Alaskan_Son

I totally agree that it could be WAY faster and that it is something we should be able to do with a single click. .

I'm with you Scott and I completely agree, but I must ask... Have you not tried any of the methods that myself and probably others have posted elsewhere? You can use your normal layout views to access those combinations, you can set up a layout page with all those combinations preset in little layout box "buttons", and you can even set up a similar layout box system right in your plan...which is what I have personally started doing. With as much as you talk about muddling through this particular part of the process I just can't help but think you're still doing it the hard way.

It sounds like you're doing the wrong thing. I'm not 100% certain about X5 but as I recall it worked the same way... Click on the material tab, select your exterior surface, click to select a material and down near the bottom you should see a checkbox for "Use Default". It may not work in X5 but hopefully it does.

I actually don't agree that the spray can is a last resort. I believe it only ever causes problems in 2 ways... 1. "Blend" is toggled on. This is easy to address by just toggling it off though and can be pretty easily fixed after the fact too by toggling it off and repainting wall. 2. A person sprays a wall or portion thereof for any given room thereby changing it from "Use Default" or changing the material in the dbx to "No Change". This isn't actually a problem at all unless you don't understand what's happening. The fact is that the spray can is a perfectly valid method and in my opinion it's usually the most efficient method. Actually, in the case of changing just a SECTION of a single wall for within one room, I believe it is the ONLY method. At the end of the day it's not about right or wrong with that tool it's just about understanding what you're doing and how it works.

Try these 2 things. Either select that wall and change the material to Use Default...or use the material eyedropper/spray can (make sure "Blend Colors With Materials" is toggled OFF).

This is exactly what I am guessing is going on in this particular situation too. Now, having said that (and completely disregarding the reference layer set thing)…I have also personally noticed a lot of problems with layer sets "changing on me" since X9. Like Mark I have simply fixed it and went back to work and I haven't reported anything yet because I haven't found anything repeatable or reportable. I've been assuming it has something to do with the change in my personal workflow and not a Chief problem but I haven't pinpointed it exactly so I'm still not sure. I do know that I have often returned to my floor plan only to find all my studs showing when the wall framing layer was previously turned off... and other similar things like that. I can say this though… If you are the type of person that has a lot of windows/views open at the same time it is very easy to have the wrong view (and therefore wrong layer set) active when you attempt to make any given layer display option change. I've caught myself making that mistake and it's anyone's guess how many times I've made that mistake without catching it.

It sounds to me like you are overthinking this a bit. Exterior doors automatically have different trim on both sides because it is assumed that this will be the case nearly 100% of the time as it is in the real world. For interior doors, this option must be manually selected as it is assumed interior doors will have the same trim material on each side the majority of the time.. We were given the option to have separate trim materials for ANY situation where we might want different trim materials on each side. The problem you've described above with balconies has to do with your room definitions. Specifically, your room type (whether it's considered an interior room, an exterior room, or a hybrid room will decided whether or not your door is in interior or exterior door. Search the Help files for Room Types and Functions and do a little reading on that subject.

I'm just guessing, but I'm relatively certain you're probably trying to open a file that was saved in X9.

Hey Dermot, I think most of us that do anything more than occasional work with macros find it far easier to use the Expanded Value field to search through object attributes which is why Joe is recommending his modified Object Properties macro. I use a modified version as well. Actually, anytime I open a plan that has the OOB macro in it, one of the very first things I usually do is at least modify that macro to work as an owner context. I would really recommend you guys add an exception to the OOB macro so that it works in both contexts. Super easy to do and far more effective. Just my 2 cents.

You're missing the step of creating a CUSTOM COUNTERTOP (like Jerry said). Open Help and search Custom Countertop.

I'm not entirely sure what's going on here or what version of Chief Architect/Home Designer is being used, but I think Eric gave the answer. Those settings are found in the Material tab. The is one setting for the material on the interior side of the door and another for the material on the exterior side of the door (2 different materials)...

