Michael_Gia

Like I said, too many ways to skin the same cat here. Maybe when it’s time to send something to layout, Chief should prompt us with the choice to create a new unique and independent saved plan view with the current active default settings? Then if you try to alter anything in that Saved Plan View in the future, you’ll get another prompt warning you that this will have an effect on your layout view? I personally only use Saved Plan Views when I need multiple reference sets otherwise I’m using Anno Sets (now called Default Sets) This way I know right away if I’ve inadvertently screwed something up because the Anno set will say “using active defaults” at which point I’ll switch it back to the proper Anno Set.

I almost wish Chief forced us to use Saved Plan Views. Chief is versatile to a fault. Too many ways to do the same thing. It’s a blessing, but sometimes feels like a curse. The real solution is for me to be more systematic and develop the good habits to keep my plans and workflow organized and coherent but I’m too damn lazy sometimes.

The trade-off for me is that I’d rather import something from 3Dwarehouse, although somewhat more limited and less technically accurate or up to date, as a manufacturer’s items, than have all of those up to date items and none of the benefits Chief has over Revit and AC. As long as your designing residential homes where your clients want to see detailed interiors with respect to cabinetry, woodwork and finishes, that is. Just try adding a kitchen or even a bloody baseboard in either Revit or AC and you’ll see what I mean. (Skirting boards, I believe is what you guys call them). Anyway, there’s no perfect solution in our field, and Chief does lack some features but as far as going from idea to a 3D visual, all while sitting in front of your client, live, then nothing beats Chief.

I see the same comments/complaints on Archicad and Revit forums that all manufacturers want to do is provide Sketchup files for their products. Can you be specific about a product? Windows, cabinets, doors, material?

Thanks, I'll use a macro with a "text leader line", I suppose. It's what I've been doing was just hoping for a less messy solution. Unless there is a way to simply insert a text box in the middle of a polyline and have a macro reference the polyline? That is, not require a "leader line" to point to anything. Here are 2 polylines, both have macros which I can control the color and size of text within the text dialogue box, nice and easy, no need to mess with layers etc... The leaderline has a white color to make it disappear. I keep the arrow coloured so I can find it should it become disconnected.

In this project that would mean approximately 75 plans referencing one master plan just to have control over polyline label, text colour and size. Seems extreme. thanks, at least I know this is still an issue and I'm not just missing something obvious. half the battle sometimes.

I often use Standard Polylines and add a shade fills to identify different lots in a development. I use the shading colours to group lots and I Specify a Label which I would love to have the text match the Polyline line color and shaded fill. My Polyline Label also includes stuff like square footage area, lot number, owner etc... and it would be nice to have all of this info color matched to the line and fill color so that the grouping is easily identifiable. Problem is, presently if I select a Polyline and open the Object Layer Properties there are only 2 associated layers that show up. The 1st is the Cad Layer the polyline resides on and the other is the "Polyline, Labels" layer. (this seems to be a hardwired polyline global layer which controls all text associated with any and all polylines you draw. You all know the problem is that if you change the Text Style associated with the "Polyline, Label" then you change ALL of your polyline labels, and there is no associating different "Polyline, Label" layers for multiple Polylines in your Plan, unfortunately...as far as I know. Most have suggested macros with arrows pointing to a polyline but this becomes erratic with lines becoming disconnected at random and never really knowing for sure that you have everything always labeled properly. Is there any other solution with X12? this is a portion of what can be quite a large area.

you shouldn't have to adjust (augment as you say) it's shape if you do it right.

You need to add breaks to the walls at those points. If it's one wall with no break then you'll have all kinds of funny stuff going on. Here's great video from Chief Skills... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAIitWfO0j8

That's too clean of an environment for a proper litmus test. I took your barren out of the box X12 plan and only added a basement, a roof, a couple windows and look at the mess already. See attached modified plan if you want. walls align.plan

You can reverse walls and all the other little tricks and you will at one point fix the connection. The real issue is that even once it’s fixed it can inadvertently get jumbled up. The effects are not just limited to walls out of line but it can even affect material colours on nearby doors and windows. It’s bizarre.

Thanks, that does work on occasion. It's still a work-around, which is ok, I guess. I really just wish we could set priority connections and lock exterior walls so they are never altered or re-positioned by interior walls. X13?

no, it's just that in order to maintain a proper connection for the exterior walls I have to constantly pull back the interior wall so it's out of the way before I re-align and connect the exterior walls. After that I re-connect my interior wall and pray it doesn't screw up the exterior wall connections.

