Dermot

You may also wish to review the recommendations here: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/products/sysreq.html

Lew is right. Chief Architect is still evolving way too fast which means lots of things under the hood are going through big changes every version. If we were to write code to take out everything that we added in the latest version, the older file would be pretty "lossy" which, in my opinion, would make it almost useless. Just as one example, we added tray ceilings in X12 and we had no such thing in X11. What would we do with the tray ceiling if we wanted to write out the file so it could be read in X11? Remove it entirely or maybe just convert it into a hole? Take a look at all of the other things that are in the what's new in X12 list and imagine what would happen to a plan if you removed all of these things. On top of that, it would create a lot more work for us. That would mean less time to implement new features for the new version. The bottom line is it will probably not happen until Chief stops evolving so much. For now, probably the best thing you could do is export a 2D CAD file which could then be imported into the older version (as suggested by David). If you want the 3D model, you could always export this as well but you would lose all of the actual smart objects that you have in Chief.

No, but there are some things you can do depending on what you are trying to do. If all you want to do is use different defaults, you can always import them from other plans. You can also use the edit area tool to copy the model from one plan into a new blank plan started with another template. If the problem is that you started a plan with the wrong units (imperial vs metric), then the easiest thing to do is start over.

Please remember that these sneak peek videos are not a complete list of what will be in X13. You might want to reserve your final judgement until you see the actual list of what's new. "Why not ask users what they want after all its us thats using the software." Actually, we do this all the time. Our marketing team sends out a customer survey every year. We also talk one-on-one with customers at trade shows, training events, and user group meetings. We even have a place on this forum where people can post suggestions: https://chieftalk.chiefarchitect.com/forum/8-suggestions/ If there is something that you would like to see us work on, then you should ask for it. The more people that ask for things, the quicker they move up our priority list.

Posting unprofessional and offensive posts on this forum doesn't actually help anyone. I think Michael B's post does a really good job explaining why some posts are more helpful than others but I would like to add some more information to this thread. This is a problem that we are aware of and actually care very much about even though it appears to be only affecting a very small number of users. Unfortunately, we have not been able to reproduce this problem in any sort of reliable way which means that we have been unsuccessful in all of our attempts to fix this. If you are experiencing any problems with toolbars that are not staying where you have placed them, then please report this directly to our technical support team. You will need to provide them with some very detailed information about your system and your toolbar setup (including giving them your actual toolbar files). It would also be very helpful if you could try to determine what you are doing that causes you to lose your toolbar setup. Things like switching monitor resolutions or changing your monitor setup or even changing your toolbar or open window configurations are the types of things we have been looking at as potential causes. We appreciate your continued patience and thank everyone who is willing to help us try to solve this problem.

Just to clarify, you can remove or modify pretty much anything in the library and it should not affect any existing plans. Plans are pretty much self-contained (with a few caveats I will list below) because when you use a library object in a plan, we make a copy of it and keep the copy with the plan. The exception to this is with the following things that can contain an external file reference: - picture or pdf boxes. These can be set to "save in plan" which will then remove the external file reference - materials and images/billboards

You have multiple objects (polyline solids and shapes). I would first convert it into a symbol and then it might be easier to treat as a single object. See if this picture helps. More info can be found in this article: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-01021/editing-a-symbol-s-rotation.html

As pointed out by Chris, you could change these settings in the Send to Layout dialog in prior versions. This ability was removed because we feel that this is not the preferred method of working. You probably modified them in an older version of the program and then migrated your preferences forward.

The edge line and pattern line defaults (18 and 10) are actually stored with your program preferences. There is no built-in interface for changing them but you can manually edit the ini file if you are very determined. If you manually edit your preferences file and mess things up, you are basically on your own though. I would recommend that you only do this while the program is not running because the program will write out the preferences from memory when you exit. And for the record, I really recommend just working with your layers and material settings while in the camera view so things are more WYSIWYG.

