DefinedDesign

@PitMan71and @ValleyGuythank you both so much!!! I will investigate and see what I can get the quickest. Is there a way to mark both your responses as a solution in Chieftalk?

Hi everyone, I’m having a really tough time using the Apple Magic Mouse with Chief Architect (X16) on my Mac laptop. Precision is a real struggle—especially when placing or editing dimensions. I often have to zoom in very close, and even then, it’s hard to get the snap points to land where I need them. This morning, I’ve been working on a roofing plan, trying to measure from the front of the house to the back using stud placement, and I just can’t get the dimension to snap to the correct spot. I currently have Object Snaps and Grid Snaps turned on. I tried turning off Grid Snaps, thinking it might help—but unfortunately, it didn’t make any difference. I know using a small laptop screen makes things harder, and I hope to get a larger monitor in the future. I’d also love a better mouse, but I’m not sure what works well with Chief on a Mac without breaking the bank. My questions: Are there any mouse or system settings (either in macOS or Chief) I could adjust to improve precision? Are there any tricks to make dimensioning and snapping work better on a smaller screen? Can anyone recommend a good, affordable mouse that works better with Chief on a Mac? I’m feeling really frustrated, would be so grateful for any tips or suggestions. Thank you so much for your time and help!

Reference floor display is not going to be an option because it covers up my dimensions in the Framing, Floor Plan View.

Thanks Chris - I'm in the Framing, Floor Plan View - not certain if that is the same as 'Floor Framing View'. This build is on a concrete slab and will have plumbing for sinks coming up through the floor. Really only want to see anything that needs plumbing. I tried your reference floor display but I am unable to turn off cabinets without losing the sink. Is there a better way?

I’m using Chief Architect X16, and I’m trying to show sinks and toilets in my Framing Plan View so that I can coordinate plumbing locations with my framing. I’ve tried turning on all relevant layers, including Fixtures, Interior, and I’ve made sure I’m on the correct floor. When I click on the sink in my plan view, it shows as a CAD Block Instance, not a “Fixture”—and it’s not showing up in the Framing Plan at all. What’s the proper way to make plumbing fixtures visible in a Framing Plan View? Is there a step I’m overlooking to restore the sink from a CAD block back to a true 3D fixture? Any insight would be so appreciated—thank you kindly in advance!

Jim this was the perfect solution!!! Many thanks!

I’m using Chief X16 and trying to extend the siding downward to cover some of the foundation slab—but only on specific walls. Right now, when I select a single wall and try to make this change, it applies the siding extension to all the perimeter walls, not just the one I selected. Is there a way to control this so the siding only extends only on the selected wall? Any help would be so appreciated—thank you kindly in advance

Here is the latest version of the plan This version shows how the roof planes over the connecting room should be (even though, for reasons I can’t figure out, the two planes do not have the same fascia height). I was able to add an attic wall to the back part of the house where there was a hole in the wall, and that corrected the issue there. However, adding an attic wall over the stairs did not solve the problem in that area like it did on the back of the house. If anyone has ideas on why the fascia heights are still different, or why the attic wall over the stairs isn’t resolving the gap like it did in the other location, I’d be so grateful for your input.

@SHCanada2, @Mark3D, @BenPalmer, @Alaskan_Son Thank you all so much—truly. I’m really grateful for the time and insight each of you has shared. I can tell you are operating on a much higher level of understanding than I am, and I fully admit that I’m outside of my area of expertise here. My construction knowledge is limited, especially when it comes to framing and roof geometry. I now understand that the fascia height won’t match the original 12:12 roof on the house, and I really appreciate the explanation that this is a mathematical limitation when working with rafters. That was very helpful to hear clearly. That said, the part I’m still struggling to understand is why the two hip roof planes on the connecting room don’t have the same fascia height—shouldn’t they be equal if the room has the same ceiling height? Could it be because one wall is 4 inches thick and the other is 6 inches? Ideally the client wants a 3:12 pitch to keep costs down, but when I change the pitch on those two roof planes the top of plate height changes. Also, I’m seeing gaps or holes in the walls where the roof connects to the garage. I’m not sure if that’s related or a separate issue, but it has me stumped. Any additional insight would mean a lot. Thank you again for your patience and willingness to help someone still learning.

The roof pitch on the main house is 12:12 the pitch on both roof planes on the connecting room needs to be the same, preferably around a 3 or 4:12.

This is what the roof plan specification box says for the front hip roof plan on the connecting room - I'm having difficulty understanding why your elevation is showing the Top of plate correct when the roof specification box states something entirely different.

