Chief_Content

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    New and Updated Library Catalogs

    in Announcements

    Posted

    We are happy to share that we've released a new branded catalog: BROSCO.

    This catalog features a variety of moldings and millwork for SSA users.

     

    Additionally, there have been a number of catalog updates. You'll find that the Architectural objects under "Core Catalogs" have had many updates.

     

    Also, the brand catalogs Estate Custom Collection and Resene have been refreshed.

    If you've previously downloaded these catalogs, you can quickly update to the latest version by choosing the 'Library' menu from within Chief Architect, and selecting 'Update Library Catalogs'.

     

    Featured Content for August

    in Announcements

    Posted

    If you haven't yet taking the opportunity, check out our latest downloadable content from the 3D Library!

    We are featuring a few new catalogs, including the Thermador branded kitchen appliances that are available for all of our users to download.

    This month, we are also offering two new bonus catalogs for our SSA users.

    Decorator Switches and Outlets includes decorator style outlets, switches, and other electrical components, including USB charging ports and nightlights.

    A second catalog is 3D Plants - Vases and Pots, offers a variety of cut flowers and other plants perfect for interior decoration and patio accessorizing.

    Unfinished Dalton Plan Sample

    in General Q & A

    Posted

    Thanks for the suggestion, Shane! I'll be sure to share that with our team.

     

    Also, for those interested in more detail on the Dalton Remodel plan, we've posted the Layout file from which the .PDF was derived. Please feel free to download this latest version of the plan files to review the technique used to create the design.

    Unfinished Dalton Plan Sample

    in General Q & A

    Posted

    Sherry,

    Many of the plans that Mick references include the layout along with the plan in the download. You should be able to see the method of work that was used for these plans and creating their layouts, including layersets. It would also be safe to assume that different techniques were used in different projects, so you may be able to infer multiple methods of work if you are able to take the time to review more than one sample.

    Please let us know if there are specific areas in which you'd like to see more detail, after taking a peek at these samples, and we can try to direct our focus in those areas for upcoming projects.

    Thank you!

    Unfinished Dalton Plan Sample

    in General Q & A

    Posted

    Thanks for the comments! It is great to know that users are downloading and referencing the sample plans.

    We posted the Dalton Remodel plan with the intent for it to be leveraged by those watching the How-to Design Video supplied with the plan. The plan isn’t meant to be fully complete in this case, but instead to illustrate some of the specific points that are of focus in the video.

    You’ll find that it is true that most, if not all, sample plans on the site are incomplete to varying degrees. This is intentional.
    Because Chief Architect is in the business if creating a tool for drawing plans and we as a company are not actually generating working drawings or acting as a contractor or designer, we leave the details to you, the professionals who have much more direct experience in the industry.

    Our goal is to offer a variety of examples that illustrate what CAN be accomplished in the software. No sample is guaranteed to be complete, nor do they approach being approved by professionals in the industry, such as Architects, Engineers, or Building Departments.

    We like to offer examples of cases that users may be interested in trying themselves. If you would like to download any editable plan and take it from where we left off, you are free to play with them in that manner. We hope they provide a good jumping-off point for your growth in learning the software.

    We plan to continue to supply more sample plans for download as time goes on. If you are interested in seeing any specific examples to see how we may approach a topic using Chief Architect, please share your ideas with us!

    • Upvote 1

    Bonus Catalogs - Door Hardware

    in Announcements

    Posted

    Visit the 3D Library to access the latest SSA Bonus Catalogs - Door Hardware.

     

    post-24-0-77592900-1435327448_thumb.jpg

     

    http://3dlibrary.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?r=site/detail/973

    http://3dlibrary.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?r=site/detail/974

     

    You'll find a variety of styles and types of hardware. Some of these objects are non-standard in terms of Chief Architect parametric functionality, so also reference this Tech Article for insight about how you may want to leverage the objects:

    Using Specialized Door Hardware

     

    • Upvote 2

    Manufacturer Catalogs - Create A Buzz

    in Symbols and Content

    Posted

    Thanks Perry! Thanks Scott!

     

    Perry, have him call us (800-482-4433) to talk about how we may be able to work together, ask for our Brand Catalog Specialist, or he can e-mail with info about his brand at content@chiefarchitect.com.

     

    Mike, thanks for the feedback! Even if you don't do social media, but would still like to help progress toward your favorite brands, sending an e-mail, or filling out the Contact Us form that is common on home pages these days makes an impact!

    Updated Catalogs - Kraftmaid, Merillat, Wellborn

    in Announcements

    Posted

    Run the "Update Library Catalogs" command to get the latest edits to the KraftMaid, Merillat, and Wellborn cabinet catalogs.

     

    post-24-0-52568000-1431617962_thumb.jpg

     

    Changes include Q1 updates to product lines, like addition or removal of cabinet doors and materials. View the description for these catalogs to see more information about what has changed.

     

    If you haven't downloaded these catalogs yet, log in to your SSA account, and find them on the 3D Library in the "Featured" section. These catalogs we be moved back into the "Cabinets" area once the featured time frame is finished.

    Manufacturer Catalogs - Create A Buzz

    in Symbols and Content

    Posted

    Are you interested in seeing specific brand catalogs available for use with Chief Architect?

     

    We often hear from users the desire for more branded catalogs in their Library. Our policy at Chief Architect is to only produce and distribute catalogs representing brands from whom we’ve gotten permission.

