When ArchiCAD is installed on a computer, it comes with its own library of objects - these objects include furniture, structural elements, vehicles, people, windows & doors, etc.

If an ArchiCAD user has used ArchiCAD for a period of time, they may have gathered additional objects from various different locations (CDs, websites, GDL programmer colleagues).
These objects may be re-used repeatedly, across many different projects.
It is recommended to arrange all of your additional objects in one folder on your computer and to call that your 'ArchiCAD Common Library'.

It is suggested to have this folder of object on the root of your primary hard-drive, either:
- "Local Disk (C)" on Windows
or
- "Macintosh HD" on Mac
It is definitely NOT recommended to place your Common Library in your 'Program Files' or 'Applications' folders.

The DCS 'ArchiCAD Common Library'
To give our ArchiCAD users a good collection of additional objects, we have made our DCS ArchiCAD Common Library available for download.
Some of these objects may be more useful than other – it will be a case of experience in knowing where any appropriate objects are stored/located.
Certain offices may have already received these files from us, so please check your own computer first - to avoid duplication of files.

To setup this library on your computer:

1. Download the Zip file from here (a large file, 100MB)
• Ensure to save it to your Desktop, right-click and choose 'Save Target As' or 'Save Link As'
2. Once downloaded, unzip the file to your Desktop
• The resulting folder should be called 'ArchiCADCommonLibrary'
• Rename this folder to 'ArchiCAD Common Library'
3. MOVE the folder to your Local Disk (C:) or "Macintosh HD" (NOT your desktop or My Documents folders)

To incorporate this folder for use in ArchiCAD projects:

1. Open ArchiCAD
2. Open any ArchiCAD project
3. Open Library Manager via File > Libraries & Objects > Library Manager
4. Click 'Add'
5. Browse to the Local Disk (C) or or "Macintosh HD"
6. Click on the 'ArchiCAD Common Library' folder, then click 'Choose'
7. Note the new entry in the Library Manager dialog
8. Click Reload to close the dialog
9. Open the Object Tool
10. In the top-right hand panel, browse to the 'ArchiCAD Common Library' folder
11. Choose any sub-folder of objects to use

• When a folder is added to a library to a project, it does not have to be added again FOR THAT SPECIFIC project
• you must add the folder ONCE to all other projects
• When you open a project in ArchiCAD, it will automatically re-reference the current contents of that folder
• If any new objects are added to your ArchiCAD Common Library, you do not have update anything in the project

If you have multiple users of ArchiCAD in your office, then each user can

• keep a copy of this library on their own computer (and thus reduce network traffic)
• or, reference the library folder held on your office server (to maintain integrity of the library across the office)
• The folder location is somewhere agreed by the users within the office and any IT staff.

If the folder size is very large, and a copy held on everyone's computer, it is required to:

• place the folder in the same location on each computer
• add any new objects to the server folder
• remind users to manually update the own folders regularly, as new objects are added to the server folder