coffcons

1 hour ago, lbuttery said:

I believe David Potter has had success

 

best to contact him to discuss

 

Lew

Thanks Lew,

Dan

It occurs to me that my version of Chief 9.5 MIGHT just work on Windows 10 in compatibility mode.

Has anyone here known anyone who got a version of Chief 9.5 to run on Windows 10?

On 4/5/2021 at 6:47 PM, lbuttery said:

HD PRO can only open and edit one layout page at a time

Lew,

Are you saying that you need to open, number and save a new layout file for every page of layout in HD Pro?

Now, that would just be cruel, no?

Dan

22 hours ago, ricatic said:

.no poly line abilities in HD Pro...

Thanks Rick,

I suspect you meant "polyline solids" in your post? Do you recall having a molding polyline tool in HD Pro? I can't find it.

I see that the soffit tool is available in HD Pro. I know you can apply moldings to that although I always found soffits to be harder to work with.

I appreciate your help.

Dan

1 hour ago, ricatic said:

That is true...one page at a time...I just took the plunge and upgraded to Premiere from HD Pro 2021...huge difference as it should be for the cost...but...the additional tools and increased productivity are IMO worth the cost...YMMV...

Regards

 

Rick

Thanks Rick,

I downloaded HD Pro but wasn't able to access the layout feature because you can't save files with the trial version. I'm still not sure what you mean by "one page at a time". On my Chief 9.5 I can make a template page 0 which duplicates onto all other pages. You're saying this isn't available in HD Pro?

The thing that really jumps out at me so far is the apparent absence of polyline solids. I use them all the time and I'm not sure how I'd design without them.

It also appears difficult (impossible?) to apply moldings to slabs. No molding polyline tool?

Thanks Mark,

I'll check that out.

9 hours ago, lbuttery said:

If you are in business then I recommend getting Premier

using PRO is feasible - but remember layout is ONE page at a time

that alone can be a hassle

Lew

Thanks Lew,

I'm going to try to download the Home Designer Pro to my laptop to see about that layout issue. I sure wouldn't want to make a new layout page for every page (if that's what you meant).

20 hours ago, Dermot said:

This pdf will give you some more info about the differences between Chief Premier and HD Pro:

https://cloud-hd.chiefarchitect.com/1/pdf/product-info/compare-chief-architect-to-home-designer-pro.pdf

 

You might also want to download the trial version for HD Pro and try it out for yourself.  Since you haven't used Chief since version 9.5, you may even want to download the trial version of Premier to compare it with.  Typically you can get a $500 discount when you upgrade from HD Pro to Premier which makes it relatively low risk to buy HD Pro first and then upgrade to Premier later.

 

And finally, as Rich said, you might want to call during our normal business hours on Monday to speak directly with a sales representative.

 

Thank you Dermot,

Actually I've been using my Chief version 9.5 right along and even now still (yes I managed to get my Chief 9.5 to work on Vista), but my Windows Vista is no longer supported by Firefox and other software and I must now upgrade. This means that I'll also have to upgrade my Chief software . You can see I'm not big on change.

I checked out that pdf, it was very helpful although it did raise some questions. While it appears that some functions are an improvement it also appears others might not still be available to me. I'll have to download the trial to my laptop I think to try it first.

7 hours ago, MarkMc said:

 

Thanks Mark,

Yes I checked out the link above, that's why I was asking about what portion of those requirements were related to the Ray Trace function.

I appreciate your help...I'm still looking at computers and I also appreciate the website you recommended, AVBAdirect. They really allow you to fine tune a computer set up.

29 minutes ago, MarkMc said:

 

 

NOTE that If you hope to upgrade the GPU someday keep an eye on the power of the PSU or you could end up needing both.

 

Thank you Mark,

I'm not familiar with PSU though. Are you talking about cables or something more significant?

Am I correct in assuming that the main driver of the system requirement to have expensive video cards etc (basically a gamer's computer) is the Ray Trace function?

Is the requirement for the "Ray Tracing" as opposed to the standard rendering the driving cost for these machines? Would a lesser machine merely take longer to Ray Trace?  If so, I think I would sacrifice the Ray Tracing for a more affordable computer.

I was hoping to pay around $1000.00... not realistic?

I currently have Chief Arch 9.5 running on a slowly outdated Windows Vista system. I'll soon need to buy a new computer running Windows 10 and will then of course need to buy a new version of Chief.

I'm a remodeling contractor and I mostly use the software for designing my various remodeling projects which helps me with my estimates and also with allowing my customers to see a scaled perspective of whatever I'm to do for them. I occasionally need to print out a scaled set of prints for permitting on larger projects but that's fairly rare (11' x 17" and 13" x 19" format).

My question is would Home Designer Pro fit my needs or do I need to pay the extra money and get the Chief Architect Premier?

Yes, you're right. I can only get the textured glass on the exterior of an exterior door. The interior door doesn't take the texture and the interior of the exterior door doesn't either.

Glenn, Thanks.

I was able to get a window to work for this, but the door...nope.

I think you might be right, Graeme. It might only be available from the exterior side of the glass, too.

Coffcons,

 

In 9.5 do you have

3D...3D View Defaults...Options Panel...Vector View Options...Opaque Glass and General Options...Auto Adjust Default Glass Properties?

Glenn, This is what I have in 3D preferences...

Thanks, I guess I'll stick to my method then.

Thanks, I downloaded your pattern and image file (I didn't have those). It looks like your texture files are what my image files are. I have PNG files in my "image" folder in Chief while my "texture" folder holds THM files. Maybe they changed this. You don't have any THM files?

The short answer is that I couldn't get your solution to work. I can get the pattern to work on one side of the glass (as long as it's the outside) in what's called "perspective view" in my version. In what's called 3D view in mine, I get nothing.

Robert,

I tried to assign a texture to the glass, but was unable get it to show in either view. Can you walk me through the process?

Version 9.5, is this a time travel post?

Ha, ha...Yes, I'm sending this from the past.

Robert, Good work on that texture work-around. I'll see if that's possible with my "old" version. I thought that textures only applied to 3D models (renderings).

What I was attempting to do was to get something to work for both 2D and 3D views. My version (9.5) doesn't allow me to change the lite materials so this won't work, Arthur. As to the responses with the texture solutions, these will only work for 3D perspectives.

I have looked from time to time for methods of getting obscured glass. There might be better options for this, but I found a method for making an obscured glass with a multitude of polyline solids. They are 1/2" wide by 1" deep and have a 1/4" space between each one. The result is something that works marginally well in both 2D and 3D perspectives.

Thanks guys,

It definitely was a roof issue. I rebuilt the lower roof planes and the mystery lines disappeared finally.

Glenn, That's it!! Thanks. In my version, it just says "Bearing", but it works now without all the math.

You saved me much work!

David, unless I'm missing something the input line angles in Chief are the opposite (counterclockwise) to the Surveyor's method of mapping plots. Degree/Minute/Second input numbers increase clockwise while Chief inputs appear to increase counterclockwise.

In other words, if a surveyor line is designated as S72° 04' 40"E, in order to enter this line angle properly, one must do some fancy math in order to get that same angle with Chief, right? You will need to designmate Chief's line angle at something like 342°, I think. Do you have a method for this?