Alaskan_Son

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...

Thanks Adrean. Here's a video with couple quick tips that might help speed up your process. It also includes another alternative method...

Hmmm...That you are going to have to show me. You must have found some magic combination I am unaware of. If you have, I would love to know what it is. That may come in handy.

Hey Joe, Not sure if this will help or not, but I don't believe "Default Text Style" is doing what you think it does. That text style is just another static text style and actually you can name it anything you want to. It might as well be named "Chief's OOB Text Style". It doesn't have any unique function.

You bet!

Don't use those. Use the actual cylinder and sphere tools...

Gotcha. Ya, the invisible stem wall still produces a sill plate for whatever reason...thus my reason for making it essentially zero thickness.

That IS an invisible stem wall.

Yep. That's the method I showed in my first video. I just added a couple steps to adjust the footer offset and then to clean up this one minor detail in the back left hand corner of the garage.

Ya, I mentioned in the video you can make the footing smaller. Regarding the wall thickness though...if you don't make the wall super narrow you end up with this extra bugger... Yes you could turn off auto framing and delete it, or maybe put it on its own layer and hide the layer, or whatever, but 2 extra seconds to change the wall thickness and it goes away for good. Easy peasy.

Not sure what Perry's method is, but his post got me to thinking about this again, and I think I came up with a better method than than the first one I posted... By the way, there may be better ways still, I'm not sure. We honestly don't build like this around here so today is really the first time I've tried to make this particular situation happen. NOTE: At one point in the video I set the wall to the invisible wall type. That step is not actually necessary...it just makes for a little better line display in some views. If you do set the wall to invisible, you'll just need to make sure that wall layer is on for the footing to show up.

Here you guy Larry. I think its definitely worth watching for anyone dealing with a similar situation. NOTE: Later in the video took a moment to reshape a couple wall polylines. I noticed after the fact that the little step in the foundation was actually being caused by some inconsistencies in the wall definitions above. It could have been fixed automatically by adjusting those wall definitions.

2 quick notes Larry... 1. I personally don't think you should be using a monolithic foundation for that situation. 2. I think most foundations that combine multiple "foundation types" are going to require a little manual modification. Video when I have a few minutes...

This is a major problem and I have reported it in the past as well. Acfually the leader lines sometimes get disconnected from their text and sometimes they get disconnected from the object. Sometimes they will even move to another object. It can make for a real mess. What I've resorted to doing usually is exploding the block in another view or CAD detail and then cutting/pasting into the new view. One of my custom tool sets requires accurately placing a cad block initially though so in that situation I create a cad detail from view, place the block in that, explode it, and then cut/paste hold position into the real view. In that particular case I can continue to hit Control+Alt+V for additional copies of the exploded block as well.

Funny Rob... you just got 4 points for asking the question but Joe, who was helpful and actually answered the question got none... I'll give you a point Joe, I know sometimes it's all the thanks we get...not like you need any more (I'm surprised you're able to get out and play golf as much as you do under the weight of all that reputation : )

You must not have ready the release notes or the New Features list eh? Here's a quick video...