By setting up a Favorite with the Slab as an IfcCovering with predefined type of CEILING we can ensure our settings are correct every time. Typically we use slabs for ceilings but if we don’t set this up correctly these elements will be exported as an IfcSlab. However, where ArchiCAD does not have a specific tool for an element you can configure an element with the correct classification using Favorites. The major elements are correct in ArchiCAD and don’t need much setting up. So a wall set as an ArchiCAD Type will default as an IfcWall, a door will be an IfcDoor, a window an IfcWindow, a column an IfcColumn and so on. Generally speaking elements default to ArchiCAD Type. In order to share geometry correctly using IFC, your model elements need to be correctly classified. But Favorites can do so much more, particularly when it comes to sharing geometry and data with others. This allows those transitioning from CAD to produce information efficiently. On the most basic level you can set up Favorites to allocate elements to particular layers with the right pens, lines, fills, materials etc. So what does it do? It allows you to configure elements and objects with all the settings you need. In truth the Star is very apt as it really allows users to harnesses the power of ArchiCAD and for me it is the star of the show. If you haven’t discovered Favorites, it’s under the Palettes Menu and its icon is a big yellow Star. That said Favorites can still deliver ‘lonely BIM’ in better ways too. We also want to have reliable geometry and data both within ArchiCAD but more crucially when exported to others.

This makes life easier for users but at the same time makes training more straightforward. We aren’t fond of add-ons or onerous ways of working so for us the simpler the better. At Bond Bryan Architects, we have a file for example set up with standard toilet layouts that can be linked in but you still need ways to create geometry and data within the main model file(s). There are other solutions that combine with Favorites, like setting up other files with elements placed in model files. Without using Favorites I see few other efficient ways of delivering what can truly be classed as BIM in a main model file using ArchiCAD. Having personally used ArchiCAD for over 12 years and spent the last 12 months really trying to understand what we need to deliver in terms of wider BIM deliverables, Favorites are an ArchiCAD users keys to fully collaborative BIM. That title might seem a bit extreme, but it probably got your attention. If you haven’t discovered ArchiCAD Favorites, you haven’t discovered BIM

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