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Hi fellow users of Chief, I have been working with the space planning tools in CAX10. When I build the house, the program creates doors automatically to a set size of 750mm wide. This still happens after I have changed the defaults to a new size of 820mm wide with the wrench tool or the global defaults before I build. When I insert a new door into the house after it has been automatically built, the door appears with the new default size of 820mm, that I have inputted into the defaults. I have created a new template file that has all my particular defaults including my standard door width of 820mm. When I build the house with the space planning boxes once again, it still automatically builds my doors at 750mm wide ? I can’t figure out what else I need to do to get the doors to build automatically to 820mm wide. Does anybody know what I need to do to fix this problem ? Edit: It doesn’t really matter that much because you still need to edit and insert doors into the correct position anyway.

I also purchased the Leica Disto X3 for use with CA. Then tested it and found out that although it did work seamlessly as described, it was very accurate with room dimensions. That level of precision is not really practical for real life building design practices and the way I work with room sizes. For example with metric units, when I design a house I keep the room sizes down to 10mm increments or tolerances. 10mm is a bit under a 1/2 inch in your region. When doing “As Built Surveys” I like to keep within 10mm accuracy where practicality possible. The Leica Disto D510 or the e7500i in your region has a calculator function that may allow for rounding up the distance measurement taken ? If so that would be a better choice for people who work similar to me on “As Built Surveys”. Edit: The rounding function in the X3 was updated in the firmware. In the Bluetooth settings you can set it up. So the X3 is suitable for indoor measurements with CA, I have test it and it works seamlessly as described.

I have been experimenting on finding efficient methods for doing as built surveys with an app, a laser measuring device and with various tablet operating systems. I have found that not all laser measuring devices are supported universally with IOS, Android and Windows. I have tested Room Planner but have found it to be lacking in its operation. There is an app called Floor Plan Creator for Android that is currently under $10 USD that is very simple and easy to use with finger inputs. You can export to DXF format and import into CA and then convert CAD lines to walls, windows and doors. I have tested it and it works well. FPC will support a huge range of laser measuring devices as well. With a windows tablet and finger inputs with the help of a stylus you can just use CA on site and start building a 3D model of the house on site. A Leica Disto X3 works as described by the support article. I have used this method in the past but I recommend using the space planning tools to represent rooms and then start to build your model on site. You can then finish your model in the office. For effective methods of doing an as built survey with Chief please see this blog. https://www.chiefarchitect.com/blog/capturing-as-built-measurements/

For a windows tablet I would use Redstick Site Cad Pro. I have this installed on my windows 11 tablet. (Check the list of compatible laser distance measuring devices) one off purchase for a license. (Can be installed on up to 10 devices for the one license.) For an android tablet you could use Chief Architect Room Planner full, if you still have access to it ? On my Android 13 rugged tablet I use Floor Plan Creator and export DXF into CA. Then convert CAD lines to walls, windows and doors. Works great and is very easy to use. Has a huge list of supported laser distance measuring devices. Available as a one off purchase for Android. Under $10 USD when this was posted.

Are you able to specify for us what version you would like to have working on your W11 device ?

Yes the stylus definitely works better and is more precise too ! Edit: I would like to see more precision with the finger input method for on site as built surveys. It would also be good for conceptual design while sitting in a lounge chair. I tested Room Planner and that seems to work better with finger inputs on my Android device. We would really need more ability to set defaults like you can with Home Designer Architectural and Pro for Room Panner to be a viable option on site. Since that has been discontinued, I hope they can create a finger input friendly version of Home Designer Architectural that can work across all platforms including Android & IOS. That would be great for all of us including Chief Architect. We shouldn’t have to pay money out to measure square and canvas etc. it would be better to invest into Chief Architect products instead.

