Alaskan_Son

Sherry, I think you'll find that zooming in will make it a lot easier to pick up on the center of the wall.

I'm not sure, but I think it's possible the problem could arise when re-using cameras. Try this.. Move your camera to where the offending window and door labels are visible. Open the door DBX while in that elevation view, click on the label tab, and then select "Hide In This View". Once you do that for all the necessary objects, move your camera back into position.

The problem with things like steel bar joists or any other open web type joist design is that the object would need to be entirely unique for each and every possible length, height, and even width configuration. Its not unlike a truss...There's no way a "truss" library object could really be used for anything except the one specific situation it was created for. The best I've been able to do with Chief was to create these type of joists myself using molding lines. Use a regular molding extrusion for the continuous horizontal pieces and then use 3D moldings for the non-continuous elements. The 3D molding parts need to be modified on a joist by joist basis. It's a little tedious but I think its currently about the best we can do. It would be nice if we had a parametric object to do this type of modeling or if the floor truss tool was somehow expanded to allow various extrusions other than just framing members.

One other little benefit for anyone who doesn't know it...You can also still use the blank segment for moving and resizing. Its a handy way to keep dimensions around that you need to work with but that you may not want to actually display. Just select your object and then float your pointer over the area where the blank segment is until you get the little pointing finger icon...

You're welcome. BTW, here's a followup to Yusef's video with a couple added tips to help speed things up a bit... Thanks again Yusef. I really appreciate what you bring to the table here.

Yup. Good advice Chop. If I might, a few other things a person could also do that would allow them to use either of the 2 circle tools to enter either the radius or the diameter... If I person would like to enter a known Diameter using the Circle About Center tool, enter the desired diameter followed by /2 (divided by 2) If I person would like to enter a known Radius using the normal Circle tool, enter the desired radius followed by *2 (times 2) If I person would like to enter a known Diameter using the normal Circle tool, simply enter the desired diameter It's obviously more efficient to just use Circle About Center if you prefer to enter a radius and the normal Circle tool if you'd prefer to enter a diameter but both can be done with either tool. As Chop mentioned, the key is to use Relative To Start and Polar.

Good stuff Yusef. For anyone having a difficult time hearing or understanding Yusef, He basically demonstrated how to properly use (IMO) the Make Arc Tangent tool. You essentially need to draw 3 arcs (the circles themsleves won't work). There are ways to speed the process up a bit though using a different arc creation mode and a few other minor methods but the rules remain the same...That is, you need to use arcs to get any good automated tangent behaviors. It would indeed by nice if Chief were to make a tool like this for circles as well.

Nice illustration in your example plan. Just one thing I think might be worth noting. You don't actually need the 2 extra lines for trimming your circle. If you've drawn the 3rd circle correctly, all you should need to do is group select the 2 original circles, click the trim tool, and then click it fence select the larger part of that 3rd circle.

Not sure what Eric did, but all you need to do is return the molding toward the wall. Just drag an addition line segment and then reduce the length to something super small (.001" for example).

No. It happens all the time with perfectly normal truss polyline shapes. Its actually very easy to reproduce the problem too. Just build a truss, and slowly resize the heel shape. Chief just doesn't seem capable of automatically trimming those sharp points till they're a certain height. Again, it can be done manually, Chief just doesn't handle them so well automatically.

It would be better if you were to attach the plan file. The best solution kinda depends on how you drew the model. Here's a method I would suggest anyone learn to use though. It can come in handy for all sorts of situations...

I don't actually think that is possible Perry. Rooms automatically get a default light source whether you want it or not. Ironically, the only way I know to turn it off is to manually add another light source and then turn THAT light off.

I guess I'll do us all a favor send this in, but as I said before, those are caused by light sources in general and not just the default interior light. Was able to very quickly and easily reproduce in the plan Scott attached. The problem seems to be most prevalent when the light source is placed relatively close to an adjacent surface... Light boxes.zip

The text size for those line lengths and angles is controlled by the Text Style for whatever layer those lines are on. You can change this in Layer Display Options, in Active Layer Display Options, or in Object Layer Properties. The number style is controlled in Edit>Default Settings>CAD>General CAD>Displayed Line Length Format. The angle format is controlled in the General CAD Defaults as well under Display Line Angle as:

Thanks Dermot. That makes more sense. It seems like that setting should be right there in the Build Roof dbx. though. I mean we can change it in the Roof Plane Specifications...why not in the Build Roof dialog where its actually being used?

