheet with hotlink will be updated automatically? It would be nice because my legend is empty because I’m just starting to build it.


    • Eric Bobrow
      7 years ago

      Hi Joep –
      Hotlinks can be updated to match the latest version of the external file. The process is manual, in that you have to explicitly go to the File menu > External Content > Hotlink (Module) Manager and select the file reference and ask for it to update. This gives you control so you can choose when to update.
      Eric


  2. MichaelGray
    10 years ago

    Hi Eric,
    On your window and door library in the interactive legend you show both plan and elevation simultaneously. How did you do that?

    Thanks for you help!


    • Eric Bobrow
      10 years ago

      Hi Michael –
      We placed a section marker nearby, facing the wall with the various doors or windows. In the elevation view of these doors or windows, we placed a marquee around the elements then copied them. Returning to the plan, we pasted this, which came in as simple lines and fills. Thus the elevation view is 2D graphics, while the active elements (for eyedropping) are the plan views of the doors and windows.
      Eric


  3. Arielle Schechter
    11 years ago

    Hi Eric, I don’t know how to set up the two views that you are using to go back and forth to:
    i.e. Building without legend + Building with legend. I am using master template 16. How do I set up these pages so I can follow this lesson like you are showing it? Thanks so much! Arielle


  4. OliviaAlcala
    12 years ago

    Hi Eric,

    This is how my screen appears when I press the Video Transcript. Kindly check pls.

    Error 404 – Page Not Found

    We couldn’t find the page you were looking for. Please return to the home page


    • Eric Bobrow
      12 years ago

      Olivia –
      Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I have corrected the problem, which was caused by a recent update to our website files. You should be able to download the PDF file now.
      Eric


  5. MiCHAELCarbone
    12 years ago

    Eric,
    In around 2007, I was experimenting with a very similar idea, I called it Quick Library. Very briefly, I used an imaginary storey to place…. what were my favourite library parts into compact vertical legends of my Entity Type part symbols. There were some positives and negatives… unfortunately, strange things began to happen,and whilst I slowly worked out what some of the problems were, it was happening at a bad time and I decided to reserve the whole issue for a time in the future. I am convinced that archicad needs this type of feature for more efficient modelling.
    I look forward to its continuous refinement. I would like to show you more detail of
    how I was developing this feature, but it is something that I can’t do just at the moment. I would like to describe to you my whole approach to using archicad and how important the naming and use of layers and layersets should be… from the very beginning it became obvious that layer names…especially the 3d layers should eventually become industry standards, not just by architects but also builders, consultants, client entities, government entities, subcontract entities,
    supplier entities,and any type of entity that may be involved in buildings and indeed… they would be of immense value to a whole national economy
    In my business systems, I have set up all my documents to use this structure that I classify and call ENTITY TYPE. I use the application called Filemake Pro for processing all sorts of standard forms and I use ENTITY TYPES as the major field name in all the database prodedures .

    Thank you for excellent work Eric , I have enjoyed some interesting revelations, and I have only just started looking at your lessons.

    friendly regards,
    Mike Carbone

  6. Avatar photo
    MarkMoscrip
    13 years ago

    Hello Eric,
    The audio file link is broken: Error 404 – Page Not Found.
    Mark