Joe_Carrick

Select the Room and then "Create Room Molding Polyline". Click any segment that doesn't have the Molding and check "Molding on Selected Edge.

Create a new macro named "Area.rounded" Check "Evaluated" Select Context "Owner" enter the following in the macro result = area.round(2).to_s insert that macro in the Polyline Label.

The reason I do this is so that I know which Layout goes with the Project. They not only don't have to have the same name but they don't even have to be in the same Folder. But having them the same makes it easier to keep track. btw, I have several "Detail Plan Files" that are linked to the Layout in addition to the "Project Plan File". My "Detail Plan Files" are in a Folder that never changes location so they never need to be relinked.

Open the Layout Select Tools, Layout, Relink Files Then just Browse to the Current Project Folder and select the Plan File.

My guess is that "Seeking Services" gets you to ChiefTalk is because CA intended that it be a resource for people looking for a professional Designer or Architect. I don't think "Seeking Services" was ever intended as a Q&A or Help system for learning how to use the software. CA actually has training courses if that's what you are looking for. It's a good idea to read the purpose of each Forum to determine where to post.

The Exterior Wall Layer could be turned off - still not ideal but it will work. Another option is to just use the Glass House Render Mode.

You would need a pic of a (1) full tile and (2) half tiles below (running bond). The best way to do that would be to take a pic of 3 tiles and then crop it. That then becomes the Texture that is repeated.

The only way I know of doing that is to make the Exterior Walls a Transparent Material (Glass for Example) but they wouldn't really be "Wire Frame".

You would need to just delete those views from the Layout. Once the Layout Box is gone, the link will disappear.

Try 6 and see what happens.

Larry, You can also go into Preferences and change the Undo Folder to a Folder on your SSD which should help a lot. I have it set there and I limit my undo stack to 12.

It may be that the new "Undo/Redo" settings in X9 are having an effect. The higher the settings, the more disk I/O and swapping might be required. I believe Chief is making a copy of the model in memory for each change to the model and saving it to disk. Depending on the location and size of the swap file, this could result in a very large "Undo Stack" and result in memory being written to disk (probably an HHD. If I'm correct then reducing the number of "Undo's" could result in much better performance. It might also be possible to increase the size of the "Cache".

Just re-link to the Plan File(s) you want your Template to use. If you set the Template to be the Default Layout Template then it can automatically be used when sending from a new Plan that doesn't already have a Layout.

It's in the Symbol dbx (the little chair icon on the Edit Toolbar)

Curt, You can access the individual labels of a mulled unit by tabbing.

I agree. If anyone at CA is monitoring this thread, it's something that should be investigated.

Yes, Blocking simply adds another level of complexity. Blocking sets all the sub-items location as relative to the Block's origin There is no reduction in Face Count. Rebuild has to use a transformation matrix to adjust each object's location vs the Block location. Create Symbol OTOH only saves the visible external faces of what's visible This results in many fewer faces No transformation matrix is needed since everything is located relative to the 0,0,0 coordinates The moral of the story is to create symbols (rather than blocks) unless you absolutely need to have access to the original objects. That is sometimes true but usually it isn't. Maybe CA could come up with a way of knowing what needs to be rebuilt but it might not be that easy and it could cause other problems.

You can also use a "Panel Railing Wall" with the Horizontal Mullions built into the Panel (Glass for the main part of the panel) and use the Newels as the Vertical Mullions. Set the Newels at full ceiling height. I did a video some time ago with this method but I don't know where it is - probably in the old Forums someplace. You can insert a doorway into this "Railing Wall" and change it to a "Hinged Door".

Yep, I personally decided to just keep those Ctrl_ keys. It's just too hard to give up the defaults for all the standards. We've been using Ctrl_C, Ctrl_X, Ctrl_V, Ctrl_S, Ctrl_O, Ctrl_P & Ctrl_Z for as long as I can remember in almost every App. That's just one of the nice things about Gaming Keyboards - you can assign any regular key (including Del, Home, End, etc) to any of the Gaming Keys. Even the Alt_ keystrokes (such as <Alt_248> °) can be assigned to a Gaming Key.

Larry, Assign "X" to the "Cut Tool" in Hotkeys.

I have M1 set to match the F1-F12 keys, then M2 for Cabinets, Doors and Windows, and M3 for Electrical. Some of the F keys (F5, F6, F7 & F9) are also on the M2 & M3 configurations because I use those frequently and don't want to have to reach for them.

Use of a "Gaming" Keyboard (Logitech G510s) or Keypad (Logitech G13) provides extra keys (G1-G18/G22) which can be assigned multiple keystrokes. This allows Chief Hotkeys to be 2,3 or 4 keystrokes to be executed by just hitting a single G_key. I have one Gaming Profile set to be used for Chief Architect that assigns: G1 C,B = Base Cabinet G2 C,W = Wall Cabinet G3 C,F = Full Cabinet G4 C,P = Partition G5 C,T = Custom Counter Top G6 S,H = Shelf etc. Note that the G13 Keypad has 22 G_keys + a joystick so there's a lot more that can be done. Both devices have 3 "M" button which triples the available commands. That way you can switch from Cabinets -> Framing -> Electrical while remaining in a single profile. Or, you can just have multiple profiles the you can switch between. Naturally, it can get a little complicated if you have too many options - but a printout of the buttons with named function (a PDF works well) can solve that problem.

Curt, Chief's Box and Bay Window Tools are only minimally useful for Framed Site-Built configurations. CA really should add Bay and Bow Window Symbols for the various Manufacturers (Pella and Andersen at least) and fix the "Custom Window" tool so that openings, casings, sills and lintels are properly handled. Getting the settings right is pretty difficult presently and the Plan View doesn't match the 3D View. It's been several releases since this was last addressed and it still doesn't work like it should. I have a set of Andersen 45 degree Bay Window Symbols that I created and I've offered them to CA but they need to make adjustments to the "Custom Window" tool. Currently I'm using the symbols as "Exterior Furniture" and placing them on a "Pass-Thru".

Hi Mark, I have a Logitech G13 Keypad with 20 keys that I can program with Chief's Hotkeys. I can have multiple Profiles so if I'm working on cabinets, I can use the "Cabinet Profile" and if I'm working on framing I can use the "Framing Profile", etc. By using drawings of the G13 with commands in text I should have no trouble using the correct keys.

I have a difficult time remembering the Hotkeys - other than the standards (Ctrl_C, Ctrl_X, Ctrl_V, Ctrl_P, Esc, Del, Space) and a few more. I never use the Camera Hotkeys and most of the OOB Hotkeys don't seem to make any sense to me. So I am considering eliminating the Camera Hotkeys and adding: "R, O" for "Reflect About Object" "C,B" for "Base Cabinet" "C,W" for "Wall Cabinet" "C,S" for "Soffit" "C,T" for "Tall Cabinet" etc. Does anyone else use this sort of remapping of the Hotkeys? I'm thinking it will help me use them more and provide more functionality - particularly for those things that don't have a Toolbar Button. It seems that Chief has assigned Hotkeys to a lot of things that are used only rarely and consequently probably don't need to be taking up keys that could more easily be remembered for the functionality they would provide.