Alaskan_Son

The material thing can be handled by utilizing a custom macro along with a more sophisticated material naming scheme. Shoot me an email if you’re interested in discussing further and we can take it from there.

What program are you using to assign those materials before importing into Chief? It sounds to me like you may need to be using a different export option in your other program. Also, note that not all 3D symbol file types carry materials over with them, and some will allow several different materials but they all import as porcelain. This is true of DXF and DWG. In order to change the individual materials from porcelain you need to do so using the material tab or by using the material painter in component mode. STL files on the other hand will only import with a single material component.

Okay, if you’re talking about a reflected ceiling plan than I would follow up with a quest-gestion (or a sug-question). What do you have in your plan that would display in a 3D camera view but not in a 2D plan view? I think the answer to your problem may lie in the answer to that question.

You'll probably need to clarify what exactly your client wants to show their framer. If the client is looking to show the general shape then I should think a simple cross section and/or a 3D view should do the trick. If your client is looking for specific framing details though, then I think you'll need to actually add some elements to the model or at least draw them up in a CAD detail.

This is totally possible and its actually how Chief already works...sort of. Chief will already sort a schedule alphabetically and semi numerically according to the first variable column in the schedule. You can reset the order by moving the desired column to the left, cut/paste hold position to get the schedule to re-order, and then move the column back to wherever you wanted it. Numbers are a little tricky though in that they actually sort alphabetically (I won't get into that right now). In order to get a truly numerical hierarchy, you need to use a custom macro in a custom column and then either have that macro report differently in different layer sets, or mask the extra column, or change the macro after the fact. Maybe you can figure it out from there. If not, shoot me an email and we can discuss my providing yo with a little paid assistance.

You can also just select your roof plane, click Polyline Intersection, and then select that polyline you already have drawn. P.S. You might need to convert any arcs to polylines to get your fascia to properly generate.

Sorry, this is simply not true. Cabinet Door/Drawer symbols will not, Door symbols will not, Geometric Shapes will not, Hardware symbols will not, Millwork symbols will not, Molding symbols will not, and Sprinkler symbols will not. Note that a few of the above will report to a schedule when included as accessory parts of a parent object, but for all intents and purposes, less than half of the symbol types will report to a schedule like what you're looking for.

That's only true if your sole purpose for creating a symbol is to add it to a schedule. There are plenty of other reason to use symbols though.

There is no Geometric Shape schedule so you need to use a different schedule type. This means you have to either use a different Symbol Category (one that has a schedule) or you need to block your symbol after you create it, open the block, check Treat as One Object, and select the desired object type under Include In Schedule.

This is a tough question to answer because it really just comes down to an accurate model. Model all the correct parts and you should get what you need. It might help if you were to expand upon exactly where you're having trouble. It looks to me like all you really need is a floor or ceiling definition with no ceiling finish and some properly sized and painted joists (done by creating a new material definition via 3D>Materials>Plan Materials--set as a Framing material type with the appropriate sizing and spacing). Throw in a few floor or ceiling beams and you should be good to go.

Your item isn't a fixture and so it won't report to your schedule. You need to either: A: Block the objects one at a time, open the block, check Treat as One Object, and select Fixture under Include In Schedule B: Convert your objects to actual Fixture Symbols by taking a 3D view of the object, and using Tools>Symbol>Convert To Symbol. During that process, make sure to select Fixture (either Interior or Exterior) as your Symbol Category.

One of us probably should. How bout you start. Seriously though...your description is exceedingly vague and could use a lot of clarification. Maybe attach some screenshots showing what you're trying to accomplish.

Yes

As Chopsaw rightly surmised, you have 3 overlapping roof planes when you only need one. Group select the roof planes and use the polyline union tool...

Post the plan and you'll get a better answer.

Select 3B, click View Draw Order Edit Tools, and either Send Backward, or Send To Back. Or, you can alternatively open the Layer tab and change the Drawing Group there.

This is a bug. It works if you FIRST select a material default and then pick another material.

You can just rename them in your project browser or in the label itself.

Those plot lines can be controlled a number of ways. If you have Use Edge Line Defaults and Use Pattern Line Defaults unchecked, then those plot lines are all produced based on the line weight and color settings of the individual layers. This means you can get gray lines by simply using a layer set with all the layers set to gray (and the line weights set to your liking). If you have Use Edge Line Defaults and Use Pattern Line Defaults checked, then I'm not personally aware of any way to get the color to default to gray. I think you have to open the layout box and just change it there every time. NOTE: Chief Architect doesn't actually recommend using Edge Line or Pattern Line Defaults... "The Edge and Pattern Line Defaults settings are included for legacy files and are not the recommended method of specifying these line styles. See Edge and Pattern Lines."

3D>3D View Defaults--Uncheck "Always Display Active Cameras"

Because of the added ability to reshape a layout box.

You are correct Eric. This would change things. I guess I was just assuming based on the information provided that this was not the case in this particular situation. I could be mistaken though

What exactly are you arguing? I haven’t been offering opinion or conjecture...just hard facts. I think you just might have a mental block keeping you from seeing it. Here’s what you said... This is simply not possible unless you changed (either purposely or accidentally) the pitch setting in you wall’s roof pane and if you did, then Chief would be working exactly as designed to build all the roof planes at a 4/12 It’s really not any more complicated than that. Open one of your walls that seems to be misbehaving. If you don’t see a “(D)” in the pitch field then you’ve found your problem and confirmed what 3 or 4 of us are trying to tell you. Directly from the Reference Manual...

Specifically with regard to the pitch setting, this is not true. There is a default pitch setting in the Build Roof dialog, but the roof will always obey the wall settings. It's only when the wall settings are set to default (D) that the default pitch in the build roof dialog will be obeyed. This is not true either. The roof setting in the wall dbx is what tells the roof how to build...including hips. It has always worked this way and I can't imagine any reason to change it. Again...if you want all your roof planes to obey the default pitch in your Build Roof dialog, then you need to set the pitch in your walls' roof settings to use default (D). 4:12 No question. You can and will only get the results YOU are expecting if you make sure the pitch in your walls' roof tab are set to use default (D).

Tom's suggestion is a good one, but here's another (depending on what exactly you need). You can also just set the bounding box for your symbol to something super small. Just make sure you change the size of the object to match. Biggest downside is that it can be difficult to select the object if you don't remember exactly where the bounding box is (back and center unless you purposely change that).