Renerabbitt

17 minutes ago, Michael_Gia said:

at the moment it's half baked.

I would 100 percent agree with this in terms of the terminology used. It is terrible. Hitting delete as the fastest way to share with a team is absolutely ridiculous. No "Save As" howver incorrect it may be, is breaking decades of learned behavior.
"Make a Copy With Links To New Folder" is one of the most ridiculous grammatically incorrect menu items ever. When what is doing is one of the best features of managed mode, copying a file, along with any plan/layout files it shares a link with, into a new folder to create a new independent and linked iteration.
The function in PM is not half baked, its really brilliant, but the support and terminology makes it a mystified workflow. I've been pushing for a change and not sure if I am getting any traction

3 hours ago, Michael_Gia said:

control or command S

Thursday is my day for arguing, haha.
I was very specific about my language here, I was not comparing it to "Save" I was comparing it to backing up a project.
Save As is not the same as backup, one includes all of the texture files you would need in a 3d view or elevation view if you were to share with someone that didn't have all of the same textures as you.
Even if you didn't need the textures, you would also need to hit save as for the layout as well, or easier would just be to backup the file.
Open is still an actionable thing you have to do, just like import. For either, you can double click your file and it will open. Even though open is a faster action, waiting for a cloud service to sync and index loose files(Backup-unmanaged) takes longer than waiting for it to sync one file(caproj-managed).

In PM, I hit the delete key, that's 1 key press, i click export and delete, i target my location and click okay. I don't find that this could be much easier than that action. With it comes a ton of extra features that you cannot otherwise get in unmanaged mode. In unmanaged mode, to get the same result, you would hit the file menu, then back up and restore, then backup with textures, then target your location. I might be off on the names, its been a while, but I'm fairly certain that it is more clicks. 
In managed mode, I can just share the caproj file, in unmanaged mode, you would need to share the folder containing all of your files.
People are arguing over 1 click or so, truly, yet unmanaged mode comes with a gang of additional features that you cannot do in unmanaged mode.
 

16 hours ago, lisabrooksga said:

The Backup & Restore method is the officially supported approach and avoids all the duplication and broken link issues.

This is all Ai Rubbish really, please reference this video. PM absolutely works in a multi-user-multi machine setup and I have been doing it for over a year now with no problems and all of the benefits of PM

16 hours ago, lisabrooksga said:

And even if it fundamentally works, Chief won't support it so we are going to stick with the traditional file based for now. We have rarely had issues with plans and layouts getting discombobulated anyway.

Absolutely zero difference between exporting your project to dropbox(X17 with PM) and backing up your project to dropbox(X16) cept for one remains a single archive file(X17 .caproj) and is ultimately a better system than having PM turned off.
When Chief says they don't support working in the cloud, they are specifically talking about working with cloud based files, as opposed to working with local files that are synced to the cloud from a client server like dropbox caching from your machine
Reference this video

On 4/27/2026 at 12:21 PM, LeeDrafter said:

However, I'm wondering if there is a better way to work on plans simultaneously like this? Thanks for any advice or conversation.

Global macros could help for controlling annotations for all projects. Change your global annotation and all plans annotations will change with it

1 hour ago, SteveWuo said:

multiple roof planes and hiding surfaces

That would be the most efficient way

1 hour ago, Doug_N said:

Renew Domain <https://squarespace2.statichost.page/0xf1231301a2c49.html>        

also you might want to remove this in case its a phishing link ..eek

LOL, they got the date wrong but if you feel like giving me $12 I can go get a coffee
 

Quick CA Short… diving into polyline solids + extrusion tools in #chiefarchitect 

This one walks through building from a simple polyline and pushing it into a full form using extrusion… then dialing it in with union, intersection, and subtraction tools so everything cleans up exactly how you want  Also jumping into the revolve object tool to get that soft tapered form working the right way.

