Michael_Gia

Make sure that when you line up your windows they are properly spaced. When you select them to block them together, make sure only the windows are selected and nothing else, then you will have the Arch tab available.

Anyone else having problems with snapping in general since the latest update? Cabinets are not bumping reliably. adjusting wall material regions in 3D are a hit and miss when trying to resize by dragging and snapping to existing edges etc... Anyone else having these issues? It's pretty clear form my last post that not many of you use Chief's material lists, lol. I know it sucks.

Why is this list so short? Is there some other way to tag the materials so it's easier to find in a material list? At this point I would settle if I was able to sort a material list alphabetically by material name.

Its actually File > Import > Legacy Settings Import. Then you get the options to import the traditional, layer sets, default sets etc… Why did they burry this? Thanks for pointing me in the right direction, Rob.

I somehow don't know how to do this anymore? I've been using the, "save as" method for so long that I can't figure out how to export layer sets from one plan and import them into another. It's sad to admit, but what am I missing? I thought this was always in the file menu under export? Help!

This can happen if you go into file explorer and make a change to the file name or move it to another location while the file is still open in Chief. Then when you go back to Chief and try to save it, you will get that error.

Thanks for the warning!

I just use a wall cap on a pony wall and set the width to the reveal I want and adjust the proper height above floor. This works for interior walls, but for exterior walls I have to use a material region with insulation air gap as material. Here is an example for a typical interior 2x4 division.

You just have to open the dialogue box and close it again and it will update. At least that’s how it’s been working for me.

3D Solid + paint with same material. Get used to doing this on a regular basis and have layers assigned to those 3D solids so they only show up where you want to see them. I have a layer called "_Healing Solids" because my 3d models always seem to be missing flesh.

Don't try to line up as it is on the field. The important thing is that the exterior of your brick lines up with the exterior of your stemwall to make drawing plans easier. It's more important to line up your framing so that it sits on the stemwall at the proper position. (which is the middle of your stemwall, probably) In the field your brick actually overhangs past the stemwall at least 5/8" but this would be a problem in Chief. Just adjust the brick depth to aline with the stemwall exterior when making your wall composition and life will be simple.

Well this is exactly what I was looking for. It has not been clear in the videos or information up to now so I was apprehensive to try Project Manager. I will give it a go. Thanks, for the explanation! (if it doesn't work I'll be back with my usual petty cynicism. lol )

I always have several excel spreadsheets and pdf's included in my layout files. With the current way of working prior to Project Manager, when I make a change in Excel and re-save the file, all I have to do is open the DBX for that imported spreadsheet or pdf,(so it updates) in the layout page and the recent changes made in excel will be up to date without having to re-import the file. From what I've understood in the new Project Manager. I would have to delete the old excel or pdf file and re-import the changed version.

Project management needs to have a way to link to an outside file like a PDF or spreadsheet that will maintain that link so that when you edit those documents or others in the native program that they were created, the project in Chief will update to reflect those changes without the need to re-import those files. Until that time, project management is only useful for simple projects that don’t require outside documents created in other programs. it’s half baked at this point. It’s a power user feature that isn’t for power users. it was introduced in the pro version but only useful for those at the beginner level. perplexing.

everything works amazing in chief videos. it’s in the real world where it sometimes breaks down. Which is fine if Chief would also admit to that so we don’t all beat our heads against a wall assuming we did something wrong. The furred wall feature will only ever work properly the day Chief allows us to assign “connection priority” values to a given wall. this is the tool we have been missing for the last 20 years.

I just would like to know what the consensus is for finished basements? I always have trouble with furred walls. They don't play well with windows sometimes, and other times they fight with exterior wall connections. I've had more luck simply creating a custom foundation wall with an air gap, 2x3 stud with drywall on the interior side. Is this what most of you do as well? Have you all given up on the "furred wall" approach because of the issues mentioned above? I would love to only use furred walls because I can control where I want them easily, but they're so damn unpredictable. Thoughts?

That’s a good tip. didn’t know we could export macros.

Legacy mode.

If you do "extensive" work in text macro management then X17 will blow up and randomly delete and/or be unable to save. (see below, not that extensive, but obviously too much for X17) Even with a file that I had worked on and saved multiple times in X17, it decided to flash the warning, "if you save this file in X17 then you will not be able to open the file in older versions" When I saw that, I clicked continue only to get the message pop again and again. I decided to quite since I had been saving multiple times as I went and I knew there couldn't be much info missing. When I reopened the file all the text macros that I had used throughout the form I was working on vanished. The Marco list was still in Text Macro Management, although with info from a much earlier version. It even went into the archives for X17 and overwrote prior backups, it seems. Because I tried to at least restore the Text Macro List from an earlier version that was more complete and it wasn't. I'm ready to put my fist through the monitor. Is this a bug in X17? I've never used text macros extensively only a few here and there. Have Text Macros always been wonky and you all have chosen to keep it a secret?

@Alaskan_Son@SHCanada2 Sorry to bother but I did Text Macro Management approach and filled out a form with all the fields. Couple hours of work and saving as I went along but then on the final save, I kept getting a warning "once saved in this version you can not open in older version" which is weird because I was working on the X17 version and saved and opened multiple times. I quite Chief and reopened the file I was woking on and all of the fields with the text macros have disappeared even though the list is stil there in text macro management screen. Have you guys ever experienced the mass deletion of text macros in a file before?

You need to add a floor. Your exterior walls are your parapet walls. Add a wall cap. Control the height of those walls with the rooms ceiling height. Draw your roof plan within those walls. A single sloped roof to one side that sheds the water off that side. Or a four sided roof that converges to a drain in the centre. for the shadow board just add a moulding polyline

If I select just a wall then the dimension string highlights and I can change the dimension. If I select a wall and, in this example, the kitchen cabinets then, the dimension string does not highlight, and therefore I can't change it like I used to be able to do in prior versions. I just want to know if others have had this issue before I report it. Or maybe it's just a Mac thing.

You made me go back and check one more thing... I had accidentally checked the box for "Floor supplied by the foundation room below", in my frantic messing around. Open the DBX, close the DBX, open the DBX, close the DBX. Wish we could affect these parameters and see the changes live rather than the idealized representation in the Dialogue box side window. My fault, but Chief has a pretty arcane way of working this stuff out. my apologies.

What does rebuild foundation mean? I don't use auto rebuild. It should adjust when I adjust the floor or stemwall height? I tried changing the room names from unfinished to living room, but no luck. Thanks for chiming in so quick. I'm cramming to get something out this weekend before I leave on vacation. Looks like I'll be bringing my laptop with me....

Hey, no matter what I set my basement ceiling height or floor level or stemwall height, my stemwall won't budge? Are we not able to affect floor 0 anymore? What am I missing? Cross section: I was hoping the 4'-6" would change to 24" or something close to that? Stemwall doesn't budge in the cross section view no matter how I change ceiling heights, of stemwall height in either floor 1 or 0. Am I missing something obvious, like a check box or do I need to cast a spell and tap my heels 3 times? Either a bug or I suddenly forgot how to change stemwall heights? Floor 1 room dialogue box: Floor 0 room dialogue box: