Archicad 28 Renovation Filters: Manage Existing and Demolished Elements

In Archicad 28, renovation filters are used to show, hide or graphically distinguish project elements according to their renovation status. According to Graphisoft’s Archicad 28 help documentation, filter settings are stored in the project file, and the same settings can be assigned to different views. This guide explains how to configure filters and link them to saved views so that existing, demolished and new elements are presented more clearly in drawings.

1. Open the renovation filter settings and select a filter

To open the filter options, go to Document > Renovation > Renovation Filter Options. You can also access the same window using the Reno Filter Options icon in the Quick Options tab or the drop-down menu in the Renovation Palette. Select the filter you want to edit from the list at the top of the window.

To create a new filter based on an existing one, use Duplicate to make a copy, then edit its properties. Use Rename to change the filter name and Delete to remove it from the project. Export saves the selected filter as an XML file, while Import adds a saved XML filter to the project. This makes it possible to reuse filters across different projects within an office. However, exporting a filter file does not, by itself, mean that project elements or all project settings are transferred.

2. Show, hide or graphically distinguish elements by status

For each renovation status in the selected filter, assign one of the options Show, Hide or Override. Show displays elements using the fill, pen and line settings defined in their own settings. Hide removes elements with that status from the view. Override displays elements using the Override Style defined in the Graphic Override Rules dialog box.

Choose the options in the table according to the information the drawing needs to convey; the documentation does not prescribe a single required combination for every project. When using Override, check the relevant rules under Document > Graphic Overrides > Graphic Override Rules. Selecting Override in the filter does not, by itself, determine which color or line will be used.

3. Additional options for existing and demolished elements

The filter window includes additional display options for existing and demolished elements. These can help remove unnecessary marks from a plan or make demolition information easier to read.

For existing elements, options include hiding opening dimension markers, displaying the cut fill of walls as a uniform fill, and preventing the intersections of new or demolished walls from affecting intersections with existing walls. These settings may be useful when dimensions or section information for the existing structure do not need to appear in the drawing.

There are more options for elements to be demolished: hide opening dimension markers, door/window/skylight/opening symbols, zones or objects; display the cut fill as a uniform fill; show the element without a fill, using lines only; separate wall intersections; and mark doors or windows to be demolished with an “X” symbol. If a door or window is removed and replaced with new wall sections, you can also show the opening’s contour lines as elements to be demolished.

Before enabling these options, decide which information needs to remain on the sheet. For example, hiding objects to be removed can simplify a demolition plan, while marking doors and windows for demolition with an X can clearly indicate where work is required. These settings do not have to be used together or in every drawing.

4. Apply the filter to a saved view

You can open a view’s settings from the context menu of the view item in the Navigator, the menu for the open view tab, or the Settings button below the View Map. In View Settings, select the filter to apply from the Renovation Filter field. View Settings can also be opened when saving a view or saving it under a different name.

If a field appears grayed out, the source viewpoint may be set to Manual Update or Drawing. According to Graphisoft’s documentation, the renovation filter for that view cannot be edited in this case. Options include creating a new view with the required filter or changing the source viewpoint to Auto Update. Checking the view’s source and update type before making changes can save you from looking for a setting in the wrong place.

What changes in architectural and interior design workflows?

Renovation filters are useful for architecture and interior design teams that want to present existing conditions, demolition and new work consistently across different views. Assigning a filter to a saved view makes the statuses shown in the plan part of the view settings. Exporting and importing XML files can also help teams use the same filter definition across multiple projects.

The uses described here are based on Archicad 28 help documentation. The sources provide no information about hardware requirements or filter-processing performance, so this guide does not recommend specific devices. Teams should first define display rules that suit their drawing standards, then check the Override rules and the view that will go on the sheet. In particular, verify that elements intended to remain visible have not been hidden and that additional options have not removed necessary information, such as opening markers.

Common mistakes

• Treating Override as if it automatically creates a graphic rule. Even when Override is selected in the filter, the view relies on the definition in Graphic Override Rules.

• Trying to select a setting in the grayed-out Renovation Filter field. This field may not be editable when the source view is set to Manual Update or Drawing.

• Enabling all demolition options indiscriminately. Before changing the visibility of symbols, zones, objects or fills, check what information needs to remain on the sheet.

• Confusing an XML filter with the entire project file. Importing and exporting transfers the filter; the source does not say that project elements are transferred as well.