These tools came in around X14 and can feel a little heavy at first… but once they click, they open up a ton of flexibility for shaping custom geometry fast 

End result… a tapered stucco fireplace chute that dives cleanly into the wall, miters correctly, and still gives you control to soften edges with the fillet tool. No custom symbol needed… just smart use of the modeling tools.

If you’re working in #cad / #bim and want faster, cleaner #buildingdesign and #architecturedesign workflows, this is a solid one to have in your back pocket 

More #chiefarchitecttips and #designworkflow coming… tagging the crew @Chief Architect #architecturaldrafting #residentialdesign #3dmodeling #rendering #designautomation

2 hours ago, CUChris81 said:

This is super unfortunate, like I said, PBR renderings are something my clients are requesting with increased frequency. =(

M5 will not be instantaneous but it will certainly be fast enough for most, I would go for the max or ultra.

1 hour ago, mtldesigns said:

It appears back in 2023 we had a option to pick Master Bedroom or Master Bathroom in our Room Types

AIBD, NAR and MLS have all removed the term and replaced with Primary or Owners instead of Master.

NKBA makes no formal statement but you won't find master in any of their new guidelines, they use Primary.

IRC and IBC have never cared about any designations beyond simply calling it bedroom and bathroom.

46 minutes ago, DefinedDesign said:

Hi Michael, I have this exact walkout basement, what is your secret for getting the framed wall to sit on top of the slab?  Right now mine is doing this:

also see video

39 minutes ago, DefinedDesign said:

I don’t understand why this behavior is not clearly communicated in the X17 Dialog Help.

I think it is, the help menu is live and this is what it shows in X17:

1 hour ago, JeremyKing said:

How can I make my plants not look radioactive in Physically Based Rendering?

You resurrected an 11 year old thread  haha
looks like you made them emissive in the material, might want to use the adjust material tool to check. are these image based plants or 3d plants? I would suggest using 3d plants instead as trhe rendering engine may have a tough time trying to properly light image based plants in a night shot with no ambient light

46 minutes ago, Michael_Gia said:

 

Have you tested PBR capabilities on both machines?

 

That would be the only benchmark I would be interested in.

 

That is how fast can each machine perform 100 samples of the same PBR view?

not going to compare to DLSS, but the speed IN PLAN is SOOOOO much faster. 

52 minutes ago, Smn842 said:

Using X16 and X17 which proves the point.

Thanks for the correction, I find the ULA confusing

2 hours ago, CA_Russell said:

Rene, he made a video of it.

I've been so bothered by these macs smoking my machine, thinking about buying a new PCI5 NVMe to try and catch up. The read/writes and single thread speed is nuts. 

You’re using what I’d call a stack. If you want to avoid interfering with core system hotkeys across apps, you have to respect the base layer:

Ctrl + C → Copy
Ctrl + V → Paste
Ctrl + X → Cut
Ctrl + Z → Undo
Ctrl + Y → Redo (sometimes Ctrl+Shift+Z)
Ctrl + A → Select All
Ctrl + S → Save
Ctrl + P → Print
Ctrl + F → Find
Ctrl + H → Find & Replace
Ctrl + N → New
Ctrl + O → Open
Ctrl + W → Close tab/window
Ctrl + Q → Quit (more cross-platform than Windows)
…there are more

Because of that, the “stack” for something like A is already occupied. If you’re trying to build logical, like-for-like functions that are easy to remember, A isn’t a clean starting point.

That leaves you with safer first keys like:
E, G, J, K, L, R, U, and numbers

From there, you can build out a full stack of combos. Just keep in mind… it’s been a while since I tested everything, and some keys like Ctrl+3 may still conflict depending on the app.

Shift can also get messy. In some contexts it already modifies behavior… like Shift+1 or other number keys… so it’s not always reliable as a clean layer.

And I’d stay away from Alt entirely. It has a tendency to interfere with system-level behavior and menus, which can break consistency fast.
 

