This repository contains a CMake template for Archicad Add-On Development.
The easiest way to generate projects and build the Add-On is to use the provided build script. The project and the binaries will be created in the Build folder.
git clone https://github.com/GRAPHISOFT/archicad-addon-cmake.git --recurse-submodules
python Tools/BuildAddOn.py --configFile config.json
The build script reads the config.json file for required build parameters:
addOnName: name of the Add-On.description: description of the Add-On.defaultLanguage: a single language for which the Add-On is built when localization is not enabled. Must be one of the languages specified in languages.languages: list of languages, for which localization can be done / for which the .grc files are present in their respective directories.version: version of the Add-On. Must have 1, 2 or 3 numeric components (123, 1.23 or 1.2.3 respectively) all of which must be in the 0-65535 range.copyright: an object with fields name and year. These will be used to embed a copyright notice in the Add-On.additionalCMakeParams (optional): a list of additional Add-On specific CMake parameters as JSON key-value pairs. The build script will forward it to CMake.See the example config.json.
The following macro definitions are set to string literals (they expand to "a C string") with values based on the above:
ADDON_NAME: This is the addOnName field as is.ADDON_DESCRIPTION: This is the description field as is.ADDON_VERSION: This is the 3 component version number derived from version.
"123.0.0" if the value of version is "123".If the provided build script doesn’t work for you, you can set up your environment manually.
This repository uses archicad-addon-cmake-tools as a submodule, so in order to use this repository you need to be sure that all submodules are cloned properly.
To clone the repository with submodules, use the following command.
git clone https://github.com/GRAPHISOFT/archicad-addon-cmake.git --recurse-submodules
To get the latest changes together with submodule changes, use the following command.
git pull --recurse-submodules
To update only the submodules, use the following command.
git submodule update --remote
config.jsonThe version number 0.0.0 (or 0.0 or 0 according to the rules above) is recognized as a placeholder and using it will result in a warning.
This template contains a version value with this placeholder value that should be changed.
You may also want to change the addOnName, description and copyright values.
You may use the %Y placeholder in the copyright.year field to always refer to the current year.
AC_VERSION: The version number of Archicad that the Add-On is built for.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_LANGUAGE: (optional) The language code of the Add-On (default is “INT”).See the list below for the matching Visual Studio and platform toolset versions for different Archicad versions.
| Archicad | Visual Studio | Platform toolset |
|---|---|---|
| Archicad 28 | Visual Studio 2019 | v142 |
| 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> -DAC_VERSION=28
See the list below for the matching deployment targets for different Archicad versions.
| Archicad | Deployment target |
|---|---|
| Archicad 28 | 11.0 |
| Archicad 27 | 10.15 |
| Archicad 26 | 10.15 |
| Archicad 25 | 10.15 |
| Archicad 24 | 10.13 |
| Archicad 23 | 10.12 |
Run this command from the command line to generate the XCode project:
cmake -B Build -G Xcode -DAC_API_DEVKIT_DIR=<DevKitSupportDir> -DAC_VERSION=28
CMake Tools extension for Visual Studio Code.AC_API_DEVKIT_DIR environment variable to the installed Development Kit Support folder.The AC_ADDON_FOR_DISTRIBUTION CMake variable controls whether the result of a build has metadata embedded in it that marks it as a private build.
When the variable is set to a false value (such as OFF), then the add-on is marked private.
Please make sure you have a release workflow setup separate from a developer workflow where this variable is set to a true value (such as ON).
The add-on produced by this release workflow is what should be used for distribution.
This template is tested with all Archicad versions starting from Archicad 25.
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:
ARCHICAD.exe -DEMOopen ARCHICAD\ 28.app --args -demo