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ArchiCAD Material Manager feature?

Anonymous
Not applicable
Hello,
I would like to know if there is a feature like Materials Manager (for e.g.) in ArchiCAD which can display an update of all materials assigned to objects in a particular the project.

In one of my projects, i am using (approx.)50 different materials on various objects, and would like to know the assignment list...to review the materials used and to avoid duplication.

Thanks and regards,
9 REPLIES 9
This should be on a wishlist and has been discussed previously.
Think Like a Spec Writer
AC4.55 through 27 / USA AC27-4060 USA
Rhino 8 Mac
MacOS 14.2.1
Karl Ottenstein
Moderator
GS wrote:
I would like to know if there is a feature like Materials Manager (for e.g.) in ArchiCAD which can display an update of all materials assigned to objects in a particular the project.

In one of my projects, i am using (approx.)50 different materials on various objects, and would like to know the assignment list...to review the materials used and to avoid duplication.
This could mean a dozen different things. A precise description with an example might lead to some suggested methods. What do you mean by 'display an update'? What do you mean by 'know the assignment list' - per surface? Or, which materials are in use? Etc.

Thanks,
Karl
One of the forum moderators
AC 27 USA and earlier   •   macOS Ventura 13.6.6, MacBook Pro M2 Max 12CPU/30GPU cores, 32GB
Anonymous
Not applicable
Thanks Karl for your prompt response.

I am doing a project where (as per Client wish) i have to use different material on multiple walls (interior and exterior) and ceilings. Currently, i am keeping track of the material by writing it on a piece of paper against the object on which i had applied it, to keep track of the materials being used.

I wish, if by looking at the material, we can know to which object(s) it is assigned, and not the other way around.

What i meant by 'display update' is that if i use (for example) Surf Stucco White on couple of walls, one main beam, and few slabs, etc. - is there a way that the Material Usage list can be generated with regular updates as and when a particular material is used on multiple objects.

Hope i was able to clarify my query.

Thanks and regards,
Karl Ottenstein
Moderator
Lots of possibilities here still! 😉
GS wrote:
I am doing a project where (as per Client wish) i have to use different material on multiple walls (interior and exterior) and ceilings. Currently, i am keeping track of the material by writing it on a piece of paper against the object on which i had applied it, to keep track of the materials being used.

I wish, if by looking at the material, we can know to which object(s) it is assigned, and not the other way around.
I think I'm 80% understanding this one now... I believe you may be happier with an approach that I and others here use - creating materials by function rather than by appearance. See my post and those of others here:
http://archicad-talk.graphisoft.com/viewtopic.php?p=26432&highlight=material+names+function#26432

and if part of your requirement is to change the material appearance on those particular surfaces for the client for them to choose their preference, see my post (and those of others) about using Attribute Manager here:
http://archicad-talk.graphisoft.com/viewtopic.php?p=117641&highlight=material+names+function#117641

What i meant by 'display update' is that if i use (for example) Surf Stucco White on couple of walls, one main beam, and few slabs, etc. - is there a way that the Material Usage list can be generated with regular updates as and when a particular material is used on multiple objects.
Not really. Or, not easily.

The material list in Attribute Manager has a checkmark next to every material in use - but will not tell you where or how. (If you use Artlantis or other external rendering packages, you have the ability to make all 'other' materials invisible, so as to visually see which surfaces have been assigned a particular material. Easier/harder in some software than others.)

Schedules can show which elements are using a particular material - and, being interactive, can allow you to select the desired elements. But... the materials for each building element are in different data fields, more so with objects, and even more complexly handled for profiled columns, walls, beams. So, one would have to generate a zillion schedules and merge them in Excel - which would lose interactivity and leave the only way to link back to the model as the ID field of each building element. So, not really a solution.

No list - but perhaps the easiest way to at least locate elements using a particular material in AC is to use Find & Select (Edit menu) with "All Types" and searching just under "Material" as seen in the attached screenshot. Using F&S in the 3D window might be useful for you.

I have not tested whether F&S is smart enough to detect materials that are applied to one surface of a complex profile, but it is smart enough to query against all three surfaces of walls, for example.