Thank you! I followed your video and it seems what you did differently to connect the fascia heights is in the Roof Specification Box you unchecked 'Same Roof Height at Exterior Walls'. I also did not check 'Retain Manually Drawn Roof Planes' and 'Retain Edited Automatic Roof Planes.' I get the same results as you. What I am trying to get to is: Only 2 roof planes over the connecting room and they need to have top of plate heights of 97 1/8” with a fascia height of 94 5/8” (this matches the existing house). (see image) Following your steps I get multiple roof plans over the connecting room and when I select the hip roof of the existing house it shows the Top of Plate is raised to 105 5/16" and the Fascia Height is 103 7/16" The front hip roof plane on the connecting room is showing Top of Plate at 107 7/16" and Fascia Height at 103 1/2" The back hip roof plane on the connecting room is showing Top of Plate N/A and Fascia Height at 103 7/16" and I need the other mystery roof planes over the connecting room to go away, not sure why the software is doing this and what I need to change so it doesn't create these extraneous roof planes. Grateful for your efforts in helping me to resolve this.

Thanks for making the video! Because both hip walls have different fascia top heights, I’ve had to adjust each roof plane separately to align with the existing house’s fascia height of 94 5/8”. Unfortunately, when I do that, it also changes the top plate height, per the roof plane specification box.

Thank you so much for the suggestion—I really appreciate you taking the time to help. At this point, I’m not looking for a manual workaround. I’m trying to figure out why the software isn’t doing what it should. I must have something set incorrectly, but I can’t find what it is.

@SHCanada2 I thought this was going to be the solution, but unfortunately, it raises the top plate. Since the two walls have different fascia heights, this results in mismatched top plate heights. I need both the top plates and fascia to align with the existing house. I’ve confirmed that “Same Height Eaves” is checked when building roofs, and I’ve double-checked all the wall settings and measurements to see if something is off. It’s concerning because I need everything to be accurate for construction drawings. Certainly grateful for any further insight you may have!

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond! I really appreciate the suggestion—using the transform replicate tool in the Z direction is a great idea. I hadn’t thought of that, and I’m excited to give it a try. Grateful for your help!

Dilemma: Attaching a Garage to an Existing Home Both the existing house and the connecting room to the garage have identical ceiling heights of 97 1/8”. However, the hip walls on the connecting room are resulting in two different fascia top heights. I need both fascia tops to align with the existing house’s fascia height of 94 5/8”. Grateful for any insight. I’ve triple-checked everything, but I still can’t pinpoint why this is happening.

Thank you! This worked perfectly!

In plan view, I’ve created multiple soffits to detail decorative trim on a fireplace and assigned different fill colors to easily distinguish between vertical and horizontal ones. However, when I generate a vector wall elevation, only the material colors appear. Is there a way to turn off the material color and display the fill colors instead? To achieve the fill colors shown in the attached layout, I had to: Send Wall Elevation to Layout > Camera View Options > Selected Plot Line with Color Fill unchecked. I then manually created the colors using the rectangular polyline and filled each section accordingly. I’ve completed this project, but going forward, I’d love to know if there’s a way to display object fill colors automatically in elevation view. Also, is there a way to reverse this? For example, in the wall elevation, could I select the soffits and color fills and have them display within the floor plan? This would surely make life so much easier!

Hey folks! I have two plans created to give our client options. I'm attempting to create two front elevation views that position the camera and the screen in the same location and I can't get it exact, is there a way to do this that isn't manual? Edit Active View >Positioning >X Position: 531 7/16" >Y Position: -2925 5/8" is the same for both cameras in each plan. My problem is getting the vertical and horizontal drag bars in the right position. I'm trying manually but I can't get them exact. I've attached images it's difficult to see that they are not exact but if I click the tabs in chief architect I can see that they are not in the same location on the screen. I'm trying to keep this simple for the client as we move back and forth so they only see the changes in the window locations. Right now there is movement because the two elevations are not placed at the same location on my screen. When I move from tab to tab it almost looks like the elevation is moving and it is very distracting because you focus on the movement.

Thanks Jeff - I am logged in and have a current SSA license.

Hi All! While updating my 3D Library, I noticed that Chief is charging me for the following download, even though I have SSA. Is this a new policy they’ve implemented? 3D Plants - Annuals $3.99 3D Plants - Bulbs $3.99 3D Plants - Climbers $5.99 3D Plants - Edible Garden $9.99 3D Plants - Perennials $9.99 3D Plants - Shrubs $9.99 3D Plants - Trees $7.99 Specialty/Other/Misc - Crime Scene and Fire Investigation $19.99 Specialty/Other/Misc - Medical/Dental $19.99

This is what I get using your settings. I don't have a way of sending the file even zipping the file up is too large, the forum won't let me upload it.

I’m working on creating a nice daylight scene with the kitchen lights on using PBR, but I’m finding it surprisingly tricky to get the look just right. I’ve adjusted several settings but must be missing something simple! No matter what I try, I can't seem to get rid of the tinted look on the windows. I double-checked, and they aren’t actually tinted. Feeling a bit perplexed—any thoughts on what I might need to change? Thanks so much in advance for any tips!

Thank you! - The mirrors were on the furniture layer and it was not turned on in the layer set.