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ARCHICAD Training Series
 Intermediate ARCHICAD Training
Credits
2
ARCHICAD Training Series Vol. 3
Visit the GRAPHISOFT website at www.graphisoft.com for local distributor and product 
availability information.
ARCHICAD Training Series Vol. 3
Intermediate ARCHICAD Training
(International English Metric Version)
Copyright © 2018 by GRAPHISOFT, all rights reserved. Reproduction, paraphrasing or translation 
without express prior written permission is strictly prohibited.
Trademarks
ARCHICAD® is a registered trademark of GRAPHISOFT.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.
Credits
Courtesy of GRAPHISOFT
http://www.graphisoft.com
Contents
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CONTENTS
Introduction _______________________________________________________ 8
Lesson 1 - Creating the Site _________________________________________ 10
Opening ARCHICAD ______________________________________________________ 10
Predefined Favorites Import _______________________________________________ 12
Importing Surveyor Data  _________________________________________________ 17
Modeling the Terrain  _____________________________________________________ 21
Lesson 2 – Basic Exterior Walls ______________________________________ 29
Building Materials and Composite Structures ________________________________ 29
Exterior Wall Creation_____________________________________________________ 34
Lesson 3 - Floor Slab and Pavement __________________________________ 39
Attribute Management ___________________________________________________ 42
Pavement Creation _______________________________________________________ 45
Lesson 4 - Additional Exterior Walls __________________________________ 55
Guide Lines and Snap References___________________________________________ 56
Priority-based Intersections _______________________________________________ 61
Lesson 5 - Wall Ends and Complex Profiles ____________________________ 69
Wall End Tool ____________________________________________________________ 69
Complex Profiles _________________________________________________________ 72
Lesson 6 - Creating a Single Roof ____________________________________ 84
Roof Creation ____________________________________________________________ 85
Trimming to Roof ________________________________________________________ 93
Multi-element Editing ____________________________________________________ 96
Lesson 7 - Timber Structures ________________________________________ 99
Columns ________________________________________________________________ 99
Contents
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Rafters_________________________________________________________________ 104
Purlins and Wall Plates ___________________________________________________ 110
Lesson 8 - Terrace Slab and Foundations _____________________________ 119
Terrace Slab Modelling___________________________________________________ 119
Strip and Pad Foundations _______________________________________________ 128
Lesson 9 - Internal Slabs and Walls __________________________________ 136
Gallery Slab ____________________________________________________________ 136
Modelling Issues ________________________________________________________ 141
Partition Walls __________________________________________________________ 152
Lesson 10 - Doors ________________________________________________ 156
Entrance Door __________________________________________________________ 156
Sliding Doors ___________________________________________________________ 162
Terrace Door____________________________________________________________ 169
Internal Doors __________________________________________________________ 172
Lesson 11 – Windows and Skylights _________________________________ 175
Adding Windows ________________________________________________________ 175
Modifying Windows _____________________________________________________ 182
Adding Skylights ________________________________________________________ 184
Lesson 12 –Solid Element Operations _______________________________ 189
Solid Element Operations ________________________________________________ 189
Complex Profiles Editing _________________________________________________ 195
Lesson 13 – Internal Stair __________________________________________ 204
One Flight Stair Creating _________________________________________________ 204
Stair Editing ____________________________________________________________ 214
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Lesson 14 - Floor Structures _______________________________________ 220
Lesson 15 – Creating Zones ________________________________________ 230
Automatic Zones ________________________________________________________ 230
Manual Zone Correction__________________________________________________ 239
Lesson 16 – Zone Lists and Refining Zones ___________________________ 242
Zone Lists ______________________________________________________________ 242
Refining Zones__________________________________________________________ 249
Lesson 17 - Appearance of Zones and Slabs __________________________ 258
Zone Color Coding ______________________________________________________ 258
Graphic Overrides Combinations __________________________________________ 262
Image Fills _____________________________________________________________ 266
Graphic Override Rules __________________________________________________ 271
Lesson 18 – Railings ______________________________________________ 274
Internal Railings ________________________________________________________ 274
External Railing _________________________________________________________ 297
Lesson 19 – Retaining Walls and External Stairs _______________________ 313
Retaining Walls _________________________________________________________ 313
External Stairs __________________________________________________________ 320
Ramp Placement ________________________________________________________ 333
Lesson 20 - Site and Furniture Objects _______________________________ 344
External Objects ________________________________________________________ 344
Internal Objects_________________________________________________________ 352
Lesson 21 – Views ________________________________________________ 367
Views __________________________________________________________________ 367
View Settings ___________________________________________________________ 370
Element-level Settings ___________________________________________________ 375
Contents
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View-dependent Settings ________________________________________________ 376
Lesson 22 – 3D Styles, Sketch Engine and White Model ________________ 381
3D Styles _______________________________________________________________ 381
Sketch Engine __________________________________________________________ 385
White Model Effect ______________________________________________________ 389
Additional Surfaces _____________________________________________________ 394
Lesson 23 – Surface Painter and 2D Bitmaps _________________________ 400
Surface Painter _________________________________________________________ 401
2D Bitmaps_____________________________________________________________ 407
Lesson 24 – The CineRender Engine _________________________________ 410
Outdoor Cine Render Scene ______________________________________________ 410
Indoor CineRender Scene ________________________________________________ 416
Lesson 25 – Dimensions ___________________________________________ 427
Project Preferences ______________________________________________________ 427
Arc and Radial Dimensions _______________________________________________ 433
Level Dimensions _______________________________________________________ 438
Cleaning up Sections and Elevations _______________________________________ 443
Elevation Dimensions____________________________________________________ 445
Dimension Texts ________________________________________________________ 451
Lesson 26 – 3D-Documents and Details______________________________ 453
3D Document from 3D Window____________________________________________ 453
3D Document from Floor Plan_____________________________________________ 459
Linked Details __________________________________________________________ 463
Independent Details _____________________________________________________ 467
Lesson 27 - Interactive Schedules ___________________________________ 470
Doors and Windows Schedules ____________________________________________ 472
Element Lists ___________________________________________________________ 480
Contents
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Component Lists ________________________________________________________ 484
Lesson 28 – Layouting ____________________________________________ 487
Layout Book ____________________________________________________________ 487
Drawing Settings________________________________________________________ 496
Layouts and Master Layouts ______________________________________________ 501
Master Layout Settings __________________________________________________ 512
Custom Master Layouts __________________________________________________ 515
Lesson 29 – Publishing ____________________________________________ 526
Publishing in PDF Format ________________________________________________ 526
Publishing in DWG Format________________________________________________ 532
Publishing BIMx Hyper-model ____________________________________________ 535
Conclusion ______________________________________________________ 541
Introduction
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Introduction
Welcome to the ARCHICAD Training!
You are now reading Intermediate ARCHICAD Training, a comprehensive hands-on training guide 
designed to familiarize you with the advanced modeling and documentation tools of ARCHICAD. 
