Renerabbitt

32 minutes ago, PitMan71 said:

I thought this too. LOL.

yall forget that I consider Mark the cabinet master..not the other way around  Man is a wealth of knowledge 

9 hours ago, clearvuedesign said:

I'm pretty old so I'm really used to the old school in a lot of ways. There is one thing: I just looked and you're doing the X18, but something changed between X16 and X17 to X18. Now my icons in my toolbars lose all the information. Some of them will actually fill with the icon, but when you press it, it's empty and it wants me to re-link. It has something to do with them changing something in their coding, and I'm interested if you can give me an update on how much it would cost me.

This conv better in chat most likely but I give 40% off to all previous purchasers. There are update codes in the accounts tab when you login. There's also a bout a billion hours of development since you last purchased, ha...probably some things you might really like. 

2 minutes ago, clearvuedesign said:

ClearVue, not in the template,

very cool. this is the system in X18 thats more for spec but can handle any information output to a csv:

6 hours ago, robdyck said:

be even more robust.

I built this for my X17 templates. it read right from CSV automatically and while in project management mode. 
I personally loved it, but again was too complicated for scalability. 
Not only does a system have to be hands off and intuitive but it also has to handle modification and unique parameters if I were to distribute. All in all, even though it was only a few steps to setup, I had user after user wanting to setup unique parameters and naming conventions that would break the system.
It was very cool though for my own personal workflow to just tell my ai agent to go look up my last meeting and update my designer/client info based on that into a csv and then open chief up and see it all there. 

4 hours ago, Joe_Carrick said:

but it saves me thousands of hours.

Your system is not all that different from mine conceptually. You and I just have very different needs.

Keep in mind that I distribute my templates, and they need to be workable for beginner to intermediate Chief technicians. Because of that, above everything else, the system has to be user-friendly with very little need for additional process documentation. It also cannot be overly specific to our California code requirements, which would be 10x overkill for most of the rest of the world.

It also has to be intuitive from the perspective of someone completely new. Like you mentioned, it took you a long time to build your system. It also took me a long time to discover what is actually intuitive to an end user versus what I personally perceived to be intuitive.

Designer, client, and project information all come from a Project Information plan. This allows someone to easily swap out that file with other versions they have built by copying it, which can be used for things like changing the title block, logo, design load criteria, specifications, and so on.

This is not just California-specific. The system does have automatic lookup for a few criteria across several states. Previously, I had automatic spec switching based on project city, state, zip code, or country for NBC Canada. But again, even that became a bit too complex for the end user.

Now, with X18, the end user simply types the code criteria they want, such as “2025 IRC,” into Project Information, and the spec switches through a macro. So at the base level, all the end user has to do is swap out their logo, fill out their designer information, and enter the code criteria fields. Simple user input. The macros handle the rest.

I strongly dislike gathering data from polylines. I find them to be the least intuitive for end users, and they carry the most liability because the user has to manually update them whenever the building model changes. Because of that, my area analysis comes from a room schedule with some macro magic that allows for adjustments. In other words, site analysis is coming from the building model itself. Thats the bulk of what I have on my G1 page or G001 for you maybe

I have three template pages: two scaled pages, one at 1/4" and one at 1/2", and one no-scale template page. Switching the template changes the scale annotation and adds a graphical scale.

That is all I am including in a base-level plan intended for distribution.

7 hours ago, Joe_Carrick said:

The polyline dbx really needs to have a label box with at least 10 lines of space to prevent the need for so much scrolling.

YES YES YES YES YES and more YES
 

7 hours ago, Joe_Carrick said:

That way it's executed as soon as the Layout is opened.

Mine also executes as soon as layout is opened, without ever opening the plan file  because the polyline is alongside of those information blocks and they are sent to layout
 

11 hours ago, Joe_Carrick said:

Do you have Michael's hack for this?  I put mine in a the Label of a Polyline on sheet 0 of my layout.

yeah he posted it here on chieftalk somewhere a long time ago. I have a bunch of pages of notes in onedrive from things all of the macro guys have said over the years.
I use it in a plan file. the plan file is setup for all title block info and spec writing on your general sheet so its easy to swap out when i change jurisdictions or who I am drafting for etc. 
all of this gets sent to different parts of layout

and this polyline has all of the captures

19 hours ago, Joe_Carrick said:

I'm not sure however that I would need to insert macros into field values.

I was on a training call yesterday and, as I often do, I started by giving you big compliments. But I also mentioned that no one could simply pick up one of your layouts or plans and immediately understand how everything works. The workflow is incredibly specific, with a lot of knowledge required to perform even simple tasks, plus all the unique layers and layer sets involved. You and I wouldnt need this but its nice for end-use

All that to say, leaving a macro call inside a value is a smart way for the template to automate a task while still giving the end user one easy place to override that automation when needed.
In other words, its great for scalability without the need for unique training.
 

19 hours ago, Joe_Carrick said:

For the most part it's pretty easy to duplicate classes and copy field values.  To be honest, I am so happy to get this as provided that I basically overlooked the slight annoyances you outlined above.  

I always hear Kevin Transue screaming from the rooftops "inheritanceeeeeee"
Why this dbx was designed in a way that didnt just inherit properties from other similar dbx is what he would be referring to. Why isnt there a "user input dbx standard" module thats just plug and play so that it behaves similarly to the project browser/library browser or the "add lights" dbx?

