CarrieS

We have a tool specifically for converting objects to symbols without the need to Export and Import https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-00809/converting-an-object-into-a-symbol.html https://www.chiefarchitect.com/videos/watch/5532/creating-a-custom-cabinet-door.html

Yes these are recorded. Once a webinar has streamed it can be found here within a couple days of the event: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/videos/playlists/171/recorded-live-stream-webinars.html

Tech Support sees that occasionally if you're not using Chief Architect Project Management and your data folder is on a cloud like OneDrive. Here are some articles that might help: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-03132/resolving-unexpected-behavior-on-a-windows-pc-by-redirecting-the-data-folder.html https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-03125/troubleshooting-error-messages-associated-with-the-program-s-data-folder.html If you continue to have trouble I recommend contacting our Technical Support team. They'll be able to dig in with you to figure it out. https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/#contact Carrie

Sounds like you're using the same plan view and Layer set for different views on your layout. Saved Plan views are a master toggle that allows you to save multiple settings into a single switch. It allows you to change what defaults are in use and what layers are in use as well as a few other settings. If you set up a different Saved Plan view, with the saved plan views having different Layer Sets applied, you'll be able to have different views with different layers on your layout. https://www.chiefarchitect.com/videos/watch/4/understanding-layers.html https://www.chiefarchitect.com/videos/watch/5483/understanding-layer-sets.html https://www.chiefarchitect.com/videos/watch/2421/saved-plan-views.html Webinar on the topic: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/videos/watch/10199/productivity-tips-saved-plan-views.html

Are you replacing the shelves with the rollout trays? If so then it seems you might be having two separate door components instead of 1 double door component. I've attached one that I have. Here is the article on the process too, in case you need it: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-03142/replacing-a-cabinet-s-standard-shelves-with-rollout-shelves-or-drawers.html Cabinetwithpullouts.plan

If you have the Material List saved in the plan, you have the option to keep the Material List when you save the plan as a template (File> Templates> Save As Template). Just be sure to uncheck "Materials Lists" in the Save As Plan Template dialog. We do not currently have a way to move a saved Material List to a different project. Carrie

If you make it an Architectural Block it wont interact with the other cabinets at all and you can still put it in your Cabinet Schedule. You can either Shift+Select or click and drag select and you'll get the "Make Architectural Block" option on the Edit Toolbar. Or you can turn off the "Create Automatic Blind Corner Cabinets" setting in the General Cabinet Defaults like Mark mentioned.

I initially thought that but then I saw the dimension and second guessed myself Just like me to make it harder than necessary.

Not quite perfect since the reveal applies to the panel but close-ish. I used "Slab MDF Door" so I could see the edges but if you use a regular slab door the separation and the panel will merge. Spec Cabinet.plan

Hi Chris, Yes M5's are supported. Looks like the M5‑series chips are generally outperforming the M4 generation, and early benchmarks show the M5 Max pulling ahead even of the M3 Ultra, despite the Ultra’s advantage from its dual‑die design. Links for reference: https://www.macworld.com/article/3081408/m5-max-16-inch-macbook-pro-review.html https://browser.geekbench.com/v6/cpu/16884909 M5 Max https://browser.geekbench.com/v6/cpu/10992635 M4 Max https://browser.geekbench.com/macs/mac-studio-2025-32c-cpu-80c-gpu M3 Ultra https://browser.geekbench.com/v6/cpu/compare/10919322?baseline=16884909 Comparison M5 Max MBP/M3 Ultra Studio This site has some performance metrics that might be useful. It doesn't have the M5s yet but probably will over time. it can give you an idea of the trend. If you click the "Metal" tab/link it will dial more into graphics performance rather than overall: https://browser.geekbench.com/mac-benchmarks There’s also a rumor that Apple may release an M5 Ultra. If that happens, it would almost certainly exceed the M3 Ultra’s performance—and likely the M5 Max as well—though pricing would probably be in the premium tier: https://www.macworld.com/article/2973459/2026-mac-studio-m5-release-date-specs-price-rumors.html I don't know the timeline for Chief to be able to test the M5s but I hope information this helps in the interim! Carrie

