Alaskan_Son

Looks nice Chris. I do very similar except that: I don't typically add any plants myself...Might look better, but it's just not something I do. It's extra work and I tend to be super picky so I would end up spending an inordinate amount of time trying to get them all positioned just so. Just not worth it to me personally. I don't use Edge Line Defaults. I prefer to have a little more control over the lines being produced for the various objects. I don't necessarily want them all to use the same line weight or color. Pattern Lines? Yes, usually...but not the edge lines. I've taken to just covering everything underground with a semi-transparent filled polyline. Nothing fancy, but it does what I want it to...

I am away from my computer right now but as I recall there is a Hi-Res Walnut Sheet in the core catalog that actually looks pretty good... Or maybe I had to tweak it. I guess it don’t remember for sure. I’ll check when I get back to the computer if I remember.

Absolutely. ...and a much smaller hammer will breach a window. Heck, We were working for a client years ago--changing out windows and doing a handful of other things--and she was really paranoi...er...concerned about the security of her daylight basement windows and wanted us to ad bars on them. I had a conversation with her explaining that there were various code issues to contend with and that if someone really wanted to get in it was still easy enough to get in. For example, yes, you might add bars to that little window, but what about the sliding glass door 15ft. to the right of that? Anyway, fast-forward in the project...We had a lock box on the house and she took the key out one day and forgot to put it back in for us. We showed up in the morning to get to work as scheduled after she had already left for the day and no key. No problem, it just took us a few minutes to completely remove one of the windows we were planning on changing out anyway. I think it was pretty disconcerting to her to see firsthand how easy it was to break into her little fortress. I still feel a little bad about that one because she was obviously already a little paranoi...er...concerned, but it went toward further proving my point. Its really not very hard to get into the house if a person really wants to and knows how. We do what we can, but stressing about this access point or that isn't really worth all the fuss if there's another easier way in.

Ya, I've thought many many times over the years that it would be really nice if we had a quicker way to specify that any given extension line should be marked as a center line. I use center line markers a lot myself and its definitely a pain to have to go in and out of dialog boxes to get one. The Centerline Dimension tool works okay, but what if we want the functionality of one of the other dimension tools? What if we only want the automated centerline behavior for one or 2 specific objects? Or what if we've already dimensioned something and need to add a center line marker later? It could certainly be made easier than it is.

There are many reasons, but the main 2 that come to mind: 1. As a safety feature as has already been mentioned. It's easy to adjust a bunch of things and then accidentally break the room definition and lose all your changes. This is one of the main reasons. 2. The tool can be used to produce a vast array of different framing configurations without our having to be tied down by room definitions. We can use this functionality to create; -decks stacked on top of decks (multiple tiers placed however you want them all created with deck framing) -decks with pergolas/trellis/lattice work above (all objects being created independently with deck framing) -decks with surface mounted posts/newels (frame deck with deck room and then drop floor and don't frame deck at all) -etc. Just think of it as a different tool entirely when you use that setting. Its a deck framing tool that just happens to use a room definition temporarily. The key though is that if you're using it as a deck framing tool then you also need to remember to turn off Automatically Regenerate deck framing when appropriate.

Nerp.

Definitely reference display IMO.

As long as your computer is set to display at the correct resolution for the connected monitor then the scale macro should report quite accurately.

This highlights one of the most fundamental pieces of the puzzle... Chief Architect and Ruby are 2 entirely separate constructs. The sooner a person realizes this, the better. A .json text macro is NOT a Ruby script. It’s a Chief file. That simple text file contains several key pieces of information that only Chief can make any use of...one of which (evaluated vs. non-evaluated) is whether the appropriate section of that text file should even be sent over to Ruby in the first place or not. An .rb file on the other hand is typically ONLY Ruby script and not something Chief can actually make any use of. It only becomes useful if it’s accessed directly by Ruby. And do what you guys want, this is obviously just one persons opinion, but I wouldn’t recommend switching over to Notepad++ till you actually learn the fundamentals. Based on some of the posts above, it’s clear to me that some of you are lacking some important understanding of some key basics. In order to address those shortcomings you should really stick with writing your macros in Chief, using the selected object to get accurate feedback, and using the Evaluation Error messages to see where you’re going wrong. Once you actually understand the code you’re manipulating, how that code is being used in conjunction with the Chief model information, and how that code is being run through Ruby and subsequently displayed onscreen by Chief, then I think you can better make use of an external text editor. Until then, I feel like you’ll be trying to run and jump before you can actually walk.

