Which Archicad Tool Best Suits Each Type of Modification in a BIM Project?

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In a BIM project environment using Archicad, a practice’s team receives modification requests during day-to-day modelling or formal reviews from third parties (site supervision, external collaborators, etc.). Two distinct tools are required:

1. Issue Manager & Issue Organizer: to capture, organise and resolve issues detected during modelling.
2. Change Manager: to record and track formal change requests that need to be reflected on layouts, without having to print every sheet.

This article clearly describes what each tool manages and its operational focus, without going into exhaustive process detail.

Audience

Support engineers, BIM coordinators, new Archicad users in collaborative project environments (Teamwork), and administrative staff overseeing change and issue workflows.

Prerequisites

• Archicad with a version that supports the Issue Manager, Issue Organizer and Change Manager.

• Project in a Teamwork environment (optional, but recommended).

Issue Manager & Issue Organizer

Record and manage issues, problems, unforeseen revisions or details that arise during modelling, whether generated internally or from requirements approved on site/by site supervision.

Key features

• Allows you to create issues that highlight model elements or graphical views, with the ability to classify issues as Highlight, New, Modify or Delete.

• Issues can be generated from the Model Check Report or imported via PDF or BCF from external collaborators.

• Using the Issue Organizer lets you list, sort and prioritise cases (by priority, status, type) and reorganise their structure by dragging entries.

Focus

Designed to manage unexpected or modelling-specific situations that do not require a formal layout change or drawing revision, but that do require internal tracking, assignment or progressive resolution.

Change Manager

Formally document changes that affect the project’s overall drawings, particularly when modifications need to be reflected in layout revisions. Ideal for formal requests coming from other parts of the project.

Key features

• Change Manager lists all changes documented in the project; it allows you to create, link and archive changes.

• A change can be created from the palette or by linking elements in the model; use the Change tool to place markers (cloud or arrow) linked to a change.

• If a change is linked to elements, Archicad can automatically detect it on affected layouts, with visual marking on the drawing sheets or layout revisions.

Focus

Focused on managing formal requests from other parts of the project that do alter the official drawings. Avoids the need to print every drawing, since it allows changes to be included in the digital revision history.

Comparison: what each tool does

What each tool enables

• Issue Manager

  • Centralise and categorise internal or external feedback.

  • Integrate with BCF workflows, assign owners, add comments or images.

  • Manage issues with hierarchical tracking, prioritisation and user assignment within the project team.

• Change Manager

  • Record formally approved changes, and link them to elements/the model.

  • Automatically add changes to layout revisions without printing.

  • Archive changes once delivered, to keep the list clean and organised.

Getting it right: how to know you are using each tool correctly

• If a modification comes up during modelling that will not change the drawing sheet, create an Issue from the Issue Manager and use the Organizer to track it internally.

• If an external party requests a change that needs to be reflected on the drawings, use the Change tool or the Change Manager to document it, link it to elements and add it to the revision of the corresponding Layout Book.

Related resources

• Issue Manager: Issue Management

• Change Manager: Revision Management

Related articles

• What Is the Archicad Issue Manager? – My SIMBIM Centre