Did you try clicking on the Help button when you were in the Send To Layout dialog? Did you see the part where it says "The Edge and Pattern Line Defaults settings are included for legacy files and are not the recommended method of specifying this information." As a general rule, it is preferable to use your layer and material settings to control your edge and pattern lines while in the camera view. Then when you send the view to layout, you would have "use edge line defaults" and "use pattern line defaults" turned off. This will allow you to better see what you will get on your layout view while in the camera view. You can also control the edge lines for each object independently using the active layer set. You can control the pattern lines for each material independently using the material settings. If you have a particular need to override these settings in your layout view, then you would want to set the "use defaults" options. The program will then use the edge and pattern line defaults that are specified for the particular layout box created. You can change these values in the layout box specification dialog box (as you have shown in your second picture). Currently, there is no way to specify the system default values used when a new layout box is created. BTW, it looks like Chris's version of the help file might be old. See picture below for what my version says.

"and once again this Gremlin strikes" I would hardly consider the ability to use plan check to bring back a manually deleted living area a "gremlin". It's just another tool that can be helpful, but only if you know how to use it. There are other ways to regenerate the living area label as well as ways to create your own manual living area label but those all take more work to explain. Currently, there isn't even any indication that this will solve the original poster's problem, just a guess, and you should note that it was actually 3rd in my list of guesses. Some of your posts are getting to be a lot like houseguests, after about 3 times, they are starting to smell a bit, well, fishy.

You might not have any enclosed rooms on the second floor. Or you might not have any rooms that are included in the living area calculations. Or you might have manually deleted the living area and need to use the plan check tool to bring it back. Or... You might want to check out this help article: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-00424/changing-how-square-footage-is-calculated.html

I agree with Eric in that it is usually best to start new threads with new questions. That said, you probably want to look into using the "Make Living Area Polyline" tool. You can generate a polyline that will show you exactly what parts of the model are included in the living area calculations. More information can be found in this article: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-00424/changing-how-square-footage-is-calculated.html

I believe the thickness of the lintel is always determined by the profile you are using. You can only specify the width in the dialog. If you choose a profile that is pretty small, and then stretch it to the width, then I would expect to see the results you are seeing. Try selecting some of the various crown moldings that are in the core libraries, and you should see this. My best guess is that the profile you are using is not actually 4"x6" but something much smaller. It is then getting stretched for the width in the one direction only. Without the plan and profile, I am only guessing.

Yes, but I would do this by adding a "complete break" to the stair. First, draw your stair at the normal width and length. Select the stair and then select the Break tool that will appear on the edit toolbar. Select the Complete Break tool that will appear in the new edit sub-mode toolbar Click along the stair centerline to add the complete break. This will give you two separate stair sections. Select the one you want wider and drag the edge out. If it changes both sections, then your stairs are not separate which means that you did not add a complete break.

The lines are there because the program could not merge the automatic counter tops. There are lots of things that could cause this such as overlapping cabinets, different cabinet heights or height off floor, different counter top heights or thickness, one of the cabinets being in a block, one of the cabinets actually being a symbol, etc., etc., etc. For a better answer, post the plan and someone will probably be able to tell you what is wrong.

This probably depends on how old the plan is that you are opening. The "Ceiling Break Lines" system layer was available in earlier versions but at one time the name was "Walls, Beams" (a very long time ago). All you need to do is open the Layer Display Options dialog and use the "Reset Layer Names" button. You are going to find lots of differences between an older plan brought into X12 and a new plan started in X12. Again, this will probably depend on how old the plan is that you are bringing forward. This will mostly be a result of all of the default settings that are stored in the template plan that is used for new plans. You can use the import tools to transfer the settings you want from your template plan into your legacy plans. You could also use the edit area tool to copy the model from your legacy plan into a new blank plan that already has these settings. Some people prefer using one of these methods over the other for various reasons. More information about migrating legacy plans can be found here: https://cloud.chiefarchitect.com/1/pdf/documentation/chief-architect-x12-migration-guide.pdf

If you are using a different plan for your reference display, and you want it to line up with the current plan, you will need to make sure they are using the same origin. The easiest way to do this is to just use save as to create the different versions of each plan (and then don't move anything). How I would handle this in your case is I would use the Input Point tool to put a point at 0,0 for the origin. I would then use the Edit Area (All Floors) tool and the Point to Point move tool to locate the corner of the plan at the origin. Then do the same thing for the other plan and they should then line up.

