Kbird1

if you used multiple copy like in the Tutorial you could accidently carry that setting over to the new areas too http://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-00082/160/Chief-Architect/Stairs/Creating-Stairs-with-Glass-or-Cable-Railings.html

Yes if it's not a staircase make sure you uncheck it , it will jump backup once both rails are unchecked.........you haven't made a panel with that set as the default or something have you? I don't see a falling issue with the interior stairs though they aren't connected to the upper landing ,perhaps you dragged it back playing since the plan doesn't look like the original image posted. M.

if they are manually railings and you draw them too close to the edge of the deck/landing/staircase they will "fall" to the next floor ,also on staircases you may need to use the "follow stairs" setting in the DBX ( your little toggle? ) M.

David: I believe that is why Dave had us use the Sample Riverview Plan and the already set Camera12 view to do the RayTrace from. Jon: thx , that make sense ... the resolution having a big impact , I haven't play with RT much so hoping to pick up a few tips from this thread and the other current on on Raytracing Settings. Edit: I tried your setting Jon but for 10.5 " (A4/Letter sheet) and left the lights as before (only 81,82 and Sun) and it is only using 1/2GB more Ram at 5.5GB but I may need to come back tomorrow with a time wow....13 mins and only 6% on pass1 so 15 lights might not get done ,i';d have to run it overnight..... so I am guess the no# of lights makes a big difference in the RAM used from these results. *** Edit 2 2 1/2 hours Jon for the 1st pass ! with 2 lights and the sun , for some reason the CPU dropped to 24% usage for the 2nd pass so I stopped it but am not sure everything was alright as I briefly saw Chief.exe show "not responding" in task manager monitor window just after the ray trace started. Mick

well that certainly made it quicker thx.... so just 81 and 82 and the sun on? just curious as my comp. isn't that new but has 4 cores so doing okay I guess ,all 4 were maxed (i7-950 @3.4) barely used 5GB of Ram though and I have seen Jon mention that 16GB isn't enough so he has 32GB , perhaps it is highly scene specific though?

jon's advice to turn off the lights made a huge difference ( assuming I set it up right ) , it went from 11.25 to 00.26 with only lights 81 and 82 on, is 81 and 82 only correct? or should Sun still be on? didn't make much difference either way since it was 00.27 with sun......but is pretty dark . whats the trick to quickly turn off/on the lights or do you need to just go thru all 168? M.

Nice Video Glenn , thanks I have seen the Library Browser "pulsing" too , usually happens when the Preview window is resized and I think too small to fit the current model ,it is fairly easy to reproduce, and usually a quick resize fixes it , it you close the window as it jitters it is usually there when you reopen the LB though.

I too think the Schedules and Materials List need a major Overhaul , a good Quantity Surveyor could help greatly there. M.

I don't think there is a time limit on the Trial version , the only limitations are Trial Version LimitationsNO Printing, Saving, Export, Virtual Tours there is a 30 day try before you buy limitation on the full version though if you want too return it and get your money back....

I would send that error to Tech Support direct , it is mostly end users here ,hopefully it isn't an overclocking issue as Raytracing is heavy on CPU usage not GPU as far as I know there is no time limit for the X6 Trial you seem to refer too above so hang in there

I think the raytrace engine has changed since X1 ,others will know for sure

it happens sometimes when you goto use it when you have dragged it to another monitor previously for me it opens frequently with the top titlebar off the screen and I have to resize the window to get it to appear "fully" on one screen M.

since you asked so nicely here is Photoshop for Free ( and legal too ) http://www.techspot.com/downloads/3689-adobe-photoshop-cs2.html

nope hometalk site has a blue theme here : https://hometalk.chiefarchitect.com/ ( use same id and password)

you can use the same user ID and password over at HomeTalk to post here https://hometalk.chiefarchitect.com/

Hi PD99 , the standard Windows (free) Sketchup lets you EXPORT 3D collada (.dae) files ( using save as only gives options of .skp versions other than current) . I am not sure if .dae files have a version number like .skp's do not sure what the options are if using Mac Sketchup if its not the same though.

if on an imperial plan Chief will automatically change the .25 to a 1/4 or .125 to 1/8 etc it's faster to type .5 than 1/2 or .6 for 5/8 is all

upgrade do you have custom ceiling planes? use a soffit or shape ? to hide the vee shape

what can I say ? your industry Lobbyist's have huge power ... ,most residential construction in CDN is still Imperial too cos of them govt contracst are metric cos that's "official" like the Road signs..

is it snapping to the grid (in plan view), what is your setting for that? cant you move the wall holding the Ctrl key to disable snaps ?

you haven't built the framing? don't have some display options enabled ? as Scott said a number of causes , so without a plan or some pics nothing but guesses...

actually England is metric but like Canada many still use the "Imperial" measurements , neither Country has successfully switched 100% unlikely Aust. and NZ. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metrication_in_the_United_Kingdom

the latest update is 16.4.1.20 I think (not 16.1.1.20) here:http://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/updates/updateprogram.html?program_name=Chief%20Architect%20X6%20Premier%20Windows%2064-bit&update_name=Chief_Architect_Premier-16.4.1.20-Win64.msi&update_version=16.4.1.20

Hi hope you don't mind Curt I took the liberty of making a Word Doc/PDF out of your info for myself but I figured others might be able to use it too , (cheat sheet and images) so here it is Curt's Energy Heel Info.pdf This KB Tutorial came out in Nov. too Sherry http://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-00032/275/Chief-Architect/Framing/Trusses/Creating-an-Energy-Heel-Truss.html Mick

try this in the 3d view select the brown ceiling , you should get edit handles around the ^ shape ,pull the RH side handle down and over to the LH side to made the ceiling the shape it should be , on releasing the mouse you'll get a question about altering a roof plane , answer yes that should fix it , however if you rebuild roofs you will need to do it again as manual roof planes will be deleted ....perhaps...not sure if you have the option to retain manual roof planes or not? this works in newer versions , so hopefully this helps.... PS the forum pics work better if in jpg format and the download is way smaller.