HumbleChief

I would love to see what kind of solution you come up with

Good stuff Mick

Another design

Mine is very similar to this one. It's more modern and is of course designed to fit upon my remodeled (using Chief of course) Star Ship Cruiser, which I hope to post in the "Show Your Goodies' thread when it returns from Alpha Centuri later this year.

Here's one I found. http://www.screencast.com/users/lhawes82/folders/Chief%20Content/media/f46641c1-c94b-4faf-b838-d6f7f8499111 Transferred it to You Tube

I've abandoned elevation lines and use only elevation regions. If your terrain has to be spot on and match an exact topo map then lines will probably be necessary, and evil, as you have found out. If you need to merely represent the terrain elevation regions are much more kind and easy to work with. They can also be quite accurate if you mess with them enough. If you need both elevations lines and regions then David's advice, I think, is good. Not easy, but good advice none the less.

I'm currently using a Holodeck which has the added benefit of being able to transport my clients not only to the new home I've designed but also to any place in time they'd like to visit that home. Mixed reviews so far. ok guys, you had to off been a hippy from the 60's trekky to get that one

I've learned that You tube wants to see 2 specific screen sizes when it samples and uploads. 1920 x 1080 and 1280 x 720. If you capture your screen at sizes other than those specific sizes YouTube will somehow downsize your video and the resolution can get downgrade as well. That's why some of the videos have good resolution, others not so much. Snagit has the ability to set up 'Profiles' where you can specify the screen capture size and other particulars like cursor and sound. I set up 2 profiles, one at 1920 x 1080 and the other 1280 x 720 so each video capture will correspond to what YouTube want to see. So far so good. HTH

Yes, I started with Jing and upgraded to Snagit. Then someone else mentioned uploading directly to YouTube instead of using the TechSmith on line storage and it seemed an easier solution than linking through the TechSmith site. I had to upgrade to the newest Microsoft Frame.net to get it to work and it is indeed really easy to just upload to YouTube. It makes access a little more controllable and different privacy settings can be set for public views and/or client views. Perhaps not ideal for everyone and it will always be YouTube but so far so good. All my current clients, both homeowners and builders, have LOVED the videos. It is such a valuable tool. I used to send floor plans and RayTraced images but those 4 or 5 images can't convey anywhere near the information that a well narrated video can - and it's fun to explain your design ideas to your clients and they really get it. Another great use is sending vids to the structural engineer explaining basic construction intent of a new project and it saves countless e-mails and phone conversations. Not entirely satisfied with my current set-up. I've got a decent Logitech usb mic but static in the audio is the current problem I can't seem to solve. I'm tempted to upgrade everything (dedicated sound card, new mic) to get better audio/videos for client presentations as, again, I'm finding it a very valuable sales and information tool. EDIT: I downloaded audio drivers for my Mother Board and the static was gone in the last vid I just did for an engineer so hopefully I'm good to go. If anyone has any specific question please don't hesitate to ask. Another note - The videos started chewing up some serious storage when saving to the hard disk. With uploading to You Tube (and this may be true of the ScreenCast/TechSmith site as well) you don't have to save your video to your hard drive, saving valuable space.

Turning snaps on seems to have done it. I had previously turned snaps off to solve the dim snapping to a really weird location. Thanks everyone for your help.

This might not work for everyone and some people may be able to remember the many techniques presented throughout the fourm but I can't seem to remember all the techniques and end up going back to google or the forums for the answer - again. So to help remember 'how to' do various techniques in Chief I've set up a YouTube Channel that I am going to populate with techniques that I may forget in the coming months/weeks. Sound complicated but all you need is a usb mic, $50 video software and a google account and you're there. I'm testing it out now to see how useful it might be in the future.

You'll see in the vid I've done just that but no change.

Was wondering if there's a technique I'm missing here. Thanks in advance.

Never had to try 5 times - that blows.

If I simply hit the OK button the file will open on the second or third try. Maybe it's a Carbonite synching thing like you suggest Jared?

HATE computer problems. Hope you get it worked out and please let us know what the problem was/is.

I usually just hit OK and try to open the Layout again and it works, but get this occasionally from out of nowhere..

It's up there now Greg but I'm thinking of doing it over as the video I posted is not as straightforward as Joey's.

No locate?

I don't understand the first part of your question Greg. With a pier in the crawl space, where is the slab? The footing for the outer perimeter foundation would usually be at or under the basement or crawl space floor but the posts resting on the pier footings need to be clear of the dirt by the 8" (varies by jurisdiction) suggested by Joey.

I agree Perry, like a radio button you can choose if the foundation is a 'room' like a full basement or a 'crawl space' (or whatever term describes it best) then when you click the crawl space button you get different choices that include grade height, pier footing height, height of stem wall etc. Having the foundation crawl space be a 'room', with a ceiling etc. in all situations is so so confusing.

Joey, I'm going to do a video using your technique and post it to my YouTube channel on the public page, that way I'll have something to refer to. Thanks for the technique Joey.

Yes joey - Very Nice! If I can only remember this when it's time to create the next crawl space.

Nice

Here's a way that might get you a grade line that moves with the structure dbx.