“You should know that ModelPort is for me the single most useful addition to Archicad to help mine the 3D Warehouse and other sites regularly.”
– Robert Davis, Architect
SKETCHFAB INTEGRATION
Search & open content with the ModelPort Browser
Access to over 1 million models
Every day 3D artists, designers and architects on Sketchfab are adding a wide variety of content to enhance your visualization. With the new release use the ModelPort Browser to search their cloud library and click the "Open" button to import into the Editor.
The Sketchfab library boasts over 1 million models available for free download under the Creative Commons license as defined in the Sketchfab terms of use.
Using the ModelPort Browser you can download models from cloud libraries with Sketchfab being our first integrated solution enabling...
- Thumbnail image previews as a list in the ModelPort Browser
- Access to the model information by double clicking a thumbnail
- Content open directly into the ModelPort Editor
- Customize the location of the download folder
The new Browser Options dialog, accessible from the top left corner of the browser palette, can be used to search the Sketchfab cloud libraries and files in local folders. The filters can be used to refine a search including...
- Keywords
- Author
- Face number min/max
- File size min/max
- Staff picks
It's a one-step process to download and open a Sketchfab model into ModelPort.
After searching the Sketchfab cloud library select the model you want to use, click the Open button and ModelPort will automatically download a copy of the file and open it directly in the Editor.
CONTENT & MANUFACTURER
Import content from 3D Warehouse and more
3D Content Providers
ModelPort expands access to content for Archicad users with 15 import formats including SketchUp, FBX, Collada, 3D Studio, Modo, Lightwave and X3D.
Here's a list of popular content providers of both FREE and paid content used by ModelPort users:
Manufacturer & Designer Product Content
There are numerous content providers who work with manufacturers and designers to offer 3D models of products which can also include product options, specifications, choice of materials and other more.
Below are examples of popular manufacturer and designer content providers used by ModelPort users:
When importing 3D content ModelPort provides access to 15 import formats commonly used by content providers, manufacturers and designers including...
- SketchUp SKP
- Autodesk FBX
- Wavefront OBJ
- Collada DAE
- 3D Studio 3DS
- and many more!
For formats not supported by ModelPort, such as Revit RFA, IFC and Rhino 3DM, you can use “Import from Archicad”.
First import using Archicad’s built-in import options, place and select the Object then choose "Import from Archicad" in the ModelPort menu.
Plus more benefits in ModelPort 4.5
WORKSPACE & PERFORMANCE
Multi-screen support & faster performance
External Windows
Now you can customize your workspace when working with imported models.
To do this go to the new button on the top right of the ModelPort Editor palette that allows users to open external windows for the following...
- 3D View
- Properties
- Item List
Complex Model Handling
Working with a large model often requires increased workspace and performance.
With the new external window option you can position Layout Windows to capture maximum display space for your work.
Opening complex models can also impact performance. To solve this issue we improved ModelPort to better handle scenes with a lot of sub-items which is typically 5 to 10 times faster and as much as 100 times faster with highly complex models.
New Layout Window
You can now display 4 Layout Windows using the Layout popup menu which is located in the upper right corner of the ModelPort Editor.
The new Layout Window can display the perspective, orthogonal, elevation and floor plan views.
Faster Layout Calculation
This new version has significantly improved speed for the layout calculation resulting in...
- Much less flickering
- Shorter wait times when changing selection, especially mesh selection.
SKETCHUP & IMPORT CHECK
Improved compatibility & better communication
Removed SKP Limitation
In previous versions of ModelPort it was not possible to use the ModelPort SketchUp loader on MacOS in parallel with the Archicad SKP in-out add on.
This limitation is now removed.
Supports SKP 2025
We're focused on keeping ModelPort updated with the latest file formats for each software we support so with this release we're announcing support for SketchUp 2025.
Loading Errors Reduced
The ModelPort plugin service pre-checks the compatibility of ModelPort plugins with the macOS system before loading them, preventing possible loading errors
Check Imported Geometries
We've added a new Preferences checkbox: 'Check imported geometries'. When enabled, ModelPort performs an additional check during the import process to verify if the generated 3D geometries can be displayed by Archicad.
UI UPDATES & MORE
Cleaner and more flexible interface
Improved Display Selection
We've added two new display selection controls to the ‘Preferences’ dialog:
- Display selected (item mode)
- Display selected (material mode)
With these a user can customize how the selected items or materials are displayed inside the ModelPort 3D views.
Viewport & UI Improvements
Each release we continue to refine UI elements for Windows and Mac OSX. In this update we cleaned up numerous parts of the UI including Viewport Controls. When you hover over a Viewport the following controls appear at the bottom right...
- View Settings
- Fill Scene to View
- Fit Selected to View
- Capture View
- Set View Camera
- Set View Display Mode
Important Bug Fixes
In this new version we've fixed numerous software issues and bugs including the following...
- Fixed : License that deactivates itself or crashes after activation
- Fixed: Modelport doesn’t load the object and it is not editable in the ModelPort editor. This issue arises if Archicad doesn’t load the ModelPort library object into its cache during the project opening.
- Fixed: (Save Mode: ModelPort only) In the Archicad 3D view, mesh instances are treated as normal meshes instead of geometry instances, leading to higher memory usage and reduced performance.
For more details on the over 90 bug fixes, improvements and new features see the full update list >>
“Love ModelPort’s ability to quickly bring in content from different sources and have 3d views with a clean floor plan symbol wrapped into a native Archicad object.”
– Stefan Hampden, Principal, CAST architecture