 

19 hours ago, Joe_Carrick said:

Currently I have use a bit of ledgerdemain to get editable values.

as in a displayed polyline or other object with a label that says %$chief_project_zipcode="%project.zip/postal_code%";""% yeah...same wish +1000
 

17 hours ago, mkennedy2000 said:

painless way to maintain a versioned folder structure

this copies your layout with all of its established linked plan files into a new folder within your existing project. This will be a completely separate layout with linked plan files that will have no links to the originals

Fairly easy solution:

On 6/19/2026 at 1:39 PM, DefinedDesign said:

Thanks DB, question when it converts to an architectural block will it still populate in the materials lists for the cabinet schedule and countertop quantities?

Turn off automatic fillers, and select your cabinet and add an extended stile

On 6/17/2026 at 2:24 PM, BryceEngstrom said:

Any plans to accept LIDAR other than iPhones?  It's kind of ironic that that it seemed like it took a long time for Chief to even offer a Mac OS version, and now this is the only Lidar file you will support?

Not really a Chief-specific issue on either of those fronts, at least not from a software development standpoint.

On the rendering side, Chief’s path tracer and other GPU-dependent features rely heavily on the graphics API and driver support available from the operating system and hardware vendor. On Windows, that generally means working through DirectX / GPU driver support from NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel. On macOS, that means working through Apple’s Metal API. If Apple’s Metal implementation or developer support is lacking(WHICH IT WAS), delayed, or not responsive to support tickets, there is only so much Chief can do from their end. They can optimize within the tools Apple provides, but they cannot rewrite Apple’s graphics stack or force Apple to prioritize bugs that affect a relatively small professional CAD/rendering market.

Same general idea with LiDAR. Apple has a very mature and well-documented development ecosystem around their LiDAR hardware, including ARKit, RoomPlan, depth APIs, and device-level support. Developers building scan-based workflows have a relatively clear path on iPhones and iPads because Apple controls the hardware, operating system, camera stack, sensor calibration, and API access.

Competing platforms are much more fragmented. Even if another phone technically has depth sensing, LiDAR, time-of-flight, or some other spatial scanning capability, the development tools may not be as standardized, consistent, or commercially viable. Android devices vary widely by manufacturer, sensor package, camera pipeline, OS version, and API support. That makes it much harder for a company like Chief to build and maintain a reliable scan-to-plan workflow across a broad range of non-Apple devices.

I wouldnt point the finger at Chief is all

3 hours ago, Gawdzira said:

So far, you can not utilize point cloud data in Chief. The best option at this time is to have the floor plan derived from the Lidar data (I am doing this with Matterport scans, non Lidar) and then you are going to trace the pdf walls. 

you can, its just imported as a fixture. It's very easy to align the walls by nudging them until they are in plane with the obj file.
You just need a matterpak

1 hour ago, SteveCanbury said:

If only I had that option in HDP 2025 .....

FYI there is a forum dedicated to Home Designer, most of the users here won't be aware of the limitations of the home designer line
https://hometalk.chiefarchitect.com/

1 hour ago, SteveCanbury said:

DW3 and DW4 in the screenshot below

rotate the 2x4 instead of changing the width and height

36 minutes ago, 580Fosev said:

I am using a LiDAR Scanner to scan property, what format can be imported into chief architect so that I can use it to develop architectural plans from the scans including furnishing details.

Obj

1 hour ago, Design20 said:

Thank you all for your input! I did some more research and talked it through with my boss and we decided to go ahead and get a new machine with better components all the way around. Hopefully that will solve my issue. If I still run into slowness I'll see what I can find out vis á vis my texture files, @Renerabbitt

A new computer is not going to solve this issue, I have a slower laptop with far more outdated tech and a massive 14gb library and it is outperforming your machine. Trust me, I train 100's of members, you have either some very high poly count models or a series of pattern from texture material files. 
This is sequential read/write dependent and CPU, driven, and your existing CPU and hard drive are on PCI4. You are plenty fast enough, so I guarantee you that this is not a computer issue

Food for thought

On 6/3/2026 at 1:02 PM, MollyNDG said:

I can get it to work for a specific cabinet size by tweaking the bounding box spacing, but as soon as the cabinet size changes, things go sideways—the panel stretches oddly and the proportions get thrown off.

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

6 hours ago, Pat-CW2 said:

• •  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.

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

On 6/10/2026 at 6:18 AM, Design20 said:

opening the library to select materials or fixtures usually takes 20 seconds and sometimes a couple minutes

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.
 

30 minutes ago, Oakriverman said:

That way it would be easier to align your drawings from page to page?

Some easier methods for you that are snappable:

1. Use points from CAD/Points/Place Points. They are snappable and do not print
2. Use the Snap Grid and snap your drawings to the same points
3. Send your view once, then use the copy with paste hold position to a new sheet to maintain position, then use the relink tool to relink to the view you want. This will maintain position exactly

Hope that helps see video:

7 hours ago, mkennedy2000 said:

@Renerabbittor anyone else - Do you know where CA hides the files when in PM mode? I'm still ambivalent about PM (it solves a problem I don't have, it creates extra steps when working with others but I love the concept and the project browser) so i find myself disabling and reenabling from time to time. Along the way it seems to have misplaced an entire days work - the layout thumbnail is correct, but the layout and plan are missing a lot of work. I didn't really pay attention to the back up setting, so although there's an archived folder with a the right date and time, it appears to be the very outdated CAD. Fortunately I had sent a 3d model with notes, so I can recapture the annotation. Just annoying to have to redo all that work.

They are encrypted files inside of program data. Not useful, you may be able to find temp files in your temp directory which CA uses to cache the project management. 

Also triple check archives, I find that there are usually multiple copies .

The other thing to do is turn back on project management.

I think ca might not write to the cache when you turn off pm in the middle of a session which is how you could lose a days work