Alaskan_Son

The problem you're having is that Chief will not actually snap to the interior edge of the casing. Your dimensions for your window are snapping to the outside of the frame and the dimensions for your door are snapping to the inside of the frame.

You just need to go into your Plot Plan Text Defaults and change the layers there.

The answer is complex... -You can use referenced macros along with standard Text or Rich Text boxes as Eric suggested but I much prefer to stick to using owner context macros whenever possible and I'll give you some ways to do that below... -Referenced macros won't work for room labels but depending on what you need to display, you can use standard Text or Rich Text boxes along with Chief's built in Global Room Info macros -Here's something that works with normal non-referenced labels but it only works in layout... Place objects for which you would like to have different colored labels onto different layers and only display one group of those objects using one specific color for the labels (done by changing the color for the labels' layer). Send your view to layout Copy/paste in place your layout box Create a unique layer set for that second layout box where all layers are turned off except for your next group of items for which you would like the next color, and then change the labels' layer to the appropriate color. Hope that made sense. If not, let me know what doesn't and I'll try to clarify a bit.

As Glenn and Johnny already pointed out, there are several other ways to get that type of information. In addition to what they said you can also use a framing schedule or a custom macro solution. If however you still really want the skewed projection you speak of, you can do this... Turn off all layers except those that you actually want to show Convert the whole plan to a symbol Rotate the symbol onto its side using the Symbol Specification Rotation settings Create a section view for each roof plane (may require rotating the symbol more than once depending on the model) You could also optionally create separate symbols for each and very roof plane using layer settings, the Delete Surface tool, or by copying and pasting each individual plane to a blank plan. You can then do the same thing I went over above...Rotate the symbol and then just use a section view.

Is it possible you've made this change AFTER building your trusses? If so, group select all your trusses and rebuild them. There are a number of ways to do this, but you can either Force Truss Rebuild or you can even just Cut/Paste Hold Position.

You must be. All you need to do is select "Square" here... If you do so in the Build Roof DBX, you must either "Build Roof Planes" afterward or have "Auto Rebuild Roofs" selected... You can also just select "Square" directly in the individual roof plane DBX(s).

Good tip Dermot. I missed this the first time I read through the thread or I may not have even added my own side panel suggestion to the video. That being said... Just a quick note for anyone following along. I used a different and seemingly less efficient method in my video. I essentially created a custom door front and used that instead. I think its worth noting that if you use a door front from the library by Specifying an Appliance/Door/Drawer here... ...you get 2 added benefits: You can control your panels on a side by side basis. You can create more accurate drawings by actually using the proper thickness material and then modifying the Y origin offsets as I demonstrated in the video to properly locate the panel in relation to the frame. The method Dermot mentioned is quicker and easier for most situations. It just might be a bit more limiting.

Here's a quick video going over how I would probably handle the aforementioned challenges.... If you find the video helpful enough, please consider sending a donation my way. Thanks : )

Only the STRUCTURE settings need to be super thin. On my personal plans, and per Chiefs OOB settings that means only the framing layer. And no...If you're using trusses then there's really no need to change the structure back. It can just stay at that nearly zero value. Only reason to change any settings would be if you wanted to stick with the automatically created truss profiles in which case you would need to turn off auto roofs and change the top chord dimension back. You'll need to just try it out and see what works for you.

I agree, it would be nice to simply set a heel height instead of what most people are doing by going out of their way and figuring the appropriate birdsmouth cut settings or figuring the appropriate Raise/Lower From Ceiling Height setting. In the meantime, there are a few things you can do in order to directly enter a heel height... In the Build Roof DBX, uncheck Trusses, and then click on the Structure tab and change the Roof Layers Structure to something like .001". Doing this will allow you to use EITHER the Raise/Lower From Ceiling Height setting, or the Raise Off Plate value as a heel height. In the Build Roof DBX, check Trusses and in your Build Framing DBX>Trusses, change the top chord to .001". This will also allow you to use the aforementioned settings for direct heel height entry but will also require that you open up your trusses and change the top chord and/or that you turn off auto roofs. If you're using the workaround in my OP then this is really a non-issue as you'll need to open up and change the trusses anyway. Pick your poison. As I recall there are benefits and drawbacks to each. Not sure I understand. Can't you just change the material settings for your trusses? Just create your own SPF material type and assign that to your trusses. If you really want to see these changes please report it to tech support and/or post a suggestion over in the suggestion forum; otherwise, you'll likely never get what you want.

I'm not 100% sure I follow what you guys are talking about and it sounds like there might be a few different subjects being mixed up here, but here are a couple thoughts in case they help. RE: the camera callouts in plan view...If you want the layout page number to automatically populate the callout label in plan then all you need to do is place the # sign in your layout page label. You can just do this in Mark's example files to test it out. RE: the callouts placed in elevation views...As Joe already kinda pointed out, those global layout info macros don't work in the plan because they're not valid in the plan. There is no layout info for them to use. Those macros can only be used in layout where they're actually valid.