We strongly recommend that you complete Basic ARCHICAD Training before starting this one.
Contents of the training material
• Online Guide – an e-book included detailed explanations of every step, with screenshots 
where needed.
• Project files – preset training files to help your learning process.
• Narrated movie clips available on the GRAPHISOFT ARCHICAD YouTube channel.
How to use this Training Material?
• Install the required ARCHICAD version
• Follow the instructions in this guide
• Open the related video clips in the online Guide or watch them on the ARCHICAD YouTube 
channel
You must have ARCHICAD 21 installed on your computer to use this guide. The e-book was made 
with the INT (English) version of ARCHICAD, so we recommend that you use this version for 
practicing.
How to get ARCHICAD
If you don’t have ARCHICAD yet, please visit http://www.graphisoft.com/downloads/ to obtain a 
FREE installer:
• If you’re a student, a teacher or a representative of a school, download a fully functional 
version of ARCHICAD and apply for an education license from myarchicad.com.
• If you’re a professional architect, download a fully functional version of ARCHICAD and apply 
for a 30-day trial license from myarchicad.com. Projects saved with this version can be 
automatically upgraded to full versions when you purchase a commercial license.
http://www.myarchicad.com/
http://www.myarchicad.com/
http://www.graphisoft.com/downloads/
Introduction
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To purchase a commercial ARCHICAD license, please contact your local distributor at 
www.graphisoft.com/info/where_to_buy.
We hope you’ll find this guide useful and wish you success with your future ARCHICAD projects!
Good luck,
The GRAPHISOFT Team
http://www.graphisoft.com/info/where_to_buy
Lesson 1 - Creating the Site
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Lesson 1 - Creating the Site
To watch a short introduction about GRAPHISOFT Training Materials, please open the “Introduction 
to Intermediate ARCHICAD Training - 01/84” video on the ARCHICAD YouTube channel.
In this lesson, we’ll start a project by importing the surveyor’s 2D site file and then model its 3D 
terrain.
Opening ARCHICAD
To watch the recorded version of this exercise, please open on the “Opening ARCHICAD - 02/84” 
video on the ARCHICAD YouTube channel.
1 Let’s have a look at the project we are going to create. Double click the ARCHICAD application 
icon on your desktop to start ARCHICAD. The ARCHICAD splash screen will appear followed by 
the Start ARCHICAD 21 dialog box, giving you various options to choose from. 
2 In the Set up Work Environment pop-up menu, select Standard Profile 21.
https://youtu.be/uT8fOKuvbxg?list=PLnXY6vLUwlWVNkUQEItbMDO5cLzS5E8Oo
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3 Select the Open a Project and Browse for a Solo Project options and then push the Browse 
button to open an ARCHICAD project file.
4 Select the AC21_Intermediate_FIN.pla project file in the training project folder and click the 
Open button to open the file of the final project. When the Open Archive Project message 
prompts you, choose Read Elements directly from archive and click Open. 
In the Pop-up Navigator, use the View Map to open some floor plans, sections and 3D views. You 
can also use the Tab Bar as well to navigate between the different views.
If you feel ready for the task ahead, let’s start creating the project from scratch.
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Create a new project by selecting the File > New > New menu command. In the appearing 
dialog, select Use a Template: ARCHICAD 21 Template, select the Standard Profile 21 and click 
the New button.
Choose Don’t save if the Save Changes dialog appears.
A new project is created based on the standard template of ARCHICAD. This template already 
contains layers, fills, materials, and composites to help you from the very beginning. Later on, you 
can also customize your own template to fit your own design and office standards.
Save the project to a location where it will be easy to find later.
Predefined Favorites Import
To watch the recorded version of this exercise, please open on the “Predefined Favorites Import - 
03/84” video on the ARCHICAD YouTube channel.
It’s recommended to set up all the parameters of the different ARCHICAD tools manually, but if 
you already feel confident enough in setting them up yourself, you can simply apply the 
predefined Favorites (where applicable). To do this: 
• Go to the Window > Palettes > Favorites menu command.
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• In the Favorites panel that appears, click on the top-right button and select the Import/
Export command.
• Choose the Import from Folder option and click on the Import button.
• Choose the Intermediate_AC_Favorites folder from the extracted training files folder in this 
training folder and click Choose.
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• In the Import Favorites dialog, click on the small arrow next to the Import button and select 
the Delete All before Import command. This way, all the existing Favorites of the project, will 
be deleted and replaced with the new ones.
• Click on the Delete button to confirm the deletion.
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• In the Favorites palette, click on the Additional Settings button again and select the Element 
Transfer Settings command.
• In the Element Transfer Settings dialog, select the Transfer All Settings set and check all the 
checkboxes in the right panel. This way, all the parameters will change during the application 
of Favorites or the transfer of parameters between elements. Make sure, that the Transfer All 
Settings set is marked as default (the star icon should be displayed at the end of the row). If 
it’s not marked, be sure to double-click on it.
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Click OK and the close the Favorites palette.
Note that Favorites in addition to geometrical parameters, like thickness or height values, can 
contain some attributes settings,which are identified based on their names. That’s why, you 
need to pay special attention to the names of the attributes you’ll set up in the following 
lessons. If these attribute names don’t match with the pre-saved Favorites settings, they’ll be 
missing from the project.
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Importing Surveyor Data 
To watch the recorded version of this exercise, please open on the “Importing Surveyor Data - 04/
84” video on the ARCHICAD YouTube channel.
Buildings are usually designed according to physical locations, so orientation and geographical 
parameters provide the initial context of the design. ARCHICAD can import various data formats 
to enable architects to use it as a native building environment in point clouds, Google Earth 
terrain or simple DWG/DWF files. In this exercise, we’ll follow the most typical workflow for how 
architects and surveyors work together, by importing a DWG file and modeling the 3D site 
geometry based on it.
In ARCHICAD a dedicated workspace called Worksheet is available to manage all external 2D 
data. 
1 Open the Pop-up Navigator - Project Map and right-click on the Worksheets item. Select 
the New Independent Worksheet command.
2 Set the ID as W-01 and name as Site. Then click Create.
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The worksheet opens automatically, and its tab appears as well. Now we’ll import the DWG 
data and place it into the project. There are two ways of using 2D data in the project 
depending on whether the data may change or not. If you expect that the data might change 
during the project, use the Xref method. This way, there is a living connection between the 
original external file and the ARCHICAD project, which ensures that if the external file 
changes, you can simply update the content. If the data doesn’t change during the full project 
lifecycle, you can also merge the content into the ARCHICAD project. In this case, all elements 
will be converted into native ARCHICAD elements, and can be edited in the future.
3 Select the File > External Content > Attach Xref menu command.
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4 In the dialog that pops up, click Browse on top to locate the W-01 Site.dwg file from the 
extracted training files folder. Then click Open.
5 In the Attach Xref dialog, leave the settings as is and push the Attach button. Click Skip All to 
skip font files if prompted. 
