glennw

Preferences...Edit...Snap Properties...Other Snaps...Bumping/Pushing. Have a look in Help.

Do you have Bumping/Pushing turned on?

That looks like it is caused by the effect of screen resolution and has nothing to do with the line weight or line scaling discussed. Is this a separate issue than the one we have been discussing? Because the line is so close to horizontal it is "jumping" to the next pixel row- sometimes called "jaggies". Can you increase screen resolution? There are a couple of settings that MAY have an effect on this - but I am only guessing. In the camera dbx (also in 3D...Camera View Options), there is a setting for Edge Smoothing When Idle. Note that this setting is view specific. Check that and see if it does anything. There is a Hardware Edge Smoothing setting in Preferences...Render. Try setting that to High. Or maybe Dermot can chime in and tell us in more detail if these setting should have any effect at all - because I am not sure.

What does "look wonky" mean. Doesn't setting Minimum Display Size to zero fix that? I would support a request to separate Minimum Display Weight and line type scaling - they should not be linked as they are 2 completely different parameters.

You can do what you want with layer sets. Leave line weights toggled on. Create a new layerset (Copy an existing one), select all the layers and give them a line weight of 1. As long as your line styles are set to by layer, you will get the static line types when zooming with all line weights displaying as 1. If you need to see line weights (with static scaling), change your layer set.

Polyline Solids drawn in elevation/section

Alan, There are several options to achieve what you want. Try these. If you want to delete all your wall framing, use the Delete Objects tool - you have the choice to delete from a single room, current floor , or all floors. Then, if you want to build the framing for only one wall, select the wall and use the Build Framing For Selected Objects tool. If you want to delete the framing for only one wall, select the wall, select the Open Wall Detail tool, Marque select all the framing and Delete.

Did you look for roof returns in the manual?

That would make too much sense. Delete and recreate the camera. No need to redo the camera. You can use undo if that will work - depends on the undo sequence. Auto Detail is just cad work over the section and as such can be selected and deleted. So if you haven't drawn any other cad (dimensions, text, cad, etc) on the section, just do a big marque select or a select all (only cad work is selected) and Delete. If you have already drawn cad on the section, you will need to use a selection method that only selects the auto detail cad and then delete. You can then do another auto detail.

I think that you will find that this doesn't only apply to your beam. Same thing happens with most objects that come from the library like cabinets, fixtures, fittings, etc. I believe that functionality is hard code into Chief and can't be changed. The are not really Temp Dims as you can't use them to change the object's size or location. They are really just a reference dimension.

Defalts...Floors and Rooms...Floor/Ceiling Platform...Floor...Floor Structure...Edit...Selected Layer...check Auto Detail As Insulation. OK. While you are in the Floor Ceiling Platform Defaults, delete the concrete floor finish - this is where your concrete topping is coming from. You will get 2 instances of auto detail hatching if you auto Detail twice. You will need to be a bit more specific regarding the cupboard problem.

There is a Flemish Bond hatch pattern in the ChiefBrick.pat file. Look for the 20-BRK_Flemish pattern. You get there by going to the Fill Style panel...Pattern...Type:...Custom (down the bottom) of the list. Select the above .pat file with the Browse button.

I assume that you are using Auto Detail to generate the insulation hatching. Auto Detail only works on the currently active section - it is just a cad that overlays the section. You need to explain in more detail regarding the incorrect insulation.

Another way is to change your Grid Snap setting to 6'. You can then just drag the wall and it will move in 6' increments.

Mark, In previous versions we had the setting to Zoom Using Field of View, which is no longer available. I think that was dropped in X8. The scroll wheel now zooms by moving the camera in and out unless Perspective Crop Mode is toggled on, in which case the camera does not move, only the screen image zooms in and out with the scroll wheel and field of view doesn't change.

Alan, Do you have the ALDO open when you are performing these actions? And is so, are you using it to perform any of these actions?

