HumbleChief

When will X8 be available for sale/download?

It's sounds like you're 'hoping' Chief will behave like a different software program, perhaps one that automatically scales text as you change scales sent to Layout. Unfortunately Chief doesn't work that way. It's designed to have unique Anno Sets for unique sets of text and er.. annotations. The text won't change size to match various scales, it has to be set up in the Anno Set...but not really sure what you are hoping for. I suppose you could look for one of Wendy's posts and send her a PM but I don't have any special contact information that I could or would share. Best of luck.

You are over thinking this my friend, and probably have otherCAD thinking getting in the way as well. If you know how to create a new Anno Set, then do so and set the text to 2", call it what ever you like, perhaps 1/2" Anno; create another new Anno Set and set the text 4", call it 1/4" Anno, and yet another Anno Set to 8" text, call it 1/8" Anno. Send each view to Layout at 1/2", 1/4" and 1/8" scale respectively. All the text will be the same size. If you don't know how to create a new Anno Set then watch all the videos again. Don't worry it's a new way of thinking and will just click one day and seem very easy.

Linder, check your Anno Sets and the default text size in each. If you send a Plan to Layout at 1/4" scale with The Anno Set text default (or any text) set to 4", you will get approx. 1/4" high text. (The actual height depends a bit on your font but as an example) If you send another Plan to Layout at 1/8" but with 8" text instead you'll get basically the same sized text in each Layout window. Half the scale size with twice the text size should equal the same text size in Layout. Try Wendy's steps again. You just missed something simple me thinks. Here's a quick vid that may help

Nice work Ray and Scott! Very helpful.

No problem you guys. I use Snagit and have a YouTube channel through my G-Mail account. I make videos for all my client presentations so it's become very routine. Yes Terry I use hot keys as do many users. I use the mouse in my right hand and my left hand works a couple very simple single key hot keys that I use continually. I've set up 'A' as the open dbx hot key and my left hand basically sits right on top of that area as I work. The other hot key I use all the time is 'Q' that I set up for copy and paste in place and use it ALL the time as well. 'W' is set up for panning in a render view and that's it for me. Others have many many 2 and 3 key hot keys set up, some you even have to reach across the entire keyboard to active but I'm not talented enough to use or remember such things. One more thing that's very important deesee is that your question revolves around Annotations and Chief has Annotation Sets that takes the concepts of Layers even deeper and is very powerful and something you really must understand if you want to use Chief's capabilities. Here's a couple of videos from Wendy, a true Chief expert, and should help with understanding Anno Sets. And a couple videos I created with a different approach.

deesee, The questions you ask go to heart of how Chief is set up to operate and is a bit complex when first starting out but can be very powerful once you understand how Chief works. First, each Layer Set can have anything showing you choose. In your simple example of "a floor plan all nice and pretty with notes, dimensions, etc." make sure your Layer Set is named and relevant to that 'floor plan' view. Let's call that Layer Set 'floor plan'. Within your 'floor plan' Layer Set there are layers that you choose to 'display' or not and that defines everything visible in that Layer Set. Now you switch to your 'Plot Plan' Layer Set and you then again choose what you want to have visible. Let's say you "change the layer set to a plot plan view, and now I've got all these extraneous notes that I don't want to show in the plot plan." First thing to remember is those notes need to be on a layer you can turn off in your Plot Plan Layer Set. If they are a generic layer that turns off too much stuff when set to not display, just create a new layer called 'Plan Notes' and place all your notes on that Layer and turn it off in your Plot Plan Layer Set. Sounds a lot more confusing than it is in practice but it is a new paradigm that needs to be learned to get the power of Chief to be really useful. ...and to your specific question I, and many users here will annotate in plan view and send that view to Layout instead of annotating in Layout though a combination of both methods might be necessary depending on what you're looking to do.. Quick video that might help.

Meant to say I spec

Respect and install these all the time with no problems

There's a checkbox in the roof dialogue for either plum or square rafter tails

I have an architect friend who thinks there's a certain elegance to the imperial system based on ancient concepts that still hold true for structures like the pyramids. I, personally, could change to metric easily but can adapt to any system.

+10.00

FYI - Tech says the marquee select modes do not work with Edit Area.

I think this is a bug. Edit Area should NOT move CAD lines. I saw it happen as well, but only sometimes in certain cases - not right.

Hey Glenn, It's behaving (badly) as if intersected objects is selected but if you look at the tool bar you can see the middle icon 'contained objects' is selected.

Various ways to move houses and pl's/setbacks. Edit Area had a couple surprises that I wasn't aware of.

NICE Perry, always learn from your videos.

See if this helps Keith, I went really quick and if you don't understand Anno and Layer Sets this may not help much but let me know if you don't get Anno/Layer Sets and I'll walk a little slower through another real simple example. The Anno/Layer Set technique is way more flexible than plan foot prints IMO. Don't forget you can lock layers as well in any layer set to keep things where you want them.

You can use Anno Sets and Layer Sets to show just your site plan and current floor plan with as many layers and details as you need. Then when you enlarge the garage in the floor plan Anno/Layer Set just switch to the site plan Anno/Layer Set to see the effect. Sounds way more complex than it is in practice.

Keith, You can create a CAD outline (won't be live) any time from any floor plan and paste into any site plan and move around to locate home(s) on the site plan.

The only real upside I can find with the plan footprint is that 2 different dimension formats can be used. Decimal feet in the plan footprint CAD detail for complex site plans that need survey information, and fractional inches in the floor plan. When using floor plans Layer Sets Ref Sets etc. there is only one dimension format available. Both methods have a 'live' footprint but Anno/Layer Sets seems much more flexible but can't access 2 dimension formats if needed.

This seems to be the main upside to using Layer Sets/Anno Sets for your site plan. Using the plan foot print allows for the first floor roof planes to show by turning that Layer on but not the second floor roofs via ref sets.

Dying to know what the 'other' method is - care to share?

Brilliant. Love this idea.

My problem was with Chrome so there ya go