Open Archicad PLN Files Without Archicad (Free Viewer + PLN to DWG and IFC)
Open Archicad PLN files for free, right in your browser, with no Archicad license, no Graphisoft account and nothing to install.
This tutorial opens a gallery pavilion drawn in Archicad 29 and walks through everything the free Archicad viewer does: orbit, zoom and pan, X-ray through the walls and roof, a layer per element type (walls, slabs, roofs, columns, beams, zones) with the roof switched off to look into the rooms, floor plans cut level by level with the door and window openings, and measuring in the plan. Then converting PLN to DWG floor plans (one per level) for AutoCAD, IFC for Revit and other BIM tools, a DWG sheet with three views, OBJ and FBX for rendering, and PDF; taking a room into CircadianLab, our free lighting calculator; Archicad GDL library objects (.gsm) from the free parts library; and sharing a link with a client or consultant who has no Archicad. The file is read in your browser and stays on your device unless you share it.
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Transcript
Intro
Here is how to open an Archicad PLN file for free, in your web browser, without Archicad.
Open the Archicad viewer
Go to innerscene.com/tools/archicad-viewer. There is no Archicad license or Graphisoft account needed, and the file is read right here in your browser.
Open a PLN file
Click Open an Archicad File, or drop the PLN on the page. This is a small gallery pavilion we drew in Archicad: walls with their door and window openings, a hipped roof, a terrace and a row of columns.
Look around the model
Drag to orbit, scroll to zoom, and right-drag to pan. View, then X-Ray, sees through the walls and roof to the rooms inside.
A layer per element type
Tools, then Layers, lists the Archicad element types: walls, slabs, roofs, columns, beams and zones. Untick Roofs, and you look down into the rooms.
Floor plans
View, then Floor plans, draws each level the way a plan view does: cut just above the floor, with the door and window openings in the walls. To measure, open Tools, choose Add measurement, and click two points. The back wall of the pavilion reads 12.3 m, outside face to outside face. Back to 3D returns to the model.
Convert PLN to DWG, IFC and more
Export converts the project: DWG floor plans, one per level, for AutoCAD, IFC for Revit and other BIM tools, a DWG sheet with three views, and OBJ or FBX for rendering. PDF and images too. Here it saves the floor plans as DWG.
Light a room in CircadianLab
For lighting design, Tools, then Open in CircadianLab, finds the rooms in the model. Pick one; its size and ceiling height are read from the walls and floors. Open it, and the room is ready for fixtures in our free lighting calculator.
Archicad library objects
Archicad GDL library objects open too. The page lists free Archicad files from our parts library, like this table lamp.
Share a link
Share gives you a link that opens the project in any browser, for a client or consultant without Archicad.
Summary
That is the free Archicad viewer and converter at innerscene.com. Links are in the description.
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