HamlinBC

See attached pictures...

Hi Ann,

Is there any reason why you can't just draw a manual roof plane and set it at the right height over the garden shed?...

You have one plane already.  You could even copy and paste it; maneuver it to be over the garden shed; double click on the plane; lock the pitch and drop the Fascia Top Height.

We have 10 users (2 draftspeople and 8 PM's), most are computer literate...others...wellllll.....

Anyways, trying to train someone that now you have to check out a plan to check sq-ft of sheathing, or now you have to to do a joist layout...or now you have to check it back in after you wanted to look at the plan for 3 minutes just seems like a waste of time.  Sometimes I have a customer that stops in and wants to look at their plan and someone else has it open.  I call them, they close it and 30 seconds later we're ready to roll.

If you have to check it out and back in, then that seems like it would add way more unneeded steps.

In Excel or Word if you try to open the same document on multiple machines it says you have to open it in read only.

Sorry...this is an EXTREMELY sore subject for me.  So I just bite my cheek and we handle the problems as they come along...

Typically (at least in the past) if I had a file open and someone else went to open the same file, it would come up with an error saying it's already in use.  To me...this is taking care of that "checking out".

It still mostly works that way...the only problem is that on occasion we are able to access one file on two different machines at the same time.  It doesn't happen all the time though...

Why is it such a huge issue for Chief to run on a network?  It used to work perfectly pre-X6 era...now all of the sudden we have problems.

This is what I don't understand, and what I've tried to find out from Chief, but everyone there beats around the bush and says that it's a problem on our end...even though we used to never have issues with it.

I know this doesn't answer your question (and more than likely doesn't help) but here's what we do:

We have 10 copies of CA.  We save all files to a combination of 2 servers.  Occasionally we run into issues where 2 users have the same plan file open.  It's bizarre and doesn't happen to every plan.  The only way you know if they are, is if someone goes to save and it throws up a bunch of errors.

We also have issues with CA locking up.  Don't know if it's because of servers, workstations, CA, what...but ever since X6 we've had random sporadic lockups.  I brought it to their attention, but of course it's our fault...

Some CA people have said that CA does not network well...they recommended saving locally and then backing that up.  The obvious problem with that is if you have multiple locations with multiple people accessing and changing files, then how do you know if you're working with the most current.

Again...not sure if that helps you out, but that's our situation.

The blinds are a work-around since painting the window glass doesn't work in X7 anymore...that's the only reason for it.

I've moved away from sending homeowners photorealistic, and worked on trying to send elevations like these.  I've always found VectorWorks elevations look the best, so those are the ones I try to mimic...

1) Yes, in the Technical Illustration and it also behaves that way in Watercolor.  Not positive about others, as I don't use them.

2) Technically by spraying the glass it would show up as "shaded".  Or at least more shaded...

3) Looks good...except there's no shadows.

Finally, thanks

I also attached a revised copy of the Test.plan with using the blinds.

You can use whatever method you want...that's one of the great things about living in the United States of America...I'm jes sayin'.

Test.plan

@Scott - See attached.  Not sure if that answers all of your questions or not...

The door is just the stock E03 from the library, and the windows...are just windows.

Test.plan

Or, open the rail section you want to change; on the left go to "Rails"; under the Rail Profiles section click the drop down for Selected Profile and select "Beam".

Then down below under Selected Profile Specification, change the height to whatever you want it.

Thanks guys!

@Levis - I've noticed that the glass in doors still paint correctly, it's just the windows act weird.

Speaking of beating a dead horse...I've been doing elevations like these for a long time.

For the most part, I've found the easiest way to do it is like everyone stated...technical illustration.  With the release of X7, I've found that you can't paint window glass anymore...not sure why but it never changes in some of the rendering techniques.  My workaround for that is just to put blinds on the windows you're doing the elevation on (see attached).

For the hard shadows, just change your shadow preference to "Legacy Shadows" under Edit>Preferences>Render>General Options...that will give you hard shadows.