6 Now place the drawing inside the project. Click on the Project Origin, marked by the X symbol 
sign as the deployment point of the Xref-ed dwg. In the DWG/DXF Partial Open dialog, leave 
all layers checked and click OK. 
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7 Activate the Fit in Window command if the drawing is not fully visible.
8 Click any elements. The linework is selected with faded nodes. This means that it can’t be 
edited, because it’s part of another file. The status of the attached Xrefs can be monitored 
under File > External Content > Xref Manager.
If the original Xref changes, you can update it by reloading it from this dialog.
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Modeling the Terrain 
To watch the recorded version of this exercise, please open on the “Modeling Terrain - 05/84” 
video on the ARCHICAD YouTube channel.
We’ll use the lines as base geometry for our terrain mesh. 
1 In the Project Map, activate the 0. Ground Floor. Right-click the W-01 Site worksheet in the 
Pop-up Navigator or W-01 Site Tab in the Tab Bar and choose Show as Trace Reference to 
select it as a traced view.
2 Click the arrow next to the Trace and Reference button in the toolbar and choose Trace & 
Reference from the bottom of the list to open the Trace & Reference palette. 
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3 Open the settings of the Reference, check the All Types checkbox and click Apply Settings to 
all References to make sure the trace will always behave the same way. 
4 Close the palette.
Note: If you still can’t see the lines, their layers may be hidden. Open the Layer 
Settings dialog by pressing CTRL/CMD + L, and scroll down the list of layers. The 
layers of the Xref are separated from the native ARCHICAD layers. Click the eye 
icons to make them visible. Click OK.
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5 Activate the Fit in Window command if the drawing is not fully visible.
6 Activate the Mesh Tool in the Toolbox and double-click on its icon.
You can apply the Terrain Mesh Favorite from the Lesson 01 Favorites folder to skip the next 
step.
7 When the Mesh Settings dialog opens, set up the following parameters:
• Mesh Height: 2000 millimeters
• Home Story to 0. Ground Floor and Elevation to Project Zero to -100
• Select Solid Body as Structure
• Set Soil as Building Material
• Uncheck the Cover Fills checkbox in the Floor Plan and Section panel
• In the Model panel, select All Ridges Sharp
• CLASSIFICATION AND PROPERTIES panel: In the design process, you have to 
communicate your ideas with the other stakeholders in the project, like the owner, 
engineers and constructors. Each of these usually need different formats that are suited to 
their applications. ARCHICAD provides users with efficient and fine-tuned publishing 
procedures. These settings let you to set different classifications and properties for any 
structural element, so you can control the Virtual Building appearance inside ARCHICAD 
while collaborating with other disciplines. Later on, we’ll see ways to use these 
classifications in practice. So for now, just set the Structural Function as a Non-Load-
Bearing Element and Position as Exterior.
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Click OK.
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8 Select the Rectangular Geometry Method in the Info Box, and click the two opposite points 
of the site rectangle to create a mesh.
9 Select the mesh with SHIFT + click. 
10 SPACE + click (hold down the space bar on your keyboard and click with the mouse cursor) 
on the curved level lines one by one to add them to the mesh. Select Fit to User Ridges in the 
New Mesh Points dialog. 
 
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11 To set the height of the points of the mesh that are on the same height level select the mesh 
and click on a node of the second line from the right (line in the middle). When the Pet palette 
appears, click on the Elevate Mesh Point button. Set Height to 500 and check the Apply to 
All checkbox, so that all nodes on this line will be elevated to the same height. Click OK.
12 Repeat this action with the line on the right and set the Elevate Mesh Point to 1000. 
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13 Now elevate the two corners on the right one by one. Click on the top-right corner. Select 
Elevate Mesh Point again and set 1000 as the Height but leave the Apply to All checkbox 
unchecked, otherwise all points of the rectangle will rise. Repeat this with the corner below. 
The result should look like this:
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14 With the mesh selected, right-click and select Show Selection/Marquee in 3D to check its 
shape. Activate the Fit in window command if it’s not fully visible. Go to View and click 
Editing Plane Display to turn off the editing plane if it’s displayed. 
Lesson 2 – Basic Exterior Walls
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Lesson 2 – Basic Exterior Walls
To watch the recorded version of this exercise, please open on the “Building Materials and 
Composite Structures - 06/84” video on the ARCHICAD YouTube channel.
Continue working on the current project or open AC21_Intermediate_02.pln ARCHICAD file 
from the training project folder.
In this lesson, we’ll create a new Building Material, setup a new Composite Structure and then 
we’ll apply them to create the basic walls of the building envelope.
Walls can have multiple skins representing the real structure, including the load bearing 
structures, insulation, and finishing. Out of the box, ARCHICAD contains a set of fills and 
composites, but now we’ll create our own composite structure with a white brick finish 
representing the exterior wall of the building. Please note, that the appearance of composite 
structures depends on the applied Building Materials.
Building Materials and Composite Structures
Since the white brick material doesn’t exist by default, we will have to create it ourselves.
1 Use the Options > Element Attributes > Building Materials menu command.
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In the upcoming dialog on the left you can see the list of the building materials used in the 
project. Each material simulates a real material and has a so-called intersection priority setting. 
These priority settings will control how our junctions will appear later on when two or more 
constructions collide.
The higher priority a material has, the more important it will be in a junction. On the right, you 
can assign cut fills to the materials for 2D representation and surfaces for 3D. You can see a 
preview of these settings in front of the building material name in the list as well.
• Select an existing material - Brick - Finish, push the New button in the bottom to copy over 
the existing material. 
• In the upcoming dialog choose Duplicate and set a name - Brick - Finish (white) and click 
OK.
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• Change the Cut Fill Foreground Pen to 161 and choose the Brick - White Natural surface.
Click OK to close the dialog.
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2 Activate the Options > Element Attributes > Composites menu command.
• Select the composite, which fits the needed skin structure best: 215 Block Insulated 
Cavity Plastered.
• Click Duplicate and set a new descriptive name: Exterior Wall – White Brick. 
Click OK.
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Composite skins may represent different structural functions, like load-bearing, finishing or 
others. You can set this up skin-by-skin in the Edit Skin and Line Structure panel.
• Select the Brick skin and change its building material to Brick - Finish (white), by pressing 
the arrow button next to the skin name and selecting it.
• Delete the Air Space skin by selecting it and pushing the Remove Skin button.
• Change Insulation - Plastic Hard to Insulation - Mineral Hard and its thickness to 100.
• Change the Concrete Block - Structural skin to Masonry Block - Structural and its 
thickness to 250.
• Change the thickness of the Plaster - Gypsum to 20.
Click OK.
Note: Composites can be also assigned to other structures, like slabs and shells. This 
particular structure is typical for walls, but by clicking on the Use With icons, you can 
assign the composites to the other building structures too. Later on, the composite 
structure will only appear in the settings dialog of the assigned element types.
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Exterior Wall Creation
To watch the recorded version of this exercise, please open on the “Exterior Wall Creation - 07/84” 
video on the ARCHICAD YouTube channel.
