Release Notes - ARCHICAD 16 Hotfix 3 (Build 3487)

for BIM Server and ARCHICAD

This Hotfix provides solution for several crashes, fixes documentation, selection, display issues and IFC related problems. It also improves performance in certain cases. It also fixes the frequent crashes that occurred with the recalled Hotfix 3 Build 3482.

The hotfix applies to all components: ARCHICAD, BIM Server, BIM Server Manager, BIM Explorer, MEP Modeler and all other GRAPHISOFT distributed Add-Ons and Goodies. It applies to all (Commercial, Educational and Trial) license types.

About the installer:

On Windows platform this installer needs Java 1.6. If this is not present on your Windows you can download and install it from here: About Java. 

The Hotfix process will automatically search your computer for instances of three applications (in this order):

1. ARCHICAD 16 (including MEP Modeler, and all Graphisoft add-ons)
2. GRAPHISOFT BIM Server (including the BIM Server Manager, automatically installed along with the BIM Server)
3. Standalone BIM Server Manager (This refers to the standalone BIM Server Manager, a separate application which can be optionally installed from the ARCHICAD 16 DVD)

If ARCHICAD 16 and/or the standalone BIM Server Manager are found to be installed on your machine, you can choose to either update it or not.

If the BIM Server is found to be installed on your machine, it will be automatically updated if it is not up-to-date.

If ARCHICAD 16 is already up-to-date, but one of the ARCHICAD components (e.g. MEP Modeler or EcoDesigner) is not, the installer will indicate this and you can choose to update it.

Important Note for Teamwork users:

Working in Teamwork requires that client ARCHICADs, the BIM Server Manager and the BIM Server all have the identical version number (or “build number”).

If you are running a client ARCHICAD whose version number is different than that of the BIM Server, you cannot continue working in Teamwork until the same hotfix is installed for the BIM Server. (The same is true for all the other client ARCHICADs working from the same BIM Server.)

Therefore, if you decide to update either a client ARCHICAD or a BIM Server, be aware that you must update all clients and the BIM Server so that they share the identical version number.

Installation steps:

1. If the BIM Server is running on a computer that has Windows Server 2008 R2 or Small Business Server 2011 as its operating system we strongly recommend to manually stop all BIM Server services prior to applying the patch.
2. We strongly recommend that you disable any virus checker and turn off all of your network connections (both via cable and wifi) for the time of the BIM Server installation.
3. Make sure you have administrator rights on the computer. Make sure none of the ARCHICAD components are modified (e.g. renamed). If you are updating a BIM Server, also make sure that you are logged in as the user who installed it originally.
4. When you run the hotfix package, the process will automatically search your computer for instances of the three applications listed above. For each of these applications found on your machine, you will be informed of its hotfix status (either “is up to date” or “can be updated”). 

For ARCHICAD or Standalone BIM Server Manager: 

• If you have multiple copies of either ARCHICAD or the standalone BIM Server Manager on your machine, then the installer will automatically find one copy. If you want to update a different instance, you can use the "Browse" button to locate it. You will need to run the installer multiple times to update each copy of ARCHICAD / BIM Server Manager.
• If the installed ARCHICAD or standalone BIM Server Manager is found to be not up-to-date, you also have the option not to update it: click “Don’t update [program] now.”

The update of GRAPHISOFT BIM Server works a bit differently: 

• If a BIM Server is found to be installed on your machine and is out of date, it will be updated; you have no option to skip the update, unless you cancel the entire Hotfix process. 
• Only one BIM Server can be installed on a machine, so there is no option to browse to a different program location than the one identified by the program. 
• Just before the hotfix is launched, the Summary Panel displays information on which programs, in which locations, will be updated.

• The BIM Server will be stopped automatically, during the time of hotfixing the BIM Server application,  projects will be suspended. Clients must be patched before they can teamwork with the newly hotfixed BIM Server.

• If you want the BIM Server to start automatically with the operating system, check again the "Start BIM Server with Operating System" checkbox in the BIM Server Preferences dialog.

Deployed Installation of the Hotfix

For details on deployed installation go here.

List of bugs fixed in this Hotfix:

