Alaskan_Son

Ya, I totally get it Joe. I'm sure you can manage it just fine. It's statements like this one though... I personally have multiple plans open all the time as well and I want to see accurate info. in each one of those plans. If a person is using those same global variables in more than one of those plans (which may not be the case for you but I know it can be the case for some), only one of the plans can actually be returning the proper values. I just know of people who have unfortunately actually given up on using macros either in part or entirely...due to improperly managed global variables just like these ones I happen to know for a fact that it's actually a much bigger problem than people even let on. I've had more than one party contact me privately about this particular issue. Honestly, until Chief provides us more of the capabilities we've been requesting, there is no perfect solution. On a side note though, you can use a hack I mentioned in another thread to actually utilize a layout box right in the plan which would stabilize that whole scenario. It just requires linking that layout box to the correct plan. You could even set multiple file paths for various purposes by using multiple layout boxes. The layout boxes placed into plans will remember the file path too.

That's very kind of you to provide this Joe but I would caution anybody thinking about using this method to set file paths to be very careful... The file path is going to based on whichever layout box last activated the global variables and this could conceivably and very easily set the wrong file info. It may work fine if you're very careful and consistent with your workflow but I would personally encourage people to stick with setting those file paths manually. It's much safer and far more stable. No, it's not automatic but then again you also know it's not going to change on you. There's a fine line between automation and over-automation. Not saying Joe's macro isn't a valid method, just that it should be used with eyes wide open. I've seen a lot of problems caused by people trying to take automation a little too far...or at least too far for some users.

I suspect that in the past you had your line type, color, and weight to be set by layer... ...but now you don't.

My idea didn't prove to be as effective as I thought it might be so I'm not even going to go over it. If you really want to use the custom arrow style, I think your best bet is to first... Create your arrows individually and block them Place an insertion point in those blocks right where you want them to snap to your line Set up your line and label how you want it. Snap the arrow blocks to the ends of your line Block that whole thing and add it to your library Then, when you want to place your joist direction labels... Place the block in the plan and first rotate as necessary Explode the block and resize the line Snap your arrow blocks to the ends of your line. Doesn't actually take all that long.

What does your arrow look like? The reason is I as is that I have a solution in mind that might work for you but it depends on the shape of your arrow.

Hey Alan, There are a good handful of ways to accomplish what you're trying to do, but here's one of the most straightforward in case you haven't considered it... Simply set that wall to be a railing and give it a very tall and narrow glass top rail. Just a thought.

We had that in X8 and probably back as far as X4 or X5. Maybe I should have been more clear... We have the entirely new function attribute for rooms. IMO though that attribute essentially does what the type_name attribute used to do. That is it carries through the name of the room's function which is chosen from a preset list. The type_name may not be in and of itself a new attribute but it has new possibilities in that it can now be used to return a custom type_name that is set by the user. I guess my point is that its a new functionality to look at if a person is asking about new attributes. I'm not sure how useful those will be. Well they're still new attributes and they're certainly useful to me.

You left out some of my personal faves... layer_line_color layer_line_style layer_line_weight layer_text_style and we also have type_name to go with the new room type capabilities.

I'm really curious what exactly you're talking about. How would Ruby know the file path based on the file path of your plan? I assume you are trying to set the file path for a different file right? You would have to set that independently no matter what Ruby capabilities Chief gave us wouldn't you? As it is right now we can DISPLAY the entire file path using the %file% macro like I said. Accessing the file name would essentially have to be done like Joe said using a layout box but that could actually be done directly in the plan file too. Not sure what the point would be though. Can you possibly clarify what you're trying to do with that file path and how it is connected to the actual plan file path? If I understand correctly what you're trying to do, I typically just set that with a global variable when I first start using the plan or macro. I just copy and paste the file path right from windows explorer into a macro that looks something like this... $FilePath = ' PASTE FILE PATH HERE '.to_s.strip.gsub("\\", "/") + "/" Only takes a few seconds.. NOTE: Ruby doesn't like the backslashes used in Windows Explorer so they need to be replaced with forward slashes using a standard run of the mill global substitution (.gsub). The trick though is to make sure and use single quotes only. I only bring this up because it took me forever to figure out a way to auto-magically substitute backslashes and thought I might save someone else the time and heartache.

I think one invaluable feature that is probably too often overlooked is "Resize About"... If you understand what it's doing and set it accordingly, I think it can make our jobs a LOT easier.

OIP = Object Information Panel... Added macro functionality...a good handful of new object attributes (including the new OIP fields) Regarding the file path...the %file% macro already gave us the file path.

