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10 years later lol, I was reading this post because I don’t have X13 to produce automatic purlins. To clarify @DRAWZILLAis correct, we call them under purlins and they can be placed on the angle or vertical and supported with struts, we have pictures of both methods in the Australian Standards AS1684 for timber framing. The other purlins that @Kbird1is referring to, can be timber roof battens fixed on top of the rafters to connect roof tiles to or metal roof sheeting. Thank you for the tips above on how to draw them in versions prior to X13.

It’s alway good to ask the sales team for advice and what older licenses may actually still be transferable ? I wouldn’t hesitate to ask them.

Might be good to ask your question in the Sales Questions part of the forum ?

I haven’t tried this in CA yet but is it possible to draw the profile of the metal standing seam sheet using a 3D molding polyline and then extrude it ? I have drawn corrugated curved roof sheets in CA but I have only used a surface texture to represent the corrugations in the metal. I am sure there are other methods too available in CA right now.

@Renerabbitthad a free wall cut away symbol/tool, that might work for now if it looks right in plan view as well ?

Hi, I am eagerly awaiting for a replay link.

Hey Rob, I am having the same issue on my old HP PC. Do you have the information on how to turn off that setting in windows still ? I would appreciate it if it is still available.

At least until they come up with an un-masking algorithm .

Setting new defaults in accordance with a metric template and Portuguese material defaults can be very beneficial. The builders would certainly appreciate that. Re: An imported imperial DWG could be used as a reference plan for a new one. Of course you would have 50mm walls not 49.xxxxxxxxx mm walls, etc etc. For example: an 8 foot ceiling height would be 2438.4mm approximately but you would set your default in the metric template as 2440mm, rounding to the nearest 10mm. Makes everyone’s job easy. I do all my work in metric in Australia but occasionally I get an old house that was built with imperial units that needs to be remodelled. When I measure up as an as built condition I just round to nearest 10mm where possible. Sometimes I might need to go the nearest 5mm but not less than that. Example. 4 inch stud wall is 100mm. 3 inch 75mm. Etc.

I would consider exporting the imperial floor plan as a DWG and then opening and importing it into a metric template and start modeling over the top of it. That way everything new is metric and it would eliminate many dimensional errors that can occur in transitioning. Another tip is to keep walls and room sizes and other things where possible to nearest 10mm. Check the materials sizes available in Portugal match your elements in your new plan.

I personally wouldn’t drop legacy SSA if I lived in a region where it was affordable like the US. Yeah ! HDP is too limited when you are used to using CA full. So there are still more goodies in X17 ? Come on spill the beans !

It’s certainly not about what other software can and can’t do but what CA can actually improve on. The problem is that you need to have a priority system that indicates how important a request actually is. Yes it will definitely vary from user to user but at least we can indicate on scale of say 1 - 10 how important a request is to us. I think we used to have a rating system in the past and maybe it is time to bring it back again ?

I personally liked the 3D editing tools for the HVAC plumbing pipe. The ability to edit a texture so you can control where it starts and ends including its rotation and its size. I look forward to seeing what other new things have been included in X17.

Hi, Regarding question one about increasing the size of the text inside the schedule boxes without expanding the boxes. Can a schedule be sent as a “view to cad” to explode all the lines that define the boxes ? If it can be done then you would be able edit the text without expanding the boxes. I Haven’t used CA extensively since X10 but others might be able to comment if that is actually possible right now ?

Yeah ! I have been keeping a look out for them too.

Maybe go to the Graphisoft Learning portal and start a self paced online learning course over there if you wish. From experience: It could take you years to become proficient in that software ? However if you need to create designs that are too complicated for CA then it might actually be worth it for you ? I find CA much more simple and straightforward and easier to use than AC. Especially if you want to create material lists and costings. That’s why I still use both.

I can use X10 on a windows 11 machine but I haven’t tested it with X9. I can’t see why X9 wouldn’t work on a windows 11 machine ? You could contact support and ask them for information.

Hi Ron, have a look at this playlist to find a solution. This might help you reset the toolbar configuration. https://www.chiefarchitect.com/videos/watch/2/using-toolbars.html?playlist=81

I never knew about the shelf ceiling option, I learned something new, thanks. I had a similar project over a decade ago but had to find another way around it in X5, the ceiling planes helped me back then.

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.