• 141655 ADD-IN: MEP Export to ARCHICAD Add-In could give "Origin is inaccessible" error.
• 146471 ADD-IN: MEP Export to ARCHICAD Add-In could give "Unable to use the project position's transform to calculate point" error.
• 146370 ADD-ON: Accessories add-on only worked properly on story 0.
• 148558 CRASH: ARCHICAD could crash on startup if DisplayOptionPreferences.xml contained incorrect parameter.
• 127423 CRASH: ARCHICAD could crash when changing the output format of a publisher set.
• 140099 CRASH: crash may occur when selecting/editing objects created by third party API Add-Ons
• 145955 CRASH: Intermittently, when migrating projects containing Hotlinks from ARCHICAD 15 to 16
• 145874 CRASH: Publishing layouts with embedded 3D content into PDF could crash in certain cases.
• 139228 CRASH: Roofs with special geometry could cause crash if the plan was migrated to ARCHICAD 16.
• 145750 CRASH: Saving a specific plan into IFC caused crash.
• 149594 CRASH: Saving IFC with enabled Bounding Box option could cause crash.
• 146818 DOCUMENT: All layers could be changed to complex profile editor layers after a crash.
• 131933 DOCUMENT: Display order could differ on floor plan and on layout.
• 147691 DOCUMENT: Doors could be misplaced in mirrored Curtain Wall.
• 145594 DOCUMENT: Elements were visible on Interior Elevation outside of its horizontal range.
• 147892 DOCUMENT: Header of element schedule was not editable.
• 143444 DOCUMENT: If project is located far from the origin, 3D Views saved using the marquee tool might appear empty
• 146691 DOCUMENT: In schedules the door and window sill/header values are always listed relative to wall base, and not the selected anchor point.
• 147597 DOCUMENT: Incorrect display of dotted lines if 2D antialiasing is turned off.
• 145593 DOCUMENT: Interior Elevation Marker rotates when limit line is extended
• 147166 DOCUMENT: Level and elevation dimensions were not refreshed after changing altitude.
• 147519 DOCUMENT: Migrating old plans could result in overridden elements in the default renovation filter of the AUS version.
• 147801 DOCUMENT: Model View Options had no effect on the display of door, window objects on the layout if they did not have 2D script.
• 144869 DOCUMENT: Position of mirrored auto text could differ on floor plan and on layout.
• 144783 DOCUMENT: Show function did not work for Sun Study.
• 142112 DOCUMENT: Text could become white while zooming.
• 146209 DOCUMENT: Under special circumstances Grid System can be lost from project after manipulating Section settings
• 146152 EDIT: Adding new node to a Mesh could change the height of the whole element.
• 124932 EDIT: Cursor Snap Variants were not available from toolbar.
• 141137 EDIT: Quick Selection was not available in Internal Engine, Hidden Line mode.
• 147282 EDIT: Select on Floor Plan command did not work on certain elements in Element Lists.
• 147827 EDIT: Selection could switch to the adjacent element when starting to edit a polygonal element (e.g. Fill, Slab, Zone) that is placed right next to an other.
• 144944 EDIT: Splitted Morph had incorrect display on Section/Elevation.
• 127184 EDIT: Structural function, Position and Element Classification were not stored in Favorites
• 120195 EDIT: Unlock All command did not work on MEP elements if the add-on was missing.
• 145478 EDIT: Wall could disappear when adjusted in 3D with Surface Snap.
• 148856 EDIT: Wall cut could be incorrect in curved walls.
• 148207 EDIT: Zone data could grow causing performance problems.
• 145741 FILE/DWG/IMPORT: Multi-insertion with "0" value in the DWG resulted in missing elements.
• 147844 FILE/DWG: Openings could be misplaced in a 3D DWG.
• 132231 FILE/IFC:
  • Export: Doors now can have a 2D symbol when exported from ARCHICAD via IFC if EnableDoorWindow2DHandling registry key is created and the value is set to 1 on Windows and TRUE on Mac. To activate this key, a registry (PC) or Preferences (Mac) modification should be applied:
    1. Start ARCHICAD. Go to the File / File Special / IFC 2x3 / IFC Translation Setup menu item. Press the "Save Settings and Close" button. As a result in the registry (PC) or Preferences (Mac) a folder called IFC will be created under the main folder of the ARCHICAD 16 version.
    2. One has to go to the the Registry Editor on Windows or open the Preferences on MAC as advised here:  Help Center .
    3. Users have to create a key called EnableDoorWindow2DHandling under the IFC folder.
    4. On Windows the key should be a DWORD type and its value should to be set to 1, on Mac it should be a Boolean type and its value should be TRUE.
    5. Save the Preferences file on Mac, close the Registry Editor on Windows.

    Users can disable the importing 2D symbols into Revit if ARCHICAD Connection for Revit 2013 Add-in is applied and EnableDoorWindow2DHandling registry key was created with FALSE/0 value in the Improved IFC Export registry folder. The folder is created at the first time when we export IFC file from Revit with the Add-in.

    • Please note that in case of Doors placed in Walls with Complex Profiles the opening lines will not be transferred to Revit due to a Revit bug that our Add-in cannot solve. If reveal is applied to the doors, the wall display might be incorrect when we open the IFC file in Revit. If we save BREP data, then it might appear faulty in Revit, because the BREP data is replaced in Revit during the opening process.
    • See details:  132231 IFC Export/Import Notes

  • Import: Doors now have 2D symbol when exported from Revit and opened in ARCHICAD.

2D symbol data can exchange within a IFC file if the user export the IFC file with ARCHICAD Connection for Revit 2013 Add-in and the EnableDoorWindow2DHandling registry key value is TRUE/1 in the Improved IFC Export registry folder.