I always just manually trim those off in the truss detail. I think its a bug and should be reported. Honesty I run into so many little things like that in Chief on a daily basis but so often its right when I'm in the middle of trying to be productive and so I don't report it. Then I subsequently forget about it... I think I'm going to start keeping a list. This will be my first thing that I put on it. I would encourage you to report it as well.

Build a roof plane, open it, uncheck "Pitch In Degrees". Now go back into your roof defaults and see if that gives you what you're after. You can do the same thing in an Imperial plan to go the other direction...Build a roof plane, open it, check "Pitch In Degrees", and then you should be able to set your default pitch in degrees. Seems kinda silly. There should be an easier way to change this right in the defaults.

Open the truss and Lock Truss Envelope BEFORE making any modifications to it and before making the additional copies... Just be careful how you handle them after that, and don't waste your time trying to copy them from one plan to another.

Maybe in your world 90% of chimneys follow a standard form but this is simply not true in my professional experience and your assertion that its somehow ridiculous that Chief doesn't have a dedicated tool for the purpose along with a complete lack of any sort of help otherwise can only serve to further discourage someone who is obviously having problems already. Truth is that chimneys can have any number of shapes and characteristics... They can be a plain rectangular shape from top to bottom They can have a continuous slope top to bottom They can have an irregular slope top to bottom..possibly even different slopes on the different sides They can have any number of irregular profiles top to bottom They can have an irregular profile shape looking down from above They can be completely masonry with the main structure built around them They can be framed with a masonry veneer They can be continuous top to bottom They can be constructed between floors They can be constructed outside the main structure They can be constructed inside the main structure They can have multiple flues that follow a straight path They can have multiple flues that follow irregular paths They can have different finishes and different structures on the various sides They can serve multiple fireplaces or ovens on any number of sides and on any number of floors The fireplace openings can be an endless variety of shapes and sizes The hearth(s) can be an endless variety of shapes and sizes The hearths can be part of the chimney or can be separate The chimney may be a veneer and it may be real The chimney could serve as a chase for items that are not even related to the chimney at all The Chimney structure could even completely change as you make your way top to bottom...masonry to wood/veneer to metal. The chimney could simply serve as a chase for metal pipe, it could have a clay liner, or it could have both The cap could be endless variety of configurations..some integrated into the chimney and some not... The list could go on My point is that chimneys are really more akin to any other room than they are to stairs (which BTW is probably Chief's single most complained about tool) and can have an endless variety of different configurations. I think a person would be well served learning to just use the tools we currently have to model the chimney as it will be built. Jonathan, It would really help to SEE what you're talking about. Like I said, there are a ton of different ways Chimney's can be built. You can utilize: Walls as Mick suggested (with or without room definitions I might add) Windows, doors, doorways, and pass throughs Room definitions as Wendy suggested Holes in floor and ceiling platforms P-solids, solids, slabs or other primitives Moldings Etc. Etc. The best method depends entirely on the SPECIFICS. If you really want to make some progress on your query then I suggest you get involved and start out by answering Eric's question...

I'm a little curious why you need to have your ceiling on the second floor.

See the number of items selected here... ...if you see nothing there then you only have one item selected. To delete all but one, try one of these 2 methods... Marquis select the object thereby selecting ALL copies, hold down the Control key and click once to DE-select just one of the items, and then hit Delete. Or... Select one object or control select one each of several different objects, Hit Control+X (Cut), go through and group select/delete all the redundant copies, and then Hit Control+Alt+V (Paste Hold Position) to place the other(s) back into place.

I didn't have time to go through and test out the whole plan because it is so ridiculously slow on my system, but your problem is that you seem to have inadvertently created WAY WAY WAY too many copies of some things. If you marquis select your vanity base cabinet or one of your toilets you'll see that you have like 16-24 of each in many locations. That round sink alone has like 6,200 faces. Just based on the sinks I found (70 copies on the first floor and I think 16 copies on the second floor) you have an extra half a million faces in your plan. The same thing seems to hold true for every symbol I checked.

Definitely looks like a bug to me. The curb is getting drawn correctly in plan view but is getting extruded inside the road polyline instead of outside like it should be. Here's what a 12' wide road road with a 4' wide curb looks like in plan view... ...and in 3D... Notice how the selection area in 3D seems to coincide with the plan view... Definitely needs to be fixed.

Nailed it. If I could give you more than 1 point I would. To me, asking for a dedicated chimney tool is not unlike asking for a dedicated "Addition" tool. I mean we draw up additions all the time right? Why not have a tool for it? Click addition, change a couple settings and badaboom...addition.

Thanks Steve : ) Much appreciated.