In the image below, I have a 1 foot check on the facade of this home. At anything greater than 2 feet, I would say there's never an issue. I have a hard time having these three exterior walls meet along with the interior wall which is offset a little. The problem is, even after fiddling with the wall connections and getting it to work, it can randomly erupt into walls disconnecting or misaligning upon re-opening the file. The effect it has can not only wreak havoc on wall connections but even the colour of a nearby exterior door?! Why doesn't this program prioritize exterior wall connections over interior? If you all can tell me that there is no clear solution to this reoccurring problem then that's fine, just say it. If there is a trick then please let me know what it is. (yes, I know how to use the "edit wall layer intersection" tool.) (I even make sure I'm editing the same intersection on the floors above and below) Thanks,

A MacBook that you have an external monitor connected to and often take it on the road? If that’s the case then I’m special.

I've reported the crap out of this issue with Chief. The problem seems to be if you run Chief off of a laptop and use an external monitor in the office. When you grab your laptop and go see a client or whatever, Chief has to redraw your big toolbar configuration and get it to fit on the laptop. Then when you get back to the office and plug in your external monitor Chief has to again fit your toolbar back onto the larger screen. This has been my experience at least. There is no fix. Even re-selecting your saved toolbar or renaming it, or deleting and re-importing it etc... doesn't work. You just have to re-adjust your toolbar off of a saved screenshot and re-save it. Nobody at Chief has had this issue apparently, or at least they haven't been able to reproduce the problem. I am on a Macbook, however, and the universe appears slightly warped from this perspective.

I’ve been enjoying your recent YouTube videos on TwinMotion. It’s great to see someone as well versed in Chief as you are, go through a discovery mode exploring this awesome tool. Keep up the great work!

I use temporary dimension points to line up dimension strings. If you have a hotkey setup it’s fast.

I don’t get the logic of you crazy Americans. Question: Size of beams and posts etc. can change depending on availability, suppliers or even a wrong order. That is you might order a 4” post and receive a 6” post. The carpenter can use either, so he grabs the 6” post and now he has to do the math of where to place that. If you dimension to the center in your plans then there’s nothing to worry about. I just gave a simple example but what if there are several dozen changes in the dimensions of support walls, 2x4 to 2x6 or floor and ceiling beam thickness or posts, throughout a plan. You will have a structural nightmare on your hands. Accommodate the structure and not the carpenter is what I say. Most of you guys sound like framers who learned how to use Chief. It’s pretty scary, what I’m hearing. I am the odd man out though. But then again you guys still haven’t figured out the metric system, so there’s that too. Ok, I’ll sit back and take my lumps now. Go easy on me.

I’m able to drag any type of dimension string to snap to the center of an interior wall, as long as I zoom quite close onto that wall. Also there can not be a door anywhere in the vicinity or it won’t snap. Anyone else have this experience?

Ha ha, good one. Well maybe it is a regional thing. You’re obviously a master of your trade and have hands on experience from drawing desk to site. Maybe it’s because we often deal with more than one language up here it’s important to isolate and simplify drawings to avoid multiple interpretations. I don’t know. Carpenters up here want to see center lines as well. It’s not like we’ve imposed it on anyone. Maybe it’s a French thing. They are damn fast carpenters, I can tell you that. Rough around the edges but very efficient.

What do you mean by a framer dimensioning? Who's drawing the plans? Also, what about windows and doors? The center never changes. What is the edge of a window? Is it the window box? The window opening, including or excluding the air gap?

I just wanted to reply to something you said in your video regarding why anyone would use centre dimensions on interior walls. Two big reasons why most plans show the centre is that the centre won’t change even if the wall thickness might suddenly change. Also for walls to line up with support beams and columns, that definitely can vary at any moment, again the Center measurements will not change. Things always line up properly. You should always use center measurements. You’re playing with fire if you don’t. Your carpenter is well versed in splitting dimensions of 2x4’s, 2 x6’s etc. It should be second nature to them.

I’ll let the cat out of the bag here. It’s just plain lazy and a result of disorganization that general contractors get their carpenters to stick frame. In order to get roofs, floor systems and even prefab walls manufactured, requires precise plans to be submitted 4 to 6 weeks before you need them. This means you can’t change things on the fly because of inaccurate plans. It also means getting your clients to sign off on plans and tell them, “that’s it, no more changes”. Most guys don’t have the guts to tell their clients when enough is enough. We build in extreme conditions up here. This is why I get stuff pre-manufactured. Even my exterior walls and all support walls. They come wrapped in plastic so the insulation and lumber doesn’t get wet. I guess if I was building in Arizona I would do things differently. Hopefully I can retire in a place like that, but for now, I’ll keep battling the elements. If my comments come off as a little antagonistic it’s probably a result of this damn isolation crap. lol

You’ve are correct. Premier adds nothing, regarding trusses. The truss checkbox is a joke at the moment. Here is the simple and prevalent condition I’m looking to build. And I don’t want to have to take a cross section and measure how much I need to raise or lower my roof planes to achieve this. I would like a roof dialogue box to adress this in a clear and obvious way.