Now, let’s define the wall’s settings.
1 Switch to 0. Ground Floor plan and deselect the mesh if still selected.
2 Activate the Wall Tool and open its Settings dialog.
You can apply the Exterior Wall – White Brick Favorite from the Lesson 02 Favorites folder to 
skip the next step.
3 Set the Wall settings as follows:
• Set the Wall Top linked to 2. Story and 1000 as Top offset to Top Linked Story. This 
function will make sure that the wall height will automatically follow story height changes. 
The wall will model both the ground floor and the 1st floor walls.
• Set the Bottom offset of the Home Story to -100, because it will start on top of the 
foundation structure that we’ll model later.
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• With the Composite structure selected, choose the Exterior Wall – White Brick composite.
• Set the Reference Line to Core Inside.
• In the Floor Plan and Section panel, set the Floor Plan Display as: All Relevant Stories, 
Projected, Entire Element.
• Open the Classification and Properties panel. Set the tags as a Load-Bearing Element, and 
Exterior:
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Click OK to close the dialog.
4 Select the Rectangular Geometry Method in the Info Box.
5 We’ll place the walls using the Tracker Coordinates input.
• Hover the cursor over the bottom left corner of the mesh. Type X10000+ and Y8000+. This 
way the cursor will be moved to the correct position.
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• Press ENTER to start creating the walls and move the cursor to the right and up. Type X10000 
and Y6000. Press ENTER to finish the input. 
Note: When starting to draw a wall or a group of walls, a heavy black reference line 
will follow the cursor. This reference line determines the position of the wall, which 
will be created relative to it. It connects walls smoothly and helps to locate the walls 
with the cursor.
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6 Press Fn+F4 on a MAC or Ctrl+F5 in Windows to show all in 3D.
Lesson 3 - Floor Slab and Pavement
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Lesson 3 - Floor Slab and Pavement
To watch the recorded version of this exercise, please open on the “Attribute Management - 08/
84” video on the ARCHICAD YouTube channel.
Continue working on the current project or open AC21_Intermediate_03.pln ARCHICAD file 
from the training project folder.
In this lesson, we’ll model the load-bearing slab and the external pavement with the Slab Tool.
Now we can create the interior slab. The walls will define the size and shape of the slab.
1 Activate the Slab Tool and open its settings.
You can apply the Ground Floor Slab Favorite from the Lesson 03 Favorites folder to skip the 
next step.
2 Make the following changes:
• Select the Concrete – Structural building material as a Basic structure.
• Slab Thickness: 200.
• Elevation to Project Zero to -100. Please note, that now we won’t be able to set the Home 
Story, because this dialog was opened in 3D, but we can define the Elevation parameter, 
which will be enough to create the Slab element at the correct height.
• Set Reference Plane to Top.
• Set the tags as Load-Bearing Element and Exterior.
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Click OK.
3 Select the Rectangular Geometry Method in the Info Box.
4 Hold the SPACE bar and move the cursor towards the bottom on the exterior side of the walls. 
This activates the Magic Wand feature that can recognize closed contours. Click when the blue 
dashed rectangular appears close to the bottom of the wall and the slab will be created 
immediately in the middle and at the correct elevation. Naturally, slabs can always be placed 
on the floor plan view.
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Attribute Management
Let’s assume that the correct pavement composite settings are not available in the current 
project, but we already set the necessary composite in another project before. In this case, we can 
import existing attributes from other files. Let’s see how it works.
1 Open Options > Element Attributes > Attribute Manager.
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In the left-hand panel of the dialog, you can review all attributes in one place, such as layers, 
materials, composites, etc.The check mark found next to an attribute tells you if it’s currently in 
use in the project. In the right-hand panel, you can open the attribute set of another project, 
browse through it, and add additional attributes to the current project. Open the Composites 
tab page of the dialog.
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2 Click on the Open button and select the Existing Project.pln file in the training files folder 
Click Open: the composites appear on the right side.
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3 Select Exterior Pavement and uncheck the All Associated Attributes checkbox - so only the 
composite will be created, while the fills and surfaces linked to it will not be duplicated - and 
click << Append. The composite appears in the list of the current project.
Click OK, then Create to confirm the changes.
Pavement Creation
To watch the recorded version of this exercise, please open on the “Pavement Creation - 09/84” 
video on the ARCHICAD YouTube channel.
Now let’s continue by creating the pavement on the floor plan view.
1 Switch to 0. Ground Floor plan.
2 Open the Slab Default Setting dialog.
You can apply the Pavement Slab Favorite from the Lesson 03 Favorites folder to skip the next 
step.
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3 Make the following changes:
• Set 0. Ground Floor as the Home Story and Offset to Home Story (and the Reference 
Plane Elevation to Project Zero too) to -50.
• Choose the Exterior Pavement as Composite.
• Push the Override Top and Override Edge buttons and choose the Pavement - Brick 
Moss surface. Don’t override for the bottom surface.
• Choose Site & Landscape - Terrain as layer.
• Set the tags to Non-Load-Bearing Element, Exterior, Site Geometry.
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Click OK.
 Note: In ARCHICAD, each structural element can be classified according to its role 
in the building. Classifications for example, let us create ceilings or pavements 
using the Slab Tool. The element’s available properties (such price, construction 
type or serial number) also depend on its Classification. Properties mapping and 
multidiscipline data exchange processes are also based on Classification information. 
ARCHICAD comes with a default Classification System right from the box, but depending on 
the way you work and your local standards, you can create and use different or additional 
Classification Systems.
4 Right-click on the Standard Toolbar and choose Drafting Aids.
Lesson 3 - Floor Slab and Pavement
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5 In the Drafting Aids palette, select the Offset Constraint command.
6 Click on any external corner of the walls, move the cursor to the opposite corner and make 
one more click.
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7 Then., move the cursor outside the building to set the offset direction. Type 2000 and press 
ENTER.
8 Close the Drafting Aids palette.
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9 Select the pavement with SHIFT + click, hover the cursor over its left edge and click on it to 
display the Pet palette. Select the Insert new node command. Hold the SHIFT key to limit the 
cursor movement to a vertical direction and click the upper left inside corner of the walls.
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10 Click on the new upper segment edge, in the Pet palette select the Offset edge command 
and click on the left edge of the mesh.
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11 In the same way, offset the top pavement edge upwards by 10000 millimeters. Hit ESC to 
deselect the element.
12 Open the 3D window to see the result. Now we need a hole in the area of the building.
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13 Select the pavement slab. With the Slab Tool active, click on any edge of the pavement and 
activate the Subtract from Polygon Pet palette command.
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14 Click on the outer corners on the top of the exterior walls. Deselect the slab.
Note: Once you pick a point on the top of the wall, it automatically gets projected 
to the level of the pavement slab, and when you select a second point, it creates a 
hole in it.
Lesson 4 - Additional Exterior Walls
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Lesson 4 - Additional Exterior Walls
To watch the recorded version of this exercise, please open on the “Guide Lines and Snap 
References – 10/84” video on the ARCHICAD YouTube channel.
