SketchUp → ARCHLine.XP Migration Playbook

Playbook (Interiors: Kitchens & Baths)

Audience: Interior designers moving day-to-day kitchen/bath workflows from SketchUp/LayOut to ARCHLine.XP.

Outcome: Deliver faster, more reliable interior packages (plans, elevations with tiling and dimensions, room books, take‑offs) using ARCHLine.XP’s native tools.

0) Success criteria (define before you start)

• 1 kitchen + 2 bathrooms documented to office standards in ≤ 2 iterations.
• Interior elevations auto-dimensioned; tiled surfaces patterned with counts.
• Schedules generated natively (rooms, tiling, cabinets, fittings) → Excel.
• One IFC exchange to architect/GC with no rework.

1) Pre‑flight inventory (from your SketchUp stack)

Gather the following so you can map them 1:1 into ARCHLine.XP: 
- SKP content: components for cabinets, appliances, sanitary, lighting; material swatches. 
- LayOut assets: title blocks, page templates, scrapbooks (symbols, tags, notes). 
- Extensions (note what they did): e.g., cabinet generators, reporting tools, pattern/tiling helpers, parametrics. 
- Layer/Tag conventions: names, colors, lineweights. - Scenes: standard interior elevations, axons, 2D plans. 
- Reports: CSV columns you rely on for quantities.

Create a 2‑column spreadsheet: “What we did in SketchUp” → “Target in ARCHLine.XP”. Use the mapping table in 10. Migration cheat‑sheet ...

2) ARCHLine.XP environment setup

1. Project template (.TPL)
   • Units, precision, project north.
   • Stories/levels (e.g., Finished Floor, Ceiling Height presets).
   • Dimension styles, text styles, arrowheads, hatch patterns.
   • Default Layer Manager: walls/doors/windows, furniture, sanitary, lighting, annotations, tiling, construction.
2. Libraries
   • Cabinet templates (base, tall, wall; common widths/hinges/handles). Save as styles.
   • Material & finish catalogs: tiles (size, pattern sets, grout), paints, veneers, worktops.
   • Fixture content: import RFA/RVT or SKP for appliances/sanitary; standardize naming.
3. Rooms/Zones
   • Room categories (Kitchen, Bath, WC, Laundry) with finish schemas (wall/slab default finishes).
4. Tiling styles
   • Pattern presets (herringbone, 1/2, 1/3, hex, chevron), joint widths, starting points; waste factors.
5. Title blocks & sheet sets
   • Import/trace your LayOut title blocks; set fields (project, sheet no., revision, scale, drawn by). Save as templates.

3) Modeling workflow (kitchen)

1. Shell & rooms
   • Model walls/doors/windows as BIM elements; place Room objects for each interior space.
2. Cabinetry
   • Use Cabinet Editor: pick corpus, fronts, panels, plinths, worktops, hardware.
   • Save common units as styles (B600 drawer stack, W900 corner, Tall600 oven tower, etc.).
   • Place appliances as objects; align with cabinet fronts.
3. Finishes
   • Assign materials to fronts, carcasses, worktops. Parameterize thickness and overhangs.
4. Lighting & power
   • Place ceiling/wall lights and sockets as objects; ensure plan symbols map to schedules.

Deliverables

• Plan with automatic room/internal dimensions, furniture, and MEP symbols.
• Interior elevations (see §6) per wall run (A/B/C/D) with cabinet tags.
• Schedules: cabinet list, appliance list, lighting count, room finish schedule.

4) Modeling workflow (bathroom)

1. Base modeling: walls/door, shower niche/bench as wall modifiers or objects.
2. Sanitaryware: WC, basin, bath, mixers; keep naming consistent for schedules.
3. Tiling
   • Use Tiling on wall/slab faces: choose pattern, direction, start point, borders.
   • Define accent walls/bands; per-surface offsets around openings.
   • Apply different patterns per wall; mirror patterns when required.
4. Accessories: mirrors, towel rails, cabinets as objects/cabinets.

Deliverables

• Interior elevations with tile patterns visible and dimensions to fittings.
• Tiling take‑off with counts/areas per room and per wall face.

