DBCooper

The callout size is tied to the size of the camera name.

Just to follow-up with what Glenn is saying, if you need to modify a component window in a bay/bow, you just need to use the tab key to select it. You can then open the dialog to customize it. If you need more control then the auto bay/bow gives you, you can also explode it just like you can explode an auto dormer.

It's not the size of the model. It's all of the details. You can design a 50,000 sq ft McMansion that's basically an empty box and Chief will do just fine. You can also design a 400 sq ft tiny home and bring the program to its knees. If you are seeing the biggest problems in 3D views, then the biggest cause is usually surface count. The more surfaces, the slower it gets. Using lots of fixtures/furniture, especially ones you import from 3D warehouse, are often the leading cause. Turning things off can often speed things up but not putting them in to begin with (or until later) can make you a lot more productive. Chief also has a support article that has some good advice about dealing with slow plans here: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-00521/troubleshooting-slowness-in-chief-architect-plans.html

Like Eric said, hold the control key down when selecting one of the stair sections. You could make them "chief winders" (like Joe suggested), but I think winders are a big pain. You have to create a curved stair section instead of landings and they sometimes do really strange things. You could also just set the landing thickness to whatever you want which is probably way easier. Also, if you turn on the "winders" checkbox in the stair dialog, I think you will have problems pulling the stair away from the wall to get your 2" gap. Turning it off should allow you to have the gap. You will have to manually create the support for the landing treads though.

I thought Robert's list of things you can do to speed things up was really good, but it looks like he left out something important. According to Chief's support article about trouble shooting slow plans: Work on Files Locally By far, the most common reason for slowness is working in an unsupported fashion, such as over a network server location, external hard drive, or USB flash drive. Here is the link to the full article if anyone is interested: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-00521/troubleshooting-slowness-in-chief-architect-plans.html

I don't think I can help you with the molding polylines but if you want those soffit lights to look better you can open up the symbol dialog and turn off the option for "flush mounted".

If you are trying to create a new layer set, you can do this in either the "layer display options" dialog (by copying an existing layer set) or in the "layer set management" dialog (that has both new and copy). If you want something else, you need to be more specific.

Try this: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-00907/specifying-the-on-center-oc-spacing-for-wall-framing.html

You could try making the removed walls "no room def" or just delete them entirely?

You're doing it the hard way. When in the layout, just select the layout box and use the "update view" edit button. I don't know why this was changed but I suspect that it was because someone complained that they didn't like the question. You should complain to Chief if you want the question back. I have learned to live with it and just need to remember to make sure my views are updated before I print.

I think you need to create your own counter top hole that matches the shape of the sink. The program will create a rectangle one by default and you probably don't want that. See if this help article helps: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-01203/creating-a-custom-sink-hole.html

Someone else was asking about this a while back and @HumbleChief seemed to have it figured out:

If I had that problem, I would probably call tech support. Maybe this tech article will help: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-00085/troubleshooting-printing-issues.html

So it looks like your automatic dimensions are generating too many automatic dimensions. My best guess is that you have generated both automatic exterior and interior dimensions or have setup your automatic dimensions with too many things turned on. It would be much easier to diagnose with a plan file. If just hiding them and turning your temp dimensions back on allows you to continue working, then that's fine but if you want to turn them back on later you might still have a hot mess. You can always delete them and regenerate them and if you still get too many you can then work on figuring out why. You may also have been bit by this same problem: https://chieftalk.chiefarchitect.com/topic/36763-auto-dimension-prevent-multiple-copies/ Also, in your first picture above, it looks like you have angle snaps turned off. I highly recommend that you keep angle snaps turned on. If you need a specific wall at an unusual angle, you can always set it's angle to whatever you want. If you need to design a portion of a building at an odd angle, you can add the angles to your "allowed angles" in your general plan defaults.

File>New Plan? Assuming that you haven't changed the default template, this will start a new plan with all of the out-of-box defaults. Without knowing what you changed, it's a bit hard to tell you how to get back to the defaults. You can import most of the defaults but this won't necessarily reset all of the things in your plan that you have already drawn. Also, an uninstall/reinstall will not change any of your plans. This would only solve problems where the installed files have been accidently removed or corrupted somehow. As for your dimension problem, DJP is showing you how to turn of the layer so that they don't display. They are still there though, just hidden. If you want to get rid of them entirely, you could click on one of the dimension tools, and then draw a "marquee" around all of the ones in your plan, and then hit delete. If you have automatic refresh for dimensions turned on, you will get a prompt asking if you want to turn it off. If you turn off auto refresh and delete them, they won't come back until you either draw them manually or use one of the auto dimension tools. It would actually be more helpful if you posted your plan or at least a picture showing what you are seeing though. A "matrix" of dimensions may indicate that you have some other problem going on. Just hiding or deleting your dimensions may not really help you in this case. As an example, I have seen problems where you will get your auto exterior dimensions inside your house when you have messed up your room definitions (or wall connections). In this case, getting rid of the dimensions does not solve the real problem.

If you want to see the rafters, and not just the roofing surface materials, you will need to turn on the layer for roof rafters. You still might not see them if your roof surfaces are hiding them. Here is a support article about exposed rafter tails: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-00488/creating-exposed-rafter-tails.html Here is a basic video about controlling what displays in camera views: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/videos/watch/904/controlling-what-displays-in-3d.html

Normally, you shouldn't change the wall top or bottom, you should adjust the room floor or ceiling instead. One time you might need to edit the wall poly is when you need to build a stepped foundation. This article has some of the basics: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-00579/controlling-wall-floor-and-ceiling-heights.html

Try going into your preferences and using the "reset templates" tool. This will make sure you are using the factory installed templates. Then go to your new plan preferences and make sure you are using the "residential template.plan". This will make sure that you start new plans with the default installed template. If that doesn't solve your problems, then you might want to contact support. There is also lots of info about templates here: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/category/271/templates.html

I don't know if those blue lines actually mean anything. They could just be showing you the outline of what you have selected and it might look strange because you are at a strange angle in a perspective view. The shadow line is more of a potential issue because this might indicate that the surfaces are not aligned. What does this look like in a vector view? Vector views are a much better way of telling when you have problems with the model. Whenever I see missing lines or extra lines in a vector view I can tell that I have a modeling problem. Regardless, if you want anything more than random thoughts and guesses, you should probably post the plan.

I suspect that you actually did. Maybe you drew them in the plan, maybe you drew them on the layout, or maybe they are on your reference display. All we can do is guess unless you post the layout and the plan file.

I don't think you can control the auto nkba dimensions in X13. You might want to use the auto elevation dimensions instead.

Why not? What were you expecting and what did you get? This article might help: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-02893/creating-custom-balusters-and-railing-panels.html

Do you still get them if you delete the layout box and resend the view? If so, do you still get them if you create a brand new camera? If so, is your building really far away from the origin (0, 0)? Whenever I get weirdness in layouts, these are the things that I look for. 9 times out of 10, just resending the view fixes the problem. The others are just shots in the dark.

2D polylines can also go into schedules. Open the poly dialog and look for the schedule panel. Assuming that you would want your pile to show up in a plan view and an elevation/cross section, I would think 3D is both needed and wanted. For something that looks like a "telephone pole" I would probably just use a round framing post. If you need to show a metal screw, I think you would need a symbol. Schedules are so much more flexible now that it almost doesn't matter what type of object you use since most things can be added to whatever schedules you want.

What's a pile? Try turning off "group similar objects"