• G,A G,B G,C G,D G,E G,F G,G G,H G,I G,J G,K G,L G,M G,N G,O G,P G,Q G,R G,S G,T G,U G,V G,W G,X G,Y G,Z G,0 G,1 G,2 G,3 G,4 G,5 G,6 G,7 G,8 G,9
  K,A K,B K,C K,D K,E K,F K,G K,H K,I K,J K,K K,L K,M K,N K,O K,P K,Q K,R K,S K,T K,U K,V K,W K,X K,Y K,Z K,0 K,1 K,2 K,3 K,4 K,5 K,6 K,7 K,8 K,9
  L,A L,B L,C L,D L,E L,F L,G L,H L,I L,J L,K L,L L,M L,N L,O L,P L,Q L,R L,S L,T L,U L,V L,W L,X L,Y L,Z L,0 L,1 L,2 L,3 L,4 L,5 L,6 L,7 L,8 L,9
  M,A M,B M,C M,D M,E M,F M,G M,H M,I M,J M,K M,L M,M M,N M,O M,P M,Q M,R M,S M,T M,U M,V M,W M,X M,Y M,Z M,0 M,1 M,2 M,3 M,4 M,5 M,6 M,7 M,8 M,9
  R,A R,B R,C R,D R,E R,F R,G R,H R,I R,J R,K R,L R,M R,N R,O R,P R,Q R,R R,S R,T R,U R,V R,W R,X R,Y R,Z R,0 R,1 R,2 R,3 R,4 R,5 R,6 R,7 R,8 R,9
  U,A U,B U,C U,D U,E U,F U,G U,H U,I U,J U,K U,L U,M U,N U,O U,P U,Q U,R U,S U,T U,U U,V U,W U,X U,Y U,Z U,0 U,1 U,2 U,3 U,4 U,5 U,6 U,7 U,8 U,9
  
  0,A 0,B 0,C 0,D 0,E 0,F 0,G 0,H 0,I 0,J 0,K 0,L 0,M 0,N 0,O 0,P 0,Q 0,R 0,S 0,T 0,U 0,V 0,W 0,X 0,Y 0,Z 0,0 0,1 0,2 0,3 0,4 0,5 0,6 0,7 0,8 0,9
  1,A 1,B 1,C 1,D 1,E 1,F 1,G 1,H 1,I 1,J 1,K 1,L 1,M 1,N 1,O 1,P 1,Q 1,R 1,S 1,T 1,U 1,V 1,W 1,X 1,Y 1,Z 1,0 1,1 1,2 1,3 1,4 1,5 1,6 1,7 1,8 1,9
  2,A 2,B 2,C 2,D 2,E 2,F 2,G 2,H 2,I 2,J 2,K 2,L 2,M 2,N 2,O 2,P 2,Q 2,R 2,S 2,T 2,U 2,V 2,W 2,X 2,Y 2,Z 2,0 2,1 2,2 2,3 2,4 2,5 2,6 2,7 2,8 2,9
  3,A 3,B 3,C 3,D 3,E 3,F 3,G 3,H 3,I 3,J 3,K 3,L 3,M 3,N 3,O 3,P 3,Q 3,R 3,S 3,T 3,U 3,V 3,W 3,X 3,Y 3,Z 3,0 3,1 3,2 3,3 3,4 3,5 3,6 3,7 3,8 3,9
  4,A 4,B 4,C 4,D 4,E 4,F 4,G 4,H 4,I 4,J 4,K 4,L 4,M 4,N 4,O 4,P 4,Q 4,R 4,S 4,T 4,U 4,V 4,W 4,X 4,Y 4,Z 4,0 4,1 4,2 4,3 4,4 4,5 4,6 4,7 4,8 4,9
  5,A 5,B 5,C 5,D 5,E 5,F 5,G 5,H 5,I 5,J 5,K 5,L 5,M 5,N 5,O 5,P 5,Q 5,R 5,S 5,T 5,U 5,V 5,W 5,X 5,Y 5,Z 5,0 5,1 5,2 5,3 5,4 5,5 5,6 5,7 5,8 5,9
  6,A 6,B 6,C 6,D 6,E 6,F 6,G 6,H 6,I 6,J 6,K 6,L 6,M 6,N 6,O 6,P 6,Q 6,R 6,S 6,T 6,U 6,V 6,W 6,X 6,Y 6,Z 6,0 6,1 6,2 6,3 6,4 6,5 6,6 6,7 6,8 6,9
  7,A 7,B 7,C 7,D 7,E 7,F 7,G 7,H 7,I 7,J 7,K 7,L 7,M 7,N 7,O 7,P 7,Q 7,R 7,S 7,T 7,U 7,V 7,W 7,X 7,Y 7,Z 7,0 7,1 7,2 7,3 7,4 7,5 7,6 7,7 7,8 7,9
  8,A 8,B 8,C 8,D 8,E 8,F 8,G 8,H 8,I 8,J 8,K 8,L 8,M 8,N 8,O 8,P 8,Q 8,R 8,S 8,T 8,U 8,V 8,W 8,X 8,Y 8,Z 8,0 8,1 8,2 8,3 8,4 8,5 8,6 8,7 8,8 8,9
  9,A 9,B 9,C 9,D 9,E 9,F 9,G 9,H 9,I 9,J 9,K 9,L 9,M 9,N 9,O 9,P 9,Q 9,R 9,S 9,T 9,U 9,V 9,W 9,X 9,Y 9,Z 9,0 9,1 9,2 9,3 9,4 9,5 9,6 9,7 9,8 9,9