I think Jonathank's solution is the easiest but would do it a little differently myslef (plan attached per Mr. D Scott Hall's request).

 

1.  Build cabinet

2.  Copy/paste in place

3.  Open the copy and...

     a. Subtract 1/8" from width, depth, and height

     b. Set height off floor to 1/16" higher than it already was

     c. Uncheck "Include in schedule"

     d. Change door to an opening

     e. Change the number of shelves to zero 

     f.  suppress the label

     g.  change the cabinet material as desired

4. Center the modified copy on the main copy in plan view (in both directions)

For the record...this is exactly what I did to get the cabinet placed correctly.

I just did it roughly, so I didn't get the exact sizing correct. I assumed that most people were smart enough to adjust accordingly.

The problem with the sides and back panel option is that you still have a face frame that needs the exterior color.

As soon as you paint the face frame, you lose the interior color.

Cabinet inside a cabinet?...

I attached my plan for fear of getting chewed out.

You can see what I did on it.

CABINET.plan

Well...it's official, I just booked it...

Hopefully I'm not too late and the spot was already taken! 

Larry (and Perry),

That's a good point.  I'm sure we'll bring some questions along.  It would be neat to meet some of you guys there...even if most of you are double my age 

Jared,

I didn't even look at that!...thanks for bringing it up.

I guess we should make a decision soon!

Thanks, Scott!

I was hoping you'd chime in.

Our company is debating on sending me to the user group meeting in Coeur d'Alene.

I'd like to get some feedback from the users who have gone to it.  What should I expect?  Was it a benefit?  Would you go again?  Did you learn a lot?  etc...

I'd like to think that I'm an advanced user, so just wondering what all is gone through in the advanced training, or any of the training for that matter?

I noticed that they gave a little insight to the UGM portion of it (file management, rendering, etc...), and to me I think that would be a benefit to learn what others do, and how Chief works.  Even the file management, since we have many users and multiple servers that our files are stored on.

Anyways, just rambling here...but I definitely want everyone's thoughts.

Our operation is probably a little different than most of yours.

We're a lumberyard and have customers and contractors always coming in and wanting just a small copy.  We don't charge for our drafting service, so we happily oblige them.

Adding more steps is a real bummer...especially for some of the more computer illiterate

I used Quadro (and still get them for some computers) for a long time.  I recently switched to a gaming card just because everyone was saying how much better they are.

I've found that the Quadros are more stable on Chief than the gaming cards.  You can buy one of the less expensive ones that has less memory and they run Chief just as well as the high end gaming cards.

Just my thoughts...

I talked to Nigel in Support in regards to this.  I just wanted to voice my findings here (and hope that one of the higher ups in engineering will be looking at this).  Also to make others aware if they are running into problems.

Basically what it comes down to is that CA made some changes to the printing engine in X7.  With these changes, our printers have been cutting off 1/4 of the job.  (see attached pictures)

The work around that I came up with (and Nigel confirmed), is to send the plan to PDF, and jpg for 3D shots, and just print directly from Windows.

I seriously...SERIOUSLY hope that this is going to get fixed soon.

We're not a major player in the world of Chief Architect, we only have 10 users...and 10 totally up-to-date copies of Chief (and also diligently pay to stay up-to-date).  But how can I tell 9 of my people that they now have to do a work around to print something off for a customer?...

That did turn out nice...

Is your grass actually modeled, or do you do it in PS?

VRay is nice rendering software...

Actually...to amend my last list, you can eliminate step 3.

The marker that you paste is already selected when you "Paste Hold Position".

You could also try this method:

1. Place the first marker.
2. Copy (ctrl+c), Paste Hold Position (ctrl+alt+v).
3. Select one of the markers.
4. Select "Align/Distribute Along This Line" (located at the bottom of the screen).
5. Select the line you want to align to.
6. In the DBX that pops up select "Centers" under the "Alignment" heading.

Attached are screen caps.

Larry's is probably faster though

Those look very nice!...good job!

What software do you use?...