tolltech / tollcad

Archicad Add-On CMake Template

This repository contains a CMake template for Archicad Add-On Development.

Prerequisites

• Archicad Development Kit (that matches your Archicad version).
• CMake (3.16 minimum version is needed).
• Python for resource compilation (version 2.7+ or 3.8+).
• Conan (version 1.x, optional).

Build with downloaded Archicad API Development Kit

• Download the CMake Template from here.
• Download the Archicad Add-On Development Kit from here.
• Generate the IDE project with CMake, and set the following variables:
  • AC_API_DEVKIT_DIR: The Support folder of the installed Archicad Add-On Development Kit. You can also set an environment variable with the same name so you don't have to provide this value during project generation.
  • AC_ADDON_NAME: (optional) The name of the project file and the result binary Add-On file (default is "ExampleAddOn").
  • AC_ADDON_LANGUAGE: (optional) The language code of the Add-On (default is "INT").
• To release your Add-On you need to provide valid MDIDs, you can generate them on the Archicad API site.

Visual Studio (Windows)

Run these command from the command line to generate the Visual Studio project. Replace <DevKitSupportDir> with the path of the Support folder in your downloaded Development Kit. See the list below for the matching Visual Studio versions for different Archicad versions.

Archicad	Visual Studio	Platform toolset
Archicad 27	Visual Studio 2019	v142
Archicad 26	Visual Studio 2019	v142
Archicad 25	Visual Studio 2019	v142
Archicad 24	Visual Studio 2017	v141
Archicad 23	Visual Studio 2017	v141

Please note that you can always use the latest Visual Studio, but make sure you provide the correct platform toolset.

Example for using Visual Studio 2022 with platform toolset 142:

cmake -B Build -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" -A x64 -T v142 -DAC_API_DEVKIT_DIR=<DevKitSupportDir> .

XCode (MacOS)

Run this command from the command line to generate the XCode project:

cmake -B Build -G "Xcode" -DAC_API_DEVKIT_DIR=<DevKitSupportDir> .

Visual Studio Code (Platform Independent)

• Install the "CMake Tools" extension for Visual Studio Code.
• Set the "AC_API_DEVKIT_DIR" environment variable to the installed Development Kit Support folder.
• Open the root folder in Visual Studio Code, configure and build the solution.

Build using the Conan Package Manager

You can use the Conan package manager to get the Development Kit. This method works only for Archicad 25 and later versions.

Preparation

Install the Conan package manager. Please not that you need to install version 1.x.

pip install conan==1.59.0

Windows

Create the default profile, set the compiler version and install dependencies by using the following commands:

conan profile new default --detect
conan profile update settings.compiler.version=16 default
conan install . -pr:b=default --install-folder=Build/
conan\conanbuild.bat

MacOS

Create the default profile, set the compiler version and install dependencies by using the following commands:

conan profile new default --detect
conan profile update settings.compiler.version=13 default
conan install . -pr:b=default --install-folder=Build/
source conan/conanbuild.sh

Visual Studio (Windows)

Run this command from the command line:

cmake -B Build -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" .

XCode (MacOS)

Run this command from the command line:

cmake -B Build -G "Xcode" .

Visual Studio Code (Platform Independent)

• Install the "CMake Tools" extension for Visual Studio Code.
• Open the root folder in Visual Studio Code, configure and build the solution.

Archicad Compatibility

This template is tested with all Archicad versions starting from Archicad 23 using the downloaded Archicad API Development Kit and starting from Archicad 25 using Conan.

Use in Archicad

To use the Add-On in Archicad, you have to add your compiled .apx or .bundle file in Add-On Manager. The example Add-On registers a new command into the Options menu. Please note that the example Add-On works only in the demo version of Archicad.

You can start Archicad in demo mode by the following command line commands:

• Windows: ARCHICAD.exe -DEMO
• MacOS: ARCHICAD\ 26.app/Contents/MacOS/ARCHICAD -demo

Modifications

If you use the same source structure as the template, you probably won't have to modify anything in the project generation process.

Possible Improvements

• Multilingual support (provide example for another localized version).
• The generated XCode source structure could be improved.