  
  this is my G604 mapping
  

  My SpaceMouse mapping is out of date…

  I’ll still use core functions in a stack when they feel like the same operation. For example…
  X = delete
  Ctrl+X = cut (system)
  Shift+X = make wall invisible
  Ctrl+Shift+X = delete layout page

  I try to reserve Ctrl+Shift for layout-related actions, so if I ever have to jump back to the keyboard, there’s at least some logic I can remember.

  The actual letters don’t mean much to me. With a radial menu you’ve got 4 commands per slice, 8 slices, across multiple keys… it’s more about access than memorization. The mouse is kind of the exception to all the rules… it just needs my most-used functions, nothing fancy.

  I’ve got Home and End mapped to the mouse wheel, which makes numeric input really fast. For example… I’ll drag, hit Enter (same behavior as Tab), then hit Home and type something like +24" to offset on the fly.

On 7/25/2025 at 3:19 AM, Smn842 said:

 

Thanks for the suggestion, but I cannot reduce the months back as I use it when the need arises and its at least 6 months a year (can be more).  As I am not an architect my use isn't short term projects.  I've got perceptual X16 and X17 licenses there's no need to keep paying any more for legacy SSA with more potential increases, or pay for rental to get newer releases. 

 

I will keep using X16 as I won't get bug fixes for X17 and my SSA ends soon, plus I can use it in a locked down VM on one of my Proxmox/XCP-ng home servers for as long as I need if OS compatibility issues ever become a problem (already tested and works fine).

The last available perpetual license is X15, you won't have access to X16 and X17

I share free tips and tricks while updating my templates toolbars and libraries. 
Please note I do mention my systems for sale in video.
Ep 1. Reviewing My Sofa Library, repairing symbols and textures and showcasing the workflow I use to create my furniture
 

6 hours ago, ComputerMaster86 said:

"Ctrl", "Alt", and "Ctrl + Alt".

