Alaskan_Son

OOB hotkey for Make Parallel/Perpendicular

Again, this is all controlled via your Camera View Layer Set. Instead of deleting the wall framing just turn off the Framing, Wall layer in your Camera View set.

No. It has be turned off in your camera view layer set though.

As Joe said, the short answer is no, BUT the long answer is yes... There are 3 options if you really want to change the numbering/lettering format: Use a manually placed callout with a custom referenced context macro. This is probably more of a pain than it's really worth IMO. Abandon the callout shape and just use a label. This way is the easiest and is what I personally do most of the time. Chief's automatically produced callout labels look nice and all but they're just far too limiting to me. I'd rather lose the callout shape and get information that's more important to me. This example doesn't have the schedule numbering format changed but using this approach it very easily could have been. Use option 2 and manually place a callout shape around the label for each window. There are a handful of methods you can use to speed this process up too. Probably best to wait till right near the end of the project to add the callout shapes though. Any one of the above options would require at least 2 custom macros though as well as some customization to the schedule. If you need help setting something like that up, please feel free to email me at alaskansons@gmail.com and we can discuss further.

I don't think it is Joe...

Maybe...except for this error message he mentioned in his second to last post. Sounds like he is properly initiating the ray trace. It's just failing to fully execute.

Like Joe said, Ray Tracing has nothing to do with the video card. It's all CPU. My computer is pretty old and relatively slow and I could easily ray trace your plan...4 passes in right around a minute. I suspect the problem lies with your actual computer. Maybe it's overheating. Try going into Preferences>Render>Ray Trace and turn down the number of cores used to see if that helps.

A couple options... If you are ONLY wanting to use it in plan views, don't use Create Plant Image, instead use File>Import>Import Picture If you're trying to use the same image in both plan view and 3D views you'll need to: Use File>Import>Import Picture to bring the picture into your plan. Group select the picture by itself, block it, and add it to your library. Terrain>Plant>Create Plant Image, click Browse, select you plant picture, click Okay, and place your new plant into the plan. Select your new Plant Image, open it, click Library (next to 2D Plan Symbol) and select the library item you created in step 2. Click okay and add it to your library for future use. Hope that helps.

I'm using a really old GeForce GT 430 on my desktop that actually works just fine but its a little slow with larger models and with shadows turned on. I actually just ordered a new video card earlier tonight. I ended going with the GeForce GTX 1050Ti. Based on my research and based on the 6 year old machine I'm putting it into it easily looked like the best card available for the money right now. It's definitely not the best overall but looks to be almost an 800% improvement over what I have now. It's worth a look anyway.

Yes. The Jet Direct card was an ethernet card. I hooked the plotter up through my router. I would just try using the existing ethernet card first and see if you can get that to work. I do remember that we couldn't find Windows 7 drivers for either the printer or the Jet Direct card. It was the 64 bit XP driver that did the trick and as I recall the only way we were able to get it to work was to set it up as a network printer through the Jet Direct print server. By the way, I'm relatively certain I had it working in Windows 8 like that as well.

I was running that same plotter on Windows 7 till I got rid of it. I just used the 64 bit Windows XP driver. I was also using a Jet Direct print card though and had the plotter set up as a network printer. I think that setup may have changed the driver requirements a bit.

Might still be worth reporting Scott. As far as I know, I think Chief thought they fixed it with the latest update (at least the issue with electrical items). I haven't had to flip any plans lately and so I haven't tested but according to Ray and yourself, there are still problems and if so, I think Chief needs to know.

The problem with auto dormers is that you can hide the "auto dormer" but the individual components are are their own layers and the only way to move those items to a new layer is to explode the auto dormer. If you don't want to explode the auto dormer for some reason, either: Put the dormer onto a different floor (if possible), or... Move everything else in the plan to a unique layer. For example, the auto dormer walls should automatically be created on the Walls, Normal layer. If you move all your other interior and exterior walls to a unique layer you can essentially make it so that your dormer walls are the only walls on the Walls, Normal Layer. Therefore, turning off the Walls, Normal layer will turn off your dormer walls without having to explode your dormer. If you want to make this a permanent addition to your workflow you might even consider going into your template plan and renaming your Walls, Normal layer to something like Walls, Dormer, create a new Walls, Normal layer, and then change the layer setting for all new interior and exterior walls in your defaults to that new Walls, Normal layer.

