Richard_Morrison

Select the schedule and click on the "Renumber Schedule" icon to see if that helps.

Personally, I don't think so basic. ArchiCAD doesn't have an obvious one built-in (although you can get close with native tools and a lot of work), and you really need to buy a third-party add-on. And I don't think anyone would say ArchiCAD isn't a professional tool.

I think it's great to automate. (maybe a catchy slogan there.) I'm not sure where you get your projects, but at least 50% of mine come from contractor referrals. So I think that making yourself easy-to-work-with from a contractor's standpoint is not a bad quality. It's certainly possible to become the K-Mart of architects, but do you really want to strive for this? Another option is making yourself more valuable. Overall project speed is one way. (e.g. being able to produce a full set of CD's in a week would be highly valuable to the marketplace.) How many other architects offer contractors a spreadsheet of approximate quantities? (Which you can generate in a under a minute.) If a contractor is going to refer an architect, which one do you think he'll push for? I'm not sure that keynotes really save that much time, especially if you factor in the time required for keynote management. If typing notes is what is taking so much time, you might try Dragon Naturally Speaking, which will drastically reduce your typing time. Other things that can reduce time: 1) Excellent templates, both Layouts and Plans. 2) Extensive database of standard details. 3) Schedules and standardized notes. 4) A "warehouse" plan, which you can copy and paste from. 5) Use of space planning bubbles. 6) Hotkeys. 7) Not being OCD about document appearance. 8) Really knowing the program, and taking full advantage of the great shortcuts already built in, like Active Layer Display and Annosets.

There's nothing that I know of. But, my 2 cents is that most residential contractors find them really annoying. Heck, I find them really annoying. And, while keynotes make the plans "cleaner," of course, I'm not sure that I've ever seen a key-noted plan that DIDN'T have a mistaken reference or two, unless it was a completely automatically generated system. I'm not really sure where this love affair with keynotes began.

I don't think it can be referenced to more than one layout at a time. Is it possible that the plan has been referenced to more than one layout?

You need to know the species/grade and type of treatment. In general terms, you do a calculation based on untreated wood, and modify those values by a factor that is a result of testing. I would call tech support at http://www.frtw.com/ to see what they have available.

Go to File>Export Drawing. In that DBX, there is a button near the bottom that is labeled "Export..." Click that and DXF is one of the file types you can save as.

Due to some confusion about whether the Client Viewer was still in existence (it is), a video on how to use the Client Viewer, done by David Michael, was taken down. When I asked Dave about it, thinking that he'd just repost the old one, he responded by doing a COMPLETELY NEW video! This brief video is great and will let your clients get up to speed without your needing to handhold them. You can direct them to http://www.chieftutor.net/clientviewer.html, the Quick Tips section at www.chieftutor.com, or on YouTube at https://youtu.be/fxP_Q8FVL-4. Thanks, Dave!

Okay. I assumed it was something you drew in Chief.

JP, How are you getting those truss connector plates? (Manually?!)

Seems like a lot of work. BUT, it did make me realize that adding 12x12 floor tile everywhere is pretty easy, and then showing the floor materials. Duh, why didn't I think of this before.... So, thanks!

You mean like my idea #2? LOL.

I had a client ask me yesterday for measurements of most of the interior walls, that is, the available free space (like corner of room to door casing), so he can think about where art could go and possible built-ins. Unfortunately, the client 3D viewer doesn't have a built-in measurement tool. I'd like to do this with as little pain as possible, and if I could get the background grid to print out with the PDF, that would solve the problem. But it doesn't. So far, I've thought about: 1) Teaching him how to print to scale and use an architectural ruler. (Time intensive.) 2) Using a screen capture to get the grids. (But then not to any scale, but this may be the easiest.) 3) Putting a molding polyline in each room, and set to show lengths. (No control over where numbers display; numbers often display over walls and over each other.) 4) Giving him a file to use with the client viewer program. (May be beyond his computer skills, and I'm not enthusiastic about providing native Chief file.) Any easy approach I'm missing?

Charles, I suspect many people don't even know what this is, or what it's for, unless they are a Chief old-timer. Is there a website still up for this that you could point people to?

Hey, good job cutting back on your Chieftalk time, Michael! (We want you here, though.) Why not just accept that this is your crack habit and stop feeling guilty about it. LOL

Berkeley. I have no problem with a stringent interpretation of the Code. I DO have a problem with building departments making stuff up that's not in the Code in the first place.

When you go to "download program updates" from your Help menu, there will a link for the notes (I believe on the lower right, if I remember correctly.) If you don't see them at that point, I have no idea how to get back to them after you install the update.

Notes are available when you go to download. Not a whole lot changed.

Or the fast way to draw this is to select the exterior "room" and make a Room Polyline.

I've never had this required with a linear drain. Maybe a good idea, but I don't see a double drain in the code.

Personally, I like the plot plan as a separate CAD detail with the Plan footprint. It's easy to bring in a DWG survey, then move and rotate the footprint on the lot with correct dimensions and site rotation using true north, and separate CAD style for bearings. If you do the plot plan in the main plan window, you won't get automatic labeling of boundaries that show correct angles without jumping through a few hoops with north rotation. Drawing the lot boundaries and converting to a terrain perimeter often doesn't work well if fences aren't within the site boundaries, for example.

Great minds thinking alike....

Tools>Checks>Plan Check. Also, F1 and searching for "Plan Check" will tell you more.

Try running "Plan Check" to get it to reappear.

I'm not sure that it has to be an "either/or". Generally, I try to keep sections live, but I also turn off a lot of extraneous detail keeping them very simple and add a few CAD touches where it might help. I look at sections really just as a place to show floor-to-floor heights, and to use as a diagram for referencing the "real" details.