Alaskan_Son

Here's a video going over a few pointers that might help you out Kenneth. It goes over... Creating your own custom column library object using a cabinet instead of the pre-made column symbol Modifying the pre-made column symbol to work like you want it to. How to dimension to those items that have no plan view snaps by stealing snaps from a CDFV (CAD Detail From View)

Steve, there are also a ton of PDF to DWG converters out there. Just do a quick search. Most of them offer a free trial or a free online conversion service. I think some are better than others, you may end up with lots of little disconnected line segments, and if you use a trial version you may end up with extra linework/"watermarks" BUT no matter what...at least you'll have something to snap to.

Here you go Larry...

Make sure to close the plan before trying to zip or post.

The checkbox Glenn was referring to is found here... If that doesn't do what you're looking for, let us know more specifically the situation you need to use it for...there may be a better foundation method you might be missing out on.

Select the layout box, click on the layout box layers tool and the select the layer set you want to use.

Post the plan and I'll show you how, but on a side note, are you sure you don't just want to balloon frame that wall?

Thanks Perry. I really wasn't trying to show how to create views of voids and duct spaces though. Just trying to offer Joe a solution for adding that area to it's "parent" room.

I personally think this is a better solution. It's the same suggestion I mentioned earlier but I thought it might make a little more sense if I showed you...

Joe, to get what you are after maybe try drawing a VERY short section of wall set to no room definition at one of the transitions. It might be a little tricky but it should work.

Actually, Chief works almost exactly like that already. Select your desired tool and then marquis select everything in any given area(s) while holding down the shift or control and only those particular object types will be selected.

OK, the conversation has shifted a little… I include those chases in living area/living space calculations; HOWEVER, I do not include those as part of the room square footage. That's a different story.

What the heck just happened? We went from talking about what we included as Living Area to the definitions of and local requirements for figuring FAR. Not the same thing and may even use 2 different sets of criteria in many cases.

Just sent you a PM

Not by my way of thinking. It's just dead space. It's really only "dead space" if you truly isolate those areas by placing them outside the building envelope.

Really? That's not correct any place I know of. I do the same...always have. IMO it really makes sense for almost every square footage usage a person can think of.

In that case... 1. Make sure to draw some extra lines outside your template area (perhaps an entire border) just to make sure the whole thing is included in the print job. 2. Under Drawing Sheet Setup change the scale to 1 to 1. 3. Again...Print To Scale

2 things... When sending to layout, send at a 1 to 1 scale... When printing, print To Scale, NOT using Check Plot at...

There's other free* open source 3D CAD software out there too. I would respectfully suggest you use one of those many options instead if you really believe what you're preaching. Consider all the time and tens of dollars you've put in so far as part of your own personal donation to the cause. It seems you hold other people's investments of time, money, and/or talents in fairly low esteem, is yours different? *initial software download might be free but somebody, somewhere, and at some time has or will pay for it in one way or another. It's a simple matter of fact. With all due respect, you're just fooling yourself if you think otherwise.

Yep. Plus, that toggle is located under a subsection called "Troubleshooting". Here's what it says in the Help file... The Troubleshooting settings can be used to troubleshoot performance in 3D views. • When Use Enhanced Lighting is checked, Standard rendered views generate lighting effects that require a video card that supports OpenGL 2.0. Unchecking this box may speed up Standard rendering times somewhat; however, the quality of lighting effects will be reduced. Not available if your video card does not support OpenGL 2.0. See OpenGL and Hardware. • Software Rendered Overlays helps address specific errors that can occur with certain video cards and is checked by default. In some rare instances, this may slow rendering time somewhat. Note that it will become checked automatically if the program encounters certain error conditions. • Command Flushing - Select an option from the drop-down list to control how often the program flushes cached video memory. “Rarely” is selected by default and will produce fastest rendering times on most systems, but “Frequently” may be helpful for older video cards.

As I understand it the Enhanced Lighting toggle is simply a video card troubleshooting tool and SHOULD NOT be toggled off under normal circumstances. The correct way to control that shadow effect is by adjusting your ambient occlusion settings as Kevin suggested. Turning off Enhanced Lighting is going to have other unwelcome side effects.

I always include in total

Sounds to me like you need to reinstall your printer drivers. Doesn't sound like a Chief Architect issue to me.

Chief said not long ago that they are still working on those maps. I don't think they're actually available yet for all that many materials. It sounded like the goal was to get most of them ready to be released along with the final public release of X9.

Sorry, I didn't mean to say you have to use a different view type. You have to use a different rendering type, my bad...I corrected my post to reflect that. And I didn't mention that step because I figured it was a no-brainer. Michael's example that prompted the question was done in the standard rendering technique.