The 999 error is a generic "something weird happened" type of error that doesn't have a specific cause. It could be related to an object in the plan, geometry on how something is coming together wrong, or even system requirements like graphics or available space. I recommend starting with updating your graphics driver (use a "clean install" or "factory reset" option which is frequently listed under a custom install setting in the driver install wizard). Chief is so dependent on the GPU that updating the graphics driver fixes a ton of stuff. Be sure to reboot after updating. Windows updates and GPU updated can work in tandem so be sure to verify Windows updates are installed as well if you're on PC. It is generally easy to determine if a problem is plan specific, open up a new plan or other plans and see if you get the same error when doing the same actions. If it is plan specific, save off a copy of the plan and start deleting things until the error goes away and then reverse engineer until the culprit is found. (Edit> Delete Objects is useful for this) Another thing to try is seeing if you get the same error in the trial version of the latest release. Then you'd know if it was something Chief Architect had encountered before and patched. Also, just so expectations are clear, your version falls under paid support. If you end up calling Tech Support, they may need to set up a paid incident before digging in. The steps above are the same ones we’d start with on a call, so trying them first can often save you that cost. Carrie

Hi Adam, Sorry I missed the link originally. It looks like the tiny bit of the Garage attic wall that is not covered by the roof plane is popping up. The funny part is that the wall doesn't even really exist in 3d. There isn't enough room it. But it is still trying to do what it is programmed to do. I have found the following solutions: 1. Delete the Garage Attic wall. 2. Make the Garage Attic Wall invisible. 3. Make a minor bump in the Roof plane to cover the wall piece.

Hi Adam, Walls showing through like that are often due to the way walls intersections are behaving in those areas. Sometimes they can be corrected with Edit Wall Layer Intersections. Sometimes you might have an unnecessary attic wall that can simply be deleted. On some occasions a pony wall was needed so the lower part of the wall could have the connection but the upper is continuous or a roof plane is intruding into the wall's space. If you post your plan, forum users can help you take a look or you can send the file in to our Technical Support for additional help. Carrie

Hi Jack, Without seeing your project I can only guess at your problem, so here are my thoughts: Line styles are screen scaled (the adapt to zoom level) when you're working unless you have "Line Weights" turned on (View> Line Weights) then they will show the scale based on what you have your Drawing Sheet Setup scale set to which should hopefully be set up to match the scale you plan to print to. (File> Print Drawing Sheet Setup). Each type of view has it's own Drawing Sheet Setup so you'll want to make sure you are in the affected view when you look at the Drawing Sheet Setup. Technical Support can help you look at your settings if you don't want to post your project on the forums. Technical Support is available via phone at 208-292-3400 or through our Technical Support Center. Monday–Friday 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM Pacific. Carrie

Hi Krissy, X16 doesn't have an easy way to match working environments between computers. Having your documents on OneDrive can be a risk as your Archives folder is in that location. You do not want your archives to have any chance of interference if your internet is down, if OneDrive fails to sync, or you happen to log out and not realize it. You could make it so you do not get any archives at all and not even realize it until you need them. If Chief Architect detects the failed save of the archive it presents a message but with non-local saving sometimes it does not notice the failure. It is a little less of a risk if you're only putting your User Catalog there but the risk of corruption of the library if something fails to sync properly is still there. If you decide to continue with this path I recommend you make regular backups and periodically check that archives are being saved. Technical Support will not be able to help you troubleshoot OneDrive issues. X17 is a bit easier if you're using Project Management because you can take a backup file from one computer and move it to the 2nd computer and have all your customizations like toolbars, preferences, & user catalog, brought to the new computer. It still isn't an automatic process but it can save some time when you first get a new computer. This article outlines the process: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-03211/backing-up-and-restoring-chief-architect-content-using-project-management.html Carrie

Hi, Yes, those connections can be tricky. I have had luck by using a tiny piece of wall that matches the curb wall at the corner before switching to the taller framed portion. Walls like to heal over small breaks like this so there are a couple of things I do to prevent that. 1. Use a room divider to control the intersection of the curb pony wall to the taller pony wall. 2. Mark something different between the curb wall and the taller wall. Like "No Room Molding on Interior" or making a copy of the wall type. Hope this helps! Carrie