Hello fellow users of CA, I am interested in knowing if anyone is using CA on a tablet or a touch screen with finger inputs ? I have been experimenting with the space planning tools using CA products on a Lenovo ThinkPad X12 W11 tablet/laptop. I am finding it difficult to tap on a space planning box and then with my finger to drag it into position. It takes time for the drag handle to pop up. I can use point to point move but it seems like too many steps to perform this simple operation. Is anybody else having similar difficulties or is it just my device ? Everything works normally with mouse inputs.

You can use a whole list of laser measuring devices if you use an android tablet and an app called “Floor Plan Creator” before importing a DXF file into CA. Then when importing into CA do an operation called Walls to CAD. This will also allow us to have window and door openings created in CA. You could probably use Room Planner LE if you still have access to it but the measuring devices it supports is limited. The preferred option would be to use a Leica Disto X3 or X4 with Chief Architect on site to eliminate the time to export and import and have the windows and doors all correct. Below is the list of devices that can be used with FPC on an android tablet. Probably the fastest way to use finger gesture inputs with an as built survey ?

Hi, does it automatically send window and door sizes into CA ? BTW I do have the D8 for outdoor sunlight and long distance measurements even though that model will not always input into CA successfully. Looking at an X3 at this stage. Edit: The D8 will work with CAX10 space planning boxes and a windows surface tablet that has up to Bluetooth 4.0 with the older Disto D8 transfer software. Edit: I tested the Disto X3 with CAX10 (Lenovo ThinkPad X12 W11 BT 5.0) at a tools store and it works with door and window inputs but you must install the newer Disto transfer software for windows. For anyone who might view this post.

From the other post It looks like the Leica Disto D2 will input dimensions into CA but it will not work with the dialogue boxes in setting door and window sizes. Ideally you would want it to do both operations so it looks like the X3 is the way to go from the article below ? Has anyone used a Leica Disto X3 or X4 with CA, if so what were your results ? https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-01846/using-a-leica-disto-device-with-chief-architect-software.html

Hi all, I researched this topic and found out that the Leica Disto X3 will work seamlessly with CA. I wonder if anyone has also used a Leica D2 successfully with CA without any software support software ? Edit: I think I found the no ! answer here in this older post from 2018. Please see the link below if interested. I can still use other Disto models with support software from Leica for windows computers. I am looking for direct input into CA and to spend less time in a lived in house when taking measurements. https://chieftalk.chiefarchitect.com/topic/18482-lasert-tape-with-laptop/

Hi, I have downloaded the room planner app to my android field device to test it for use on as built surveys. The problem is that the home designer products are not made for android devices like room planner is. I can't use the room planner program for this purpose because it requires me to purchase the full version which is not possible any longer. Is there a way to get it working ? I have recently tested HDP2025 on my windows device but it is a bit awkward to use with finger and pen inputs. Android is a much better product for finger input apps. Will HDP work on IOS tablets ?

Hi All, I was wondering if anyone has tried doing an as built survey directly with either Chief Architect X16 or Home Designer Pro 2025 using the updated space planning tools ? I have tried using the space planning boxes for rooms and I can input the room sizes with a Leica Disto D8. But I did need to use a support driver for the old LD8 in order to input dimensions directly into the program. Newer distance devices will not need the support driver. The new space planning boxes can be dragged into position with your finger on a touch screen but it would take some time to get used to it. I used a 2015 Microsoft Surface 3 tablet to test it out running windows 10. Not the best result but I am going to test it out again with a newer machine running windows 11. The goal is to start the 3D CA or HDP model building process on site and finish it back in the office, in order to avoid double handling. Edit: Results from testing using a Lenovo ThinkPad X12 i5 with 16GB RAM windows 11. Using just the touch screen for input with the new space planning tools and a Disto D8 with leica support software. Home Designer Pro 2025, the new space planning boxes work great and what you input is the actual room size directly from the Disto. You need to set your dimension defaults to read both surfaces of the wall. When you build the house all the dimensions are correct just like your original Disto laser inputs. Note: With versions prior to X16 or HD2024 the space planning boxes will not build the house to the exact input dimensions from a laser distance measure. You need to add a bit extra to the room box sizes and input the new value by hand for it to work correctly. If you add the internal wall width to the room box sizes it will then build to the actual room size. Give it a try and you will see what you need to do. No problem.