Continue working on the current project or open AC21_Intermediate_04.pln ARCHICAD file 
from the training project folder.
In this lesson, we’ll create additional exterior walls with the help of the Guide Lines and Snap 
Guides. Then we’ll see, how element connections depend on the priority-based intersections.
First of all, let’s create a new Composite Structure based on already existing External Walls.
1 Open Options > Element Attributes > Composites.
• Select the Exterior Wall – White Brick composite.
• Push the Duplicate button. Set a new descriptive name: Slanted Wall and click OK.
• Change the Brick – Finish (white) skin to Plaster – Lime Sand and the thickness to 20.
Click OK.
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Guide Lines and Snap References
Now we can create our next wall element. Since this wall’s placement will be special we will use 
guide lines for precise inputs, but first, let's set the new wall parameters.
1 Switch to 0. Ground Floor plan.
2 Open the Wall Settings dialog.
You can apply the Slanted Wall Favorite from the Lesson 04 Favorites folder to skip the next step.
3 Set up the following parameters:
• Set the Wall Top to Not Linked and Wall Height as 3400.
• Set the Bottom Offset to Home Story to -100.
• With the Composite structure selected, choose the Slanted Wall composite.
• Select the Double Slanted Wall and the Outside Slant Angle at 97o.
• Set the Reference Line to Core Inside.
• Floor Plan Display: Projected with Overhead
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Leave all other settings as is and click OK.
4 Select the Single Geometry Method in the Info Box. First, we’ll create a straight segment 2 
meters from the existing wall, and then we’ll modify it. To find the precise locations, we’ll use 
guide lines and Snap Guides.
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5 Click the top Guide Line tab and drag a permanent line to the exterior side of the wall. 
6 Hover the cursor over the Guide Line until its handle (the orange dot) appears. Click on this 
handle and drag the line upwards. Type 2000, the value will appear in the Tracker. Now press 
ENTER.
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7 Consistently hover the cursor over the internal corners formed by the brick layer and press the 
Q key to activate the Snap References.
8 Move the cursor upwards until a projection of the right inside corner on the Guide Line 
appears.
9 Draw the wall between the intersection points of the guide line and the Snap guides starting 
from the right side.
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10 Drag the permanent guide line downwards and type d1000. Now press ENTER.
11 Select the slanted wall. Click on the right side endpoint and select the Stretch command. Pull 
the end of the wall to the intersection of the guide line and the Snap guide.
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12 Now click on the reference line and select the Curve edge icon on the Pet palette. Move the 
cursor upwards and type 30000 in the Tracker as a radius. Hit ENTER. Deselect the wall.
Priority-based IntersectionsTo watch the recorded version of this exercise, please open on the “Priority-based Intersections - 
11/84” video on the ARCHICAD YouTube channel.
For the small entrance area of the building we’ll use the same settings as the existing walls.
1 To pick up the parameters of elements and set them as default, activate the eyedropper 
button in the Standard Toolbar. The cursor will change to an eyedropper (you can also use the 
shortcut ALT + click to activate this option). Now pick up the settings of the closed external 
wall.
2 Move the eyedropper above the external wall, so that it will be highlighted and the Tracker 
will provide you with some brief details about the wall. Click on the wall.
Note: In the case of multiple elements placed above each other, you can always 
switch between them with the TAB key. Make sure that you find the external wall 
with the eyedropper cursor.
3 Open the Wall Settings dialog and set:
• Wall Top to 1. Story (Home + 1).
• Top offset to Top Linked Story to 0.
• In the Model panel, set the Junction Order value to 7. This will insure that walls are 
displayed correctly in any section views.
Click OK.
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4 Draw the front and the back walls of the entrance enclosure with the help of guide lines 1550 
millimeters from the outside edge of the wall. Use the Core Outside reference line and draw 
the wall downwards on the left side and upwards on the right side. Make sure the new walls 
connect to the existing reference lines.
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5 Select the slanted wall and activate the Split button in the Standard Toolbar. Click on the left 
guide line, move the cursor to the right and click one more time to keep the right part of the 
wall selected. Activate the Split command again. Then click on the right guide line and move 
the cursor again to the right. With the last click you’ll finish splitting the wall.
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6 With the wall selected, right-click, and select Edit Selected Composite/Profile. 
• In the upcoming dialog, push the Duplicate button, set a new descriptive name: Slanted 
Wall End and click OK.
• Select the Plaster - Gypsum skin and push the Insert Skin button.
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• Change the old Plaster – Gypsum skin to Insulation - Mineral Hard, its type to Other and 
its thickness to 100.
• Change the new Plaster – Gypsum skin to Plaster – Lime Sand.
Click OK.
7 SHIFT-click on the left end of the slanted wall to add it to the selection.
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8 Using the Info Box, change the structure of these walls to Slanted Wall End. Then hit ESC.
Delete the permanent guide lines using the Remove All Guide Lines command in the 
Standard Toolbar.
You’ll notice that the Brick Finish of the vertical wall intersects with the insulation skin of the 
slanted wall. This is because the skin priorities are not set correctly. The bigger the priority 
number, the stronger the wall or wall skin will be when it intersects with other walls. You can 
set skin priorities by building materials between 0 and 999.
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1 Select any External Wall and open Options > Element Attributes > Building Materials. The 
materials the composite uses will be highlighted in the list.
• Select the Brick Finish (white) material and check its priority. It is 640, which means that 
the Insulation – Mineral Hard must have an equal or higher priority number to avoid 
unneeded intersections.
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• Set the priority of the Insulation – Mineral Hard material to 645.
Click OK and press ESC to deselect the Wall.
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Lesson 5 - Wall Ends and Complex Profiles
To watch the recorded version of this exercise, please open on the “Wall End Tool - 12/84” video 
on the ARCHICAD YouTube channel.
Continue working on the current project or open AC21_Intermediate_05.pln ARCHICAD file 
from the training project folder.
In this lesson, we’ll start using complex profiles that allow us to create any kind of extruded 
geometry.
Wall End Tool
Now the skins intersect correctly. But we still have the problem with the wall’s ends. Let’s solve it 
by using the Wall End Tool.
1 Activate the Wall End Tool and open its Settings dialog.
You can apply the Wall End Favorite from the Lesson 05 Favorites folder to skip the next step.
2 Select the Returned End 21 object and set it up as like so:
• Uncheck the 3D Representation checkbox.
• Set Number of Skins to Turn to 2.
• Check the Extend Skin 1 on Inside Face checkbox.
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• Set the tags to Non-Load-Bearing Element and Exterior.
Click OK.
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3 Click on the both end points of the slanted wall to place the Wall Ends.
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Complex Profiles
To watch the recorded version of this exercise, please open on the “Complex Profiles - 13/84” 
video on the ARCHICAD YouTube channel.
