Alaskan_Son

I think this is actually a bug that needs to be reported and corrected. The sill plate will center itself beneath the main layer so long as the foundation is anywhere beneath that main layer. If you move your foundation so that its just inside that main layer you'll see that the sill plate re-positions itself so that its aligned with the exterior of the foundation wall (as you would expect to see it). I see no good reason why it should behave like it does. We should really have a setting that controls the sill plate location but if anything it should probably default to align with the outside of the foundation main layer. As it is now, I think maybe the best thing to do is just manually re-position them where necessary.

Here's what you should really do... Post the plan. Then one of us can take a look at it and give you a much better and more accurate answer.

There's really nothing secret about the birdsmouth value. It just the dimensions of the notch in the rafter. By default Chief gives it a notch with a seat cut the width of the exterior wall. So, for the sake of easy explanation...If you had a 12" wide exterior wall, the Raise Off Plate/Birdsmouth numbers for a 2/12 pitch would be -2. For a 3/12 pitch it would be -3, for a 4/12 pitch it would be -4 and so on. When you check "Trusses (no Birdsmouth)" the structure defaults then come from your Framing Defaults>Trusses>Top cord. By default, the bottom of that top cord will rest exactly at the outside corner of your exterior wall...or with a Raise Off Plate value of 0". The problem with using a formula to figure out that raise off plate value is that it depends entirely on how you want your truss constructed. Using the exact same roof pitch and the exact same overhang I can get a cantilevered truss with basically an infinite number of raise off plate values...including a limited number of negative values.

You can do as Joe suggested but I personally think there's no problem using the library. Just temporarily switch your Current CAD Layer or Annotation Set when you're placing the blocks. It just takes a matter of seconds. There is also a 3rd option...You could use a separate warehouse plan specifically for all those details and just copy and paste to and from that. And you could also consider using simple text macros for many of those text blocks.

Yep. This is what I do on a pretty regular basis as well. If I start to suspect I've taken too long I copy the whole text before continuing...just in case.

Jerry, If you're not familiar with it, we have a tool called Plan Footprint that many people use to create plot plans. When done that way, the plot plan would be in the Project Browser>CAD Details as it is in this case and not just controlled via layer sets and layer settings. Maybe search Plan Footprint in the Help files to get a quick primer on how it works (unless of course you already know and it just slipped your mind).

I think your problem is that the property line is in a different location in your plot plan than it is in the main plan. You either moved the building in your plot plan or moved the property line in your main plan. Fix that to either align them or delete one of them and you should be good.

I think measuring in elevation is the only reliable way to do what you're looking for. I'm not sure there's any perfect formula because the roof can be built in any number of configurations, with different structure settings, with different baselines, with different heights, and most importantly those numbers don't always have any connection at all to the plate height or the wall. In other words, there are not enough constants and there are too many variables to create a workable formula or table.And just to clarify, you stated earlier that what you were doing involved trial and error so I assumed you hadn't been simply taking a measurement. You can very quickly get an EXACT measurement though. No trial and error necessary.

I'm not sure I'm following why this has to be so complicated. Have you tried simply taking a cross section view and just measuring the distance between the top of your plate and the bottom of your sub fascia? That should Be the number you need right?

If I am understanding correctly, it sounds like what you're after is maintaining page sequence between multiple layouts...Layout #1 has pages 1-60, Layout #2 has pages 61-100, etc. If this is correct, I would be curious as to why you're using separate layouts in the first place. Is there some reason you can't just include it all in a single layout? If my assumption is incorrect, can you perhaps clarify what you're trying to do? Maybe Glenn's guess is correct?

Okay. I just didn't read anything in Glenn's post suggesting that the point be included within the block. And I was actually envisioning a situation similar to what Rashid brought up where the desired insertion point is not associated with any of the lines in the block therefore you have nothing to snap to. You are correct that place point has some benefits, but you can use a point marker (or any other snappable item for that matter) for the same thing without including it in the block if you either place it after the the block is created or deselect it before reblocking, and it has the added benefit of easier relocation if the desired insertion point isn't related to any particular point within the block. To be clear about one thing... When you use Place Point like in Chief's video, the only unique thing that's happening is that the temporary point marker isn't being selected and included in the block (because its not possible)...nothing more than that. That's the reason you can still snap to it. Deselect the point marker before blocking (or just don't select it in the first place) and you have the exact same thing.

