Dermot

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Posts posted by Dermot

  1. I apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause.  Supporting these older file formats was limiting our ability to keep Chief moving forward.  We have only had to do this once before when we dropped support for pre-version 5 plan files.  We are hoping that with the file format improvements that we made back in Version 10 that we won't have to do this again for a much longer period of time.

  2. 1) You can turn off the exterior trim in the Window Specification dialog.

     

    2) My best guess is that you are seeing a lighting or shading effect.  Depending on what kind of view you are in and what kind of rendering technique you are using, there are ways to control this effect. For example, if you are using the standard render camera, you can set your sunlight so that it will automatically follow the camera which will make all of your exterior camera views look more similar.

  3. X9 does not support reading in plans with the .pl# or .la# extension (files from any versions older then Version 10).  More information can be found in the Reference Manual on Page 54, "Compatibility with Previous Versions" and on Page 1338, "New and Improved Features by Chapter - File Management".

     

    If you want to be able to open these plans in X9, you should first open these files in X8 and save them in the newer format.  Once the plan is saved as a .plan or .layout you should then be able to open it in X9.

     

    You should be able to continue using your X8 for as long as your computer and operating system continue to support it.  At some point in the future, it is very likely that you will have to buy a newer computer that might not support your old software.  We can't prevent that from happening.  I would encourage you to update your old plans before you get stuck in this situation.

     

     

  4. Casing and molding profiles are not dynamic defaults.  This means that when you change a molding in your default object (whether in the specification dialog or by using the Set As Default tool) that any objects already placed in your plan will not be updated automatically.  The molding profile will only be used for new objects.

     

    The casing sizes are dynamic defaults.  You can always tell by the "(D)" that follows the size in the specification dialog.

     

    As far as I know, cabinets, doors, and windows all work the same in this regard.

     

  5. Quote

    Thanks for any advice...

     

    X9 is still being beta tested.  It should not be a huge surprise if you find some problems.  If you do find any problems, please do us and all of the other users a favor by reporting them to our technical support team.  https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/#contact

     

    This includes any problems with bringing plans forward from prior versions. When you report these kinds of problems please include the original plan from the prior version (not the plan after you have saved it in X9).  We can't verify that it worked or looked different in the prior version without the original plan.

     

  6. Copy the line style that is closest to what you want from the Core Catalog to your User Catalog.

    Use the Open Object tool to bring up the line style editor.

    Change the length of the line segments and/or the height of the text as needed.

  7. Actually, there are 6 "click" stair tools.  In addition to the 3 Joe listed, there is also the Curve to Left and Curve to Right.  And, what some people may not know, the normal Draw Stairs tool can also create a "click" stair if you click instead of drag.  Depending on where you click, you will either get the same stair you get with the Straight Stairs tool or the same landing you would get using the Landing tool.

  8. Marc, I don't think your issues are the same ones that Nate is having.  In his case, it looks like labels are appearing even in cases where making window glass opaque should have no effect.  This could be the result of a bug in the program but we won't know for sure unless he reports it.

     

    Window and door labels should always appear in an elevation view if a reasonable percentage of the window or door is visible in the view.  This means that you will sometimes see labels for things that you may not want labels for.

     

    For example, if your window glass is clear or your doors are open, you may be able to see windows and doors through it and will then be able to see their labels.  One way to solve this issue is by making your window glass opaque.  In any case, if you have a label you don't want to see, you can always select the object and set the label to "Hide in this View".  You can also force labels to display by setting the label to "Show in this View".  It can sometimes be tricky to select them and you may need to use the temporary delete surface tool to select it. 

     

  9. Quote

     

    Just downloaded and installed X9 Beta and noticed that the window and door labels from the other side of the house show through on an elevation (see picture). Any ideas how to fix this?  I tried a backclipped section - that didn't help.  Tried rebuilding 3D, save/close/reopen, resend to layout.  Nothing seems to work.

     

     

    If you are using the X9 beta and you find problems, please do us and all of the other users a favor and report them to technical support.

  10. You are using Home Designer Interiors.  HD Interiors does not allow you to control the stair wrapping directly.  Turning off auto height appears to give you a reasonable work-around though.

     

    The video you linked to only applies to Chief Architect Premier or Chief Architect Interiors. You will probably get better help using the Home Designer web site and forum:

     

    https://www.homedesignersoftware.com/

     

    https://hometalk.chiefarchitect.com/

     

    • Upvote 1
  11. Without the actual library I can only make guesses.  The object has to actually have light sources in order to show the 3D preview.  If you open the specification dialog, the program can automatically add a single light source for you if you marked it as a "light" in the Open Symbol dialog.  Once you have added light data, I'm not sure if there is an easy way to remove it.

  12. There are only a few possibilities with the cabinets:

     

    - they should all be set to the same height.

    - they should all be set to the same elevation reference.

    - the should all be set to the same floor to bottom.

    - they should all be in the same room (or the rooms need to have the same floor heights and thickness).

     

    If all of this is true, then I have no idea what the problem could be. 

     

     

     

  13. Quote

     I just need the windows to be indicated as casement in the schedule description, and to show up as a separate window number.

     

    As Joe pointed out, the way to get that lite configuration on a casement window is to use custom muntins.  Do this once, save the window in the library, and then replace the other windows you want to match.

     

    If you just want to fake it and call a single hung window a casement window in the schedule, you can edit the description in the components dialog box for the window.  Once you have edited the description, it will show up in the schedule as a different window.  If you need to remove the "type" from the label or size, you can do this in the schedule dialog box.

     

    fake casement window.png

  14. Quote

     

    I deleted the camera and made a new camera and working fine now. I looked through all the settings and could not find any difference from the other cameras.. Possible bug? Anyway I'm good now

     

     

    Probably not a bug.

     

    These settings are not stored with the camera.  These settings are stored with the plot lines.  They are setup when you send the view to the layout box.  Deleting the camera should not have been necessary.  Deleting a layout box and resending the view will usually solve these type of problems when you have gotten yourself into a bad state. 

     

    In most cases, it is better to control your line weights and colors directly in your elevation views using your layers.  Then when you send your view to layout, you make sure "Use Edge Line Defaults" and "Use Pattern Line Defaults" are unchecked so that your plot lines will match your elevation view.  If you do it this way, you can use the "Update View" tool on the layout box if you need to make any changes to your model or view.  If you are using the edge and pattern line defaults, you will have to use the "Edit Layout Lines" tool to change any edge and pattern lines and every time you update the view you will lose those changes.

     

    • Upvote 1