Let’s convert both slanted wall composite structures to Complex Profiles. Complex Profiles allow 
us to create any kind of extruded geometry. They can be applied for walls, columns, beams. and 
railings.
1 Select the slanted wall end segment. Open Options > Complex Profiles > Capture Profile of 
Selection to create a new Complex Profile based on the existing slanted wall structure.
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2 As a result, the Profile Manager palette and the Custom Profile tab will be opened. In this tab, 
you can use fills to create and edit vertical cross-sectional profile that is extruded 
perpendicular to the profile’s plane. Please note the origin of coordinates relative to where the 
section is placed. This origin matches the location of the element Reference Line.
As for composite structures, you can set the availability of complex profile certain element types 
using the Use with buttons in the Complex Profile palette.
• Select the central (Masonry Brick) fill and offset its top edge downwards. Type d120, press 
ENTER and deselect this fill.
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• ALT + click on any Insulation – Mineral Hard fill to pick up its parameters.
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• Delete both Insulation fills. Create two guide lines: one on the bottom and another 20 
millimeters below the top of the structure. With the Fill Tool active, SPACE-click in the 
empty area of the structure to fill it with Insulation – Mineral Hard.
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• Select the left-hand Plaster – Lime Sand fill, choose in the Info Box Polygonal Geometry 
Method and extend it to the right one using the Add to Polygon Pet palette command.
• Add the right-hand Plaster – Lime Sand fill to the selection and open Edit > Reshape > Fill 
Consolidation.
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• In the upcoming Fill Consolidation dialog, choose the Merge Identical Fills regardless of 
their outlines and click OK.
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• Remove all guide lines and deselect the fill.
• Check in the Profile Manager palette the Vertical Stretch checkbox. This will let us change 
wall height without changing the Complex Profile attribute. Please note the two long-
dashed lines that appeared on the upper and lower edges of the wall.These lines define the 
boundaries of the stretchable area of the structure.
• For now, our structure contains too much hotspots. These unnecessary hotspots will only 
interfere during the wall editing process. Activate the Hotspot Tool in the Toolbox. Hold 
the SHIFT key and select all the hotspots except for those on the outer corners of the 
structure. 
 
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Press DEL or BACKSPACE.
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• Push the Store Profile button, enter the name – Slanted Wall End and click OK.
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3 Activate the 0. Ground Floor Tab, add the second slanted wall end segment to the selection 
and push the Apply button twice in the Complex Profile palette.
As you can see, now these walls are using a Complex Profile structure. Deselect the walls.
4 Select the central part of the slanted wall and activate the Options > Complex Profiles > 
Capture Profile of Selection command again.
• Push the Store Profile button and in the upcoming dialog, type the name – Slanted Wall. 
Click OK.
• Delete the unnecessary hotspots and activate the Vertical Stretch checkbox. Do not 
modify any fills, because we’ll edit them a bit later.
• Refresh the Profile using the Apply button.
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5 Go back to the 0. Ground Floor and push the Apply button in the Complex Profile palette.
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6 Close the Profile Manager palette. Press ESC to deselect the wall. Press Fn+F4 on MAC or 
Ctrl+F5 in Windows to show all in 3D. Select both end segments of the slanted wall, scroll 
through the Info Box and override their Ends Surfaces. Finally, deselect the walls.
Lesson 6 - Creating a Single Roof
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Lesson 6 - Creating a Single Roof
To watch the recorded version of this exercise, please open on the “Roof Creation - 14/84” video 
on the ARCHICAD YouTube channel.
Continue working on the current project or open AC21_Intermediate_06.pln ARCHICAD file 
from the training project folder.
In this lesson, we’ll set up the existing stories and add one more additional story. Then we’ll create 
a single-plain roof and trim the walls under it.
Our training project will have three stories: the existing ‘Ground Floor’ on which we’ve already 
worked on, a ‘Gallery’ and ‘Foundation’ that we will create now and the ‘Roof’.
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Roof Creation
1 Activate the Design > Story Settings... menu command. You can also access the Story 
Settings dialog box by right-clicking on Floor Plan tab in the Tab Bar and selecting the Story 
Settings command from the context menu.
• By default, the ARCHICAD standard template has 3 stories. Select the third story (No. 2.) and 
name it Roof.
• Let’s name the 1st Story as Gallery and enter 3000 as the Elevation Height. Set the Height 
to Next to 3200.
• With the Ground Floor item selected, click the Insert Below button to insert a new story 
below the existing Ground Floor, type Foundation and enter -1500 as Elevation.
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Click OK.
Now, let’s create a semi-pitched roof to the building with a wide overhang supported by columns.
2 Right-click the Floor Plan Tab and choose 1. Gallery.
3 Activate the Roof Tool and adjust the Roof settings as follows:
• Pivot Height (Pivot Line Offset to Home Story): 1000
• Composite Structure: Roof Aluminum
• Choose Vertical angle for the Roof’s Edges
• Select the Single-plane Geometry Method and set it at an angle of 18 degrees
• Floor Plan and Section: All Relevant Stories, Projected with Overhead and Entire Element
• Top surface: Roof - Corrugated Sheet Matte, side and bottom: Wood - Pine Grained 
Horizontal
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• Tags: Load-Bearing Element, Exterior
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Click OK.
4 In the Info Box, select the Rectangular Construction Method. Then, define the roof pivot line 
by clicking on the internal corners of the masonry skin on the lower longitudinal wall.
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5 Define the direction of the slope by clicking above the previously defined pivot line with the 
eye-shaped cursor.
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6 Draw the perimeter of the roof (which is its projection on the horizontal plane) using the 
external corners of the exterior walls.
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7 Select the roof, click on any of its corner nodes, choose the Offset all edges command on the 
Pet palette, move the cursors towards the contour, type 800 and press ENTER.
Deselect the Roof.
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Trimming to Roof
To watch the recorded version of this exercise, please open on the “Trimming to Roof - 15/84” 
video on the ARCHICAD YouTube channel.
Switch to the 3D tab. You can see that the tops of the walls are not aligned to the roof. Now we’ll 
trim them to the right height.
1 Select the walls by SHIFT-clicking on one of them. The walls are grouped, so if you have 
Suspend Groups off, which is a default setting (from the Standard Toolbar), one selection will 
select all four exterior walls.
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2 Right-click and select the Connect > Trim Elements to Roof/Shell context menu command.
3 Click anywhere on the roof. The empty roof icon turns black if the program finds a selectable 
element.
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4 Click the side of the walls you want to keep.
Deselect the walls.
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The walls are now trimmed to the roof, and if you change the roof geometry or sloping angle, 
the walls will be updated automatically.
Note: Later on, you can review and manage the connections between the elements 
very easily. If you select an element which has connections, an icon appears on its 
surface. Click on the icon to see a list of current connections. You can highlight the 
intended elements as well as delete the connections entirely or one by one.
Multi-element Editing
To watch the recorded version of this exercise, please open on the “Multi-element Editing - 16/84” 
video on the ARCHICAD YouTube channel.
