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I'm glad I am not alone in the frustration of this! I have run into this issue several times and have not been able to figure it out, makes sense it is a program issue. I will report it now!

Food for thought 260611.mp4

FINALLY I am not alone, I knew one day it would happen. Symmbols were broken in X15, I have been reporting it for several years now and I am the only user to report it. please report it, please please please. Any symbol with a negative bounding box spacing, specifically negative, and a stretch plane will NOT resize correctly. It has been broken since they introduced the advanced sizing panel and change the way symbols can be modified. I have been begging them to fix it. @Brian_Beck

more important question is whats the surface count of the model. 4 stories isnt that much. You might want to update your signature to include your machine specs so we have additional context

This smells very strongly of a material file with a custom pattern from texture enabled, causing 100s if not thousands of vector lines. I've reported this before and Chief doesnt believe me but a custom pattern from texture can kill a plan or library.

not to the extent that you are doing it but probably satisfactory for many. I've been talking to chief devs about this for years and we are getting close. We already have 3d poche fill, section cut slider tool, and layer based fill styles. All they would need to do is update the poche fill to follow the layer based fill styles and now your buiilding model can be slider cut to create a 3d detail with annotations. You would only need to model in your tape seems etc or have those elements incorporated into the new 3d molding tool or textures present. They had at some point discussed a layer cut slider. I do hope it comes for X19. Figured it didnt hurt to respond since it bumps your listing

It’s just that you’re a former Framer and I wanna hear your experience in your words written on the screen. You probably have decades of experience that would be educational and entertaining instead of defaulting to providing something that we can all search. I guess I value human interaction over large language models

Are you using three doors (one hinged and two fixed)?...and are the doors all set to 0" from floor to bottom before you mull them? The only way I can duplicate the issue is by setting the sidelites off the floor. If you have a plan that has the issue, zip it up and send it over.

Hello, Sometimes when I created a mulled unit with a door and 2 side lites, it adds casing below the door. Does anyone know how to prevent this? I have tried turning off casing before mulling but it makes no difference. thanks! Michelle Pro 16

You can apply to be on the Beta team as well...so you get the goodies just a little bit earlier

@Chrisb222 Wasn't trying to chirp, just more in that I can make anything look good...manually, right?...but how can I make sure that another designer of ours in a different store can produce the same results with less brain power. It's a big frustration to see that there are things within the software that "appear" one way, but it doesn't actually work... That's why I reached out...to see if I'm missing something.

@JonathanK Well, in my defense I was specifically replying to your complaint about having to draw everything manually, so forgive me for assuming you weren't aware of easier methods. You mentioned manually drawing things multiple times and didn't mention other methods, so I thought my post would be helpful. You're right though, it's ridiculous that the line weight and color options for those layers has no effect on elevation views. Sadly, it's not the only thing about Chief I'm disappointed in...

just a simple, old fashioned Google search

https://www.chiefarchitect.com/search/?q=toolbars

This appears AI generated. That's like phoning it in.

Do you have your Data Folder on a Drive other than "C" ? Maybe you are using a secondary drive like Dropbox. I've set mine up to use the "D" drive and Dropbox. What's shown in my "C Drive" isn't complete - it only shows the initial X17 toolbars, not subsequent additions. Otherwise, contact Customer Support.

Sent you a message.

3 Posted just now I have an apartment plan that is 4 stories high. 172' x 65'. It was working a it slow in X16, but now in x17 it's so slow I can even work with it. It rebuilds the model after every command. I have tried everything to figure out how to stop it from rebuilding, but nothing seems to work. Can anyone help.

I have an apartment plan that is 4 stories high. 172' x 65'. It was working a it slow in X16, but now in x17 it's so slow I can even work with it. It rebuilds the model after every command. I have tried everything to figure out how to stop it from rebuilding, but nothing seems to work. Can anyone help.

Well said. That being said, I still don’t think any of these programs can really compete with Chief Architect for residential design, especially in terms of user-friendliness, the relatively easy learning curve, the large built-in library, and the speed of producing presentable residential drawings and renderings. At the moment, AI’s first major impact on building design software seems to be in rendering and visualization. That is already changing very quickly. But I think this is only the beginning of a much larger shift. People are already starting to use AI to create plug-ins and small custom tools for their specific needs, especially for platforms like Revit, SketchUp, Rhino, Blender, etc. In a few years, I believe this kind of customization may become a normal expectation in design software. Chief currently has very limited customization options and does not support external plug-ins in the way some other platforms do. Personally, I am not a big fan of depending too much on plug-ins, because they can complicate a workflow and create compatibility issues. However, sooner or later, I think many users will expect to have that option available. The next stage may be even more interesting. Maybe not immediately, but perhaps in 5–6 years, AI could help people create highly specialized design software from scratch for very specific purposes. For example, instead of using one large general-purpose program and trying to adapt it to every workflow, a small office might be able to create a custom residential design tool tailored exactly to its own standards, drawing style, local code requirements, libraries, schedules, templates, and documentation process. This does not necessarily mean that large established programs like Chief, Revit, or SketchUp will disappear. More likely, they will need to become more flexible and more open to customization. Chief has a very strong base because it understands residential design extremely well. But as AI makes custom tools and plug-ins easier to create, I think users will increasingly expect software to adapt to their workflow, rather than forcing every user into the same workflow.

Thank you for sharing your experience and educating me a little bit deeper into the software design process. It’s much easier for me to be patient when I understand the depth of effort that is required in upgrading a software app or platform.

Don't know how Chief is gonna compete with the many free and low cost alternatives that are now available. Below are just a few; even Revit now has a lower cost option to chief A.I .has leveled the playing field in terms of beautiful 3D renderings and accurate detailed material and labor take offs . Why spend big bucks if you no longer need to. Budget Consumer & DIY Tools Live Home 3D: An affordable home design application available for Mac, Windows, and iOS. It provides an intuitive drag-and-drop workflow for floor plans and 3D rendering at a fraction of the cost of professional software. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] RoomSketcher: A highly scannable, cloud-based blueprint and interior design tool. It features a tiered pricing model starting with a free basic version and inexpensive paid plans starting around $144 per year. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] Planner 5D: An accessible, browser-based app tailored for beginners and light residential drafting. It uses AI-assisted layout generation and offers functional free tiers alongside low-cost premium unlocks. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] Lower-Cost Professional & Drafting Tools SketchUp Pro: While the web version is free, the Pro tier costs around $399 per year. It is widely praised for its rapid 3D modeling, vast object library, and ease of learning, though creating formal 2D construction sets requires its companion app, LayOut. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] Revit LT: A scaled-down version of Autodesk’s industry-standard BIM platform. It is considerably cheaper than Chief Architect’s professional suite and provides highly structured building data, making it an excellent bridge for professional career skills. [1, 2] ActCAD: A cost-effective 2D/3D CAD option built for the architecture, engineering, and construction fields. It utilizes a perpetual license model that avoids recurring monthly subscription fees. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Hi, Thanks for the reply. The custom ones have been created in X17. They work in X17 but are not being saved for some reason. And X17 is not displaying any error message indicating there was an error when saving. Frederick

Hi, Thanks for the reply. See attached. The normal configuration files are there but none of my custom ones are showing up. They appear when using CA, they are just not being saved. Frederick