Alaskan_Son

Auto populates with 12" for me. My guess is that it has something to do with the template you're using and how it may have been modified in the past. I believe that setting just remembers the last value you typed in there.

Yup. Easy to reproduce. Looks like a bug to me too.

Not sure shy you're using a Referenced File. Why not drop the DWG information directly into the existing plan file? This way you can simply place onto its own layer and move it around freely.

Next time post your question in the General Q&A section. This forum is for sharing actual symbol and content resources. To answer your question though, double click in the Formula field. That field on the right is just the results of what gets entered on the left.

Open Object>Advanced Sizing Uncheck Update when Object Dimensions Change under 3D Geometry Dimensions Change the Object Dimensions>Width to 32" (or whatever you want your bounding box width to be) A couple notes: You should see that the Bounding Box Spacing numbers are automatically populated with the required Left and Right offsets. You could replace Steps 2 and 3 by just entering these offsets manually if you want. With Update when Object Dimensions Change left unchecked (under 3D Geometry Dimensions), any changes to the toilet dimensions will only change the bounding box. This is really a pretty handy feature but you may or may not want this behavior, so it may be a good idea to recheck that setting once your offsets are auto calculated.

Here’s a possible clue: Where is your sub fascia?

This really depends on what you mean by "the right way". If for example the cabinet will be ordered as 2 separate units, then I'd say 2 separate cabinets is the right way. If you're drawing plans for the cabinet shop and you think simply adding a note that says "Build island as single unit" will do the trick, then I see nothing wrong with simply building with 2 cabinets. If its just for a rough cabinet layout, I would use separate cabinets all day long. If however you're building a frameless unit and need to show and account for only a single 3/4" divider between those openings, then a single cabinet is probably the right way. It just completely depends on what exactly you need to communicate and to who.

I think it would serve us all well to remember to use the Help Files. This tip (regarding stair selection modes) for example is right at the top of the page if you select a set of stairs and then either click Launch Help or hit the F1 key. I still use the Help files all the time.

There are A LOT of different ways you can harness the power of both Schedules and the Materials List in Chief (which of course can be further supplemented using Excel). The biggest challenge is deciding exactly how to get the information from the model to one of those 2 places. Some pieces of information are easier to gather than others and its important to understand some of the limitations before you waste too much time setting up a system that's going to fall apart as soon as you introduce a new variable. This soffit situation for example can be handled a number of ways and you could spend an enormous amount of time setting up, tweaking, and testing a macros system like what Chris generously provided; however, that macro system would likely report completely incorrect information as soon as you switched to a gable roof and it would get even worse as soon as that roof plane had variable overhang dimensions. If you want to set up a consultation session, let me know. I think even a short conversation would be well worth the minimal investment.

Quick Tip: If you want to use information from the actual cabinet shelves in the model to create your CAD lines do the following to speed up the process... Either use the Delete Surface tool to delete the door front material OR set up a temporary camera that cuts into your cabinets. Once you have the actual shelving in view, create a CAD Detail From View. Group select all the shelf lines. Paste Hold Position back into your main elevation view. While the lines are still selected, change line style to dashed.

Easy to reproduce. Definitely seems to be an issue with Chief's handling of arcs that are part of solids in newer versions. In fact, you can create a similar object in X13 using the aforementioned boolean operations (finished object looks fine), save the plan, open in X15, and without making any changes, bullnose edge is wonky. For now, I would suggest converting that arc to a multiple segment polyline. Oh, and please report to tech support so it gets fixed.

Hahaha. That was actually what I was originally thinking of suggesting. The CAD tools had already been introduced to the conversation though so it seemed like that would ONLY be adding extra steps. Figured I'd throw something new out there : )

That would make sense if the goal wasn't convolution. Once we head down the path to saving steps, we're back to just drawing with walls in the proper manner.

I was able to simply select and delete. Not sure what might be happening on your end.

Okay, if we're talking about ridiculously convoluted and inefficient methods here's one for the pile: Click on the Polygon Shaped Deck tool. Set it to Define by: Sides, Number of Sides: 8, and Side Length: 60" Click on a blank area in your plan Select 3 of the walls and Point to Point Move where you want them on your plan. Open the walls up, uncheck Railing, uncheck No Locate, and change to your desired Wall Type.

I have some.

No. I'm sorry, but this isn't a good solution and there's a reason I personally didn't mention it. This will cause your foundation in that area to build up to the top of subfloor and it will remove your sill plate and it will also stop sub-floor from extending beneath your wall as it should.

It should be noted that this solution doesn't work if your wall doesn't isn't a symmetrical wall type since the tool reverses wall layers. It can also leave you chasing your tail if you want different doors reporting to opposite sides on a single wall. I assume you mean the invisible wall and not the window? If so, yes, I agree.

In addition to the tips @Joe_Carrick and @DBCooper already gave, I would also suggest you consider: That your Temporary Dimensions may not be measuring to the main layer and that your walls may not be the dimension that you're seeing. So, when you hit tab and enter 5' and see that the wall is 5'-2", you may be seeing the dimension of the wall's main layer and both the interior and exterior surfaces wrapping around the ends. That when you hit tab and enter a dimension, it's also important that you make sure the angle is correct. You might have entered 5' or 60", but if the angle wasn't 45 degrees then 5' could result in any number of different wall lengths. Going to your Default Settings>Walls>General Wall and changing your Resize About setting to be able to control which layer of your wall you're using to define the wall length while you're dragging out your walls. That the Lock settings inside your Wall Specification dialog aren't affecting anything once you close that dialog down. The only work for changes to affect changes made inside that dialog. If you want to set up a private training session, let me know. I think I could help you become a lot more proficient with some of the tools you're struggling with.

I could help you guys set systems up for that. Shoot me over an email if you're interested in hiring me to do so and we can start discussing the specifics.

Might not be the best solution, but once you're comfortable turning auto rebuild off, you can change that one foundation wall definition to something like this:

You're dealing with a different problem than you think. Your actual issue is that you have 2 identical posts in the same location. One of them is obeying the boolean command just fine. The other (the one you're not selecting) doe not. The "skin" you deleted was nothing more than that second post. By the way, if you ever decide you want to get any professional training/coaching, please let me know. I think I could help you dramatically improve your workflow.

I noticed that too, but I assumed that was on purpose. What if a person wants the floor inside the foundation?

I could probably help you set this up, but it would take more than offering a quick tip and as such I would need to be on the clock. Shoot me over an example plan via email if you're interested and I'll see if I can help you get it sorted.

No. I’m sorry, I don’t. Chief has a small handful of special functions that aren’t connected to any specific tool. Once you use that hot key for something else, I think you simply lose the capability in some cases.