You made it! Thanks for stopping by to learn how to get started with Archicad and Enscape for Mac.
This quick-start guide will walk you through the basics so you can start visualizing your projects in no time. We’ve also included a video tutorial to show you exactly how to locate and use certain key features 📺.
How to open Enscape in Archicad for Mac
Chaos Enscape is an easy-to-use real-time rendering plugin for Archicad. Before opening Enscape, first you need to download and install it.
If you are an existing customer, you can download Enscape for Mac here. If you’re not yet a user, you can:
- Try Enscape for free for 14 days 👏
- Find the right plan for you💡
- Learn about our educational licenses 📑
After downloading and installing the Enscape plugin, start Archicad with any model of your choice or even an empty scene. Enscape will appear as a menu item at the top of the Archicad window, next to Help.
By clicking ‘Enscape,’ you will see a list of features appear. At the bottom, you will see the ‘Enscape Toolbar’. Click this to add the Enscape toolbar to your Archicad interface. You can now dock it to the side of your viewport if you wish.
Once you have a project open, click the ‘Start Enscape’ icon. If you’re not in a 3D view, you might see a message asking you to select a 3D view to start Enscape. In that case, just select ‘Generic Perspective’ from the project map.
Enscape will now open a separate rendering window showing an accurate 3D-rendered view of your design. As you make changes in Archicad, you’ll see them appear in Enscape.
How to navigate in Enscape
To move around and explore your project in Enscape, you can use the WASD or the arrow keys.
- Forwards: Press W or the up arrow key ⬆️
- Backwards: Press S or the down arrow key ⬇️
- Left: Press A or the left arrow key ⬅️
- Right: Press D or the right arrow key ➡️
- Look around: Left click, move the mouse while holding the left mouse button 🖱️
If you would like to speed up or slow down the movement speed, you can adjust this in the Enscape Settings. These can be found in the tog icon in the top right-hand corner of the Enscape window.
How to adjust the time of day
To change the daytime in Enscape, hold shift and the right mouse button, then move the mouse.
To access the help menu, which displays all of these controls and many more, click the question mark icon in the top right corner of the Enscape window.
Synchronized and saved views
By enabling Synchronize Views, as you move in Archicad, Enscape will follow and show the same view. This is ideal for quickly seeing how changes to the model will look and affect a project in reality.
With any Archicad Views that you have set up already, these can also be visualized immediately in Enscape. This is particularly handy when you need to present your ideas.
In the Enscape window, click the button with the binocular icon in the toolbar at the top. This opens up Enscape View Management. Clicking any of these views will move the Enscape camera to the correct position and even update the time of day and visibility settings based on what has been set for that particular saved view. This helps to significantly speed up the amount of time it takes to prepare a presentation.
How to open the Enscape Asset Library
Next to the Synchronize Views button, you can find the Asset Library button.
The Enscape Asset Library provides you with access to thousands of lightweight, high-quality 3D models that you can place in your scene. There are various categories, including accessories, furniture, vegetation, people, and street props.
To place assets, select one, left-click it twice, and then left-click in your Archicad scene where you’d like to place it.
To prevent the Asset Library from reloading assets, consider clicking the ‘Offline Asset Library’ checkbox so that everything is stored locally on your machine.
Enscape Assets will appear in your Archicad scene with a low-detail placeholder but will appear in great detail in the Enscape window. Furthermore, using the placeholders in your Archicad scene, you can move Enscape assets, rotate them, or hide the layer they’re stored on.
How to edit textures using the Enscape Material Editor
The next icon in the Enscape toolbar is the Material Editor. This is one of the most important parts of the user interface.
This is where you can enhance your existing Archicad surfaces with some of the detail that makes a visualization even more realistic. It’s worth noting that Enscape will only access the existing surfaces you already have in your Archicad scene.
If you would like to create a new surface and apply it to a part of your design, you still use Archicad to do this.
With the Enscape Material Editor open, you will find a list of all surfaces in your Archicad scene. They will appear as materials in the Enscape Material Editor, and by selecting a material, you can edit it further.
You can also change the material type from a number of preset options, including water and grass.
Editing materials
You can get a number of interesting materials when you edit the base attributes like color, roughness or reflections, metallic value, or transparency. By importing image files, called textures, to control some of these attributes, you can also get some stunning results.
