Alaskan_Son

Your problem doesn't seem to have anything to do with differences between the original material and its copies. Rather, its a problem with the cabinet symbol itself and its apparent problem with consistently applying the Normal Map across the entire object. Remove the assigned Normal Maps and the problem goes away, OR paint everything the same material and you'll see that the problem persists. I suggest you report the problem to Technical Support.

You can drop the object into your plan, take a 3D view, and use the Delete Surface tool to get rid of the unwanted faces. Then select the object and click the Convert Selected To Symbol tool. I did this for you as a one time courtesy. Wrought Iron Panel.calibz You should take special note that the geometry in that model contains an inordinate number of faces which can quickly start to slow things down in 3D views...particularly if you use multiple instances of the same object. Even sorting through your library will be slowed down if you click on that object with any 3D preview windows open.

Whoa!! Ken getting a little zesty!

I think perhaps you've glossed over some of the advice you've been given. I don't believe anyone here has suggested that other programs have a hard time handling modern/unconventional architecture. On the contrary, I think at least a couple of us have suggested Archicad would be a good choice for you. Richard in particular gave you some solid advice including but not limited to this little nugget... ...and that from a guy who uses both Archicad and Chief. Yes, programs like Archicad and Revit have the problems, shortcomings, and inefficiencies, but they are designed to handle much more complex architecture then Chief is really designed for. Things like not having a "temporary measurement" tool really have absolutely nothing to do with a program like Archicad's ability to model a house shaped like a walnut. It's just a productivity feature that tool doesn't happen to have. The main problem with Chief is this...It is extremely quick and efficient at modeling conventional architecture...and possibly even the single best program for modeling kitchens and bathrooms in my opinion, BUT the main reason it is so efficient at those things has much to do with how automated many things are. The problem with your potential use case is that even adding a single sloped wall to your project could very easily require you lose all those amazing automated capabilities, not only for that one wall, but for much of the rest of the project as well. You would be forced to go completely manual with everything and draw many components that Chief was never designed to handle. Guess what...that means you just completely defeated the purpose of using Chief in the first place. Sure a program like Archicad might lack some features or take a little longer to model with, but it was clearly designed to handle the architecture so you won't be fighting the program and instead will be using it for exactly its intended purpose. Oh, and by the way. Do yourself a big favor and don't test the programs by modeling simple sheds if you're going to be modeling unique modern homes. Model something complex that includes some of your intended geometry and architectural features.

CAD>CAD Detail From View

to add to Dermot's list, you can also: - Set your Plan View to Use Any Floor

I am in near complete agreement with Richard and Johnny. You can force Chief to do just about anything but even something as seemingly simple as the slanted walls… if 95% of what you do includes only plumb walls than that one project out of 20 might be worth dealing with workarounds on. If slanted walls and other unusual or non conventional architecture are going to be more common for you than I would strongly recommend that you consider Archicad. Even a single slanted wall can cause major complications with the entire model...everything from floor and ceiling connections to wall connections to window and door behaviors to roof connections to framing...the list could go on. Also, if you had already been using Chief for 10 years and were already heavily invested in it, and/or if you had already mastered it, that would be one thing, but if you haven’t even taken the dive yet you’re much better off starting with a program that is more specifically suited to the type of architecture you are planning on drawing up.

Yes. Depends on the database you’re using and the file format but it can commonly be done. Requires some custom macros though.

If you're trying to access the Texture Source file name, then yes, you are correct, I am telling you that its not possible. If you're trying to access the Material name, then I'm telling you it might be possible. It really depends on what you mean when you say "texture image" and on what types of objects you're talking about.

For some objects, we have access to Material names that we can use in custom text macros, but we don't have access to the Texture Source File at all.

I haven’t had that problem before. The 2 things that come to mind are Z-fighting (2 objects occupying the same space) or a video card issue. If you posted an example layout file along with its referenced plan file, one of us could take a look.

Which part of your image is the Picture Box? Are you sending to layout from Plan or from Layout? If from Layout, is the image being placed directly in the CAD Detail or is it a Layout Box sent from a Plan? What text issue are you were referring to? And assuming the caution symbol is the picture box, can you just use simple Unicode caution symbol instead of a Picture Box?

CAD Details seem to work fine for me as well.

Works just fine for me.

Need to be in Concentric Edit Mode of course.

You said up in your original post that you know that you "can add a single image into the library", but that statement alone leaves a lot of questions and the terminology really needs to be clarified first. In Chief Architect®, an Image is a unique object type that displays your desired picture file in 3D. The plan view representation of an Image is a 2D Block. Images can be batch imported using Build>Image>Create Image Library, but I don't think this is actually what you want as you won't be able to display these pictures in plan views or place them in layout. We can also batch import Backdrops using File>Import>Create Backdrop Library but again, you can't use these picture files in plan view or in layout. They are only intended to be used as Backdrops in 3D. What I think you really want is a way to bath import Picture File Boxes. The problem here is that these cannot be directly added to the library at all. In order to ad a Picture File Box to your user library, you first have to block it. You can then name that CAD Block and add the CAD Block to your library. This means you must first create and name individual CAD Blocks before they can even be added to the library. There's simply no way of doing this in a batch. The fastest method IMO would be to simply File>Import>Import Picture, group select all the desired picture files from any given folder, click Open, and then one by one, Shift select, Make CAD Block, name CAD Block, and Add to Library. Maybe just store them in a more appropriate location then. One that doesn't get moved... such as your Chief Architect Premier X12 Data folder. You could also get into the habit of opening the Picture File Box and checking Save in Plan. Just a couple thoughts.

Just looks like either user error or deliberate user input. Try using the Auto Detail tool and/or a backslipped cross section and you just might get a more clear story of what's going on. Either way, there's no reason the slab has to be stepped or contain extra lines. It's almost certainly just because of some peculiarities of your particular plan and its settings.

YES!!! This^^^^ I often wonder the same thing. I feel like we got locked into this mindset that everything has to happen inside Chief when there's really no logical reason that it has to be this way. The same can be said for macros and text objects amongst other things. Sometimes storing outside Chief allows for more effective searching, more robust filing options, easier editing, and even quicker access.

The ceiling planes don't actually have to be on the 2nd floor. You can also just uncheck Use Room Ceiling Finish.

You could also convert to a custom countertop and just apply the molding to the countertop.

What Eric was trying to say is that YOU cannot have the plan open in Chief when you try to zip it. Close the plan and then zip it. If you try zipping while the plan is open then the resulting zipped file contains no information.

I am away from my computer and I don’t rightly remember/know all the reasoning or nuances but just off the top, this behavior gives us a way to set a “base level“ default and still allows for us to set another sort of temporary active default to control only newly drawn roof planes.

It would help if you were to post a plan or at least an image, but if you're talking about what I think you're talking about, it can totally be done, and it can be done in just a couple minutes...

You're likely getting no responses because you haven't posted the plan. A lot of people just get tired of asking and so they just pass right on by. You would probably have an accurate answer in a matter of minutes if you posted the plan, otherwise it's anyone's guess as to what's going on in your plan. I could personally play the guessing game but I have better things to do.

Chief actually gave us an option to simply set a Door Type as "Fixed" back in X11.