The architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry never sleeps, and neither does Graphisoft. With the release of Archicad 29, the bar for Building Information Modeling (BIM) has been raised once again. Dubbed a release focused on "Design-Driven BIM," this version is packed with "goodies"—those powerful, often under-the-hood features that drastically improve workflow, rendering, documentation, and modeling precision.
Whether you are a sole practitioner or part of a large firm, here is an exhaustive look at the hidden gems and headline features in Archicad 29.
These are the small fixes that Archicad power users have been begging for on forums for years. archicad 29 goodies
A. The Magic Wand 2.0 The Magic Wand tool (used to trace geometry) now supports Curved Walls and Complex Profiles. Previously, tracing a sinuous curved facade was a nightmare of manual spline drawing. Now, one click traces the exact centerline of any curved wall.
B. Label Improvements Leaders are now "sticky." If you move an elevation marker, the leader line updates dynamically without breaking. Also, labels can now auto-hide their frame if the text length shortens—no more awkward white boxes floating in space. Archicad 29 Goodies: A Deep Dive into Graphisoft’s
C. The Cancel Button It sounds ridiculous, but Archicad 29 finally fixes the "spinning wheel of death" during large section regenerations. The new Cancel Regeneration button is responsive. If you accidentally ask Archicad to regenerate a 500-meter-long section, you can stop it after 2 seconds instead of force-quitting the software.
A long-standing request. When you have two design options (e.g., two different roof shapes or curtain wall patterns), the new "Compare & Merge" palette highlights differences in red/blue. You can click to keep elements from Option A, Option B, or create a new merged option by dragging geometry from both into a third view. What it is: A dedicated palette that aggregates
Gone are the days of manually cross-referencing changes between structural, architectural, and MEP models.
Every year, the Graphisoft community holds its breath. The release of a new Archicad version is always met with a mixture of excitement and skepticism. Is this a "bells and whistles" update, or is it a "stability and speed" update? With Archicad 29, Graphisoft has delivered something rare: a balanced feast of "goodies" that satisfy both the BIM manager craving efficiency and the designer hungry for better visualization tools.
Archicad 29 isn't about reinventing the wheel; it is about greasing every single axle. From a seismic shift in how we handle architectural visualization to quality-of-life tweaks that save thousands of clicks per project, here is the exhaustive list of Archicad 29 Goodies you need to master.