Normal electrical items can be mounted directly to cabinets in X9. No need for the extra library anymore.

Couple more minor tips... 1. Consider copying and pasting all the attributes for one of each object type that you're working with to a Word document or similar so that you can print up a hard copy. I have several such pages handy so I can quickly and easily sort through the available attributes in a more easily readable manner. 2. When using the attributes in macros it can really make things easier to copy and paste the attribute name directly from the Object Properties Expanded Value field or from the aforementioned Word Document rather than typing it in manually. It's just really easy to mistype something otherwise and end up with an error.

Just group select everything on one of the two pages and hit control+X (cut). Now close that layout, open the other one, and hit control+alt+V (paste hold position). Then you can set that page as a template.

Definitely looks like a bit of a challenge that I don't have time to look into right now (looks like Eric got it for you anyway), but man...what a goofy design. I wonder why the asymmetrical windows? Is there some good reason I'm not seeing?

I opened the plan and I don't see any problem with the roof planes. I tried it using Reverse Plan... And I tried using Edit Area... What am I missing? Nice looking work by the way. EDIT: Now I see what you were talking about. I missed the upside ridge cap in the original plan orientation as you posted it. Not too difficult to fix as some of the other guys have mentioned (both above and in posts below) but please report this to tech support as a bug so that it gets fixed.

I feel like we basically already have that viewport functionality it's just not super intuitive. Try this...

I'm talking about using the control handles to physically change your Chief Architect 3D view window size. I'm away from my computer so I can't make any visuals but essentially all you should have to do is drag your library browser over to make the window narrower or if you have multiple monitors just resize the Chief Architect window by resizing the whole thing or by tiling another view and using that to resize the window.

Rob, resize your window so that it is the size and shape you need and then use active window size.

You actually don't even need to pull the connecting edge back to get it to work. It actually works just fine as it was. Cody, The keys to using the Join Roof Planes tool are to first make sure you have the necessary breaks so that the planes have a place to join (which you already have in this case) and then to click on the correct EDGE of the first roof plane followed by the correct EDGE of the second roof plane. It's a nuance that I had trouble with at first too.

It would require a whole new functionality that Chief still doesn't have...the ability to insert an object into a wall. It's something that some of us have been requesting for a while now. Chief can mount an object TO a wall, and we can have the object cut a hole in the wall (shape of that hole is extremely limited though). What we cannot do though is place that object INTO the wall unless we do so manually and cut the hole manually. It's not as easy as just fixing the symbol.

Joe's solution is a good one but you can also open the symbol, click on the 2D Block tab, and Generate Block and you'll get the box but then you'll have problems getting it to automatically mount to the wall. You can also click on the Options tab, change it to floor mounted, and set the origin offsets to zero but then you'll have to manually position it into the wall.

I wouldn't do it that way, but whatever works for you. In addition to the options I mentioned above, you can also simply use a cabinet for your column (depending on the design of course). In X9 those fixtures will automatically attach to cabinets.

Try these 2 things... Either add the symbol to your user library, Open Symbol while it is in the library, change the y offset to zero, and under the Options tab change it to Floor Mounted. Now you can use it anywhere you want... OR...place a small section of room divider alongside your p-solid and uncheck "Invisible Wall". Those are a couple options that I think should work for you.

Actually, if I recall correctly, we WERE the framer the first time I actually had firsthand experience with the system. It was an extremely complicated house too. Check out the pictures of the "RoseBerry Ridge Home"... http://www.rdesigninc.com/portfolio.html The learning curve was not bad though. I would definitely recommend a supervisor onsite that has a very clear understanding of what needs to happen though. There are many steps along the way where you'll find that your exterior membrane and/or insulation will need to be installed after one framing item but before the next. You'll almost need to have an extra person onsite a lot of the time specifically to coordinate and install those various items as necessary. And you didn't give me a whole lot of options between EPS and EPS : ) but yes, we use EPS. That is correct although the extreme thickness may also cause you to want to move windows and doors elsewhere in order to visually balance/center them.