glennw

Did anyone else notice the Wall Type Definition dbx in the video?

I just watched the webinar and while a little disappointed that there is no real time ray tracing on the mac, the other improvements will keep me happy. One thing I want to comment on is the question from a user that went unanswered on how to make the wall joints and other vertical edges appear vertical in a 3D perspective view (like they are in an orthographic view). It was pointed out that this was a feature of another program and it seemed to be assumed that Chief did not have this tool or capability. If you do want vertical edges to appear vertical in a perspective view (a 2 point perspective instead of a 3 point perspective), all you have to do is change the camera's Tilt Angle to zero. Maybe the person who asked the question will see this.

You could try and make it a Partition Wall... or use the Edit Wall Layer Intersection tool.

Where can we find this webinar please?

This was confusing in your OP. It sounded like the file format was changing versions when it is really the file association is changing. The file format is still remaining as X12. If you try and open one of the files in X12, by first opening Chief and then opening the file, it works OK?

Try this on both machines. Right click on any Chief .plan file, click Get Info, select Chief X12 in Open With, click Change All. Do the same on both machines for .layout files.

How do you know they are changing to X10 plans? it doesn't sound right to me.

Eric, You must have beaten me by a nat's whisker.

Camera dbx>Camera>General>Show Shadows

Would the Vertical Stacking option for windows do what you want?

The Truss Detail is not "just a 2D CAD copy of the trusses". The truss detail IS linked to the 3d truss in the model. Once you unlock the Framing, Roof Trusses layer, you can edit the members that make up the truss - the members are 3D objects. Any changes you make to the truss in the truss detail will be reflected in the 3D truss in the model. I don't quite follow why you are talking about cad detail from view and why you did that? Or maybe in the quote above, you are talking about the cad detail from view you made from the truss detail - can you clarify a bit more. Any changes to the cad detail from view you made will not affect the truss in the truss detail or 3D model - the cad detail from view is all simple cad.

Gene, Unlock the Framing, Roof Trusses layer in your cad detail.

Yes

Or, why not use the Fill Style Eyedropper?

I think you need to do a step by step so we know what you are doing.

You will need a 3D Molding Polyine. My prediction is that you will have trouble with the joints where a horizontal molding meets the sloping molding. They are not simple 45deg mitres.

As far as I know, having a black background does not affect sharing files with other users. Screen color is not saved with the file - it is a preference - each user will see their own background color. I don't think it has anything to do with printing either. Turn on Print Preview and I think you should see a white background even though you have a black background while drawing. Same for layout. A white line will not display on a black background, and I am pretty sure it will not print. A black line will display as white on a black background, but I am pretty sure it will print as black.

I can't see how countertop pier can merge with a wall? One way to stop walls merging with walls is to reverse one of the walls (Reverse Layers on the edit toolbar). This works well in this case because you are dealing with a single layer wall and means you won't need the room dividers. The circular planter is still not tangent. Pull back the end of the lower 21" wall away from the circular planter - about 4' should do it. Select the circular planter wall and click Make Arc Tangent on the edit toolbar. In the pop up, just leave things as they are, click OK. The curve wall ends should now be tangent to the 2 flanking walls. Drag the 21" wall back to meet the circular wall. Is there any reason why you set your level 1 floor to -7.5"? Try setting it back to zero. So...with the long curved planter wall - it is a normal wall, no retaining wall. You have dragged the top of the wall down and the bottom is the default when you drew the wall. The top of this freestanding normal wall will be the ceiling height set for the floor (Defaults>Floors and Rooms>Floor Levels>1st Floor>Absolute Elevations>Ceiling - in this case 97 1/8". The bottom of the wall will be zero height as this is Chiefs standard reference floor level for level 1. You now just need to drag the bottom of the wall down to where you want. If you want accuracy, you can use the Temporary Dimensions or you could snap the bottom of the wall to a cad line drawn at the correct height. A terrain retaining wall, on the other hand follows the terrain levels. The top of the retaining wall is determined by the height of the terrain on the high side of the wall and the bottom height is determined by the terrain height on the low side of the wall. So there are no default heights for a retaining wall - they vary as they follow the terrain. A retaining wall is really a normal wall with a terrain break built in (and follows the terrain). If you have a terrain with lots of slope and shaping, you can end up with a retaining wall with lots of break points along the top and bottom joined with sloping wall tops and bottoms, which make the wall pretty useless. That is why I warned you away from retaining walls. If you draw retaining walls over a flat terrain area (like a lot of yours), you won't have much of a wall at all.

The wall bottom heights all look the same height to me. EDIT: See later in my post. Any difference you may see could be caused by the fact that you have the long wall on the left designated as a Terrain Retaining Wall and the other walls are not TRW. I do not use TRWs because they cause too many problems. IMHO, it is better to use a Terrain Break to shape the terrain and then use a standard wall as the retaining wall. You can't use a Wall Cap to do pier caps - a wall cap will only run along the length of the wall. There are probably many ways to do the pier caps. The easiest way would to find one in the library. Or, try a Custom Countertop with a Molding. PS, another tip: Your semi-circular planter box is not tangent to the walls either side. Pull back the end of 21" thick wall from the planter as it is getting in the way. Select the semi-circular wall. On the edit toolbar, select Make Arc Tangent. Pull the end of the 21" wall back. Fix you paving, etc. PPS, Yes, I confirm that the wall that is designated Terrain Retaining Wall is causing the problem. That is exactly why I don't use that type of wall - because they follow the terrain. In this case, I think it is the Terrain Feature in front of the wall that is causing the bottom of the retaining will to move.

Make the wall a No Room Definition wall - works in X12. Post back if it doesn't work in X10.

The top and bottom heights of freestanding walls, when they are first drawn, are controlled by the default floor and ceiling height settings for the floor they are drawn on. In your case the floor is at zero height and the ceiling is 109 1/8" - the wall will build between these 2 values. The reason that the default top and bottom heights are greyed out is because the wall is already conforming to those default heights. You can change the top and bottom heights in a cross section/elevation view, by selecting the wall and dragging the top or bottom. You can also use the temporary dimension to do the same thing. Select the wall by the bottom and then using the temporary dimension will move the bottom of the wall. Selecting the wall by the top and then using the temp dimension will move the top of the wall. Once you have changed the top or bottom of the wall the default top height and default bottom height checkboxes will become available - because they are no longer at the default height. When they are available and you check them, the wall top and bottom heights will return to the floor and ceiling height defaults for the floor. Clear as mud.....

I did say it was possible - not the best way.

Steve, I think the default room wall material may be causing that. Open the room dbx and check what material is assigned to Walls. To get things back too normal, open the room dbx>Materials>Walls>Select Material>there is checkbox down the bottom>Use Default Material. Check it.

It is possible to have 2 kitchen designs in the same location. You can place the cabinets on different layers and control their display with Layersets/Plan Views. There are some minor problems when placing a cabinet over an already drawn one (even if it's on a different layer and hidden), but this can be overcome by placing the cabinet and then dragging into place.

Lower the floor height of the planter room - you may then have to raise the ceiling height.