Alaskan_Son

How to quickly crop CAD Detail linework... https://rumble.com/vfrqr3-quickly-cropping-cad-detail-from-view-in-chief-architect-x12.html

I typically handle these types of things 1 of 4 ways depending on the situation: If I want (and am able) to keep the view live I will do as @solver suggested and simply mask it with a filled polyline. This crops the view, allows for the desired annotations, and is definitely the most desirable approach whenever it can reasonably be applied.. I will create a CAD Detail From View and use the CAD mask there. Don't think I do this very often though. I will create a CAD Detail From View and just delete/trim line work as @Chopsaw suggested. If I'm creating a CAD Detail from View for the purpose then this is usually how I crop things. I'll write up another post in a minute describing a pretty quick method of speeding this process up. I will crop and annotate in Layout. This I also do pretty rarely but its definitely something I do from time to time for various reasons.

That 7" is dependent not only on the roof pitch as stated in the Help files but also on the size of the top and bottom chord of the truss. For example, using a 2x4 top and bottom chord and an 8:12 pitch that works just fine but not so much if you switch to 2x6 top and bottom chords. At any rate, it doesn't really matter what the parameters need to be in order to automatically get an energy heel truss. I can't just raise my roof up 7" to get the energy heel if that's not how we're actually building it. I need to model it accurately and Chief won't automatically build an energy heel for some of our most common scenarios. So, here's what I always recommend for most of those common truss configurations that Chief won't do on its own: Build all your trusses as usual setting the appropriate trusses to be Energy Heels... Group select at least all the energy heel trusses, change top and bottom chords to a very small dimension (1" should probably do it), check Force Truss Rebuild, and click Okay... With the trusses still selected, open them right back up, check Lock Truss Envelope, change your top and bottom chord back to what they should be, check Force Truss Rebuild, and click Okay... 

I disagree with David on this one. The Materials List capabilities in Chief are not very well understood by very many users and are a highly underutilized feature in my opinion. You can actually get a super accurate material list with an exceedingly inaccurate and incomplete model if you set it up right. The real key is understanding how to control your Material List using: Layer Settings The Components tabs of your various objects The Materials List itself ...and it becomes much more effective and efficient if you can combine the above with: An accurate model Effective use of Materials List Polylines Custom macros Post processing in your desired spreadsheet software ...and a few other little tricks

I feel like you guys are missing the point, changing the subject, and confusing matters. We all know that we can store CAD Blocks in the library and that those CAD Blocks can sometimes be referred to as CAD details. What we're talking about though is very specifically the CAD Detail TOOL and what happens when you try to copy one of those CAD Details. Has nothing to do with storing anything in the library or the efficiency of doing so.

Hahaha!! Are people perhaps just implying that the operator is a little nutty

Just to be clear here, this conversation was mostly about CAD Details and not CAD Blocks. CAD Details are stored in the Project Browser and can alternatively be managed via CAD Detail Management. CAD Details cannot be stored in the library. CAD Blocks on the other hand can be stored in the library and are managed via CAD Block Management. They are 2 entirely different things with different purposes. The issue Chopsaw pointed out is an issue with copied CAD Details.

Sounds to me like you’re talking about overlaying cabinet elevations onto actual Wall Framing Details. I would suggest either overlapping layout views or taking cabinet information from a CAD Detail From View and pasting into your Wall Detail.

Until this gets fixed, try this before copying the detail: Select All Make CAD Block Then you can Copy the CAD Detail and explode the block. If you do that, I believe the dimensions and arrows will reference only the new CAD Detail.

I wouldn't say it defeats the purpose. Dimension and connected arrows certainly aren't doing what they should though.

Oh I didn't say that. Just said I could reproduce Kinda fun actually adjusting an object in one view and watching the dimensions adjust in another. Not very helpful in this case though. You can do this with roof planes too by the way. Attach a text arrow to one and then Display on Floor Above/Below. If you adjust roof plane on the new floor it affects the original arrow on the original floor. We can also get a similar behavior when dimensioning to wall framing. Oh, and also for room macros in CAD Details. Open a CAD Detail in a plan with defined rooms and you'll see that %room% macros reflect information from the actual plan view based on current room information located in that same X/Y area. The latter has some obvious benefits. The others less so. The one you've shown though seems to have no benefits at all.

I see now. Yes. I can definitely reproduce that. Looks like the dimensions stay associated with the original objects. You should report it.

I don't seem to have that problem. Can you post an example?

Just a guess, but sounds to me like you probably edited your Exterior Wall Defaults to use a non-default pitch. Try opening up your Exterior Wall Defaults, click on the Roof tab and make sure the little Use Default wrench icon has a check on it.

What you essentially have is a roof with 2 framing layers right? One perpendicular to the other. The problem is that Chief doesn't allow for 2 framing layers to be defined so we must frame one of them manually. Define your roof structure to have 2 layers, one layer for the rafters and one layer for the purlins. Set the purlin layer to a framing material and and the rafter layer to a non-framing material for the time being. Make sure to check Lookouts in the roof Structure tab and then auto build the roof framing. Select one of the lookouts, block it, and add it to your library. Name it purlin or something you'll otherwise remember. Hit Undo a couple times to get rid of the roof framing. Go back into your roof structure tab and change the structure layers so that the rafter is a framing material and so that the purlin layer is an air gap. You can now frame your roof as usual. Drop your Purlin block into the plan and explode it. You can now multiple copy that around, resize it as necessary, and use various CAD tools (extend, trim, etc.) to create your purlins. Because it was originally framed in the second layer of the roof structure it should always automatically return to that second layer when you drop it into the plan.  NOTE: The top of your purlin will always automatically align itself with the top of your upper structure layer and will resize about that point if you change the depth.

Only when I'm hanging around someone using the word strapping. I actually forget that term in between uses. In fact, I remembered it right after I posted above and then went back and edited it to add the word strapping as well.

Even easier. Don't use the reduced gable option.

Would I though?

Maybe. I guess time will tell. I do seem to recall seeing something in one or more of their little sneak peeks though. In the meantime, there are several methods, but if you use trusses, you can simply make them all Reduced Gable trusses and then manually drag an automatically generated lolookout right over the top of all of them.

I would call those purlins or strapping

Can't or won't?

If we're talking about simple construction documents then I'd tend to agree. If it's for more accurate 3D renderings or more detailed site analysis then that's a whole different ballgame and I'd say every example solution given so far misses the mark. For an accurate stream with anything but a perfectly consistent width, the terrain needs to be drawn to suit. There's no "quick" method until that happens.

I understand all that. What I don't understand is how this relates to your request for 'shortcuts'. I don't see the connection.

Just FYI, Chief provided their own OOB object_properties macro that works just fine too... X12 OOB Object Properties.json

Can you expand upon what you mean by this? It sounds like you're describing the Insert Macro tool...