Download ARCHICAD Connection for Revit 2013 Add-In

• 148146 FILE/IFC/EXPORT/CRASH: ARCHICAD crashed very frequently while exporting particular IFC files
• 146291 FILE/IFC/EXPORT: Exporting chained beams with "precise geometry - BREP" option saves some of the connected beams with extruded (not BREP) geometry.
• 146511 FILE/IFC/EXPORT: Improved BREP to extruded geometry conversion in case of curtain wall frames.
• 147594 FILE/IFC/EXPORT: Incorrect opening at certain third-party windows.
• 147768 FILE/IFC/EXPORT: When you saved a file as IFC, the glob context was always 0.
• 149545 FILE/IFC/EXPORT: Incorrect export of windows with particular shading devices.
• 144772 FILE/IFC/IMPORT: when importing doors and windows through IFC, in specific cases the wall hole of the opeining is incorrect and does not match the frame of the opening
• 145507    FILE/IFC/IMPORT: Hotlinked IFC elements with custom profiles could be misplaced in the host file because of attribute name collision. We have created a registry option to embed these profiles in the elements as special Custom profile instead of editable profile attribute. For this registry (PC) or Preferences (Mac) option to be set please do take the following steps:
  1. Start ARCHICAD. Go to the File / File Special / IFC 2x3 / IFC Translation Setup menu item. Press the Save Settings and Close button. As a result in the registry (PC) or Preferences (Mac) a folder called IFC will be created under the main folder of the ARCHICAD 15 or 16 version.
  2. One has to go to the the Registry Editor on Windows or open the Preferences on MAC as advised here: Help Center.
  3. ImportUnnamedProfilesAsCustom under the IFC folder.
  4. On Windows the key should be a DWORD type and its value has to be set to 1, on Mac it should be a Boolean type and its value has to be TRUE.
  5. Save the Preferences file on Mac, close the Registry Editor on Windows.
     Note: Users can later capture and duplicate these custom profiles using the "Capture element's profile..." option in the Profile Manager.
• 146570 FILE/IFC/IMPORT: When importing IFC file there is now an option to create resulting library parts in a linked library instead of the embedded library. Note: To activate this option, a registry (PC) or Preferences (Mac) option needs to be set:

  Please note that this option is not available with TW projects.

  1. Start ARCHICAD. Go to the File / File Special / IFC 2x3 / IFC Translation Setup menu item. Press the Save Settings and Close button. As a result in the registry (PC) or Preferences (Mac) a folder called IFC will be created under the main folder of the ARCHICAD 16 version.
  2. One has to go to the the Registry Editor on Windows or open the Preferences on MAC as advised here:  Help Center .
  3. Users have to create a key called EnableLinkedLibrary under the IFC folder.
  4. On Windows the key should be a DWORD type and its value has to be set to 1, on Mac it should be a Boolean type and its value has to be TRUE.
  5. Save the Preferences file on Mac, close the Registry Editor on Windows.
  6. Before a new importing process make sure that your IFC files are placed into the particular folder where the new library folder structure is needed.
• 147576 FILE/IFC/IMPORT: Windows could be imported with incorrect elevation from Allplan.
• 149325 GDL: The WIDO_REVEAL_SIDE value was not available to the Interface.
• 147915 GDL: objects using the "Text I/O" add-on did not update after the text file changed. After this fix such objects can be forced to reload the text file with the "Rebuild & Regenerate" command. (To activate Rebuild & Regenerate command, hold down the ALT key (PC) or SHIFT (Mac) while using the View/Refresh/Rebuild command)
• 140630 INTERIOR ELEVATION: Missing slab and wall edges.
• 149107 MODEL/SPEED: Trace And Reference made 2D slow
• 148823 MODEL: Custom windows could seem to be missing in migrated plans.
• 143130 MODEL: In particular circumstances in the Navigator Project Map some floors show up multiple times, or with wrong floor number (while in the Story Settings dialog everything is OK)
• 143629 SPEED: Generating elevation was slow if walls had many hotspots.
• 144911 SPEED: Trace Reference could cause speed issues with certain 3D engine settings. Help Center
• 150318 SPEED: Performance of ARCHICAD and other programs running in OS X could degrade with time of use due to a memory leak.
• 146877 TEAMWORK/CRASH: Crash could occur when releasing Scheme Settings after certain modifications.
• 146072 TEAMWORK/DOCUMENT: Dimension texts were missing until zooming in from independent sections after sharing the project.
• 145564 TEAMWORK/SPEED: Loading of BIM Server Libraries was much slower than linked Libraries, due to checking of locked library parts.
• 142394 TEAMWORK: Custom model view options under certain circumstances incorrectly handled reservation information.
• 140083 TEAMWORK: New category with custom name could not be created in the BIM Server Manager.
• 149416 TEAMWORK: Restore All Interior Elevations in Group worked without Reservation.
• 147806 TEAMWORK: The BIM Server regularly requested PLN backup even though PLN project backup function was disabled for that particuar project by the users. The PLN backups were not created afterwards.
• 147948 VIEW: 3D Perspective view could not display the model in certain cases, only axonometric view worked.
• 150561 VIEW: 2D representation of wrapped columns could have been wrong with composite walls.

Bugs fixed in optional Graphisoft components:

• 149454BIMX: Floor plan was missing in some cases.

Download this Hotfix

• Windows 32-bit
• Windows 64-bit
• Mac

Download previous Hotfixes

• Hotfix build 3270
• Hotfix build 3014