Thanks for taking the time to make a video Glenn. For all intents and purposes, entering coordinates isn't exactly the same thing as being able to drag a point marker around and snap it to things (or things to it). Anyway, still appreciate you taking the time. One quick note though for anyone who doesn't realize it. You don't need to actually add anything at all to your block to change the insertion point. All you have to do is click on any location where you want the insertion point to be. It's really that easy. Of course it helps if you have something to work with to originally set the point, but the insertion point can really be anywhere at all...even in blank space.

If you were to post the plan we could stop guessing and you'd probably have an answer within minutes.

In addition to Perry's suggestion, you can also consider using a text box with an arrow along with the blank line type...or, you could also manually move the automatically created labels over into your table. I'm not a macro master so there might be other macro methods as well but those are a couple that come to mind. Room finish shedule is probably a better idea though.

I fully understand how to use templates and do use them from time to time. I just choose not to. I really don't find it all that difficult or time consuming to start from scratch for much of what I do. Contrary to what some of you dedicated full house plan guys think, there are a lot of benefits to not using a template. Anyway Larry, you are the one having an issue and I was just suggesting that perhaps you need to relink individual views rather than the entire layout. It was just a thought.

Just select the view and then click on the little Relink tool in the edit toolbar. Not at my computer but if I remember correctly it looks like a couple of zeros overlapping each other.

I'm not sure I follow everything you guys are doing but it sounds overly complicated. The way I operate I usually find it faster and easier to create new layouts from scratch for the majority of what I do; however, when I do use a layout template I simply relink the as-built views to my as built plan, relink the demo views to my demo plan, and relink the proposed views to my proposed plan. Easy peasy. Are you perhaps trying to relink the entire layout instead of the individual boxes?

I don't think Glenn was suggesting the point be added to the block. It's just a good tool to help situate/locate your new insertion point. It's especially useful when your insertion point is outside your block or at some other location where you have nothing to snap to. In other words, the point is just used as a tool and then deleted. The problem with using Place Point instead of a Point Marker is that you can't select and move the Temporary Point to help properly position it like you can with a regular Point Marker.

Ya, I can see the added difficulty created by having to align the tapered column using a part that has no snaps. I had to leave the office and head to the job so I don't have time right now, but I'll try to make a quick video later. In the meantime... You are correct that a guide of some sort is basically necessary. Technically all you really need is to know the distance between the center of your column and the top outside edge of that taper and you can simply offset by hitting tab while dragging but I would personally probably use a guide as well. You could also use point to point move in a couple elevation views but that would also require stealing some snap points from a CAD Detail From View. Here is the method I would probably recommend that should work for even a complicated layout with a lot of jogs and offsets: 1. Figure out your offset dimension (4" in your case if I remember correctly). 2. Create a room polyline using your balcony/deck/porch/exterior room. 3. Hold down C and resize the polyline using one of the corner edit handles. Resize to make It smaller by the size of your offset. 4. Select your column and use Multiple Copy to drag out however many columns you want for any particular edge. 5. Group select your columns and Make Parallel/Perpendicular to the desired edge of the polyline you previously created. 6. Click Align/Distribute Along Line. Click the desired polyline edge and align centers and distribute centers to end points. NOTE: You could also manually place the corner posts, place copies between them and simply use the normal Align/Distribute tool. The whole thing should be pretty stinkin' quick. It could be even easier if it weren't for the offset issue you have to contend with. There are other methods as well, but I think that one might be the easiest and most flexible.

Can you guys not just use "working" layer sets? You can have any various layers turned on in those sets but turned off in the sets you send to layout. This way you don't have to worry about deleting anything if you don't want to.

C'mon Rich, stop beating around the bush. Tell us what you really think : )

In addition to checking the 3D warehouse try the bonus library titled "Image CAD Blocks" or better yet maybe..."3D Plants". You can also do a quick search of CAD trees and I'd venture to guess you'll find a bunch of online sources. I'm thinking the 3D Plants bonus catalog might be your best bet. In VECTOR VIEWS they look nicely generic and "sketchy" and work for both plan and elevation views...worth a look anyway. If the face counts start to cause you problems you can always create a CAD Detail from View and just steal (cut and paste) the 2D CAD for any given view(s).

No plan from either of you guys...Joe?...Ben?

Have you ever thought about simply TRYING it? I'm personally a little partial to the trace method, however CAD to Walls seems to work fine for me. I don't care for it, but it seems to do what it was made for.

Can you post that plan with a description of what you're trying to do? I'm relatively certain there's a 10 second method you're probably overlooking.