I see now. I guess I never actually use schedules with "Scale Images" checked. For the record, you CAN resize the column width and the height will decrease as well but then your images may get really small. I would really recommend you just uncheck that setting. You're actually getting exactly what you asked for if you do check it. What that setting does is it scales all objects in your schedule the same, It doesn't actually use any particular scale and as I said you can change it just by resizing the column width. What it does do however is it keeps all the images at the same scale as each other (whatever that scale might be). The problem with scaling images like that is that the height of each row and the width of the column is being controlled by the tallest or widest object in the schedule. Bottom line, if this isn't the desired behaviour, uncheck the setting. If you don't like that either then contact tech support or post a suggestion with what you think would be a better solution. Please post your support over in that thread if you really want your voice to be heard.

1. I'm not sure I'm following, but you can try adjusting the width of your 3D view column. 2.

Sometimes it just takes a short consultation, training session, or video to save many hours worth of personal trial and error so don't rule that out. P.S. You could potentially use this same method to deal with your "Finished Back" suggestion as well.

I'm not sure you understand what I was saying or maybe I just wasn't clear enough. You might already be using all 4 OIP fields but that doesn't need to stop you from using the same field for more than one column. Here's another example using a similar but slightly different method... Notice that ALL my columns except for the Number column are using the Code Field. By using the method I'm talking about, a person could quite literally use a single OIP field for every possible custom column they could dream up.

This is possible Mark... You just have to use a global numbering variable that is initiated inside the schedule. Then, by testing whether that value is even, odd, divisible by some other number, or a specific number, you can conceivably use any one of your OIP fields for an endless number of columns. The height and width columns is the example above are both using the Code field with the following macro... I just initiated the variable in this particular example with another macro that I placed in the schedule Title. If the above isn't quite enough to get you what you need, shoot me an email and we can discuss maybe setting up a quick training session so I can explain better to you how it works and how to set it up to your liking...or you could maybe commission a custom video. Just let me know.

Joe, I see now that what Glenn said was a little different and that he may or may not have slipped up a bit. HOWEVER, you said... We already have that. It's the Grade Level Marker...the setting I pointed out. I guess the only thing I failed to point out was that you do need to also make sure the Elevation Reference is set to Grade Level Marker. And then you said... Either you're working with a different program or I'm totally missing something, but here is what happens when you change that setting... It just seems like somebody is missing something. I originally thought Glenn had helped spell things out pretty good, but maybe I read his initial response too quickly. Its really not that complicated and as I hope I illustrated above, I believe your description of how you got it to work is both incorrect and misleading. A person DOES NOT need to change the Subfloor Height Above Terrain if they want their elevation dimensions to reference sea level. All they need to do is change their Grade Level Marker. Simple as that. And for anyone else following along or trying to learn something from this. It seems to be a little known fact that you don't have to use Auto Story Pole Dimensions to get this functionality. You can access and change that Grade Level Marker through ANY of your dimensions defaults. Furthermore, you can USE any dimension type to get this same functionality. All you need to do is draw your dimension using your desired dimensions tool and then check Draw Elevation Marker...

Maybe I'm just misunderstanding what you said but that doesn't sound anything like the same thing to me. I didn't suggest you change the subfloor height. I suggested you change the grade level marker and for the record Glenn already pointed this step out up above. It just seemed like you missed it.

Hey Joe, I think you missed an important part of the process...You just need to go into one of your dimension defaults>Locate Elevations and change this number to -114'... This will keep you from having to move your model anywhere.

Good suggestion Glenn. A person could also take this idea a few steps further: Create an ORTHOGRAPHIC Full Overview and then click on 3D>View Direction>Top View... Click on Tools>Screen Capture>Capture Screen... Rescale the image to match your house symbol... Trace your shadow lines to create a closed polyline... Move the polyline over to your house symbol and adjust as necessary...

2 things come to mind. First...is your reference display actually toggled on? Second, if you draw reference floor first, that means Chief draws the reference floor and then the main floor view gets drawn over the top of that. Sometimes this can have an undesirable outcome. You want want to draw the reference floor last. Lastly, if all else fails, try unchecking Use XOR drawing. Sometimes XOR drawing works just fine, but sometimes it seems to delete certain lines for no logical reason.

Away from my computer so I can't verify this, but as I recall, only walls and roofs and maybe a few other parametric ("smart") objects cast shadows in plan views. I don't believe symbols do...at least that's what i recall.

Just thought for anyone who has this problem... Consider the possibility that if you take an extra minute to just "Hide" labels for the offending objects, you can likely retain your desired Hardware Edge Smoothing Setting. It might take an extra few minutes for each plan but it's a "lossless" solution in that you don't have to give anything else up. You might be able to solve the issue by adjusting Hardware Edge Smoothing but then you lose full control of that setting which may result in longer rendering times or less than satisfactory 3D views.

They actually ARE a little different. Edit Area can obviously be used in several different modes, you have to make sure you're using it in the right mode for the task at hand, and often times you must be sure you have all the appropriate layer's turned on or off. Reverse Plan on the other hand seems to have been made for a very specific purpose...That is to flip the entire plan on the lot with a single click. No need to make sure you're in the right mode, that you have all the appropriate items selected, or that you have all the right layers on/off. Simply reverse plan and everything except the terrain and terrain features get flipped. Is it the best tool for the job? I suppose that totally depends on what you need to do. I think it does have its place in the toolbox though.