     

    You can help to open the door for your favorite catalogs by leveraging your Social Media voice. Consider sharing your thoughts about Chief Architect on the brand’s facebook page. Tag Chief Architect in your comment to introduce them to our software.

     

    Here is an example of the technique in action:

     

    post-24-0-41494100-1431528759_thumb.jpg

     

    If we work together, we may be able to expand the catalogs that are available for your designs!

    New Catalog Downloads For Ssa Users

    in Announcements

    Posted

    Multiple catalogs are now available to download from the 3D Library.

     

    post-24-0-96747200-1428440385_thumb.png

     

    New Video By Chief Architect About Stretch Planes

    in General Q & A

    Posted

    Lots of good comments here!

    Funny how this video is almost a copy of the stuff Joe discussed in the workshop, did Chief have a participant? The timing is eerie.


    We're sorry we didn't see Joe's Workshop to compare notes! We've been planning on creating a video on this topic for quite some time, as we often hear confusion on the stretch planes topic. We had scheduled it to be release near the end of the year, but as the release of X7 public beta came closer we decided to re-capture it using the most current version of the software.

    99% sure that is from 3ds Max, which makes me assume that is the tool they use to create symbol content.


    You are right in recognizing 3DS Max's interface for part of the video. Our Content Team primarily uses 3DS Max and the .OBJ file format to create objects for our bonus content. We also rely on Photoshop to create custom textures. We use a guideline of keeping the objects we create within a 10,000 triangle limit. We find that once a plan contains multiple objects of high triangle counts there can be quite a performance lag. We do our best to keep the generic items we produce within this set of bounds, however you might notice that Branded Content may sometimes exceed these limits. This is simply because we try to work directly with the 3D Data that is provided by the brand so it will be accurate to their products.

    We chose to show the Origin and UCS in 3DS for this video because it is a good illustration of where the origin exists on objects. One can set his origin directly within 3DS and that value will be transferred into Chief at import. It would be great if the Origin Point, UCS, Stretch Planes, and Stretch Zones were visible references in the Symbol Specification dialog. For now we do our best to both document and illustrate the current functionality. We understand that users are able to learn in different ways and think that offering tutorials in written, audio, and visual forms help all ranges of users to learn the tools.

    Best,

    Featured Catalogs And Topic

    in Symbols and Content

    Posted

    For March, we will be featuring the deck capabilities of Chief Architect.

     

    You'll find on the 3D Library access to 4 new catalogs that are loosely deck related:

     

    post-24-0-95941400-1424969348_thumb.png

    Download the catalogs and try them out on your next deck or exterior project.

     

    Also, check out this month's contest, Deck/Patio Design, and submit your own project to show us your chops and a chance to win some Chief Architect loot. 

    Slide -In Range

    in General Q & A

    Posted

    Hi Gary!

     

    We are trying to move toward making these objects behave in a way that is more realistic to construction/installation. My understanding is that you don't need a cabinet carcass in reality to install a Slide-in Range... we've tried to mimic that installation w/ the latest update of the objects.

     

    I hope that we will be able to go in the same direction with Dishwashers and Trash Compactors in the future, though those are slightly more complicated because it would be nice to have a countertop automatically cover the tops of those objects.

     

    What do you and others think about our adoption of this? I know there is a slight changing in learning curve since version 3.

    Updated Catalog: Daltile

    in Announcements

    Posted

    We have recently refreshed the DatTile® catalog to include their Ceramics product lines. If you have this catalog installed, automatically update it using the menu item "Update Library Catalogs" from within Chief Architect.

    If you don't currently have this catalog installed, you can access it here, from the 3D Library: http://3dlibrary.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?r=site/detail/684

    We are continuing to add product lines to this catalog and plan on releasing additions and updates in the future.

    Tray Dividers In Narrow Base Cabinets

    in General Q & A

    Posted

    Scott Hall is right!

     

    If you are current with your SSA, you have access to a catalog that has a few types of objects like these.

    Download it here: http://3dlibrary.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?r=site/detail/928

     

    Creating custom symbols for those not represented in the catalog is a good option as well. You can always deconstruct the way we've created these objects to discover settings that we used, if you are interested in making something similar.

    Home Plan Websites - Opportunity For Representation In Home Designer Software

    in Announcements

    Posted

    In our Home Designer Software product line, we offer a feature called "Find Plan Assistant". This is a tool for the user to reference both editable and non-editable sample plans. The non-editable plans are HTML pages that link to the authoring company's website for purchase.

     

    The idea is to give Home Designer users resources for plan design ideas and also to offer them the opportunity to purchase a plan set from a partner.

     

    This tool is popular with users who are planning a remodel or new construction. It also offers partner companies exposure from within all 5 of our Home Designer products via direct links to their websites.

     

    We are currently looking to link these users to multiple new plan sources. We want to offer this opportunity first to Chief Architect users who are in the business of selling plan sets. We feel that this would be more mutually beneficial than continuing to work with the plan mill we are sourcing from now.

     

    Some of the requirements in a candidate are:

    ·         An established website that allows for browsing home plans

    ·         At least 150 suitable home plans that can be reference from the Home Designer Software

    ·         Plan Providers should be able to take the time to edit and organize data into a format that will be compatible with the "Find Plan Assistant" feature (requirements will be provided later). They should also have resources available to provide long-term maintenance for the duration of the partnership.

     

    If this sounds like a fit with your business model, we would love to hear from you!

    Please send us a link to your plan source website at content@chiefarchitect.com.

     

    We will be reviewing potential candidates and hope to find a variety of resources to point Home Designer users toward.