You can change the terrain height (and the houses relative floor height) to 100' without redrawing or starting again. Create a terrain and use some terrain elevation data that relates to your 100' reference - say across the middle of the site at 100', across the top of the site at 120', and across the bottom of the site at 80'. This will build the terrain 100' higher than the house. Open the terrain dbx and set the Subfloor Height Above Terrain to 100' (or as you want - 100' will set a flat terrain at the house floor level - Chiefs zero floor level). If you generate Auto Storey Pole Dimensions, the levels will relate to the floor level being at zero. This is probably not what you want - you probably want them to relate to your 100' which is your actual floor level. Go to your Auto Storey Pole Dimension defaults...Locate Elevations...Grade Level Marker...change this to 100' and change the Elevation Reference to 1st Floor Subfloor. Now all your elevation heights will relate to your subfloor at 100'. Using 100' as an assumed datum used to be the norm down here. 100' was used mainly to keep all levels around the site a positive number. We now mainly use an Australian Height Datum that is related to sea level. Most jurisdictions now require this as it allows for easy relationships to adjoining sites and other services. PS. You can also set Chief up so that the Absolute floor and ceiling levels are reported as relative to your 100' elevation which means that the Room Specification dbx the Absolute Elevations will use platform levels relative to 100'. But, from memory, I think you then need to set room floor levels on a room by room basis because the default floor level for level 1 is zero and cannot be changed. You would not need to redraw to use this method - depending on how complicated the design is, you should be able to change your plan through the dbx's. One advantage of using this method is that if you open a dbx for an object like a roof, the heights are reported as relative to your 100' height. ie, the roof ridge might report as something like 115' instead of 15' (relative to Chiefs zero floor level). This might be particularly important when you are using real world levels for your terrain. In short, there are many ways (probably at least 3 or 4) that you can use to relate the building platform levels to the terrain. If you are having trouble, post a plan and describe exactly how you want your terrain and building platforns to relate. Or, let me know and I will do a quick Skype session with you to explain as it can get a bit involved.

Thanks Robert, That's exactly the way I did it. Saved me doing a video.

Stephen, There is another way to do this if the Allow Wrap setting is not working. I haven't had much success with internal corners with that tool. I will do a video using your plan when I get time - easier to do a video than try and describe it. This is done with stairs.

Chris, This seems to work OK for me. Can you post a simple plan where this isn't working correctly.

Mine only has the Cameras, Inactive. I suspect that what has happened is that Chief has at one stage changed it's default layer setup and changed the layer name from Cameras, Inactive to just Cameras. I checked on of Scott's plans and his only has Camera's, inactive as well. I think we have both carried forward with old template plans.

be aware that there are active cameras and inactive cameras. If an unsaved camera view is closed the camera is deleted. As long as the unsaved camera view is open, it is an active camera. If a saved camera view is closed, the camera becomes inactive and is on the Cameras, Inactive layer, which can be toggled off. You can save your cameras in your template plan. Draw the cameras in your template plan, save the camera, save the plan and then they will be available every time you start a new plan from the template. PS Eric, I only have a Cameras, Inactive layer - no Cameras layer. Do you have both or only the Cameras layer? Is that a layer you have created or am I missing that layer?

If you were building auto roofs, the Allow Low Roof Planes option is usually the setting to use. Otherwise, I would designate the upper floor patio to be either Open Below or uncheck Floor Under This Room. Then use a polysolid or slab and build the floor manually.

Chopsaw, Post the plan.

You don't even have to convert to a Word document. Open a .pdf in Acrobat Reader or any other .pdf reader. Hilite the text, right click, Copy. Paste into a text box in Chief. In fact, you really don't even need to paste the text into a text box. Just Paste it directly into the plan and Chief will automatically paste it into a plain text box. You can then convert it to Rich Text with one click if that's what you need. But wait!.... There's more. If it's a .pdf of a drawing (like a survey, detail, etc) you can copy and paste directly into Chief. During the Paste, you are asked if you want to paste it in as a Backdrop, Image, Material or Picture.