glennw

We can still drag the width of a footing - not the length. I am not sure that we could ever drag the length? Here is a bit more from the beginning. http://screencast.com/t/XDkFFCVSeu

Curt, You really have yourself tied up in a knot here. First off the Number Style dbx only applies to the display of angles and number styles in the dbx's - it has no effect on how these things display in the drawing. You say you used a Cad Box to draw the rectangle - the cad box does not allow you to Show Angle and Show Length like a closed polyline (which I assume is what you really used. The format of the Show Angle and Show Length is controlled by General Cad default. Note that you can display the Reverse Angle if you want to. The Input Line tool doesn't allow you to select Relative to Start Point because you don't have a start point yet! Either draw your first line with the tool, which will place a point at the end of the line to start a new line from, or place a Place Point to act as the start point for the Input Line. Ah, you posted again as I was typing. The dimension settings have nothing to do with the things you are trying to display.

Does this mean that Scott gets his points deducted and awarded to me? ...yeah!

Ah...sounds like you aren't using a foundation plan - or you wouldn't be having the door problem. I would recommend you use a foundation plan - although I know others will disagree.

Here is another way. It looks like you either need the invisible wall as per Scott's method, or the broken wall using my method. Both ways use a different technique. Scotts uses the normal footing under an invisible wall. Mine uses the footing width for a small wall length. Choose your poison. http://screencast.com/t/hhUl7VfP0oL

Scott, How did you "put it back in". I also note that the roof baselines are way off from where they should be - but I don't think that is causing the problem. The same gutter behaviour is happening on the other flat roof over Bedroom 1 - only it is the gutter on the top of scree side of the bedroom because the 2 roof have been built in the same direction - ie, low side of roof on bottom of screen.

The vertical line on the end gable is caused by the interior wall on level 3. You don't have any external walls to define the areas in the roof space on level 3. Draw the external walls to enclose the spaces.

Alan, I can duplicate the disappearing gutter. I believe it is because you have a zero pitch roof and the roof is supplying the gutter. The gutter won't auto build on the "high" side or the roof - even though the roof is flat. Chief won't auto build a gutter on 4 sides of a roof - there is always a "high" side. Whenever you open and close the roof dbx , the gutter auto rebuilds - except for the "high" side of the roof. You need to use a manual molding line for the gutter and in the roof dbx...Options...Supply...uncheck Gutter.

You can change the zero datum height by using the Grade Level Marker setting. Easier to do a vid than to explain: http://screencast.com/t/p8n7VDqx5hf7

See if this makes a difference. Preferences...Appearance...Display..."Color Off Is:" Check Greyscale. Don't forget to update the view in layout.

Alan, To make this change using the Storey Pole tool is as easy as opening the dimension defaults dbx being used and change the Grade Level Marker value to -9.5'. All the levels will automatically recalculate and update to relate to the new floor level 0 (Grade Level Marker value. You delete unwanted markers exactly the same way you would delete an extension line in any dimension string. Just grab the marker at the end of the extension and drag it off the object - simple as. You can also add marker heights by dragging the new extension marker off the dimension line and snapping it to an object like a floor or roof level - exactly the same way you would add an extension line to a normal dimension. As far as I can tell, the Auto Storey Pole tool will do everything you want. Stop looking for reasons not to use, but instead make it work the way you want. Post a plan and a description of exactly what you want and I will see if I can set it all up for you.

Re the Restrict Floor Camera To Room setting. Are you sure it's broken, or you just don't understand how the setting works? I don't think that it is meant to lock a cameral in a room. What it does is not display objects outside the room the camera was drawn in, when you move the camera outside that room. In the attached pic, a Floor Camera was drawn inside the room and then backed out of that room. Notice that the cabinets, roofs, terrain, etc., drawn outside the room do not display in the camera view. The only things that will display in the camera view are items drawn inside the room, even though the camera was initially drawn inside the room and then backed out of the room. Note that this setting only applies to the Floor Camera. Are you confusing this setting with the Camera Bumps Off Walls setting?

Alan, You may be able to get most of the functionality you want by using the Auto Storey Pole dimension. It will allow all sorts of formats and will even do the offset you are talking about. Something like this?:

OK, I couldn't duplicate this behaviour, so I played around and found that if you go to the floor plan and select a room label, open it's dbx and use "Use Custom Text Style" check "Rotate With Plan", the room labels will rotate in layout when you rotate the layout box. They will retain their relative location in the room and retain their formatting and justification. I have my room label text set up to Use Custom Text Style as the default - I vaguely remember using this method from way back to avoid the text rotation problem. Easiest way is to change the Room Label Defaults to Use Custom Text Style.

I leave Auto Refresh Dimensions toggled on in my template plan so that as so as I draw an enclosed space or edit the floor plan, the auto exterior dimensions are generated and updated (not overwritten) automatically. No need to even select Auto Exterior Dimensions - it just happens.

I am mostly with Perry. Always draw mono slabs on level 0 and preferably auto. If you do them on level 1, you don't get a foundation layout and you can't edit the slab easily. Scott will probably post about the "virtual" level 1 mono slab which is really the mono slab you're having when you're not having a mono slab.

Larry, You have 2 slabs - one at zero and one at minus 4" - have a look in a cross section. Why is your foundation mono slab at -4"? Yet your main floor is at zero? You have both Floor Supplied by the Foundation Room Below AND Monolithic Slab Foundation checked for the main floor level - hence the 2 slabs - and the conflict.

Scott, As I said, I don't think you can assign Delete to a hotkey.

I am pretty sure you cant assign Delete to a hotkey. Assigning a command to a single hotkey is not really a good idea if you want to build up your hotkey usage. Once you assign a command to say, the E key, it precludes you from using any other multi key commands that start with E.

It doesn't really matter who invented all those games as us Aussies usually beat you in them all anyway!

I would use the basketball court from the library. It's in the Outdoor Recreation...Game Fields...bonus library It uses a road with road markings but you should be able to covert those to other types of objects like solids or slabs if you need to.

You should be careful when calling a room a garage if it is not really a garage. Garages are treated differently in the way the floor and foundations build and how they display in 3D.

Try increasing your Snap Distance at Preferences...Edit...Snap Properties...Options...Snap Distance. Second answer: Could be several places, depending on your setup. Current Dimension Default which may use "Use Layer for Text Style", "Use Text Style" , or "Use Custom Text Style".

Chopsaw, I am a bit confused with your question - can you explain in more detail.

The settings in that dbx (Dialog Number/Angle Style) only applies to how measurements display in dbx's - not the dimensions themselves. In your case, you need to change the defaults for the "SITE Dimension Defaults".