HumbleChief

Here's a previous set of PDF's from the same T24 guy and they display fine so he/we must have changed something in the way they were created to get them to mis-behave.

Thank you and sorry, got busy and had to leave the office. The issue got resolved in a way that does't address the issue. It turns out I don't need Calcerts on this T24 page so the logo/watermark doesn't appear on the final copy. Doesn't resolve the issue in the OP and I'll make sure support gets a copy of the original PDF for testing.

I thought I was able to solve this at one time but it's reared it's head again. The CalCerts watermark is superimposing itself over the information in the T24 report. Any suggestions?

Nice trick Michael. I had to be in an elevation view correct?

Not sure why that's wrong but it sure is wrong.

Here's a door that it seems to work OK with.

You must have a room defined incorrectly. Are you using Auto Roofs? Can you post the plan?

Great set of videos Wendy! Really appreciate you taking the time. I learned a bunch and love to see how another person uses Chief. THANK YOU Great tip on the Section updates.

Do any of the sample plans fit the bill? Close enough to teach from?

If forced to create a separate plan for each building then symbols work great. For the example above, and if there's no real need for a separate plan file, a symbol would be counter productive.

Left hand line is a gutter (Dan). To turn off go to roof planes>options>gutter. The other line doesn't show up in the plan you posted.

Your welcome glad it helped - Don't forget Perry was also on the right track.

See if this helps. Posting while Perry posted - What Perry said but the vid might help as the term in Chief is, I think, 'stem wall top'.

I started around 2000 with Chief V7 or 8. Never used another program but dabble in Sktetchup and will use DraftSight to read and import files but have no ACAD knowledge. I have no clue how much of the program I know and don't know. The massive amount I do know is always overshadowed by the small things I should, but don't know.

Found it - It's a wall finish, delete the exterior wall layer in the wall definition and it disappears. Can I now please call this the best answer? He!! yeah.

...and how do I get rid of it?

Agreed Joe, there's some nice features no doubt. Loved the level feature (who would have thought I'd like that feature huh?) OOB for a small residential designer? A bit of a no brainer for me, Chief beats it for way less money. More complex commercial or very large scale residential, perhaps not a no brainer but Revit must be better, I'll assume for now.

I think you've asked one of the really relevant questions regarding Chief's business model and what their designs and intentions are for their future. I am a small time residential remodel designer. Chief fits my needs very well and I suspect it serves others well with a similar business model. Is Chief content to stay focused within that narrow market? Is that a good (read profitable) niche to remain in? Or should they expand their focus into some very, very competitive markets? Remember they also have home versions as well which some have suggested might diminish their brand among Architects who consider themselves perhaps too professional to use such homeowner type products. But they are running a business and we can't guess at how profitable that segment is, nor how profitable the migration from Home Design Pro to Premier might be. Do they want to expand their current market share? Perhaps an easy yes, but with that comes added expense, added expertise, added marketing and going up against some really big players in the field. Risky, and must be calculated very carefully. And what are those features it should add to enter that new market? You know what you would like, but the risk just grows with each good business question. My business is similar with similar decisions. I did a couple of commercial jobs and the new learning curve was awful and not profitable. With my new limited knowledge should I now expand into the commercial market or stay focused on small residential where my core competency lies? I've decided to stay focused on small residential and will turn down commercial jobs. I think Chief has (apparently) made a similar decision to remain in the small residential market and no one here can know how well that is working for them. If that's true then adding features to enhance that market presence makes a lot of sense. But what features? And how fast? And at what cost? And when will competition suddenly decide small residential is a market they want to exploit? And where will Chief be when/if that happens? Not an easy call but I think adding features for unconventional homes and/or modeling capabilities does nothing to harm their market position, might expand it and will still allow them to remain focused on becoming/staying the best small residential design software out there.

Maybe you guys could have a 'house off' and see which has which strength/weaknesses? Does he do residential design? I'd be curious but really have no intention of learning another program, nor do I have the time or mental dexterity in these later years. Have you seen that video? It is an hour long and very enlightening and to be honest I was underwhelmed to say the least. Now if I was doing commercial projects or Gehryesque type projects Chief would not even be a thought, but for my business, it's very good, sometimes not great, but very good.

Richard, I couldn't agree more regarding the complexity of the mentioned programs. I think there's a certain power within that complexity but the learning curve is very steep, as it is in all design software. I do not need to design atrocities such as Frank Gehry has perpetrated, I just need good solid software to design residential remodels and custom homes. I think Chief has lots of room for improvement to be sure but the complexity of some of the design software leaves me cold with way too many tools I would never use and the dialog boxes within boxes within boxes etc. would make me crazy - until I became expert of course. The one thing that changed my mind and made me stop looking for any other software was this video below from a Revit expert. It took him an hour to create the house he demonstrated with no real cabinet selection (you have to actually purchase families of cabinets, door etc.) and really just so so presentation tools. Some nice tools for sure but overall, without that expertise, it would/could take me days just to learn the interface. Speaking of competitions, I wonder how long it would take an expert Chief user to repeat what is shown in the video below? Layout's already set up with sections and floor plan views sent from a previous plan, just like you would start a new project. Any estimates? Any takers?

Tried to suggest that earlier, but yes nice job Shane.

Are you sure?

Zip it.

Rob, Check the pic posted above all the baseboards are there. You're missing something simple.

Rob check room def and no locate for your walls?