Hi all, I was having trouble getting an older disto D8 to work with CAX10 on a Microsoft surface 3 tablet running windows 10. I found this link to a 2nd party Leica transfer software that will work with older disto models and windows 10. I have tested it and it works fine with CAX10. And it may also work for other versions of CA too ? https://en.elcovision.com/disto-online.html

These two very experienced users above know how to create dormers using Chief. Here is an official training video that might help you in the process just incase you haven’t seen it yet ? I would also recommend watching others in the playlist too. There are different ways to go about it. Enjoy learning ! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xG1YYHJ5OGQ

First step would be to create a second story when going down the road of manual dormers.

Hi @edwardatgrit, there are many ways in Chief to do what you are asking. Consideration needs to be given to fact that you would like quoins and a molding trim above your columns. Then you also need an archway with molding and a keystone between them. So these elements need to be combined to achieve that result above. Then you need to make sure that they look correct in 3D views as well. There are many free training videos provided by Chief Architect to teach you how to do these things I mentioned above as well as specific help provided here. I encourage you to look at placing an archway in the wall first with the correct trimming as needed. There are some in the CA library. Then place the columns with quoins and molding at the top in the corners afterwards. At least that’s how I would approach the situation above. When you are encouraged to learn how to use the program through proper training and be willing to put the time into learning then you become adept at using CA. Have fun learning and trying. Edited: Here is a free training video that will give you the principles needed to create the quoined columns. There is nothing wrong with getting paid help with CA and there a few providers out there. https://www.chiefarchitect.com/videos/watch/408/creating-stacked-columns-and-converting-them-into-symbols.html?playlist=147

Hi @Benny_G, I think all the suggestions above are good and apply here to what you are attempting to do. To me it seems like your problem may have to do with how you imported your DWG file into Chief and how you actually mapped your layers during import ? For example if you mapped all your layers to one Chief layer, then that will have the one line weight of that particular layer only. I suggest that you could map your layers individually to Chief Architect layers and change them to your desired line weight afterwards. There are training videos on line on how to do this as this may help you to define your line weights. DWG file line weight parameters are defined by the program used to create the digital drawing in and this may effect the line weight once it is imported into CA ? Have fun learning !

I always thought that in principle “rich text” was more affluent than standard text . Thank you for the clear explanations above, my suspicions have been confirmed.

A combination of cabinets and 3D polyline solids to create the side pillars would get you started at least. Have a try and see how far you can get with it. Others here will provide you with more specific help.

Here is a link to an official demonstration that goes back to X8. https://www.facebook.com/ChiefArchitect/videos/chief-architect-x8-3d-mouse-support/1343304632365452/ PS. No problems of it not working with Mac right to X16.

These are the minimum system requirements for X16. https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-02761/chief-architect-minimum-system-requirements.html

Shed roof (mono pitch) or with zero degrees is the same as a flat roof. Either way you still need to get the water to drain off in some way.

They did give us time to choose if we wanted to upgrade to the latest version and to continue with legacy SSA. That time has unfortunately expired. Lots of 3D cad software is now subscription only so there are not many other options to choose from. Vectorworks has become subscription only and Archicad is in the process of doing the same for new users. There are 3D cad products out there that can be used that do not require a subscription and are perpetual. As long as we don’t mind the learning curve and there is no guarantee that these products will not also become subscription only in the future.

Just letting you all know that I also tried many of the things above and couldn’t get it to work on any of my 64 bit windows machines. So hence my decision to do what I did above. That is not to say that an IT professional cant get it to work on a 64 bit machine. Those drivers for the HASP lock or dongle are 32 bit and should theoretically work on a 64 bit machine but I couldn’t get it to work.