HNRSoftware

@DavidJPotter  was a great help.  For a few hours of consulting (one of which I wasted by not providing good raw information), he was able to give me precisely what I was looking for - a plan that is a great starting point for my learning process.  Although the ChiefArchitect training videos are great, It helps a great deal to test and exercise them with my personal house design.  I am no computer newbie, but HD is an extremely powerful tool, and it is correspondingly complex.  Just from the plan David provided, I can see dozens or hundreds of places where I might have wandered down unproductive alleys.  I am FAR from familiar with the tools now, but I am making progress.  Thanks David.

@Garybills- thanks - I am starting to talk to David, but it is always good to have backups.  Howard

thank you - I do spend a lot of time on eBay, and they are paranoid about personal contact.  I just need to get used to different environments.  H

@solver - I actually have no idea about the protocol of this forum.  I guess I assumed that David would be contacting me, or saying something specific to tell me what my next step would be.  He provides and email and phone and stuff, but does this imply that the next step is mine?  Thank you for your help (and patience)  Howard

Yes, walls are (ought to be) easy.  Yes, I have searched for help, yes, I have watched YouTubes on the subject.  No, it isn't obvious or easy.  For one thing - if the Architect level has the point-to-point imported image resize, I sure can't find it.  Maybe it is a 2 year old version versus the newest one.  Maybe it is Architect versus Pro.  All I am asking here is - is there a HD person with time on his hands that can turn at least parts of the floor plans into a HD project for $100-$200.  If the answer is no, then fine.  If the answer is yes, then let's talk deal.

It is vastly easier to modify a project in any language/environment than it is to start cold with an empty project.  I had to figure out how to measure a line to determine that the grid is 1 foot by 1 foot.  I had to explore the view settings to discover that I had to turn on the scroll bars.  I still haven't figured out how to easily switch back to the selection tool - ought to be something like an escape key or some function key, rather than having to move the mouse up to the tool bar all the time.   Familiarity and experience can mask the obstacles facing a new user.

Thanks David - v22.3.0.55 - June 20, 2020 --- apparently, my system doesn't have the right graphics card to run the latest version.  Main floor ceilings are 10 foot, upstairs 8 foot.

I mainly just care to get the footprint right and have main and upper floors defined as layers.  I am expecting to learn HD to add in all the detail, but getting started is rough.  Thanks - Howard

Hi - I am not adapting quickly to HD design interface and would like to spend a hundred or two dollars to get the basic structure (at least exterior walls and a few interior walls) into HD before starting design work - mainly on landscape.  As far as I can tell, RoomSketcher doesn't give me much exporting capability.  Attached is a main and upper floor jpg files from their system..

I am most interested in getting the project started correctly.  After viewing videos on how to trace an existing floorplan, (I think) I have discovered that the "Architect" level doesn't have the proper image resizing button.  I'm tired of fighting the startup process.  If a couple of hundred dollars can get me going, it would be worth it.

RoomSketcher has a built-in contracting option to do essentially this job for less than $100, and it came out fine to get started there.  I have no idea if this is the right direction to get started here.

Thanks for looking.

Howard Richoux