No, I actually didn't read that thread. I did now though and I can definitely see the problem you're experiencing now that I try it with an arced wall. I tried printing to PDF using the lowest compression settings, highest DPI, and both oldest and newest PDF type settings I could with Nitro Pro and to some degree they all had the pixelation you speak of but only on arcs and off angles that are part of an object with a transparent fill. And it's only the immediate vicinity of the actual arc or off angle line segment that seems to display the problem. Strange indeed. It makes me wonder what's different about the built in PDF printer Chief is using and the presets they chose. I doubt they wrote that in-house and so it seems any settings they might be using should be reproducible with other professional PDF printing/editing software. I do understand your issue with rotating pages and I don't actually see how layout will solve that problem for you. Yes you can rotate the layout box but the page orientation will still be the same throughout. If you want to actually rotate the individual pages I see no way to do that outside of using your PDF editor (especially if your pages are different shapes or sizes). Unless Chief gives us a built in append/prepend option or fixes that pixelation issue I think you're doing the best you can by printing a few files and then combining with your PDF editor. Just an aside...I don't know what program you're using, but that whole process is super easy with the program I use, I just group select the files I want to combine, save as a new file and then either keep or delete the others depending on what I want to do... When I'm individually printing pages like that for the sole purpose of combining them I usually save those pages to a temporary location and then I periodically just delete or overwrite them.

I just open a blank layout for this type of thing all the time. Really very easy. Having said that, I'm not sure what the problems you're having with transparent fills are. I just tested with three PDF printers and the results are the same with each one. I used Chief Architect's built in PDF printer, Nitro Pro, and Microsoft Print To PDF. Transparency works just fine with all three. And FWIW... Nitro Pro works exactly like the example program you posted a link to. It offers the choice to append to an existing file.

You're very welcome Ross : )

Okay then. Here's one I just made up... Pantry Doors.calibz No pressure at all, but if it works for you and helps you out, maybe just consider sending me a small donation at paypal.me/AlaskanSons Its all good either way...I've wanted one of these in the past anyway and I'm sure it will come in handy again.

Check your second floor Larry. If you drew them in an elevation view you may have had the second floor active when you drew them...therefore placing them on the second floor.

Ya, I realized that. My point still stands. Your polylines aren't actually connected. Here's a quick video...

or...is it possible your polyline isn't actually closed? Try going around and checking your connections or maybe try clicking Close Polyline. I opened that DWG up and noticed that not all the perimeter polylines are actually connected.

Are you looking for something like this without all the extra fluffery.?

This type of roof can definitely be done almost completely automatically. Here's a quick example. Note that you can either break the wall like I did on the top OR you can use the Gable/Roof Line tool...

Also, I would really recommend you consider going through the user guide, possibly reading the manual, and most of all...checking the help files via Help>Launch Help. More often than not it will not only answer your specific question but will help you to learn the program's nuances much more effectively. Here's one of the topics that comes up for trusses... Drawing Trusses Trusses cannot be generated automatically: the must be manually drawn and then replicated. All trusses are drawn similar to the way CAD lines are and can be drawn in floor plan view only. See Draw Line. To draw and replicate trusses 1. Select the either the Floor/Ceiling Truss or Roof Truss tool, then click and drag within either a floor/ceiling platform or one or more roof planes. • Roof trusses seek an exterior wall and adjust their length automatically. • Floor/Ceiling trusses will snap to the wall surfaces, the exterior surface of a wall’s Main Layer, as well as to a variety of CAD-based objects, and can be drawn to any length. 2. Reposition the truss: • Floor/ceiling trusses are often positioned relative to an exterior wall or Framing Reference Marker . See Framing Reference Markers. • Roof trusses are can be positioned over a gable end wall or at the ridge end of a hip. 3. Open the truss’s specification dialog and edit its settings to meet your needs. See Roof Truss Specification Dialog or Floor/Ceiling Truss Specification Dialog. 4. Make multiple copies of the truss at specified intervals using the Multiple Copy edit tool. The copies of Roof Trusses automatically conform to the structural conditions in their new locations. As a result, replicated Roof Trusses and their labels may be different from the original. See Truss Labels. Unlike Roof Trusses, Floor/Ceiling Trusses do not conform to new structural conditions when they are either moved or copied. SeeMoving Trusses. To replicate trusses using Multiple Copy 1. Select the truss to be copied in floor plan view. 2. Click the Multiple Copy edit button. 3. Click the Multiple Copy Interval edit button to open the Multiple Copy dialog. See Multiple Copy. 4. Enter the correct spacing in the All Trusses box. Once set, click OK. 5. Select the truss and use the Move edit handle to drag it perpendicularly. The pointer becomes a four-headed arrow when it is over the Move handle. 6. New trusses appear as you drag. Drag as far as necessary to produce all desired trusses. Each truss is created according to the particular Roof/Ceiling/Truss Base planes above and below it.

You have to build a roof first...and THEN build your trusses. Your plan doesn't have a roof.

Here's a quick video with a workaround you can use when no other solution seems to fix the problem. In short though...unlock the roof trim layer and manually modify the molding...