5) Views, elevations & annotation

1. Interior Elevation tool: generate elevations for a room with one command; name views (K-01‑A … K‑01‑D).
2. Automatic dimensions
   • Wall chains (overall + openings), internal room dims, cabinet widths, worktop heights.
3. Tags/labels
   • Room tags (area & finish key), cabinet tags (type/width), fixture tags, tile keys.
4. Graphics
   • View templates (lineweights, hatches, shadows); keep a clean monochrome doc style.

6) Sheets & revision management

1. Place model views (plans, elevations, sections) on sheets; lock scale.
2. Add schedules on the same sheets (live-linked): cabinet list, room finishes, tiling.
3. Title block fields auto‑populate from project data.
4. Revisions: duplicate sheet set per issue (A, B, C); bump revision/date in title block fields.

7) Quantities & schedules (out of the box)

• Rooms: name, area, perimeter, ceiling height, finish key.
• Cabinets: code, type, width, height, depth, finish, handle.
• Appliances/Sanitary: type, model, count, supplier.
• Tiling: tile code, size, area, pieces, waste %, grout color.
• Lighting: type, lumen class, count, circuit.

Tip: Create schedule styles with fixed column order and filters (e.g., by room category). Export to Excel for pricing.

8) Collaboration & exchange

• IFC to architects/General Contractors (walls/doors/windows/rooms).
• SKP/OBJ/FBX for visualization or vendor collaboration.
• RFA/RVT import to leverage manufacturer content; convert to native where helpful.

9) QA, standards, and model hygiene

• Naming: SpaceCode-RoomName (e.g., K‑01 Kitchen), CAB-B600-3DR, TILE-Hex-100.
• Layers: prefix by category (ANNO-, FURN-, SAN-, TILE-).
• Color by layer for quick visual audits.
• Pre‑issue checklist:
  • All rooms placed & named; elevations generated & titled.
  • Dimensions regenerate without warnings; no duplicate tags.
  • Schedules populated; row counts match expected inventory.
  • Sheet list complete; title blocks filled; revision/date correct.

10) Migration cheat‑sheet (SketchUp → ARCHLine.XP)

11) Pilot project recipe (2–3 days of focused work)

1. Build your TPL: levels, layers, styles, title block (§2).
2. Import 10–20 must‑have objects (appliances, sanitary, lights) as RFA/RVT/SKP.
3. Create 5 cabinet styles (B300, B600 drawers, W900 corner, Tall600 oven, Tall600 pantry).
4. Create 5 tiling presets (subway 1/2, 1/3, herringbone, hex, chevron) with standard joints.
5. Model one kitchen + two baths.
6. Generate room interior elevations and auto dimensions.
7. Place schedules (rooms, cabinets, tiling, fixtures) on sheets.
8. Export Excel and a coordinated IFC.
9. Issue PDF set to your office standard.
10. Retrospective: note bottlenecks and update the TPL/styles.

12) Common pitfalls & fixes

• Free‑form modeling instead of BIM elements → Use walls/doors/windows/rooms; keep objects for furniture/fixtures only.
• Forgetting Room objects → You’ll miss room tags and finish schedules; place Rooms early.
• Uncontrolled layers → Enforce layer prefixes; lock annotation on separate layers.
• Manual tile textures → Use the Tiling tool so counts & schedules update.
• Schedules off‑sheet → Place all key schedules on drawing sheets so clients see live data.

13) Starter assets you can standardize

• Title blocks (A1/A3 portrait/landscape, metric scales).
• Arrowheads, dimension/text styles (ISO‑like).
• Cabinet library (10–15 base units; 5 tall; 5 wall).
• Tiling presets (5–8 patterns) with standard grout colors.
• Annotation: room tags, cabinet tags, fixture tags, tile legends.

14) Optional: Cross‑software handoffs

• Send IFC to architects; receive structural shells back.
• Give subcontractors Excel take‑offs; attach PDFs of elevations with tile keys.
• Export SKP or FBX for visualization partners.

Next steps

• Duplicate this playbook per project and update your TPL as you refine standards.
• If you share your current LayOut templates and top extensions, we can tailor the layer naming, cabinet codes, and schedule columns to match your office language exactly.

Note: This article was written by ChatGPT.