HumbleChief

Yeah Lew, I think as a consumer you would hope that the software team would take an approach as you've described above but it is not who Chief is as a software company. The incredibly intelligent (NOT being sarcastic or facetious) software engineers have injected that intelligence in to the user interface and assume that same level of understanding from their user base without a bridge between engineer and user. A non-engineer brain like mine needs to learn those engineering ways in order to maximize the software and it can be quite difficult at times. To make my point (which I have numerous times) I remember an older DBX where I was trying to a create direct overhead view of the plan. I was sitting there with an electrical engineer friend of mine and I went to the DBX and there was a value that needed to be entered to achieve that overhead view and we were just messing around and guessed 180, thinking that made some kind of sense. Nope. How about 90? Nope. How about 360? Nope. Kept messing around and discovered that -90 was the value needed to get an overhead view. Really? -90? Yes -90. Now of course all the software engineers knew this but as a user, I think, we should be insulated from that technical knowledge in the user interface. That DBX has since changed but the same engineering mentality pervades the interface, which should, in my opinion, be designed by a user interface expert not engineers. Again that is not who Chief is as a company and I don't see that changing, from 20 years of using the software, and have learned to use the software as the engineers have designed it as difficult and arcane as that might be at times. Still love the software but it's love/hate at times....

I think Chief's structure DBX just fits in to some people's brains and the logic is apparent. Others like myself find the logic baffling to say the least.

The structure DBX has to form the basis of everything that the program revolves around and is near impossible to change in a meaningful way. I've learned to live with it but not how it is designed to work. I've railed against its design and function for years, created videos showing absolutely inexplicable behavior yet it remains both the bedrock foundation and the Achilles heel of Chief. There's so much crazy in the structure DBX I think it just goes unnoticed over time. If you go to the foundation level of a mono slab there's a check box for "roof over this room" - I rest my case.

A single layer could be used in more than one layer set just ordered differently in each set. Same name different order in the list. Yeah it's a band aid at best and a bad idea at worst...Couldn't remember the modify all layer sets check box. Thanks for the reminder.

Yeah Rod, some kind of robust yet flexible Layer Set and Layer management tool would be nice. The one thing that seems to happen at Chief is that some things take a long time to implement but when they are Chief hits it out of the park. Maybe Layer Management will have a happy ending like Anno Sets and the new ref set feature...

+1

Thanks Ben, know you guys are busy and appreciate the time taken to respond. I have a feeling layers and their use and locations are hard coded in a way that might make any request to manage them a very hard row to hoe but it doesn't hurt to entertain the idea. Is there currently a way to list layers using prefixes (space, character, . letter) that can be unique to a single layer set as the video above asks?

Another idea that could work, or maybe already will but I don't know how. Re-ordering each layer in each layer set PER LAYER SET.

Apologies if this doesn't help....

Explained all that in the video above or am just really bad at communicating. The video above (I think most people don't actually watch them and that's cool) I explain my search through the plan that uses that layer as its default and can find nothing, no reference to it other than it's used. If I can't find it, it means that I am not so smart, which have confirmed many times, or there is no actual technique for finding those defaults and it is indeed as difficult as finding a ship "somewhere in the Pacific ocean." Is there a technique I missed? Is there a method we should know about? Is there a method at all? Would you please create a method when you get a minute.... Thanks

Nice when a plan comes together...I almost never know what I screwed up but somehow struggle to a solution. Glad I could help...

Seems to be holding OK with the steps shown in the vid but no guarantees that it will hold and I've seen MUCH squirrelier behavior from Chief. Also see Micheal_Gia's post above. I checked your plan and it looks OK but sometimes a room def structure will over ride a floor structure, "then you have a real bad day." Good luck,...

Great advice as always but this might be a pretty simple problem - unless I'm missing something...

Thanks Glenn. Kirk specifically referred to the names I had used with the word ANNO "prepended" to the name and that might be related to the ANNO set because of the word ANNO. Clearly ANNO is just a name I chose (bad decision many years ago but works for me) with no special relation to an ANNO set because of the name. Explained in video above. That doesn't negate your point in the least and you are probably correct about the relation of the defaults and ANNO sets but the job still remains 'big' with no where to specifically look to find those layers. Where to start? Been down this road a few times in the last many years and simply give up because there's no way my little brain can figure it out. Learned to live with the many layers, old and new, and always wanted a way to manage them. May not be reasonable considering how Chief creates and currently manages layers but once Ben or Kirk chimes it's hard not to try and keep their attention. EDIT: Glenn I think your last point is the most relevant,"It could be a big job!" My point and question is, how to make it a smaller job that even us boneheads can figure out....

Hey Barry. Couple things. Second floor, floor heights vary between '0' and 1/8"; choose one, it will allow your first floor ceiling heights to be adjusted if needed.. Also your ceilings are gone because there's nothing spec'd for a ceiling in the couple rooms I checked. Just check the default box (ceiling finish) to get your 5/8" drywall back for the ceilings in those rooms. Different floor heights on the third floor as well. Set them all to default (match properties? or one at a time )and work your way DOWN to the basement setting all floor heights the same, if that's what you intend, then you'll at least have chance of getting your floor heights right. The match properties tool has that cool new marquee select tool that you can apply properties to all rooms at once by marquee selecting them - VERY nice.

Barry, I've been fighting that structure dbx for 20 years and can offer absolutely no help. Post the plan and there should be plenty of help and I'd love to see what can be done. Good luck

Just sayin'. This is a GREAT release and there's all kinds of small improvements all over the place. REALLY nice job you guys!

Yeah I think you're right, but what if I wanted to find that CAD detail and delete the usage of that layer? How would one find that 'default' location? And why would it be called a 'default' location if it's used in a CAD detail in some plan somewhere? Curious...

Thanks Kirk. Where is the default setting where the object is most likely used? THAT"S the question, I don't know where to find the layer in which default? Is it in defaults? Where exactly? My default plan? Default layout? The layers are named ANNO and it's just a layer name, has nothing to do with an ANNO set, just a layer name with the word ANNO. Made those layers a hundred years ago when ANNO sets first came out but they are just layer names. Substitute any other name, just a layer name.

Hi Ben, Hope you are well, After 20 years of creating layers there are a lot of layers that cannot be deleted for various reasons I assume. I would like the ability to delete those old and no longer needed layers and understand where they might be found in 'defaults' in order to do so.

Here's another - and use and field any way you choose in the schedule dbx.

Here's one way.

Place the macro in the 'label' field of the fixture, "object specific" not the label field of the schedule...USE OBJECT INFORMATION TO CREATE ANY CUSTOM FIELD YOU WANT BY RE-NAMING ANY FIELD IN THE SCHEDULE DBX, MOVE UP MOVE DOWN ETC. CAPS SORRY

REALLY REALLY need a Layer management tool...