Hi, When you have an issue like this my first recommendation is to Export Logs (Help> Export Logs) at the first opportunity. This will take a snapshot of the state of the program at the time of the error. Then give a call to our Technical Support team. We'll be able to help you investigate what happened and help you recover if possible. Technical Support is available via phone at 208-292-3400 Mon-Fri 7am-4pm pacific or through our Technical Support Center. You might also be interested in this article if you need to be able to find a working copy quickly: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-00099/accessing-your-archive-files.html Carrie

Hi, It seems that the attached plan does not match the images provided so I can't give you much feedback. Whenever you see a problem like in your top image there I highly recommend sending the problem plan into our Technical Support Team. This will do two things for you. 1. You'll get feedback on what is occurring and how to overcome it. 2. We'll be able to report the problem to our developers so we can make the behavior better. Here is some information on using the Technical Support Center in case you need it: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-00717/using-the-technical-support-center.html Carrie

Hi, You can toggle the display of temporary dimensions by going to View> Temporary Dimensions https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-00089/enabling-temporary-dimensions.html Hope this helps! Carrie

Hi, The "Deck is over a non deck room. Framing may not be correct." message doesn't mean that anything is wrong exactly. It is just a notification because it is in a scenario that might need custom changes. If you've inspected and you're ok with the model, it is perfectly ok to ignore that message. Hope this helps! Carrie

Hi Rene, With the Asset Manager, it’s actually possible for two files to share the same name while still being treated as different assets. The name isn’t what determines whether two items are considered the same. Instead, we encode the actual image data into a unique identifier (UID). Even small differences between two image files will result in different UIDs, which might explain what you are seeing. From your screenshot, it looks like quite a few assets were affected. To really understand what led to this, our Technical Support team will need to take a closer look. If you can send a Case to the Technical Support Center with the steps you took leading up to this point—along with your backup and the exported Logs file—they’ll be able to dig in and help determine the cause. Carrie

Often the best solution is simply updating your graphics driver. We can get odd behavior even outside of camera views if your graphics driver is out of date so definitely worth completing this simple step. https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-00106/troubleshooting-3d-camera-view-display-problems-in-chief-architect.html Outside of that, 3rd party port replicators and docking stations can have their own drivers that might need updating. There are some software out there that does not play well with Chief Architect. Visit our Known Incompatibilities page for the list. You would also see odd behavior and potentially crashing if your monitor is plugged into your Motherboard instead of your Graphics card. If you continue to have trouble please contact our Technical Support Team so we can help diagnose the problem.

Layout boxes that have missing references should show a caution triangle. So you should just have to page through your layout looking for the triangle. Once you find the layout box you can delete it or relink it to what you need it to point to.

Hi, Chief Architect has a program update available to resolve the activation issue introduced in Mac OS Sequoia (Mac OS version 15). This patch applies to Chief Architect X16 and Home Designer 2025 products. Prior to installing this update, you will first need to deactivate your software. After the patch is installed, the software will activate on your computer and resolve the activation issue caused by changing Wi-Fi networks. Please note that after the patch is installed, X16 and Home Designer 2025 will be using different identifiers than prior versions so if you switch between this version and an earlier version (like X15 or Home Designer 2024) you will need to deactivate. Patch Installation Instructions: Sign in to your Chief Architect Account: https://accounts.chiefarchitect.com/digital-locker Click on the "MAKE AVAILABLE" button under your product key. Click the "DOWNLOAD" link. Choose "Mac" then download and install the patch. If you have any questions about the process please contact our Technical Support team. Carrie

Hi, Chief Architect has a program update available to resolve the activation issue introduced in Mac OS Sequoia (Mac OS version 15). This patch applies to Chief Architect X16 and Home Designer 2025 products. Prior to installing this update, you will first need to deactivate your software. After the patch is installed, the software will activate on your computer and resolve the activation issue caused by changing Wi-Fi networks. Please note that after the patch is installed, X16 and Home Designer 2025 will be using different identifiers than prior versions so if you switch between this version and an earlier version (like X15 or Home Designer 2024) you will need to deactivate. Patch Installation Instructions: Sign in to your Chief Architect Account: https://accounts.chiefarchitect.com/digital-locker Click on the "MAKE AVAILABLE" button under your product key. Click the "DOWNLOAD" link. Choose "Mac" then download and install the patch. If you have any questions about the process please contact our Technical Support team. Carrie