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If I am doing a remodel like Gary's, I would want to show this new design in 3-D to the client not a 2-D CAD version. That is the reason I purchased Chief. I understand CAD drawings and can easily visualize what is drawn but clients need more to understand what the change looks like.

In Vectorworks I just select a line or other cad item (click) go to the ever present attributes tool (upper left in Johnny's screen shot) and select line type, weight, arrows, colour, fill, hatch, etc.. If you are doing a bunch of the same lines, rectangles, polygons, etc. you just change the attribute selections with nothing selected and then draw as many cad items as you want with these attributes. After, you just return all the attributes to the class (layer in Chief) defaults and continue drawing. Opening the selected item data box and scrolling to do these changes is tremendously time consuming. I am hoping the speed of 3D modelling and (also hopefully) Joey's construction drawing techniques will offset this. Plan Areas can also be quickly calculated by using the polygon tool to group select and draw a poly around the selected exterior walls. Takes about the time to rough in a circle. So simple and all of the info is immediately displayed in the object info box on the side. Nothing to open each time.

My main focus would definitely be the construction documents and it would have to be on line.

I use the video card (NVIDIA)control panel. "Manage 3D Settings" under "3D settings" and then "Program Settings". There is a drop down list to customize and if Chief isn't on it you just click the add button, select Chief and click "Add selected program" at the bottom. I don't change any of the Global settings at this point but I'm sure some of the experienced users do some adjusting. I'm not on my office computer right now so can't do a screen shot but if you any problem I can take one later.

Have you checked that chief is using the video card and not the integrated graphics? When I installed my new SSD all of my 3D programs needed to be reset on the Nvidia driver.

A modified SAM method sounds exactly how I currently do drawings in Vectorworks. It will be time consuming but I should be able to move quite a few of my CAD details and notes to a new plan file and bring them into a template file. Does this sound reasonable? I will do this gradually as I switch over and it shouldn't be too bad. Currently I am starting my first major Reno/addition in Chief so hopefully all goes well.

Stairs for me too. Having to do do 2 sets in separate layers so they an be turned on and off is time consuming.

It's always good to ask. I thought that large piece of unstablized glass would be a problem supporting the door. (Not being able to pin it at the top because of the opening below the header.). Having a bottom pivot hinge and the small top post support makes a lot of sense. Perry's solution to the drawing sounded pretty straight forward.

How does this door work? Those are really heavy glass panels and is there some support for the hinge area?

Thank you. It is now bookmarked for future reference.

LOL. I'll have to find a suitibly intelligent question when I am having a bad day.

I had asked the same thing, Phyllis. It would be real nice if they had a simple box house plan showing the main features of each template. I guess doing something like this would be a good learning exercise but I really do not have the spare time. Sherry B

One item that really impresses me about CA over Vectorworks (unless it has remarkably changed in the last 2 years) is the association of hatches to textures. In VWs you have to manually put in such items as siding, brick, roofing, etc. in vector views. It is a major waste of time and do not get me started on floors and framing......

Do an octagon the width of the bay and the top 3 sections will be the exact (equal) dimensions. You can put this in place and follow it with walls and then adjust slightly to get rid of any small fractions. Works well for gazebo style roofs too.

It took 2 tries but they finally downloaded. Thank you Jon for the link.

Barton, how did you get the vehicles in the proper proportions? All of the others looked odd and overpowered the building. The windows and doors also look like they are correct in your ray trace.

I do use the tab key move and am glad I can in Chief too. Thanks.

I do all of my prelim design work with basic cad tools, similar to bubble drawings but quite a bit more accurate. Sized rectangles can be easily moved around for room placement and then I use offset spacing for walkways and clearances. These all fit in a large shape that works within my site setbacks so there is no problem once the walls start going in. The model then goes really fast and accurate (until the clients get at it). As builts with odd angles, I just run a line parallel and then offset it to line up new walls. Ridge, centers, bearing lines and sight lines are also guidelines. These all are on a guideline layer that can be turned off or on and copied-paste in place to other floors.

I do not do much Cad work either but find I use guidelines from the cad tools to set things accurately. An offset tool really speeds up productivity.

I do understand the dimensioning movements but they do not work how I need to move items. I will try the concentric move tool, as you suggested Glenn and see how that works. Once again, great suggestions. One of the big things VWorks was missing.....

This sounds like it will work fine. Thanks. I usually take a clip shot of the original settings and save if I am worried about playing around with them. It has saved a lot of headaches when I do dumb things but I find I learn a lot by just mucking about in programs.

I will really miss the Offset tool in VW. You can select an item of any size,shape or angle and input a dimension in the offset tool, click on the side you want it to offset or duplicate and it precisely offset parallel by that distance. If there is something the same in Chief please let me know because I use this a lot and haven't found it yet. The Cad tools in VW are great but Chiefs have been working well so far. Dan at Chief Experts has been so much better at explaining Chief than Jon at Archoncad was with VW. A totally different experience. The videos from Chief and this Forum are fantastic for "newbies" and I thank all of you regular posters.

Walls auto join but if they are moved you usually have to manually rejoin and quite often you have to rejoin the individual components. Dimensioning is basically done manually and it is recommended to do it in the annotation viewport so if you do changes to the plan it usually has to be checked and fixed in the viewport. Major time waster. Many items are in the "None" Class (Chiefs layers) and you have to manually put them into a class in order to turn them on and off. No dual 2D/3D views to check appearance in VW. Just a few items....

I am currently switching from VW to CA. Same problem, productivity and lack of support/resources for residential and small commercial. I also used Archoncad but found it quite impersonal. I am now a member of Chief Experts and am learning the basics rapidly. It has even helped with my WV drawings that I am completing before the entire switchover. This forum is the other fantastic resource for CA even barring the topic hijacking

There are some really good symbols just recently posted in the "Symbol and Content" section of the Forum.