Did you turn off "Automatic Rail Openings" in the stair specification dialog? If so, then turn it back on or you can manually place a doorway in your railing.

I recommend taking a look at the X12 migration guide: https://cloud.chiefarchitect.com/1/pdf/documentation/chief-architect-x12-migration-guide.pdf I wouldn't recommend that you try to migrate any of your settings or templates from your old version but you might want to pay particular attention to the sections called "For Files Created in Version X# and Prior". This should help you when you want to bring any old plans forward. You might also want to review the older "What's New in X11", X10, X9, X8, X7, X6, and X5 documentation and/or videos to see what all has been changed since your version. The other approach that might work well is to just treat X12 like it is a brand new program and start from scratch with all of the current training videos. A lot will already be familiar to you but there have been enough changes over the years that starting from the beginning might be the best approach.

Chief will create either an interior or exterior door based on the room types on each side of it. If the door is between an exterior room type and an interior room type, it will be an exterior door. If it is in between two interior room types, it will be an interior door. If the door is between two porches, like it is in your plan, the program considers this an interior door. I really can't say why, but my guess is that it has always been this way and that this is not very common. The good news is that you can still specify all of the settings (such as the casing and materials) just like you can for an exterior door. All you need to do is check the "Separate Trim and Materials on Each Side" option that Michael was hinting at. The other solution is to change the room type of the fully enclosed room to some interior room type.

Have you tried just deleting these unwanted attic walls? Metric plans and imperial plans use different template files. There are a lot of settings that are different in these templates. Many of these settings are purposely set different so that metric plans will make more sense to people who typically design in metric (usually outside of the US). Sometimes the settings are set incorrectly though. Although Home Designer Suite is based on the same engine that Chief Architect Premier is, it is very limited in what settings you can modify. Home Designer Pro is a much more capable program with a lot more control over the building structure. If you need a lot more control over the structural details, you might want to consider upgrading to Pro. If you think you have found a bug in either the program or in the template plan settings, please feel free to report these directly to our technical support team: https://www.homedesignersoftware.com/support/#contact

"So I see that my wall type changes to Interior-4 and turns into invisible. How do I keep the wall type as divider wall?" The program doesn't want you to because as a general rule, this wall won't work. In the real world, you will probably need to have framing and drywall in any situation where the either the floor height or ceiling height changes. In order to to build the 3D model correctly, the program uses a normal interior wall. If you don't want to display this wall in plan view, just turn off the wall's layer and draw your own dashed line wherever you want. If you really want the program to build a very thin wall, instead of a real interior wall, then create a custom wall type with a very thin 1/16" single layer. I believe that as long as your wall has at least some thickness the program will not convert it automatically into an interior wall.

To eliminate the mortar joints from the texture I would recommend using an image editing program, something like photoshop. You should create a copy of the original texture and you will need to have two different materials so that you can use the one with the mortar for the wall and the one without for the sill.

1. Did you check the trash can? If it's not there, was this a user library folder or one of the core library folders? If it was a core, manufacturer, or bonus library, the easiest thing is probably to just download it again. If it was a user library and you don't have a backup, well that's a problem. If you placed any of the objects into a plan, you could always open the plan, select the object, and then add it back to the library. 2. Just right click on the folder and export it to a suitable location. See this help article for more info: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-00001/backing-up-chief-architect-content.html#User