DBCooper

You could turn off the "layer properties" which should let you shrink the columns down more. Try clicking on the "gear" button and playing with the options. The other thing you could do is not use the aldo when working on the laptop. The "object layer properties" edit button will open up the layer display options for the selected object which gives you similar functionality but without having to dock the aldo on the screen. Also, instead of using the "child tool palette", you can change to use "drop down" toolbars. That will free up a bunch of space on the left side.

Are all of the objects really polyline solids? As far as I know, it should just work as long as they are all polyline solids and they are actually touching or overlapping each other. I don't think you have to do each piece one at a time either. If you can't figure it out, you might want to post the plan.

If you can't find a symbol online, then you could probably build it with solids.

I have seen something like this happen. It probably has nothing to do with the paint and I would bet good money that if you just opened up the stair dialog and clicked OK that it would do the same thing. My guess is that you either drew the walls with a small (<1") gap or overlap with the sides of the stairs. When you do anything to the stair, then Chief tries to align the stairs with one of the walls which ends up moving it slightly. The walls then get cut off by the stairs instead of following along the sides. The solution is to turn off the railing display in plan view for the stairs and landings and make sure everything is positioned and aligned exactly the way you want. These are just guesses and if it's not that then I have no idea.

Send as plot lines and don't turn the color off in the view and it should work the way you want.

If all the layers are on and you can't see anything, it could be that your plan has something in it that is very far from the rest of the plan. The overview cameras always center on whatever is in the model so stray objects can cause problems. If the normal perspective camera works, then this is probably what is happening. If you can't figure it out, then you should post the plan.

Doors are usually placed at the highest floor height but you can manually move it up or down.

Yes. The easy way to do this is to shift-select the stair and then any changes you make will only affect the one you selected and not any of the connected ones.

I think you need to go into your digital locker and deactivate it there. See if this tech article helps: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-00956/using-chief-architect-on-multiple-computers.html

You only get the warning if you cut and then paste but it still copies everything. I guess the program doesn't really know if you are actually going to paste and if you don't then you will lose everything from that view. You can also copy/paste and then delete the original (but you will still get the warning when you delete). In either case, the move up/down is probably easier and less scary.

You *might* be able to get what you want by editing the wall polyline. It might be easier to just convert the stair into a symbol and make an opening in the wall using a pass-through.

Check out the recommended system requirements here: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/products/sysreq.html Lot's of other good info here: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/blog/computer-for-design-and-gaming/

You can just use the floor up/down buttons in the cross section view. You can also cut and paste, hold position on the camera in a plan view. This was mentioned by someone else but I guess they decided they liked my answer better but I think either way will do what you need.

Try opening up the terrain perimeter dialog and turning off "hide terrain intersected by building".

Not sure why it would do that either. You would need to post your plan so that someone could look at it more closely to figure it out. Yes, in your dimension defaults you would need to turn off the locate object settings for everything related to openings and just turn on "casing". It also depends on what type of dimension tool you are using to figure out where the location object settings are. For example, if you are using the "wall elevation" tool and creating dimensions using the "auto elevation dimension" tool, you need to change your "locate auto room" locate settings. You may also need to make sure you are locating wall surfaces instead of the framing ("main layer"). Not by default. You would need to setup your own custom plan template and make sure that it is the default for when you create new plans. Here is a video on dimensions that might help: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/videos/watch/506/dimensioning-kitchens-baths-other-rooms-using-auto-room-dimensions.html Here are some tech articles that might help: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-03162/generating-automatic-dimensions-that-follow-nkba-standards.html https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-00941/changing-what-dimensions-locate.html https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-00658/specifying-which-wall-layer-dimensions-locate.html https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-00463/creating-and-using-a-plan-template.html

If you want to remove a face item from a cabinet, just click on the face item in the cabinet dialog and delete it. If you delete a door, it will convert it into an opening with shelves so you need to delete it twice. You could also just use a soffit so that you don't need to. Adding a molding to a soffit or cabinet is pretty basic but here is a tech article if you get stuck: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-00701/adding-moldings-to-cabinets.html

I really can't think of anything else to try because I am pretty sure that it always exports the same thing you see on the screen. You could try posting your plan and then maybe someone else can try exporting to see if they get the same problem.

Are you in a floor or full overview? Do you have any other camera views open? As far as I know, it will always export whatever you see on the screen. So if it looks good on the screen, it should match.

You can use the delete surface tool in a camera view to remove then parts you don't want and then convert what you have left into a new symbol. May not work all that well with that symbol if you will be left with holes after deleting so then you might have to add something else to fill the holes. If that were the case, then I would just make a new one. If it's not tapered, you could just use a soffit with some moldings.

I just tried it and it seems to be working fine for me. You might want to post your plan.

I was able to get 3 studs with 1/4"-1/2" side rough opening and a 5" space between the windows. I could not get 1-2 studs to build with larger rough openings even though there was space for them. Must be some kind of built in limitation.

It looks like it will always draw a solid line when you are using "lower wall outline". I think you can get what you want by changing to "upper wall and lower wall" and then setting up the lower wall to be dashed lines with either a solid fill style or no fill style.

If all you want is the layer sets, you can import them from the factory installed templates (as already suggested above). If you need everything, you can also import most of everything else. Another way to do this is to just start a new blank plan and use "edit area all floors" to copy your model into the new plan that has all of the defaults. Either way is going to be some amount of manual work.

You can't convert a line (curved or straight) into a counter top. It has to be a closed polyline and then you can. Another option, if you want a really fast way to create something that looks like Mick's picture above, is to just use a curved half-wall and adjust the "wall cap" to be the counter top you need. This will be much easier unless you need something like an edge molding or a shape that doesn't follow the wall.

IMO, probably not. I think it could be really useful if it was more automatic but the way it works currently looks like more work than it is worth.