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Efficient creation of BS 1192:2007+A2:2016 compliant file names from ARCHICAD 19 | Bond Bryan BIM
BS 1192:2007+A2:2016, GRAPHISOFT ARCHICAD
Efficient creation of BS 1192:2007+A2:2016 compliant file names from ARCHICAD 19
In the last post I talked about the need for organisations in the UK to align their approach with “Level 1 BIM”. One of the requirements is to produce all information with standard file names (BS 1192:2007+A2:2016). Creating BS 1192 compliant file names has to date been a difficult process from ARCHICAD. The process has relied on users manually renaming files once they had dragged their Layout Sheets to the Publisher using ARCHICAD’s Organiser or renaming after publishing the files to a Desktop or Server.
As I talked about in my last post BIM for me stands for Better Information Management and the need to produce more reliable outputs is one of the key aims of BIM. This post, on a technical solution within our authoring tool, is all about Better Information Management.
Investing time in template development
I spend a lot of time each year developing and maintaining our templates. The investment in our templates is key to our whole BIM approach. Its where everything starts, so getting the foundations right are critical to deliver our requirements, but also of course with BIM, others requirements. The templates aim to integrate the latest national and international standards, incorporate lessons learnt from projects, fix any errors, incorporate new version features and consider user feedback for improvements. In line with IS09001 we are committed to continual improvement and these templates have been something we have developed over the last 21 years.
Our ARCHICAD 19 templates are about to be unleashed for new projects so I thought it would be good to show an example of where this time investment in template development will deliver massive benefits to actual projects going forward.
This particular post is about the incorporation of a new version feature in ARCHICAD 19. This is the ability to add data fields (rather than using dumb text) to Layout Sheets allows automation of BS 1192 file naming when publishing ARCHICAD layout sheets.
I almost missed the ability to implement this approach in our template. I would hazard a guess though that embedding this approach in our template could save at least 2 hours for every project we create. That’s a pretty hefty time saving over the next few years for every project! It also provides a lot less opportunity for manual error so improves the quality of export and means that aligning with BS 1192 is almost impossible to avoid.
Of course not all countries will need to follow BS 1192 but this workflow may prove useful to those who have different standards elsewhere, even if the output is slightly different. In the UK though BS 1192 should be applied to all projects moving forward.
So in this post we look at how to create the automation and what users need to do when creating layout sheets.
Why not just use the Layout ID field for the Naming?
One method to create the BS 1192:2007+A2:2016 Name field would be to put the whole code in the Layout ID (SourceID) field. However with this method there is very little opportunity for formatting the fields nicely on a Layout Sheet. We want the fields to be clear to both authors and more importantly the recipient so there is a need to separate each field. This means we can provide headers above to explain each field. This wouldn’t be possible with a single field.
This is what the Name field looks like on our ARCHICAD 19 title block:
Image: BS 1192:2007+A2:2016 Name field on the title block (also showing the Status code/Suitability description and Revision code/Revision description)
Also the dialogue box would need to be very wide on screen to be able to see the whole code. This becomes very inefficient and cumbersome for users so we need a method to use separate fields.
Process for creating template integration
Go to Book Settings (use the ARCHICAD Help menu if you don’t know where to find any of the ARCHICAD terms) and under Layout Scheme add the following fields:
Volume or system
Level (this is already in the UKI ARCHICAD 19 template as ‘Layout Level’ is you are using the out-of-the-box template)
Type (this is already in the UKI ARCHICAD 19 template as ‘Layout Type’ is you are using the out-of-the-box template)
Image: Book Settings – Layout Scheme dialogue for adding new fields
Next go to your Master Layout sheets and add these fields to your layout sheet. The text may look pretty untidy on the Master Layout sheet as the fields will overlap each other.
In order to creation the automation there needs to be at least one View setup in your publisher.
You can then select the top level folder and choose ‘Rename Folders…‘. The dialogue will look like this:
Image: The ‘Rename Items…’ is accessed by right clicking on the folder
On choosing ‘Rename Items…’ the following dialogue appears:
Image: The default name in the Publisher is the SourceID and SourceItemName. i.e Number and Description [Click to enlarge]
As a default the Automatic Name is made up of SourceID (Number) and SourceItemName (Description). In order to change the format simply select ‘Custom Name‘ and then ‘Insert Autotext‘.
Move the cursor in front of the SourceID and from the Insert Autotext list choose Project then insert a hyphen. Repeat this process with Originator, Type, Volume or system, Level, Type and Role.