I would strongly encourage you to stay away from the alt key, this can cause some problems with mnemonic keys. False-positives, and menu initiation may occur. This will change with your system speed as it gets bogged down. The alt key targets Chief Architects main menus. I would stick to ctrl and/or shift for modifiers.
I would also switch to sequential keys if you need more combinations as it greatly increases the possible key combinations 
 

3 hours ago, SteveCanbury said:

(sorry no example, but Rene Rabbit likes it, and probly has examples)

See this:

Tools:

• Chief Architect X17
• Photoshop or Photopea
• Krea as of 2026, their enhancement tab and specifically the Krea Legacy LLM

Goal: iterative output for controlling specific elements of the original design intent while enhancing using Ai in a efficient way
We will be skipping some basics such as FOV settings, angle of camera, and composition in this first episode and we are jumping straight to the hot-topic of Ai image enhancement
Start by Exporting an image to disk. This is Important as we need to maintain an exact base resolution. we will be exporting a second image for material based mask selection

Next, we will be changing all of the vector based colors of our materials in camera and switching to a vector based rendering. This is specifically for material mask selections in Photoshop

We will then use Photoshops function to change line thickness to 0

When the Vector mask ID image is placed underneath the source image in the Photoshop Layers panel and is the targeted or only displayed layer it makes it very easy to select a material base on color.
Here is an example, the selection lines and active color suggest that I used select by color on the purple material ID. Notice the walls have a hatched selection line indicating their selection

Here is the mask of the walls

This entire sequence up until now has taken 5 minutes
The purpose of the material ID mask is to mask out problem areas that an Ai output changes
So lets send our image to our Ai Enhancement software
I made a pass with a HIGH level of creativity Low Level of fidelity and one with the opposite settings. Sometimes You may want to mask in a feature from a very interpretive output.
Here is our base ai enhancement

Notice a sprinkler head was added, that the photos were changed, as well as the chopping block and a few other features such as the highly reflective white surface tricking the ai into creating floating LED's
The major reason for utilizing the Ai enhancement software at the top of this post is because I have recognized that this software DOES NOT change the pixel-to-pixel perspective and orientation of the source image. 
For example, notice that the backsplash and photos are in exactly the same spot when revealing background layers with a mask:

So for our first pass, in Photoshop, I will create a raster based mask layer on the Ai enhanced image. The Ai enhanced image will be higher in the order of the layers panel, sitting on top of our source render. 
I will mask with a brush, shown as pink in this example:

Giving us:

Next I will add some lens flare, and using the material ID mask, I am going to add a hue adjustment layer and adjust the color of the walls and cabinets. Also using the material ID mask I am going to change the exterior by masking out the windows to reveal a layer underneath which will be a landscaped yard
At this point I can easily change any finish colors I need to very quickly

For example, I introduce a repeating pattern for texture. A blend mode set to color burn, masked to the walls, to give the walls some texture

At this stage we have spent 15 minutes total, and have change our output significantly and set ourselves up to make new edits very quickly. Make sure to save your camera settings in Chief Architect in case a design element has changed, because you can drop that source image back into your layer stack
Let's send this to Ai for another round of enhancement
Our 2nd round did offer some improvements. There is a 2nd round of masking and then we are ready for a camera raw filter.

The camera raw filter can correct some common pitfalls of ai enhancement, such as heavy contrast, white balance, white levels black levels, texture, sharpening, noise and more
The great thing about camera raw is that we can save our settings and they can provide a base edit that is often times all you need...a single button press for major improvement to the Ai output

This series of edits all in all took 20 minutes, and although we would have gotten a similar output from ai in just a single click, this final output is controlled and does not depict anything that was not specified in the original design

On 11/18/2025 at 8:22 AM, Radius1 said:

no macros

I just found this searching for something else. This is a simpler solve than you might think. From a cold start of the program your macros name is producing nil until the object initiates and creates a value. Your text box is set to auto width which produces a text box that circumvents auto link to tail. To solve for this, have your macro set an init value such as a string "placehldr" so that it maintains the overall width until the macro initiates and produces the dimension. 
Another solution is unchecking auto width but that's a bit messier

I just found this thread searching for something else. 
You would have to right click on your library object and update it from the TMM: