ValleyGuy

As everyone above has said above, SPV's are really useful. Your team has already completed most of the heavy work by creating the different layer sets. SPV's just streamlines the process to maximize efficiency and organization with an extra hint of consistency, plus a measure of safety for errors and omissions. Here are just a few things to think about... Efficiency: - one click to change a lot of things; floor level, active view defaults, active dimensions, active layer set .... also, reference display. This is a big one for me, ref. disp. has it's own floor, layer set (colour, line weight, displayed items, etc), and stacking order, is saved in a SPV, otherwise one ref disp layer set will have to do all floor levels. - no time wasted sending any plan views to the layout. Each SPV is already saved on the layout and as soon as the layout is linked to the plan file, all plans views are updated instantly. Plus they remain active and current. - save time deleting errors because you forgot to change the active view and now you have the wrong sized text or the wrong note symbol... populating the wrong note schedule. Ever forgot to change the active dimensions or the layer set and now it asks if you want to display that layer because it isn't turned on... just one more pop up window to deal with before you draw the exact same dimension for the second time. Organized: - not all SPV's are for the layout. Overwhelming the customer shouldn't come from them watching the mouse do multiple clicks just to check a measurement or put a note onto the proper schedule, adjust the text size, or scroll down the long list of Layer sets. Professionalism is sometimes viewed by flow, rhythm and being organized. - If you have saved camera views to help save time and keep you organized, SPV's are very similar and just need to be set up and saved. This is my current SPV list, the "A" numbered ones are saved to the layout already and the ones w/o the "A" are for working / customer related reasons. Only the working / customer SPV's share the Active Defaults between floor levels and are arrowed up and down.

You got it, I have a Note Schedule on the CAD sheet that I send to the Layout as needed. The 'dumb' call outs are just CAD blocks.

2) consistent notes: This might help for plan Notes. I use a Note schedule on a CAD sheet saved in my template. I just add the note to the CAD sheet off to the side of the schedule (to be clipped out of the layout picture). I created 10" symbols and added them to my library. I use these library symbols to cover the symbol on the schedule (to keep both the schedule and plan looking consistent) as well as drop them into the plan as required. The schedule of notes will be the same every time this template is used or copied and the library symbols can be dropped into the adjusted / mirrored plan view as required. Save the CAD sheet in your Lay out template and you should be set. I have red hexagon and blue pentagon symbols for other note schedules.

Thanks for the pictures, it really helps to visualize what I can expect to see and how the program divides up the tools.

This is one of the same ideas that I was kicking around as well. Thanks

Save one of the adjusted items from your plan to your library. Then choose the item from your user library to put into your plan and it will retain all the adjusted information. You can even change the name and anything else as required of your new user library item.

I'm planning to upgrade to multiple monitor displays and can't seem to see anything specific to CA as to what actually is visible and how things interact. I've never used multiple monitors ever, so I really have no idea what to expect from Chief. I'm hoping that others already using multiple displays will share how things work and maybe some pictures of their set up / screen images. I am looking at having 3x 27" mac displays to match a mac computer, so everything will be compatible. Please keep your wise cracks to a minimum about Apple vs PC, the idea, regardless of which system is used, is focussed on what needs to happen on the screens when specifically using Chief, and see some good useable monitor configurations - side by side monitors, stacked monitors, one landscape and one portrait, different sized monitors, different combos....maybe should I be looking at something different than 3x 27"?? There is lots on the web for video, photography, coding, gaming, web browsing set ups, but what really is working for Chief users? What is actually dragged to the additional screen? Is the whole program (what's visible on the screen) or is it only part of the Chief program (such as only the layout)? Do the tool bars need to be adjusted? (for example; if I have plan view on the main monitor, 3D and elevations and library on a second monitor, and then the layout on the third monitor.... do I need to jump back to the main monitor to use the associated tools? I have different toolbar configurations for different views and of course they are different between the plan and the layout. If toolbars need to be moved over as well, how is that done and what does that look like? Maybe the associated toolbars just populate on the other screens? Maybe I need to have tool bar consistency? Are there any other things that I should be aware of using multiple displays? Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

I used to sell wood to our local military base for target practice, it had to be clear pine. This was to minimize ricochet on an open air range. If you needed to use wood framing, maybe knotless would be best?? An idea about design: I'm not sure if the lot would accommodate, but you might consider having the range jut out from the main structure to be a shaft into a hill, like a separate 'wing'. Concrete on 5 sides surrounded by earth, just the one end attached to the house for access - still part of the house (basement) but minimize the danger.

Hey @winterdd, perfect timing... my new code books just showed up today... and yup, nothing yet about guns in the Canadian Building Code either that I could find lol... A couple of local-to-you places may offer some insight of the logistics, 1) you probably already checked with a gun store close by that knows of someone that has an in-house range. 2) check with any other businesses that require an explosion room. I remember the city bus barns (of all places) that needed to install an explosion proof room to store the shop explosive items (and yes, from experience, gas cylinders really do act like missiles under the right conditions...). The specs might be different, but the logistics and legal requirements may be similar. Around here, people just slide open the window and shoot at the squirrels and crows from the kitchen... where they can't see you coming .... This is a cool one, keep us posted.

You could try removing the curbs from the road and converting CAD lines into mouldings. I made mouldings and put them into my library. Mouldings allow you to mess around with the height and widths as well as the offsets. It's fairly easy to have a proper looking driveway entrance. With a little more fiddling around, I'm sure the sloped cutaway could be achieved, maybe a 3D solid??

It might just be a Mac thing, I'm not sure what options are on a PC. Maybe someone else could answer this for you???

The 'Archive' folder I have listed is used differently than the CA Archive. I use the CA Archive files as @GeneDavis is showing as more how you described, a computer crash back up that 'Auto saves' every few minutes as per my set up default. My 'Archive' folder holds the plan and layout that is duplicated every time the client wants a change/revision throughout the process of completing the initial construction documents. Some of the benefits that I have seen: 1)I can have the current version in front of the customer making changes, and have the last version (plan, cameras, measurements, etc,) as a second plan opened for a reference. 2) I can tell exactly what revisions we discussed on what day. 3) I get feed back from the time log and the revision notes attached - this helps with gauging meeting lengths vs work vs billing. 4) I always have a solid plan that I can fall back on to have a fresh start with incase I mess something up while sitting with the client making changes. There are others, but these are the main ones. I'm a one man band so it's all purely selfish how I set up my files and I'm sure this system wouldn't work for some. Everyone has their own system, it's just my current way of filing things.

If you are looking to just 'not include' the revision notes in the layout PDF, couldn't you just turn off all of the revision notes for all SPV's using the "Modify All Layer Sets" in one fail swoop? They wouldn't then show up in the layout. As for deleting them all, I don't think that there is a global way to do it.

I just did one in November and did it very similar to how @Alaskan_Son said above. Once I completed one whole plan and layout (with saved camera views), I just saved and closed both, went to the file directory and duplicated a new folder, then renamed it. Open up that plan, adjust as necessary, then open the new layout and relink to the new plan - both are in the same folder and play nicely. Rinse and repeat....

Thanks @MarkMc I've never used that button before, then again I have each CAD type saved with each SPV so I rarely ever change CAD on the same plan view. Good to know though.