The Custom Name should now look like this:
Image: Fields created previously in the Layout Scheme can be added to the Custom Name. [Click to enlarge]
Note that the Description (SourceItemName) is optional for BS 1192:2007+A2:2016 so you can set it up without if required. You can also have a Status code and Revision code to the end of the string. i.e. ABCDE-BBA-00-GF-DR-A-0001_GF GROUND FLOOR-S2-P01. (Note: Status code is already in the UKI template as ‘Layout Status Code’ is you are using the out-of-the-box template)
For DWGs follow the same procedure above but instead of mapping the Type simply add manual text of M2.
Note that Views dragged directly into the Publisher (e.g. BIMx models and IFC) would require a different process. These would ideally be named correctly directly in the Views themselves to save renaming.
In order to assist users complete information it is also advised to set up a schedule (under Project Indexes) where the layout information can be quickly completed and checked. This would look something like this:
Image: Schedule with layout information [Click to enlarge]
Process for users
A user needs to first create a Layout Sheet. They can add the Layout ID (Number / SourceID) and Layout Name (Description / SourceItemName) at the point a new Layout is created.
Once the Layout has been generated there are 2 possible methods to add the other data.
Layout Settings – Right click on the Layout and choose Layout Settings… Then go to the bottom of the dialogue (Tags & Categories) and complete the other fields (i.e. Project, Originator, Volume, Level, Type, Role etc).
Schedule – Use a schedule under Project Indexes in the Project Map to complete the other fields (i.e. Project, Originator, Volume, Level, Type, Role etc). See example above.
Once the information has been completed the user simply needs to drag a Layout Sheet from Layout Book to the correct Publisher Set.
Image: Dragging the Layout to the Publisher will automatically show the mapping values [Click to enlarge]
Automatically the BS 1192:2007+A1:2015 Name will appear in the Publisher Set.
This should look something like below when a PDF is dragged into a Publisher Set for a Common Data Environment (CDE). This includes only the Name as the Description and other meta data are completed in other fields in most CDEs.
Image: Files aligning with required 7 required fields for BS 1192:2007+A2:2016. These files can be uploaded to a Common Data Environment (CDE).
If a file is required to live on a Server or sent by email (not-appropriate with a “Level 1 BIM” or “Level 2 BIM” compatible process which requires a CDE to be setup and utilised for a project) then a Description can be added as well as meta data (Status and/or Revision). The Description is separated from the Name by an Underscore (_). We have added only the Revision from simplicity. This would look like this:
Image: Files aligning with required 7 required fields and 2 of the 3 optional fields (Description and Revision with Status excluded) for BS 1192:2007+A2:2016. These files can be stored on a Server or sent directly by email if required.
Our template has been setup with standard Publisher Sets for saving to both Common Data Environments (CDE) and to a Server. We also have set up Custom Naming for other file formats (i.e. DWG) and printing to provide consistency for outputs.
The process for creating BS 1192:2007+A2:2016 automation in ARCHICAD 19’s Publisher is pretty straightforward. Of course the same data that is used for the file naming can also be used for other purposes including the Task Information Delivery Plan (TIDP) that we discussed in an earlier post. The fact we are using data rather than text also removes user error on the layout sheets themselves. Implementing this process though is another step to removing manual processes, improving quality and improving the speed of output. It’s basically win, win, win!!
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12 thoughts on “Efficient creation of BS 1192:2007+A2:2016 compliant file names from ARCHICAD 19”	Jason Smith says:	November 16, 2015 at 8:31 pm	Hi Rob
Thank you so much. I had set it up to use a couple of Project info lines with some manual import on each sheet. This will be so much easier.
Reply	Chris Dixon says:	November 17, 2015 at 9:59 am	It seems ArchiCAD’s OOTB functionality has surpassed Revit here. We’ve been able to spit out these file names automatically for years, but only by using a third party add-on such as RTV Xporter. RTV is only 10 dollars, but you have to wait for the add-on to be available for each annual Revit upgrade.
Interestingly the RTV syntax is very similar, except the parameter names are easier to read. —-_Rev_
The S# is the Sheet Number which includes Type-Role-Number concatenated together in our case.
Reply	Chris Dixon says:	November 17, 2015 at 10:00 am	oops… WordPress interpreted the RTV syntax as mark up
Reply	Chris Dixon says:	November 17, 2015 at 10:05 am	Screenshot of RTV syntax instead:
https://pumphousebim.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/rtv-syntax.jpg
Reply	Kenny McNally says:	November 22, 2015 at 9:19 am	Incredibly helpful post, Rob, really appreciated. Spent several hours adding this to our template!
