subject: Using The Favorites Palette In Archicad [print this page] ArchiCad is truly one of the greatest architectural software you can use. ArchiCad is an architect's dreams come true, complete with 2d and 3d drafting capabilities and a document management tool among other functions. However, like anything else, all of the great things ArchiCad has to offer won't help you unless you understand exactly how to use the software itself. One function of ArchiCad that is essential for you to master, if you would like to save yourself time, is the Favorites palette. If you do not like to repeat yourself over and over again, then you will definitely appreciate this solution ArchiCad has to offer. In this article you will gain a brief understanding of this underused but very useful function.
The Favorites palette is like your best friend in ArchiCad. While it will not remember your birthday, it will recall your settings for doors, windows, walls and other setting you frequently use. The information will be easy to find because it will be alphabetized and categorized. You will no longer have to enter the same information a million times over. When you use this function you will save yourself a tremendous amount of time and you will be a lot more organized. Thus, you will be able to complete your projects in a quicker amount of time without the headache involved from starting from scratch. What more could you ask for?
So, just how do you access the Favorites palette? That is simple and rather easy to remember. All you need to do is go to the Windows menu and select Palettes. From there you just need to select Favorites and there you have it. You can add the elements you use most frequently to this text-based list anytime you need to. You can easily populate your list with elements from one of your previous projects that you consider a masterpiece. In no time at all you will be able to create your go to list that you will use time and time again. Should you decide you no longer want a certain element on this list it can easily be deleted with a couple clicks of the mouse. Once you have completed your list to your satisfaction you need to save it under a disk file. Make sure you save it with .prf. That one step is very important, so please remember it. Now this information is at your fingertips and you will be able to plug it into the project of your liking. After you plug it in you will still be able to modify it if you need to. You can also use it to switch out an element you would like to change. You will also have the ability to use this list for both the 2d and the 3d section of the project you are working on. You no longer need to spend time searching through the library for what you need. It is amazing how convenient it really is to have this function available when you are working with ArchiCad.
Now you have a basic understanding of what this function does and how to use it. However, a ArchiCAD user named Eric Bobrow has a very detailed video on this subject that can be viewed on Youtube for further explanation. See the resource box below.
