For the thousands of architects, builders and designers using ArchiCAD worldwide, Graphisoft is proud to announce the release of ArchiCAD version 4.5.
Version 4.5 offers dozens of new and enhanced features - some great and far-reaching - others more subtle. It represents at once another milestone in ArchiCAD's 10 years of continuous development and an important departure towards new technologies such as section/elevation editing, database management, and connectivity with other software and computer systems.
In addition, Graphisoft is especially proud that ArchiCAD version 4.5 is one of the first programs available in "native mode" for Apple's newest line of computers, the Power Macintosh. The PowerMac version of ArchiCAD will be available at the same time and for the same price as the Macintosh version.
The changes offered in ArchiCAD version 4.5 cover four dimensions of architectural design :
• Design effectiveness, i.e. tools to help you use ArchiCAD as a design tool faster and more efficiently.
• Construction documentation, i.e. tools for drafting, plotting, printing, and using ArchiCAD's bill of materials.
• Presentation and communication, i.e. tools to help you present and sell your designs using high-quality rendering and animations.
• Connectivity, i.e. the ability to send information to and receive it from other programs, whether for engineering, animation or rendering.
This is not a complete description of the new features of ArchiCAD 4.5. If you are a user of a previous version of ArchiCAD, consult the new Reference Manual shipped with ArchiCAD 4.5 for accurate details about all of the features mentioned in this document.
ArchiCAD’s interface has been further refined to provide an even more ergonomic and powerful working environment.
More flexible work area
• QuickView Window: Working on a large project often requires storing multiple views for fast access. ArchiCAD version 4.5 lets you save any number of views and navigate through your project using the new QuickView Window.
• Display of Scale, Pan and Zoom icons: These valuable display aids are now located right up front on the floor plan where you can easily access them at any time. Double-clicking on the Zoom icons even lets you use the predefined magnification or reduction factors.
• Project Scale: ArchiCAD version 4.5 now displays the project scale on the floor plan as well as the screen size as a percentage of project scale.
• Scroll bars: Version 4.5 implements intelligent scroll bars in the plan and section windows to provide fast and continuous access to the unlimited work sheet, even with the largest drawings.
• Section/Elevation tool: Staggered sections and elevations now can be drawn directly on the floor plan using the new Section/Elevation tool. The sections and elevations are calculated automatically from the plan and displayed in separate windows. Walls, roofs, and slabs appear as fills on section with their original fill pattern. The number of windows open at any one time is limited only by available RAM.
The section and elevation drawings remain associated to the floor plan, meaning that they can be updated following any changes. All of the drawing tools can be used in the section/elevation windows to complete working documents. Elements added in the section/elevation windows are placed on a separate layer so they are not lost when the windows are updated.
• Construction Clicks: Similarly to trimming walls to roofs in the version 4.1, Command-Clicking on any element now calculates its intersection with any other element, allowing you to split walls and clean-up cross intersections easily - or to stretch walls to join other elements.
• Transformation Clicks: In version 4.1, you can convert lines and arcs into walls by Space-Clicking on them. ArchiCAD version 4.5 extends this feature so that Space-Clicking on any polygonal element (e.g. arcs, circles, and polylines) transforms the selection to any other polygonal element (e.g. roofs, slabs, and walls) and saves the original. Now, you can cut an element with one click and even drag complex holes in slabs, roofs and fills, copy a fill to other elements, create walls surrounding a slab, and much more.
• Continuous Curve tool: This new tool draws continuous, tangential arcs of any radius. With a few clicks you can design smooth curves which can be transformed into any other polygonal element.
Enhanced support for large projects and design teams
• Merge command: ArchiCAD version 4.5 can merge project files by story or complete project while managing layers, materials attributes and other characteristics. Design teams now have an easy method for using ArchiCAD to work on different phases of a project.
• No Size Limits: Version 4.1's limit of 32,000 characters, lines and other graphic elements has been raised to 1 billion! The limit on the number of library parts (formerly 2000) has been completely removed.
• Enhanced data-base linking: Each element in ArchiCAD version 4.5 is assigned a unique identification number which remains with the element and can be extracted for data processing.
• Parametric 2D script: ArchiCAD's 3-dimensional Geometric Description Language (GDL), used to create fully parametric 3D objects, has been extended to include 2D symbols! Now, 2D symbols in the plan can automatically reflect changes in the 3D object.
• Window/Door tool: Fully parametric window and door reveals can now be added to all doors and windows.
• Labeling tool: Version 4.5 includes a new Labeling Tool to create custom or automatic labels displaying ID or Internal ID or user-defined text.