As you don’t use the optional ‘classification’ field, do you rely on the numbered folders to separate out, say, stairs from ceilings? Using cisfb these would have 24 and 35 in their names (no idea what Uniclass turns this into), but have you got something similar inherent in your folder names?
Thanks again. Kenny
Reply	Rob Jackson says:	November 22, 2015 at 11:24 am	Hi Kenny,
BS 1192 allows you to introduce a ‘classification’ within the Number part.
We have split with a somewhat homemade system but we have kept this fairly generic so only split into 10 different categories. i.e. site plans, plans, sections, elevations, finishes, details etc. I might write another post on this someday when I get some time.
Reply	Blair Taylor says:	November 23, 2015 at 12:24 pm	Hi Kenny, Rob
Whether or not to adopt the optional classification field is an issue we have been thinking a lot about too. For example, if we are working for a contractor, we will be required to comply with their BEP, which would presumably mean we would not have any say on the inclusion of the classification field. Therefore to rely on it would inevitably present us with a problem down the line.
However it seems ironic that, whilst we are being encouraged through BIM to standardise classification throughout the industry, we are effectively forced by the intricacies of BS 1192 into creating our own classification system for drawing series numbering… or indeed reverting to a form of CI/SfB, as we are considering!
Anyway, another great post, Rob. Good to see that some of the layout metadata deficiencies we had highlighted seem to have been addressed.
Reply	Jason Smith says:	January 11, 2016 at 7:44 pm	Hi Rob
How would you name a BIMx file?
Combined set PDF all architectural drawings?
BIMx File – Drawings within the file would have the BS naming convention but the naming of the BIMx file itself?
Combined PDF – Drawings within the file would have the BS naming convention but the naming of the Combined PDF file itself?
The Standard seems to only have individual drawings or models that would be shared. How do you deal with the request for a stakeholder that requests a full set of architectural drawings in PDF? I assume if the BS Standard doesn’t have a convention than you should use your Office Standard. The BEP should have a provision for this type of request. Interested to know what your thoughts are.
Reply	Rob Jackson says:	January 14, 2016 at 9:19 am	Hi Jason,
A BIMx file is essentially just a type of model file. i.e. ABCDE-BBA-00-ZZ-M3-A-0001.
A combined PDF of drawings are still drawings and cover all levels so they would be something like ABCDE-BBA-00-ZZ-DR-A-0001. The drawings in them would as you point out have their own Naming. However for the record we never issued combined PDFs but the BS can cope with this.
One complex one would be BIMx Pro as it has a model and drawings. In this instance though it is still delivered in a model format so would allocate an M3 code.
Reply	James Whipp says:	March 14, 2016 at 7:48 am	Hi Rob,
This is a fantastic blog and really useful. I am in the process of setting up our company project template (but in revit) and am struggling to understand if i’m correctly setting up the revision and suitability fields correctly to meet BS1192. Looking at what you have shown on your title block and sample drawing schedule it appears the suitability and revisions are project specific not sheet specific. ie the project model is at rev P01 and the project S2 suitability as opposed to say a ground floor drawing sheet being at P01 and the roof plan being at P03? Is this correct? If so do you do sheet revisions also or is it always a project revision. I just anticipate being asked if I add a new drawing half way in a project why its at rev P08 for example if there were no prior revisions. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Reply	Rob Jackson says:	March 18, 2016 at 11:40 am	James. Revisions and suitability are sheet specific not project specific. The blog shows them all the same merely as an example but sheets would have different revisions always starting at P01. So yes you can have a Ground Floor of P01 and Roof Plan of P03 although normally sets of drawings are revised together for consistency. i.e. all plans are updated concurrently. Suitability would typically be the same when issuing information at the same time, although you can have a mix of codes where appropriate of course. Hope this answers your question. Rob
Reply	Nathan Manning says:	November 20, 2016 at 4:49 pm	How does the new Uniclass 2015 allow for drawing numbering as it seems to fall short when looking to classify drawings by type e.g. General Arrangement Plans, Elevations, Sections, Fire plans, setting out etc.How would this map to Uniclass? Im currently looking to develop my own in house drawing numbering following a similar concept to that of the old Ci/SfB utilising a two digit series number so I can classify my drawings and then I’ll use Uniclass for object naming and layers such as text and line types. If anyone has a way they are doing this please could you share with me.
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