Alaskan_Son

One more thing. Really work on trying to communicate your questions more clearly. Describe what are are trying to accomplish. When you say things like "I don't know how to do this", we really have no idea what you're talking about. Maybe ask something more like "How do I create a 2D elevation detail like this...automatically?" To which we could respond something like "Use a cross section camera, that's what they're for...duh." For what its worth, the detail you drew up with poly-lines should really only have taken 2 seconds with a cross section camera. If you would have learned the program in order though, you would have known that. Just remember that. Try to avoid the temptation to take too many shortcuts, and be prepared to focus on one thing at a time till you really get your head wrapped around it. If you don't get those little things figured out, you're going to end up with a whole crapload of things you barely understand and you'll end up fighting with Chief for the rest of your life. : )

Makes a lot more sense now. Its just unusual to have a 15 year old trying to learn how to use $2,700 software. People don't typically buy something like that if they don't have a notable amount of architectural, construction, or general life experience. And I don't say that in a negative way toward you. Just that you're outside the typical mold. Knowing a little more about who you are and where you're coming from should really help us help you a little better. Anyway, having said all that, I would recommend you take time to go through the Users Guide (at least starting with Chapter 2) and Use the Help files. They are both extremely valuable learning tools. Both can be found if you click on the Help tab at the top of the screen inside Chief Architect. The Users Guide may seem really boring, but it will guide you through all the basics. Don't underestimate learning the basics however dull they may seem.

David, You should really consider paying for some one on one training. It could really benefit you.

I'm not trying to be mean David, and I'm not trying to discourage you from learning the craft. I just think you're putting the cart before the horse. As Johnny suggested above, it really won't do you much good in the long run.

If they're your father's plans than its not suspicious. That's why I asked. I will note though that it sounds like your father didn't draw them or else you wouldn't be talking about replacing the professional architect your father is paying. If that IS the case, be careful. Just because your father paid someone to draw plans doesn't mean he bought the rights to copy their work.

Maybe a little, but no...I'm mostly curious because the nature and overall tone of your questions has been very unusual, and to be honest, the fact you're copying plans just seems suspicious. I think you aren't going about learning this trade in the proper way. You're running into a ton of roadblocks because you've skipped all the basics.

I'm really curious David, Are you a builder, a homeowner, a hobbyist, or...? And what is your goal with the plans you're copying? Are you trying to build a home of your own? Just trying to get some practice? Or....

My biggest frustration with ray traces is that we can always make them work, but as you have suggested, its similar to photography...we play with lighting and materials to get the desired affect. Problem is that I personally don't want it to "look good" all the time. What I'm after is realism, and often times the realistic settings are the ones that result in the light bleed, spottiness, and other various issues. Once adjusted to alleviate the aforementioned issues, the scene is often flat, artificial feeling, or otherwise simply unrealistic.

Nice catch guys.

I think this is just how Chief works Larry, and how most plans are set up anyway...with the floor framing being displayed on the floor below. I'm curious though are you just building ceiling framing or are you utilizing the lower half of the build framing dbx (the subfloor/build floor framing section)?

Check the Structure tab. Several of the material settings are in there. Just like when selecting a room...

I don't think its really a "template" type thing. Most Chief users do one of 2 things (just very brief descriptions)... 1. The most popular method...Draw up the as-built, create a CAD Detail From View and then use that CAD detail as a background or "mask". Search CAD mask or As-built mask and I'm sure you'll come up with a handful of threads and videos. 2. What I personally do...Create 3 different plans. First I draw up an As-Built and send any views to layout as necessary. Second, I do a Save As, create a Demo Plan, and send any views to layout as necessary. Third, I do another Save As and create a Proposed Plan and send views from that plan to layout as necessary. There's also the 3rd option of using a demolition wall type set to "no room definition" so that you can have 2 walls occupy the same space and just control their display via layer settings, but I don't think this method is very popular. To be honest, I'm not sure why as I haven't messed with it much. Might actually be a good method...not really sure.

There could be a better way to create a tipout, but I definitely wouldn't list this as a bug. And FYI, all you have to do is make one of your "doors" a library item and you can keep the automatic indicators...easy peasy. Now the handle...that may be a different story.

I think you said a lot with this statement. Chief has to be careful how far they go. I'm sure they don't want to alienate their main user base and its my strong belief that we need to keep things specialized. The best and most effective tools are always specialized. Might sound a bit harsh, but I think if a business wants to grow and really get into doing commercial work, great, but just switch programs. That being said, I agree that there are a few minor things Chief could probably add without being sellouts and without screwing the program up. I was talking to an architect a while back who chose Archicad over Chief simply due to the fact Chief had no curtain wall tools. I'd say the 4 most common things I've heard in passing throughout the years are... 1. Curtain walls 2. Sloped walls 3. HVAC tools 4. "BIM" I think the first 2 would be an excellent addition even for the specialized tool Chief is now.

I gotta say...That has a nice ring to it

I'm curious...did you just upgrade to Windows 10 recently? After upgrading to Windows 10 several months ago I experienced the same behavior. The video card driver update "failed"... yet completed successfully. And I believe its happened again since then on successive updates.

You might want to attach the plan for a better answer, but on the surface, it kinda looks like it might be a video card issue.

Nice catch Curt, that's gotta be it. Johnny, it looks like what you did is change the font associated with the Text style titled "Default Text Style". You actually have to assign a text style to your Text Defaults and Rich Text Defaults... OOB, the only text defaults that carry the "Default Text Style" are the Electrical Text Defaults, Framing Text Defaults, and HVAC Text Defaults. Rich Text Defaults are all set individually, and the other regular text defaults are either using the 1/8", 1/4", 1/2", or Plot Plan text styles.

You're welcome guys.

If you ever figure it out, please post back here with your findings. I've only tried exporting a Chief plan to Sketchup once (just the other day actually) and had the same outcome... One single wall missing.

You are of course welcome

Larry, Glenn's point was indeed great, but in the future it can be done as I stated above by shift selecting and then cutting and pasting directly back into position (Cntrl+X followed by Cntrl+Alt+V). The cutting process picks up the points along with the dimensions...all in one step.

Good tip Glenn.

Sorry, just realized what you meant by this. You can't group select the dimensions and points because other items that are on the same layer as the points (dimensions, manual by default) are still displayed that are preventing you from doing so. Try this...Shift select and then CUT. When you cut it will take the points with it. Then paste hold position and while the items are still selected you can open the object dbx and change the layer (changing layer should actually be your only option available).

After isolating the layers, don't shift select the items, group select them with the select tool. It will select both the dimension lines and the points. If you shift select while using a dimension tool it will only select the dimension lines.