• Font Substitution: Version 4.5 offers direct access to Graphisoft vector fonts from within ArchiCAD. Even the diacritical marks are handled properly. Graphisoft’s plotting technology provides optimized substitution of bitmap and TrueType fonts to vector fonts, insuring you the same size text on the output as displayed on the screen regardless of the font type.
• Hot-Links: PlotMaker documents now can be hot-linked to the ArchiCAD floor plan, providing automatic updates and keeping your PlotMaker document consistent with your ArchiCAD project.
• Fill Handling: Fills can be handled as elements or as a whole by PlotMaker, producing refined layouts.
• High-Res. Output: High resolution analytic shaded images can be directly and quickly printed or plotted in large sizes with optimal resolution to raster plotter devices.
• Vectorial Shadow casting: Version 4.5 features vectorized shadow casting. Not only can vectorized shadows be plotted, but, because they are defined by polygons, their area can be calculated in plan and elevation. Using this new tool, you can perform highly accurate sun and shadow studies for clients and for building authorities.
• Three-Dimensional Hatching: Another ArchiCAD innovation: hatching patterns (vectorial fills) can be associated to any material, such as brick or shingles, to realistically depict construction materials in perspective.
• Analytic Shading: This is a totally new rendering algorithm by Graphisoft which calculates quick, high-quality renderings which are scale independent! You can use the Analytic Shading to produce renderings at screen size, then print or plot them at larger sizes without losing image quality.
• Camera tool: The new camera tool allows you to create perspective views and Fly-Through paths working directly on the floor plan, providing easier and better control.
• Custom axonometry: Version 4.5 also features a new dialog for quickly setting up axonometric views from any angle.
• Block presentation: This new option displays your ArchiCAD project as building blocks, allowing you to work quickly in three-dimensions.
• Lamp tool: With the version 4.5, you can define and locate any number of light sources in your project. Parallel, spot and conical lights sources are available as three-dimensional library items which you can create or modify just as any other library part. The light sources are also exported to other ArchiCAD compatible rendering programs.
• Pictures: Working through the object library, any rectangular bitmap image, from a brick wall pattern to a family photo, can be pasted anywhere in an ArchiCAD project.
• Artificial horizon: In addition to placing bitmap images as rendering backgrounds, you can now add an artificial horizon to your renderings by assigning a ground and a sky color.
• Fog: For Bay Area and British architects, Fog has been added as a special rendering effect.
• High Bandwidth DXF: DXF input and output have been enhanced, and version 4.5 supports DXF binary format as well. DXF output files now carry most characteristics of the original file.
• 3D extension: Beginning with version 4.5, Graphisoft offers an ArchiCAD Software Development Kit for third parties to write interfaces of their programs to ArchiCAD 4.5.
• 3D connection: Version 4.5's new 3D extension technology allows it to support the most popular rendering programs, such as ElectricImage, Atlantis Render, WaveFront, and RenderMan in their original file format.
• Pen weight (set optionally in mm or points) and material color are now displayed in settings dialog; chain icon to link surfaces (e.g. walls) when changing aspects; element ID field extended from 8 to 15 characters.
• Selection Marquee tool improved to select current story or multistory fragments.
• Roofs and slabs can be visible on other stories. When above the current story, they are editable as well.
• Windows and doors can be multiplied, dragged, and stretched for selected openings.
• New Edit commands include Split wall, Fillet or offset polygons and polylines.
• Dimension figures retain their position when manually relocated.
• Copy/Paste and other Edit Menu operations work from and to multiple stories.
• Modules can contain multistory building fragments with all attributes.
• Global UNDO instead of a story based undo - actions are registered on a project basis regardless of the window or the story in which the action was performed.
• Drawing on an invisible layer now prompts a dialog with options to cancel, show the hidden layer or choose another layer.
• Copy/Paste functions carry attributes such as layers, colors, materials, story structure, and feature robust structure and enhanced interface.
• Independent controls to set the display of different element types.
• Search & Replace feature for any text windows such as GDL, Bill of Materials and Project Notes.
• Optional uniform gray (Greek) appearance of text blocks for faster display.
• Content of text windows are no longer limited to 32,000 characters.
• Rendered images now handle Alpha Channel in background and on output.
• Support of ADB Digitizers.
• Projects can be saved in version 4.1 format for backward compatibility.
• New GDL elements :
- Picture (bitmap projected onto a rectangle ).
- Light (for local light sources ).
- Tube (for road sections and window frames).
- Mesh (for easier import of DXF and cartographic information).
- bPrism (for prisms bent around an axis).
• GDL enhancements :
- Goto Line# dialog.
- Easy insertion and removal of comments from several lines of selected GDL text.
- Optional display of the local, global, and current coordinate system in the Library Editor.