Just a few quick notes for when you're trying to utilize global arrays and hashes... You can use the = nil, .clear or similar in the Ruby Console to force a rebuild. The downside though is that you have to type it up every time. You can write a custom macro to do the exact same as above and then simply opening and closing Text Macro Management will force the rebuild. The downside to this though is that it will also force an empty hash or array inside Text Macro Management, so you'll never get to preview your results in that dialog. To me, this is pretty minor and the results there are usually inaccurate anyway, so it's really a non-issue for me personally. You can place the aforementioned macro somewhere on screen so that whenever that particular object is displayed, the array or hash is cleared and subsequently rebuilt. It can only be displayed temporarily though because otherwise it will continually empty the array or hash and you won't get your desired results. You can use the time oriented method Joe suggested, but this also has it's downsides...For example, if you have roof planes on more than one floor, you'll almost always be missing results from the other floors. The only totally consistent method I've found is to use something with a schedule number so that the schedule number can be used as a constant. If the schedule number already exists in the hash or array, then that item is deleted and the new one is placed there. This essentially makes sure no extra items are ever added to the list. It's obviously only possible for items with schedule numbers though. For items without schedule numbers, one of my personally preferred methods is to use a .clear macro placed up on the attic level. I then just periodically cycle through all floors to both clear the array or hash and to also pick up on any items that are on other floors. Anyway, just beware that those hashes and arrays are tricky to work with in Chief and that you have to be pretty deliberate with your methods if you want to be sure you're getting accurate results.

You bet. Here’s a bonus trick too... Convert a schedule to text, delete the unnecessary stuff and then use that as your text box instead if you want the title line with double underline.

BT's macro can definitely be modified to help accommodate this a little more, but it already has tab stops in it to get you most of the way there. The problem though is this: The text box you're using needs to have the appropriate number of tabs added to the text itself or the macro generated tabs don't work. It could be as simple as adding the column headers and their related tabs.

Here's one more trick for increased label display options that doesn't require any complex macrology ... You can use the Reference Display. Just set your reference floor to the same floor and create a new layer set for that reference floor where the desired label(s) are turned on/off and the desired label layer text style is set to whatever you want it to be. You can actually set up as many of these extra reference floors as you like to essentially get complete label control on an object by object basis. If you really want to make your life easier, you can turn on all the polylines layers themselves on the current floor and then use the additional reference floors simply to control labels. That way you can still select all your desired objects. I thought I made a post about this before but I can't seem to find it.

Are you asking for design advice or are you having a problem with Chief Architect? If the latter, then you might need to clarify what exactly are having a problem with.

Object Eyedropper or Match Properties are your best bet for right now.

Beats me. ...actually, just through testing things out. I'm usually pretty determined to force things to do what I want one way or another. And when I see something work in one instance and then not in another, I typically don't walk away till I figure out why. Yes. You have to trick the arc into becoming a polyline one way or another. There are various ways to do so, but placing a break and then clicking Simply Polyline is one of the quickest and easiest.

Ya, those seem to be a little tricky. I think you have to attach the leader line before you add arrows to the polyline.

...also, you can always just use a text box with an line/arrow and a referenced context macro. Just turn the line/arrow layer off or change the line style to invisible. That way you can format the text independently of everything else.

That is correct. Those General CAD default are view specific, but when I say "view", I mean plan view vs. an elevation view vs. a CAD Detail. You only get one default in plan view unfortunately. P.S. You can also convert to a Rope Light, remove the molding profile, and adjust the settings so the lights are basically non-existent, and then you can use the Electrical, Labels layer.

Good idea, but no. Chief hasn't given us access to the current file name anywhere except in layout boxes where they've given us access to the referenced file.

Prior to X10 I think it was, those object id's were not persistent and couldn't reliably be used for much of anything. They basically changed with any changes to the model. They are now semi-persistent and don't change very often. Just beware that they still do change sometimes...most notably during undo/redo operations.

Just a guess here, but I'd bet that your problem is this... You're using the job_info macro to set a bunch of global variables but that macro isn't actually getting executed anywhere onscreen. What you probably need to do is place that macro somewhere onscreen so that it actually executes whenever you open your plan, and just make the last line "" so that it doesn't actually show up. I usually place macros like this in the title line of an appropriate schedule or list. ...again, just a guess.

You set the number style in your General CAD Defaults for that particular view.

You can convert to a molding polyline (no molding assigned) which gives you one additional layer to work with. Or you can also use a more complex macro scheme that only displays labels in specific layer sets.

Custom macro in the label of a polyline arc with arrows on each end.