Getting Started

Open an ArchiCAD XML file using Ctrl+O or the Open XML button. Select the Attributes, Pens, Project Info, Properties, or Classifications tab. The app auto-detects the file type.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Find & Replace

Press Ctrl+Shift+F to open the Find & Replace bar. Search element names in the current view. Matching rows are highlighted in the table. Use the arrow buttons or Enter / Shift+Enter to navigate between matches. Replace individual matches or all at once. Toggle Match case for case-sensitive search. Press Esc to close.

Attributes Tab

• Click a row to select it and show its properties in the editor panel
• Shift+Click to select a contiguous range of rows
• Ctrl+Click to toggle individual rows in/out of the selection
• Double-click a name cell to rename the element inline
• Drag & Drop selected rows to reorder them (indices are reassigned automatically)
• Right-click for Insert, Reposition, Prefix Rename, Duplicate, Delete

Properties Tab

• Sidebar shows Property Groups — click to view properties in that group
• Click a property row to edit its details in the panel below
• Editor panel lets you edit name, description, value type, enumerations, and classifications
• + Property adds a new property to the current group
• + Group creates a new property definition group
• Right-click a property for Delete or a group in the sidebar for Rename/Delete

Project Info Tab

• Sidebar shows categories — Project, Site, Building, Contact, Client, CAD Technician, Custom, etc.
• Click an entry row to edit its details in the panel below
• Double-click a value cell to edit it inline
• Fixed keys (predefined by ArchiCAD) — only the value can be changed
• Custom keys — field name, DB key, and value are all editable
• + Custom Key adds a new custom entry to the Project Info
• Values showing <####> are autotext placeholders (empty)

Pens Tab

• Sidebar shows Pen Sets (Pen Tables) — click to view pens in that set
• Click a pen row to edit its color, width, and description in the editor panel
• Shift+Click to select a contiguous range of pen rows
• Ctrl+Click to toggle individual pen rows in/out of the selection
• Double-click a color swatch to open the inline color picker popup with hex input
• Double-click a pen name, width, or description to edit it inline
• Width accepts values from 0.00 to 10.00 mm
• Right-click for Prefix Rename, Set Description, and Set Width (supports bulk operations on multi-selected pens)
• Editor panel has a color picker with RGB sliders, hex input, and preview
• Each pen set contains 255 pens with 16-bit RGB colors

Composite Builder

• Select Composites in the sidebar and click a composite to open the builder
• Add skin layers from available Building Materials in the same XML
• Set thickness (mm), skin type (Core/Finish/Other), and pen for each layer
• Drag rows to reorder skins, or × to remove
• Edit separator lines (SkinFaceLines) between skins — set pen index and line type
• Set Use as flags (Wall, Slab, Roof, Shell) to control which elements can use the composite
• Total thickness is auto-calculated from all skin layers
• Use + Create New Composite to create new empty composites, then add skins

Classifications Tab

• The Classifications tab activates when a Properties XML is loaded (same file)
• Browse the classification tree with expand/collapse toggles (▶/▼)
• Click an item to edit its ID, Name, and Description in the editor panel
• Double-click an ID, Name, or Description cell to edit inline
• Right-click for Add Child Item, Rename, or Delete
• Use + Item in the toolbar to add top-level classification items
• Changes are saved with the Properties XML — the tree structure is preserved

Pen Color Grid

• In the Pens tab, a 20×13 color swatch grid appears to the right of the table
• Click a swatch to jump to that pen in the list
• Double-click a swatch to open an inline color picker directly on the grid
• Grid cells reflect live pen colors and update when you edit them

Preview Thumbnails

• Lines — SVG previews are auto-generated from the XML dash/dot pattern data
• Fills — bitmap pattern thumbnails are rendered from the fill's binary pixel data
• Previews appear in the PREVIEW column for both attribute types

Translation

• Use the Translate dropdown in the toolbar to translate element names to 30+ languages
• Powered by Google Cloud Translation API — requires your own API key
• Click the gear icon next to the dropdown to configure your API key
• Works across all modes: Attributes, Properties, Project Info (values), and Pens
• Double-click a translated cell to manually edit individual translations
• When saving, choose Save Translated (replaces names) or Save Original
• API key is stored locally in your browser — never sent anywhere except Google's API

Resizable Panels

• Drag the divider line between the table and editor panel to resize them vertically
• Drag the right edge of any column header to resize column widths
• Both work across all table modes

Cross-References (Attributes)

When editing Layers, the editor panel shows which Layer Combinations reference the selected layer. All index changes automatically update Layer Combination cross-references to maintain data integrity.

Protected Elements

The ArchiCAD Layer (Index 1) is protected and cannot be deleted, hidden, or locked. It appears with a highlighted index and a "(protected)" label.