glennw

I won't do it for you, but I can give you a tip on how to do it. Make sure your stair is correct. Toggle on View..."Arc Centres and Ends". In the wall dbx, make sure General...Curved Wall...Lock, is checked (it already should be). Snap the wall centre onto the stair centre and then drag the wall to suit.

Matty, You can place a Sun Arrow in your template plan with the time and date. I have complained about this in the past as I would normally use winter solstice rather than the current date.

Mike, Open the Roof Plane Specification dbx...Options panel...Roof Layers...uncheck "Has Ceiling".

You have been able to do that from many versions ago.

Larry, I don't know, but have you tried unchecking "Export Filled Areas"?

It's not a setting problem. If the Terrain hole extends over the perimeter of the Terrain, it will break the perimeter and the terrain edges around the Terrain Hole will have a skirt. If the Terrain Hole is completely inside the Terrain perimeter, you won't see a skirt. I'll bet with your first image the Terrain Hole is contained by the Terrain perimeter. Likewise, I bet with your second image the Terrain Hole crosses the Terrain perimeter.

Have you checked Cross Hairs...Synchronize With Cursor?

File...Print...Drawing Sheet Setup...Drawing Margins...Right and Bottom should be zero.

Thanks for the clarification Michael.

Are you trying to block 2 text items together or make a block from 1 text item? I think you may be trying to make a block from a single text item. If so, select the text item, shift select it again, on the Edit toolbar there will be a Make Cad Block icon. Click that and now it is a block that you can add to the library.

Did you look in the help file or manual? It is all revealed there.

The other solution if you have a lot of items and don't want to go get them from the library is to create a new toolbar configuration with the commands, tools and library items that you need for a particular task. Just as we have as OOB configurations like Space Planning configuration, Kitchen and Bathroom Design configuration, Default configuration, Terrain configuration, MEP configuration, etc, you can also create your own toolbar configurations so that you can switch the configuration with one click and have a specialised set of commands, tools, library items, etc. One more click when you are finished and you can switch back to your default toolbar configuration. This is a neat way to work because it doesn't load up your screen with hundreds of icons that are only used occasionally or for a specific purpose. I have seen some users with so many toolbars and icons on the screen that there is hardly any room to draw. Think of a toolbar configuration like a library of more than just library items, but also including commands and tools that you would associate with those items.

It would be possible to calculate the amount of mortar. You could add another wall layer that forms part of CMU layer (but so that it all looks like one layer in plan). Give that layer material a volume type (not brick) and work out the thickness to report the correct final volume. You could even use multiple wall layers (sand, lime, cement, water) with other different Material Types to report bags, etc. Not perfect, but could be made to work.

Coralie, No problems, give me a call when you are ready. Rich, I'm not 100% sure of the derivation (I looked in the Chief help file and couldn't find anything). But it means broken, useless, and should be thrown away. Could be from Richard the Third = turd = useless. Or, **** is short for Richard. But, you would have to be a Richard Cranium to ask the question in the first place. PS. Ha, ha, ha, I didn't put those stars in - I've been censored!

No problem, give me a call. Are you the Coralie Allan from the Gold Coast with a picture of a koala and Skype name coralie.allan?

I could do a Skype session on Tuesday (Oz time). Where are you located? Let me know your Skype name once you register. My Skype name is glenn-woodward

Lew, You can do this now. But in practice, how would this work? Wouldn't the roof just build the same? What would make it build differently? And what happens to it's relationship with adjacent roof planes. Could you please provide a practical example of when and how this could work?

Coralie, Sounds like you need to check both "Retain Manually Drawn Roof Planes" and "Retain Edited Automatic Roof Planes". You can then only check Build Roof Planes and you can't check Auto Rebuild roofs. I will have a look at your plan now. OK, just had a look. That roof is EASY to do with auto roofs - no need for any manual roofs at all. I could do a Skype session with you and teach you how to do that in 3 minutes! In the meantime, I will post a picture of a plan and auto roof that will probably take me 5 minutes all up. The secret to doing it all auto is the correct roof definition on the Roof panel of the Wall Specification dbx. It actually took less than 5 minutes: And I have also added a pic of your plan with the roofs all generated automatically. I can post the plan if you need it.

Coralie, That video was done on an older version and things have changed a bit. If you have edited a roof plane, it will be indicated on the General panel of the roof's dbx under Measurements as Edited. You can also manually check this box for any roof plane. In the Build Roof dbx, Roof panel, there are options for "Retain Manually Drawn Roof Planes" and "Retain Automatic Roof Planes".

Jackie, Follow Michaels instructions (and mine!). DON'T right click the polyline. Left click on the polyline and the EDIT tool bar will appear with the Break Line tool on it. It may not be at the bottom of your screen if you have moved it (mine is at the top under the top toolbars and menus). It is really the same as the contextural menu that pops open with a right click, but you cannot use the Break Line tool on the popup menu because you can't double click it - you have to double click the Break Line tool on the EDIT TOOLBAR! Then single left click on the polyline. Have another look at my video and take particular notice of the EDIT TOOLBAR - yours may be in a different position - I think the default is at the bottom where Michael said.

Edit...Edit Area (All Floors). Left click and drag a selection window around the area to move. You could then use either Transform/Replicate to Move the selection in the Y direction Relative to itself, or you could start dragging the selection in the correct direction, press Tab and enter the distance to move Relative to Start. You will then need to do any cleanup.

Todd, Did you read my post #5? Best to leave the buildings main floor level at Chief's default zero level and do what I described. If you try and do things by changing the actual floor level to 100', you will eventually get all messed up.

Jackie, I really can't tell what you are doing wrong because I can't see what you are doing. Wrong! Double click the Break Line tool and single click the polyline.

Jackie, I don't think you have been reading my posts correctly. You do not use the break tool to convert the molding polyline to a normal polyline. You use the Convert to Plain Polyline tool on the Edit Toolbar. To completely break an polyline or Molding Polyline: Left click the polyline to select it. On the Edit toolbar, double click the Break Line tool. Left click on the polyline to make the complete break. Move the end point node to confirm the break. http://screencast.com/t/hZYPqCQlR

Select the wall. On the Edit toolbar, select "Open Wall Detail". This is an editable view. Will that do?