Hate to sound insensitive to your plight but I can't for the life of me figure out why you're investing so much time and effort trying to fix a problem that is easily solved by simply printing to PDF first. You say you have valid reasons, but I'm really curious what they are. Almost nobody prints directly from their design software. I mean if you take the file to a print shop they have to have a PDF or .PRN anyway. It's totally standard practice. Also, how have you been able to prove it's a problem on Chief's end and not a problem with the printer driver? I personally have never witnessed the problem you speak of either and have used Chief along with my own roll fed large format printer.

I don't know of any way to set the tab stops. They seem to be pre-set at every 10 spaces. They do work though.

This is not entirely accurate. Chief will recognize "\t" just fine if that macros is placed into a RICH Text box.

Hey Scott, As I mentioned in my email, it looks like I'm not going to be able to make it. It sounds like Joe is going to be there anyway so you should be in good hands. FWIW, Joe and I both have our own systems for area analysis and for header labels and actually almost all of it was and still is already possibly in X8 and prior...even the label switching (header labels in one layer set and standard window labels in another) WITHOUT using referenced macros. I just chose to keep my previous label switching method on tha low low just because the method has a potential to cause problems with your layer sets if you don't follow a very strict set of rules. The label switching just got a whole lot easier and more versatile in X9 though so now it can be safely used by just aboot anyone. My favorite features in X9 though?? There are actually quite a few that are pretty notable to me personally but among them... The new OIP fields. Super cool having 4 usable text fields. This one is a biggie for anyone using a lot of macros for plan automation. The new Ruby attributes we were given are great. The new drawing group controls. That one is sweet. Might be my favorite once I get to use it a little more The new Shelf Ceiling and the seemingly under-touted "Flush Eve" will both save a lot of unnecessary futzing around to get those areas properly detailed. The speed of rendering (including the unadvertised fact that the various special rendering types are temporarily suspended during camera moves) is a fantastic improvement. The ability to specify handles and locations for door a drawer fronts on an item by item bass is super handy. I don't know, it's hard to say. On the surface, it doesn't seem like a particularly flashy upgrade this time around, but I think the truth is that it's actually one of the best from a productivity enhancement standpoint (at least for me).

You sir are welcome.

Here it is along with a couple others.... A quick grayscale version... Grayscale.ico Or the purple version you mentioned with inverted colors... Inverted.ico Or a different "button" version... Button.ico And for those of you who don't know how to change the icon... 1. Download the .ico file. 2. Right click on the X9 desktop shortcut and then click on Properties. 3. Click Change Icon 4. Click Browse and locate the previously downloaded .ico file 5. Select the desired icon and then click Okay 6. Click Okay again 7. If you get the Access Denied popup just click Continue.

I think we both actually used the same method I did in my first video. Essentially we just unchecked monolithic slab foundation, adjusted a few height settings, and fixed some wall alignment issues. I just made it seem more complicated because I was trying to explain a few of the intricacies in a bit more detail and ended up unnecessarily rebuilding the foundation during that process. I also added some steps right at the end there to clean up some extra details as you say. Having said that, once I gave it a little more consideration I definitely think the method I went over in my second video is far superior. Here's one last video that hopefully clarifies a couple things for you (and others)...

The answer to that question really depends on what specific information you want to display and whether you want it displayed inside the callout or outside the callout. If you show EXACTLY how you want your callout to display in layout at the following locations on the callout I'm sure one of us can give you a better answer...

No sir. I don't.

I think that's where Solid Builder really shines. I haven't personally used it but I know what it's capable of and it's really pretty cool. I think it was specifically made for panelizing outfits like that. We used to work for a company that panelized all their walls like that at a big panel plant and then we went and put it all together onsite. Like anything though, if the 3D model wasn't accurate we would end up with some incorrectly framed walls. It wasn't unusual for us to have to rip off top plates and install our own. I guess I'm not sure, maybe it wasn't the 3D model that was wrong, maybe the guys on the ground weren't following the plans correctly. It was also pretty common that we had to go back and staple off all the sheathing and I know that wasn't because of poor modeling : )

This isn't quite the same. It would be nice to have a true panel optimization feature in Chief though. In the meantime, there are a few standalone panel optimizing software packages out there. It would be nice to be able to pull the info directly from the model though.

Here's Dave's symbols being used in conjunction with Chief's new ability to show drawers opened and closed. It would really be nice if we had the additional controls I go over in the video...

Thanks for sharing Dave. A quick video showing how those might be used along with Chief's new ability to show drawers opened and closed as well as to show Chief a few additional features that would be nice to have...