Cheers,
Karl
One of the forum moderators
AC 27 USA and earlier   •   macOS Ventura 13.6.6, MacBook Pro M2 Max 12CPU/30GPU cores, 32GB
Karl wrote:
Lots of possibilities here still! 😉
Schedules can show which elements are using a particular material - and, being interactive, can allow you to select the desired elements […] perhaps the easiest way to at least locate elements using a particular material in AC is to use Find & Select (Edit menu) with "All Types" and searching just under "Material" as seen in the attached screenshot. Using F&S in the 3D window might be useful for you.
I think that is definitely the way to go in this case, if setting up a whole new functional material list sounds like too much for this project at this time (and the Schedules would come handy even with a functional material set). I don't think he really needs to do anything in Excel --because these are working schedules only, it's fine to have a schedule for walls, another for beams, another for slabs, another for doors, etc., each listing fields for the faces specific to each element. If the schedule 'sums' say the walls with the same face material values the schedule becomes easily readable and manageable and any unintended variation will immediately stand out.

Schedules + Find&Select are so powerful.
I agree with Karl on the notion that materials should be classified according to how they are used.

BIM is well and truly the act of articulating and specifying. Its about learning to make decisions as they need to be made and having the tools to support the process. BIM is not about having the myriad of choices and thinking you have to decide everything the first day. That's a fallacy that parametrics have engendered and are in part responsible for the resistance to BIM.

Maybe it would be far simpler to develop an add-on that manages the specifying of materials. Instead of duplicating materials and renaming them and trying to manage them across offices and projects, maybe a material specifier could do that. Maybe it could go so far as to script the paint colour, gloss factor, etc. for all pain wok on a project using a single Material.

These might be parametric Materials (could they evolve into procedural ones?)

If nothing else, ArchiCAD should have a basic functionality that produces an outline specification or the headers for it. Why not have a Teamwork sign-in role for the project spec writer.
Think Like a Spec Writer
AC4.55 through 27 / USA AC27-4060 USA
Rhino 8 Mac
MacOS 14.2.1
Anonymous
Not applicable
I have been harping on this issue for years. For now I always recommend that people create project materials by application not specification. For many this is a simple matter of creating a few company standards (interior walls, interior trim, sidewalks, roadways, roofing, siding, glazing, etc.) and then adding some more on a project by project basis.

On big projects with lots of materials this can get tedious but it sure beats the alternative.

On the wish list side of this I have long been requesting a dual setting for materials (which I would prefer were called finishes) one for specifications (ie: red paint) and another for applications (ie: barn siding). This would allow us to have extensive catalogs of common specifications which could be applied to the limited set of applications in each project. For example:

CT1 = 1ft sq Negro Marquina marble tile
CT2 = 2in sq American Olean white ceramic mosaic
CT3 = 8in sq Terra Pavers w/ 2" dots
...and so on

This would also pave the way for dynamically linked finish schedules and specs. Since materials translate into other programs (at least in IFC, NWC, DWG & 3DS from what I've seen) the info could even be used collaboratively.

It seems that it would even be quite easy to do. Oh well...
Anonymous
Not applicable
I absolutely agree, your suggested approach would be a much better way to do it Matthew.

In a future release, I wonder if there is any gain to be had in separating out the materials into individual external files, like library parts, that can be shared between the many different projects in an office. I have always thought it strange that materials were defined and stored in the current .pln only. I know you can use the attribute manager to transfer materials between plns, but this is a workaround that doesn't solve the core problem.

While we are going there, why not separate out all of the attributes into individual external files. I think it would make sharing attributes much easier, and everyone would always have easy access to the latest versions by simply reloading the library. I could see problems if attributes were updated, but old plns were still looking for the old version in order to work properly, but I don't think it is any different to the way library parts should be managed.
Anonymous
Not applicable
Thank you all for the comments. Really appreciate your efforts in responding to my query.

I would try incorporating the suggestions to facilitate my workflow, creating materials by function should help...and i would try Attribute Manager as Client would like to select material.

Thanks a bunch!

Warm regards,