Where to find textures
There are lots of online sites that provide high-quality free 3D textures, such as ambientcg.com. You can also use the existing color textures you already have in Archicad.
Download any material (we recommend downloading in 2K resolution for Enscape). Once downloaded, open the folder you've received, which will include a number of image files. Select the color, displacement, and roughness files and save them on your Mac.
Now go back to the Enscape Material Editor to import the files, making sure that the material you wish to edit is selected. This is covered step-by-step in the video tutorial below.
How to illuminate a scene with Archicad lights
Enscape provides you with a sun and sky by default. But if you want to illuminate your scene using artificial lighting, you can work as you would normally with lights in Archicad.
Once you place a light in Archicad and change, for example, the color and brightness, it will automatically appear in Enscape. If you don’t see your light, make sure that your environment is dark enough, or set the light to a high enough brightness value.
How to export and share Enscape visualizations
Currently, in Enscape for Mac, it’s possible to export and share your scene as a still image rendering, a 360-degree panorama, or a web standalone.
These can all be exported directly from the Enscape rendering window. You will find three export options in the toolbar: Screenshot, Mono Panorama, and Web Standalone, which you can click to start the export.
Still image renders
Before exporting a still image, you may first want to change the resolution and a few other settings. Go to Visual Settings (found in the top right corner of the Enscape window, the 'eye' icon next to the cog). The Output tab is where you can change the resolution, the image file format, and export additional channels, such as the alpha channel.
Preparing your image for render
By selecting the Safe Frame option, you can see exactly which parts of your scene will be rendered. Use this to set up the perspective you wish to capture.
You can change the field of view angle if needed in the Visual Settings. If it’s greyed out, it’s because you are synchronizing the camera with Archicad. Disable the Synchronized Views button in the Enscape toolbar in Archicad, and then you will be able to adjust the field of view.
Before you render the image, you may also want to adjust the time of day, which will affect the natural lighting and shadows in your scene. Click shift and the right mouse button to change the time of day.
Saving a 3D view
By saving the location, you can easily make additional renderings from this perspective in the future. Click the View Management button (the binocular icon), select ‘Create’, and this will create a 3D view in Archicad from the current perspective. It will also save the time of day.
Adjusting the atmosphere
In the Visual Settings window (accessible by clicking the Visual Settings eye icon to the right of the rendering window), you can adjust the atmosphere and a few other elements that will affect the image. Increase or decrease the cloud density, adjust the horizon or brightness of the sun, and even add outlines for a sketch effect.
Exporting a still image
When ready, click the Screenshot button, which is located on the Enscape toolbar at the top left of the rendering window. You will be asked to select a location to save your render. Then, your image will be created in just a few seconds.
Click the Screenshot button to render an image in seconds
360-degree panoramas
If you wish to export a panorama, select the Mono Panorama button, and Enscape will create a 360-degree panorama from the position you are in.
Once created, the panorama can be found in the Upload Management area in the Enscape toolbar in Archicad (the icon with a cloud and up arrow). From here, you can save the panorama as an image file, but you can also share it via the Enscape cloud. This provides you with a shareable web browser link and a QR code, both of which provide immediate access to the panorama.
The QR code can be scanned with a mobile phone, which then opens up the panorama on the device for an interactive experience. This makes your project accessible to anyone who scans the QR code, be it a contractor at the construction site or a member of the community interested in exploring a proposed local project.
Click the 360 button to render a panorama
Web standalone
By clicking the Web Standalone export button in the Enscape rendering window, you can export your entire project. A web-based file is created, allowing anyone to navigate and explore your project, even if they don’t have Enscape or Archicad installed.
Once exported, you can find the file in the Upload Management window, in the tab Web Standalones, next to Panoramas. Simply copy and share the link so that your clients and stakeholders can open it in a web browser. Your project will automatically load, and they can begin exploring independently.
Click the Web button to export a web-based version of your rendered project
Video tutorial
Everything that we have covered in this blog post is explained step-by-step in this video tutorial. Get up to speed with Enscape for Mac and Archicad in no time!
Join the community
To connect with fellow Archicad and Enscape users, visit the Enscape Forum. Here, you can ask questions, share your visualizations, and interact with other Enscape users.
Get started with Enscape for Mac and Archicad
If you’re new to Enscape, download a free trial to see how it can help accelerate and improve various aspects of your design workflow ✅.
Existing customers can download the new Enscape for Mac for Archicad here.