We would like to create a canopy at the back part of our building. To do so, we will have to offset 
both the roof and the bottom slab.
We could perform these actions one-by-one, but instead we’ll exploit a smart ARCHICAD feature, 
called the Multi-element Editing.
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1 Select the pavement slab, click on its back edge and activate the Offset Edge command on 
the Pet palette. Click on one of two bottom nodes of the Roof.
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2 Now, when the edges of the roof and slab overlap each other in a horizontal projection, we 
can adjust them simultaneously. SHIFT-click on the roof, click on edge of the slab and use the 
Offset Edge action again. Offset the edges, type 2200 in the Tracker, hit ENTER and press ESC 
to deselect the elements.
Note: Multi-element Editing works with all polygon-based elements except for 
Morph and Shell. This way you can easily cut holes through multiple slabs, roofs or 
even meshes, move adjacent edges of elements, resize windows, etc. in a single 
step. During editing, the elements can be of different types.
Lesson 7 -Timber Structures
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Lesson 7 - Timber Structures
To watch the recorded version of this exercise, please open on the “Columns - 17/84” video on the 
ARCHICAD YouTube channel.
Continue working on the current project or open AC21_Intermediate_07.pln ARCHICAD file 
from the training project folder.
In this lesson, we’ll create some load-bearing roof timber structures; such as columns, rafters and 
purlins. 
Now, we are going to place four columns and additional timber structures to create a canopy on 
the south side of the building.
Columns
The first and the last columns will align with the axis of the two walls and all four columns will be 
equally distributed and parallel to the external wall.
1 Right-click the 1. Gallery tab and select the 0. Ground Floor plan.
2 Activate the Column Tool.
You can apply the Column Favorite from the Lesson 07 Favorites folder to skip the next step.
3 Set up the following parameters:
• Column Top: Not Linked
• Column Height: 3200
• Bottom Elevation to Project Zero: -100
• Structure: Rectangular
• Size: 200x200
• Building Material: Timber – Structural
• Anchor Point of Core: Middle
• Tags: Load-Bearing Element, Exterior
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Click OK.
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4 Hover the cursor over the bottom left inside corner of the walls, type Y3000- and hit ENTER.
5 Select the column and multiply it by activating the Multiply command from the context 
menu: right-click and choose the Move > Multiply... command. Alternatively, you can use the 
Edit > Move > Multiply... menu command (you can also use the shortcut CTRL+U to activate 
this option).
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6 Choose Drag as the multiply action. Select the Distribute multiply method and enter 3 for 
the number of copies. Uncheck the Pick Path before Input checkbox and set the Rotation of 
Copies to None. 
Click OK.
7 Click on the center point of the column, With the SHIFT key pressed, move the cursor to the 
right and hover it over the inside corner of the walls. 
p
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Click on the corner to place the 3 new columns.
8 Hit ESC to deselect the columns. Check the result in 3D.
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Rafters
To watch the recorded version of this exercise, please open on the “Rafters - 18/84” video on the 
ARCHICAD YouTube channel.
1 We’ll take advantage of the automatic surface recognition when placing the first rafter. But 
first, let’s make some modifications to the roof structure. Select the roof, right-click and chose 
the Edit Selected Composite/Profile command. Remove the Insulation – Plastic Soft skin. 
Increase the thickness of the lower Air Space – Frame skin to 200 mm. Add one more Timber 
– Roof skin underneath with same settings as the existing one Timber – Roof skin. Set the new 
lower skin as Finish.
Click OK.
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2 Open Roof Settings dialog (you can use the CTRL+T shortcut). Turn off the surface override 
for the edge surfaces. 
Click OK. The skins of the roof will now be visible. Deselect the roof.
3 Activate the Beam Tool.
You can apply the Rafter Favorite from the Lesson 07 Favorites folder to skip the next step.
4 Set it up as follows:
• Beam Height/Width: 200
• Reference Axis Offset: 100
• Inclined method, 18 degrees
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• Building Material: Timber – Structural
• Floor Plan Display: Home Story Only, Projected with Overhead and Entire Element
• Uncheck the Show Reference Axis checkbox
• Tags: Load-Bearing Element, Exterior
Click OK.
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5 Select the Single Geometry Method in the Info Box and place the beam along the top plane 
of the Air Space - Frame skin by clicking its bottom and top corners.
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6 Select the Roof. Using the Info Box, turn the roof surface override back on again and hit ESC.
7 Open the Gallery plan. Select the already drawn rafter and use the CTRL/CMD+U shortcut.
8 In the Multiply dialog, enter 12 for Number of copies, choose the Distribute method and 
click OK.
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9 Click on the top-left corner of the rafter. Then hold down the SHIFT key to limit horizontal 
mouse movement and click the on top-left corner of the roof.
10 Click anywhere on the empty screen or press ESC to remove the selection of newly created 
elements.
11 Select the roof and using the Pet palette command, Offset all its edges outwards by 20 
millimeters to avoid artifacts of the overlapping beams and roof element’s surfaces.
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12 Using the Info Box, uncheck the Cover Fill option and hit ESC.
Purlins and Wall Plates
To watch the recorded version of this exercise, please open on the “Purlins and Wall Plates - 19/
84” video on the ARCHICAD YouTube channel.
Now we also need some horizontal beams.
1 The purlins and wall plates should have similar parameters like the rafter, the only difference is 
that the purlins are horizontal. So, pick up the settings of any existing beam.
2 In the Info Box make the following changes:
• Beam Slant Angle: Horizontal
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• Reference Axis Offset: 0
3 Hover the cursor over the center of any column and hit Q. Using the snap guide, draw the 
beam from the left rafter to the right one.
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4 Activate the Section Tool in the Toolbox and draw a vertical section line approximately in the 
middle of the building between beams. Click with the eye cursor on the left of the section 
line.
Select the roof, using the Info Box switch on the Cover Fill option again and deselect the roof.
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5 Right-click on the section line and select from the context menu the Open with Current View 
Settings command. Some problems have popped up: the position of the rafter isn’t good. In 
additional, the roof isn’t insulated, and its skin intersects the purlin. To solve this, we must 
change the roof structure first.
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6 Select the roof, right-click and chose the Edit Selected Composite/Profile command. Replace 
the lower Air Space – Frame skin with the Insulation Mineral – Soft building material. 
Click OK.
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7 Select the purlin, click on its upper right node and move it down on the insulation (and the 
rafter) contour line.
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8 Right-click and choose the Display Order > Bring to Front command.
9 Now we’ll drag a copy of the purlin in the section window by using the context menu Move > 
Drag a Copy command (or you can also use the shortcut CTRL + SHIFT + D in Windows or 
CMD + ALT + D on a Mac to activate this function). To find the right position of the purlins let’s 
use Snap Guides. Hover the cursor over bottom contour line of the roof and wait until the blue 
Snap Guide line appears (or press the Q key to explicit mark it as the Snap Reference). Click on 
the bottom-left corner of the purlin and move it along the blue line (which is parallel to the 
roof ) to the intersection point of the Snap Guide and the external line of the load-bearing skin 
of the wall. 
