DBCooper

What does it say in the status bar when you select the box? Does it say "layout box" or does it say something else? If it doesn't say "layout box" then most of those tools will not be available. For example, if you sent a view to the layout as an image or if you placed a cad block directly on the layout.

Could be a few things... Maybe the symbol is messed up? Try taking a cross section view to see if it is embedded in or behind the door. Maybe it's not really a door? If it's a "door panel" or "end panel" it won't have hardware. For other things you might need to post the plan.

The edit area tool can sometimes help with this kind of thing. You can shrink or stretch various parts of a house by creating an edit area polyline and then moving it around.

Glad you found it. In your pictures above, it's easy to see that your dimension line is going to the main layer of the wall instead of going to the surface. The room interior dimensions would always go to the surface so that is what the difference is. Changing what your temporary dimensions are locating is one way of solving this problem. You can also change the locate settings for your interior dimensions in your dimension defaults if you always want to have them going to the wall surfaces. You can also just draw a manual dimension and then move the end from the main layer to the surface.

Works for me. What are you trying to draw? Only some things actually use the current cad layer. For example, text does not. It uses the layer that is set in your text defaults. So do all of the other things that you can see in your "selected defaults".

Try using the rebuild floors/ceilings tool (F12). If that doesn't work, then try posting the plan.

Technically, if he pays the $200, he is not using a "trial version". He is just subscribing the same way any other new user would with no commitments beyond that first month. The biggest problem is probably going to be the learning curve. If he is used to sketch up, he will probably go crazy trying to figure out how to do what he wants in Chief. You may get a few "how do I..." types of calls. Of course there's always the risk that he actually really likes Chief, decides to keep subscribing, and then stops hiring you to do his plans.

If the main problem you are trying to solve is placing your wall cabinets, can't you just place them lower in an elevation view and then just drag them up?

Changing the rendering technique is completely optional. You can use whatever technique you want. The key is creating an "orthographic" view and then using the "top view" tool. Also, it is usually better to put pictures directly in your post instead of putting them in a pdf that needs to be downloaded and then opened.

You can edit items in your user library by right-clicking on them and using the "open object" button. But this won't help change the orientation of an architectural block. You will probably need to place it into a plan, explode it, rotate it, re-block it, and then save it back to the library.

I just realized that in X16 you can now connect electrical objects to fixtures. I think in your case even if you are using X16, you probably still want to re-import your object as an electrical object so that you can add lighting information to it.

When you imported the symbol, you made it a "fixture" (I can tell because it says "fixture" in your dialog). You need to re-import it and make it an "electrical" object instead.

Can't say for sure but from your description, and based on the fact that you are a long time Chief user, my guess is that you are actually using "saved plan views" but never really figured out how they work. If your layout box is linked to a saved plan view, it will change when you change the layer set for that saved plan view. Back before there were saved plan views, the layout was just linked to the layer set. So you can either stop using saved plan views and work like you used to back in the old days or learn how to use saved plan views. Personally, I recommend learning how to use saved plan views. Here is a video: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/videos/watch/2421/saved-plan-views.html Here is a tech article: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-03185/understanding-saved-plan-views.html

If you are still using X13. I think the electrical connections will always go onto the system layer and you can't change that before drawing. You can either draw them on the system layer and then change them after the fact or you could maybe just draw a spline instead (which will go on the default cad layer). In X16, you can now change the defaults for the electrical connections to put them on a different layer if you want.

I think if you just open the dialog for that railing and click ok that it is disconnecting the railing where the stair is from the corner of the house. Not really sure why it is doing that though but I am guessing it has to do with the 4-way wall corner. It's pretty easy to fix by just manually connecting it back up. You will probably also need to rebuild the deck framing though.

You might get closer to what you want by switching the material list to a "buy list". There are also a bunch of training videos on material lists that may help: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/videos/watch/1327/specifying-how-framing-reports-to-your-materials-lists.html

What is a "3D view file"? Depending on the answer, then it might be possible. If your architect sent you a Chief ".plan" file, then yes, you should be able to open it in Chief and play around with it. Keep in mind that if you are just using the trial version, you won't be able to save any of the changes you make. You could also rent premier for a month or two and then you would be able to save your changes. You could also buy HD pro and then you should always be able to open the file as long as you like. If your architect sent you some kind of other 3D file format, then it might be something you could import into Chief. For example, if it is a 3D dwg, obj, 3ds, or skp file, then you could import it as a symbol. This would probably let you change the materials on things but not much more. You could also do things like put furniture in but it gets to be a bit tricky when you are trying to move furniture inside of a symbol because it won't snap or bump to other surfaces.

Is this a problem with one particular plan or with all plans? If it's just one plan, it could be something strange going on in the plan and you could always post it to see if someone else can see the problem. If it's all plans, then I don't have any ideas other than calling tech support.

I don't think there is any way to place a pet door into a normal or symbol door and have it work so that it cuts a hole. You can build a new door panel symbol with a pet door built in. Here is a tech article about building your own door symbols: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-01808/creating-a-custom-door.html

It's really not that hard, just ask any parent. Getting rid of them is the problem.

I think that the "number style" button button only controls how things display in dialog boxes. Also, it's only temporary and when you close and reopen the program, it will go back to the default. If you are trying to change how angles display in either a plan view or a cad detail, you can change the settings in the "general cad defaults". Also, the defaults are separate for plan views and cad details so changing it in one view probably won't affect the others.

2670 means 2'6" x 7'0". If you want the size in inches, you could just add the width and height columns.

Try unchecking "opaque window glass".

If you look in the library under mechanical, ventilation, there is a folder called "roof vents" where you should find some that might work for you.

I think you are trying to do it the hard way. You have one stair section on the foundation floor and then your landing and other stair section on the first floor. I don't think these are going to work automatically the way you want. Try just drawing your stairs and landing on the foundation. Then just create one open below room on the first floor above them. This should just work without all of the fuss. This tech article that I posted in your other thread goes through the process: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-00587/creating-a-split-level-entry-or-foyer-with-a-landing.html