Alaskan_Son

Can you attach the plan?

Thanks for attaching the plan. I think the problem now is that no one really knows what your terrain is actually supposed to look like and therefore we don't know the best advice to give in order to fix it. I tend to think the elevation data is incorrect and needs adjusting. One thing you can do to address at least part of your problem though is to uncheck and then check "Flatten Pad". You can also try to insert some terrain modifiers like Lowered Regions or Flat Regions.

I wouldn't even consider using HDP if your goal is realistic lighting design. I'm relatively certain you're going to need the ray tracing that is only offered by Interiors and Premier. Download the trial version and take it for a test drive.

I'm having the same issue. I've just gotten into the habit of holding down control while opening Chief and just clicking yes when the extra box pops up.

To fix the lighting issue, it depends on which version you're using. In X8 we have the option under 3D>Lighting>Adjust Sunlight to check "Sun Follows Camera". In previous versions I would just suggest either... a. 3D>Lighting>Adjust Lights>Default Sun and play with the Tilt Angle and Direction Angle settings b. CAD>Lines and put both a Sun Angle and North Pointer into the plan. Once you do that...Window>Tile Vertically (or Tile Horizontally), and play with the North Pointer and/or open the Sun Angle and make adjustments to the various settings. Adjustments made in the sun angle dbx. will change the 3D view even while the dbx is still open (thus the reason for my suggestion to tile your windows...so you can see the changes as you make them).

The "shiny" areas you are seeing are what we call z-fighting. Your roof sheathing is showing through the roofing material. This is usually caused by a model that is built really far from 0,0 or by some errant object really far from the origin. It can usually be fixed by either... a. moving the model closer to 0,0 b. deleting the errant objects c. increasing the thickness of the roofing material

Which version are you using?

Have you tried playing around with transform replicate much? You can get some pretty similar helical shapes by setting the number of copies to a very high number and then playing around with the move and rotate numbers. You can also get some pretty interesting results by exploding a cylinder.

Is that part of the stairs or the result of a primitive solid or moulding you created?

I would personally recommend that you seriously consider just going straight to Premier. I think its money well spent. We do mostly kitchen and bathroom remodel projects and I love using Chief for kitchens. I would however note that we use local custom cabinet shops almost exclusively so our ordering process may be different than yours. I know there are quite a few Chief users who use standard cabinet manufacturers though and they still prefer Chief over the alternatives. I think some still use 20/20 (or similar) as a supplemental program, but it seems that its becoming at least a little less necessary.

I was having problems as well.

As Joe said...because you can't just drop a window into the plan. It has to be inserted into a wall. Speaking of Joe, here's a thread he started about a roof accessories schedule that might also be useful to you... https://chieftalk.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?/topic/5531-skylight-symbol-roof-accessories-schedule/?hl=%2Bskylight+%2Bschedule

I don't think there's any way of having this happen automatically. Only thing I can think of is this... 1. Create a custom window symbol with the appropriate sizing, description, etc. and add it to your user library. 2. Draw a wall off to the side of your plan somewhere and drop your custom window symbol into it. 3. Drag the label over to your actual skylight. Just an idea.

I have a feeling the person who made that post was simply referring to the toolbar configuration (not realizing there are several). We have the kitchen and bath configuration in Premier which has several pre-defined cabinet styles to choose from as well.

I believe you guys, but for what its worth I wasn't able to recreate the problem on my system. Even tried pulling the plan WAY far from 0,0 and still couldn't get shelves to show through.

Sherry is absolutely correct.

That takes all of about five seconds though. Besides, I find that I have to reset my shortcuts every update anyway.

Your plan appears to be corrupted. Try attaching again or send in to tech support. Might be related to the problems you're having with roof. I'm not sure because I can't open plan. Thanks for posting plan though!

Just to clarify, both for yourself and for anyone else reading this, there's no need for group selecting or moving from floor to floor with Edit All Roof Planes, or with using the material painter in plan mode.

Gotcha. I'd bet this was a result of the particular material painter mode you were using.

Whens the last time you clicked Update Library Catalogs?

Adding 3 spaces to the end of your text seems to at least center everything. Strange indeed.

Thanks Rob. I like it! Just switched out the default icon for yours.

I see whats going on. You added the sun angle to your plan (which apparently gives you a different dbx when you try to edit your default sun) . I would just temporarily delete that and then try my instructions again. What Glenn suggested should do about the same thing, I just think the other way is easier.

I know you're not the only one who feels that way. Curious though...when is the last time you tried using the material painter? I've been using it since X3 and the only issues I've ever had have been with walls and only because of the ways walls and rooms work (really a matter of user error and misunderstanding at the time). I think a lot of you guys are really missing out on a valuable tool because of bad past experience. I really encourage you guys to give it another shot. Just make sure "Blend" is toggled off though.