Archicad Goodies [best] [90% QUICK]

In the competitive world of Building Information Modeling (BIM), software choices often spark fierce loyalty. While Revit dominates many corporate offices, Archicad—developed by Graphisoft—maintains a devoted following. Ask any seasoned Archicad user why they stay, and they will not cite spreadsheets or cloud integration first. Instead, they will lean in and say, “Let me show you the goodies.”

These “goodies” are not mere add-ons; they are the intuitive, human-centric features that transform Archicad from a drafting tool into a digital collaborator. From the ingenious Morph tool to the time-saving Pet Palette, Archicad’s charm lies in its ability to make complex BIM workflows feel fluid, even playful. The crown jewel of Archicad’s goodies is undoubtedly the Morph Tool . Unlike traditional BIM elements that are constrained by parametric logic (a wall is always a wall, a slab always a slab), the Morph tool is a freeform modeling environment that lives inside the BIM world. You can pull, push, soften edges, or subtract geometry from any solid. Need a custom facade panel? A unique roof overhang? A piece of bespoke furniture? The Morph tool allows you to sculpt it directly, without exporting to a mesh editor. The magic is that once sculpted, that Morph becomes a native BIM element—it can be assigned materials, appear in schedules, and cut sections. It is the ultimate "break glass in case of complex geometry" goodie. 2. The Pet Palette: Contextual Computing Most software relies on long toolbars or right-click menus. Archicad offers the Pet Palette —a context-sensitive, circular menu that appears instantly when you select an object or begin a command. It hovers like a loyal pet, waiting to offer the exact next action: "Split," "Trim," "Offset," or "Roof Accessory." Because it learns your sequence of operations, the Pet Palette reduces mouse travel to nearly zero. For power users, it becomes an extension of muscle memory, allowing them to build complex models without ever looking away from the drawing area. 3. The Magic Wand: Seamless Edge Detection In CAD, tracing a complex floor plan from an imported PDF or DWG is a chore. Archicad’s Magic Wand turns this into a game. Hover the wand over an enclosed area defined by lines or walls, and it highlights the boundary. One click, and a slab or roof is automatically generated. Need to create a complex curtain wall that follows a wavy polyline? The Magic Wand applies the same logic. It eliminates the tedious step of manual polygon snapping, transforming a 10-minute task into a 2-second trick. 4. Stair and Railing Systems: Complexity Made Simple Historically, stairs and railings were the bane of any BIM modeler. Archicad’s recent Stair and Railing Systems have turned a headache into a goodie. The stair tool allows you to define a stair by landing positions, flight count, and riser height—then instantly cycles through dozens of regulatory-compliant variations (open riser, mono-stringer, U-shaped, etc.). Even more impressive is the railing tool: you can assign a railing to any edge (a slab, a mesh, or a stair) and then customize its posts, handrails, and balusters parametrically. Changing the stair’s geometry automatically updates the railing, a level of coordination that feels like magic. 5. The Visual Palette & CineRender: Beauty without Exporting While Archicad is not a dedicated rendering engine like Lumion or V-Ray, its built-in CineRender (powered by Maxon) is a hidden goodie for quick, high-quality visualizations. The real delight, however, is the Visual Palette . This floating window allows you to apply real-time graphic overrides: turn on "Sketch Mode" for a hand-drawn look, apply "Solar Study" shadows, or filter views by renovation status (existing, demolished, new). You can see these effects instantly, without rendering. For client presentations, toggling between a photorealistic view and an exploded axonometric with a single slider is a professional-grade party trick. 6. The Library Part Maker: DIY Objects Archicad’s included object library is vast, but the real goodie is the Library Part Maker (LPM) . This tool allows users to convert any 3D geometry (a Morph, a collection of walls, or an imported SAT file) into a parametric object. Once converted, that object gains handles for stretching, flipping, and material swapping. You do not need to write a line of GDL (Graphisoft’s scripting language). Need a custom window that only your firm uses? Model it once, turn it into a Library Part, and reuse it forever. It democratizes object creation. 7. The Renovation Filter: BIM for Existing Buildings Perhaps the most underrated goodie for heritage or retrofit projects is the Renovation Filter . Instead of managing separate "Existing" and "Proposed" files, Archicad allows every element (walls, doors, finishes) to have a Renovation Status: Existing, To Be Demolished, New, or Temporary. One click of the filter instantly shows the building in four different graphical styles. Better yet, schedules update automatically. You can create a demolition quantity takeoff and a new material list from the same model. For architects dealing with historic buildings, this feature alone justifies the switch. Conclusion: Goodies that Respect the Architect What makes Archicad’s goodies truly special is their philosophy. They are not flashy features added for marketing bullet points; they are thoughtful solutions to real, daily frustrations. The Morph tool respects the designer’s need for freeform exploration. The Pet Palette respects the user’s time. The Renovation Filter respects the complexity of real-world buildings. In a software industry often obsessed with data rigidity, Archicad remembers that architecture is still an art. Its goodies are the hidden shortcuts, the right-click surprises, and the “aha!” moments that turn a long day of drafting into a productive session of digital making. For those who discover them, Archicad is not just a BIM tool—it is a joy to use. archicad goodies