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10 Using the same method, drag another copy for the last beam as well, but in this case, you 
should first click the bottom-right corner of the purlin.
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11 Deselect the purlin and switch back to 3D to check the result. The columns are still too high 
compared to the collar beam, so let’s select them all and shorten them at the same time by 
using the Stretch height command of the Pet palette. Set the height to the bottom corner of 
the beam and hit ESC.
Lesson 8 - Terrace Slab and Foundations
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Lesson 8 - Terrace Slab and Foundations
To watch the recorded version of this exercise, please open on the “Terrace Slab Modelling - 20/
84” video on the ARCHICAD YouTube channel.
Continue working on the current project or open AC21_Intermediate_08.pln ARCHICAD file 
from the training project folder.
In this lesson, we’ll use a 3D Cutaway plane to model the Terrace Slab. Then, we’ll create strip and 
pad foundations of the building.
Terrace Slab Modelling
Navigate to the terrace side of the building. There is a missing slab. We’ll model it in the 3D 
Window using the 3D Cutaway feature.
1 Activate the Slab Tool.
You can apply the Terrace Slab Favorite from the Lesson 08 Favorites folder to skip the next step.
2 Set up the following parameters:
• Reference Plane Elevation to Project Zero: 3000
• Composite: Flat Roof
• Reference Plane: Top
• Surfaces: Tiles - White Matte 15×15, Brick - White Natural, Paint - Glossy White
• Tags: Load-Bearing Element, Exterior, Slab
• Layer: Structural – Bearing
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Click OK.
3 Select the Polygonal Geometry Method in the Info Box.
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4 The 3D Cutaway plane should be placed on the Gallery level (+3000). To do this, push the 3D 
Cutaway button on the Standard Toolbar. Then click the 3D Cutaway tab on the top of the 
screen and move the cursor down along the blue line. Click on the 1. Gallery mark (you can 
also simply type 3000 and press ENTER).
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5 Click the Finalize button to finish the 3D Cutaway placement.
6 Now, using the Slab Tool, start drawing the terrace slab by clicking the exterior corners of the 
short wall segments. Use the smart cursor and the Snap Guides. Make sure that the straight, 
longer side goes along the internal side of the core skin of the exterior wall (the reference 
line). Only click on the four corners of the slab, we’ll add the curve later. This might just be the 
most complex operation in the whole our building modelling process. Please pay special 
attention to the accuracy of the slab nodes input, because otherwise it will not be connected 
correctly with the walls.
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The two last slab nodes must be placed on the intersection points of the short wall’s external 
faces and the curved walls of the outside core’s faces.
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Click on the first point to finish the slab input.
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7 Select the slab and click on the edge that needs to be curved. When the Pet palette appears, 
choose the Curve Edge button and click on the outer face of the curved load-bearing skin.
8 In the Standard Toolbar, push the arrow next to the 3D Cutting Plane button and select the 
Delete All Cutting Planes command. Switch off the 3D Cutting Plane by toggling its button 
on the Toolbar.
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9 The result is almost OK, but the texture on the slab is rotated, so let’s align it with the wall. 
With the slab still selected, apply the Document > Creative Imaging > Align 3D Texture > 
Reset menu command. Deselect the slab.
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Strip and Pad Foundations
To watch the recorded version of this exercise, please open on the “Strip and Pad Foundations - 
21/84” video on the ARCHICAD YouTube channel.
This building will have some simple underground structures and we’ll use the previously created 
exterior walls as trace references to place the necessary foundations.
1 Right-click the Floor Plan tab and open the -1. Foundation floor plan view. Choose for the 
Trace & Reference feature the Above Current Story option. Click on Transparent Fills and 
Zones. This way we can better see the skins of the wall composites.
2 Activate the Wall Tool.
You can apply the Strip Foundation Favorite from the Lesson 08 Favorites folder to skip the next 
step.
3 Set it up as follows:
• Wall Top: 0. Ground Floor
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• Top offset to Top Linked Story: -100
• Bottom offset to Current Story: 0 (so that wall height is 1400)
• Home Story: -1. Foundation
• Structure: Basic
• Building Material: Reinforced Concrete – Structural
• Thickness: 600
• Reference Line: Inside Face
• Reference Line Offset: 50
• Tags: Load-Bearing Element, Exterior, Footing
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Click OK.
4 You can turn on the View > On-Screen View Options > Walls & Beams Reference Lines 
option to better see the reference lines of the placed walls and use the Chained Geometry 
Method for faster placement. Follow the reference line direction of the existing walls when 
placing the foundations. Draw the main four wall segments, so that the reference line of the 
foundation meets the reference line of the walls above. 
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5 In the Wall Settings dialog, set the Reference Line Offset value to 150 and then SPACE + click 
the curved wall to place the foundation.
6 The thickness of the new foundation wall is not wide enough. Select it and using the Info Box, 
change its thickness to 1000. 
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7 Click on the left node of the curved foundation, activate in the Pet palette the Angular 
stretch command and hover the cursor over the left node of the curved wall. Using the TAB 
key, select the Chord field in the Tracker, type 50+ and press ENTER.
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8 Using the same method, increase the foundation length to the right and deselect the wall.
9 Set the Reference Line Offset value to 300 and create foundations for the two short walls.
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We also need foundations under the wooden columns.
1 Activate the Column Tool.
You can apply the Pad Foundation Favorite from the Lesson 08 Favorites folder to skip the next step.
2 Use the following settings:
• Column Top: 0. Ground Floor
• Top offset to Top Linked Story: -100
• Bottom Offset to Home Story: 0
• Size: 500/500
• Building Material: Reinforced Concrete – Structural
• Tags: Load-Bearing Element, Exterior, Footing
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Click OK.
3 Click the midpoints of the wooden columns to place the foundations.
4 Turn off Walls & Beams Reference Lines and Trace & Reference (disable Transparent Fills & 
Zones as well) when done.
	ARCHICAD Training Series
	Intermediate ARCHICAD Training
	Introduction
	Lesson 1 - Creating the Site
	Opening ARCHICAD
	Predefined Favorites Import
	Importing Surveyor Data 
	Modeling the Terrain 
	Lesson 2 – Basic Exterior Walls
	Building Materials and Composite Structures
	Exterior Wall Creation
	Lesson 3 - Floor Slab and Pavement
	Attribute Management
	Pavement Creation
	Lesson 4 - Additional Exterior Walls
	Guide Lines and Snap References
	Priority-based Intersections
	Lesson 5 - Wall Ends and Complex Profiles
	Wall End Tool
	Complex ProfilesLesson 6 - Creating a Single Roof
	Roof Creation
	Trimming to Roof
	Multi-element Editing
	Lesson 7 - Timber Structures
	Columns
	Rafters
	Purlins and Wall Plates
	Lesson 8 - Terrace Slab and Foundations
	Terrace Slab Modelling
	Strip and Pad Foundations