glennw

The layout view is the layout itself, so you can't close the layout window without closing the layout itself. If you double click in the title bar of the plan window, the plan window will maximise and hide the layout window. You will then be able to click on the various tabs to switch between plan and layout while they are maximized. Not really closing the layout, but the same effect. You can also switch between windows using the Project Browser.

Mark, I am not inclined to muck around with solids for your situation - especially after I have been made aware of the above problems. I would stick to the Molding Polyline method.

I should have made it clear that when using rectangular/square moldings, you do not have to draw a molding of the correct size. In the above example I used the 3 x 10 molding from the Handrails and Caps library for each molding. The correct sizing is then taken care of in the Molding Polyline Specification dbx. Instead of going back to the library for each one, just copy and edit an existing molding that you have already used.

I added the dbx to my posting - I shortened the height so that you could see the detail easier. I would do the 5.5" post as a Post or Solid and then wrap the molding line round it. You will need to play with the materials list, but I cant see why there would be too many problems.

I think that would be easier to do with a single 5.5" square Molding Polyline with 3 moldings attached. Easier to make any edits as well.

The stairs should automatically find the upper floor and snap to the floor height. You can do it manually by opening the stair dbx and unchecking Automatic Heights and then manually enter heights.

You need to move the wall/railing that defines the floor opening for the stairs. A room polyline doest have anything to do with the floor opening unless you convert it to a Hole In Floor Platform. You could also use Build>Floor>Hole In Floor Platform to define a floor hole if you dont want to use walls/railings.

Or you can do it as a default like this, using Length Towards Marked Object:

Can you be a bit more specific. What exactly are you having trouble with?

Do you mean that you want to make all the extensions on the same dimension string the same length like this?

Define the railing as invisible - you will need some sort of wall/railing to maintain the opening. Or...the better way: Define the railing so that it builds like your detail with only the vertical timbers (balusters). Easy to add a top and/or bottom plate (rail) if needed.

Have you had a play with the Double Wall Options on the Casing panel of the door and window dbx? I assume that you have tried creating a single wall definition for your double wall?

Interior Door Specification dbx>General>Sliding Doors>Side Overhang.

It looks to me like you have constructed the landing and the centre stairs from 2 landings and 2 stair flights joined in the middle? If so, construct them from a single landing and a single flight of stairs.

Use Import Saved Plan Views and then select a default template plan (or any plan that has the Saved Plan view you want) to import from. Select the Saved Plan Views you want to import.

Not necessarily so. Keep playing, particularly with Cut Finish Layers of Parent Object.

Try Wall Material Regions?

Gene, I have signatures turned on in Safari and they normally display. But...if I make the Chieftalk widow very narrow, then signatures no longer display. ie, so that the Chieftalk window is in portrait mode. I could see that this may be connected to the landscape/portrait mode thing as mentioned above. ie, it's the portrait/landscape mode of the Chieftalk window that is important.

Yes, I can duplicate this problem by manipulating the tool palette. I can get out of it if I double click in the tool palette title bar. That will change the tool palette back to being docked which then gives you access back to it.

Try Reset Side Windows in Preferences.

You need to start with a Glass Panel door. You won't be able to do the timber panels though.

Gene, I got a bit lost with your explanation. Can you explain a bit more. I am happy to give it a go if I can understand what you are asking for. Ah...do you mean that instead of the bottom of the slab following the top of the slab, you would like the underside of the slab to be level - which is the way you would build it on flat formwork or level ground?

In this post Gene and Joe were asking about sloped slabs. There have been numerous requests over the years for similar functionality, with no really easy or accurate method available. Soo...I thought I would have a play and I came up with this easy peasy way to achieve sloping slabs. Basically: Locate points at the corners of areas that are level zero. Now, using something like a pyramid, set any heights that aren't a zero height to set the various negative heights as needed. Using the Face tool go around the various planes and snap to your points. The great thing is that the Face corners will snap not only to the points at zero height, but also to the top of the pyramids that area't at zero height, thus creating continuously joined 3D sloping planes. You can then Extrude the faces to provide thickness to the planes. In the attached picture I have left the pyramids visible for demonstration purposes - these would normally be deleted. It sounds more complicated than it is. This one only took a couple of minutes and has 2 height control points. A simple shower stall needs only one height control point:

Just in case you missed it. The method I used stacked multiple moldings on a single Molding Polyline. On single level project, you may have to use 2 or 3 polylines depending on what height your door and widows are. Use the No Molding option at the door and windows - or if you are lucky, you can use the auto feature to do that. If there are no windows or doors, it's just one molding polyline with stacked moldings, very quick to stack using Auto Offset and Make Copy. And then make the window/door openings with the No Molding on Selected Edge which breaks all the moldings in one go.

It's not much more work to do extended corners.