Joe_Carrick

OK, I'm going to jump in here and try to explain. The OP didn't just send a Standard Render to Layout. He exported the Standard Render to a BMP and then imported the BMP to Layout. This is the wrong way to do it. He should have simply sent the Render View to Layout (as a live view or Plot Lines) - in which case it would display on the screen according to the degree of zoom but would print without any pixelation or blurriness. Actually, a Standard Render can't be sent to Layout as Plot Lines. It would need to be a Vector or Line Drawing in order to have that option. Please, both Perry and Michael, let's knock off the ..........

I guess I should clarify my use of RT and Text. 1. A great majority of the text in any of my projects is "Labels"and "Dimensions". a. These are all automatically "Text". b. The Text style for these are all controlled via Layer Sets. 2. For Room Labels I use a Rich Text Box with different fonts, fill and border 3. I also have several Tables (similar to Schedules) but created with Ruby Macros a. Most of these require Titles and Headings in different Fonts and Sizes so I use RTBs. 4. For Layouts a. I use text only on Page 0 - everything else is from the Plan(s) b. All the text on Page 0 is consistent for whatever Layer Set is being used. c. Text or Rich Text works equally well for Page 0

Good point - which works perfectly for most Labels. But for custom data tables it prevents hiliting headings, paragraph titles, etc. That's where RT shines.

The way I remember it was that he cropped the Layout Box, then put a solid filled mask (rectangular box) on top of that and a hole in the mask. The hole can be shaped as much as you want, including fillets so that you get an oval or a circle. I do this in my CAD Detail Windows, my Interior Elevations and sometimes in Sections. I don't do it in Layout very often but for a case like the OP I would do it in the Layout. The mask (both the boundary and the fill) can be the same color as the background so it won't show.

No, the only superscript characters we can use at present are 1,2, & 3. All of the other superscript characters require Ruby support for characters above ASCII-255. CA would need to add UNICODE support to Ruby or provide a custom font with the superscript characters 4,5,6,7,8,9 & 0 in a non-standard location. This is something I requested but I have no way of knowing if they will do either.

Yes, "Test".ljust(20) + "This is a Test to show ........" "Test doesn't work".ljust(20) + "This will be aligned with the above" because the first part of both lines are padded to 20 characters.

Are you 100% sure?

Jeff, Some superscript (special) characters can be used by pressing the Alt Key and then entering the ASCII code. Chief also provides some built-in macros for that purpose.

AFAIK, it can't be done. It can only be cropped or masked.

Johnny, The key to using tables in RT is to use a fixed font (Courier New). Within Macros, I use the .ljust(nplaces) and .rjust(nplaces) methods for each column.

To make a CAD Mask, first create a Closed Polyline with a solid white fill. Then add a hole to the Polyline and shape the hole. It's just that simple.

Labels by default are simply Text. OTOH, any RTB can have macros and text formatted, colored, filled, etc.

RT for almost everything

Kate, Have you tried contacting the furniture mfr to see if they have a 3D file?

I think the key is to look at the cursor coordinates (3D) vs the line coordinates (2D) in a left or right side Elevation View. But then, take a section view at a 45 degree angle and look at those coordinates. I'm not sure there's really a good way to reconcile the 2D CAD to a 3D Coordinate system.

That is 100% correct. jpegs and pngs are not 3D so there's no way to import them as symbols. OTOH, you can use them as "Images"placed in the model.

Chief's lines and arcs are 2D CAD - they don't have 3D coordinates. They only exist in the x/y coordinate system of the view - but there could be a point made that when in a Elevation/Section view the vertical direction should be "z". For sure the x coordinate of a line in an Elevation/Section view has no coordination with the x/y coordinate system of the Plan View. I think the reality is that when using 2D CAD you have to look at the coordinates relative to the screen, not the 3D model space.

Dave, When you modify the Floor Elevation you also have to take into account the Room Ceiling Height. I find it's best to start from the top of the structure and work down, making sure I have all the relationships correct - including the floor structures.

AFAIK there's no such appliance. I'm not talking about a symbol - that could be done but I don't know of any appliance manufacturer that makes a 36" over the range microwave. 30" is the max.

What's the outside source? Do you have a 3D file such as SKP or 3DS?

Joe to the rescue ;) It's a piece of cake just relying on the correct macros.

As I thought - as well as my experience - it''s almost totally random. So any solution to automate the calculation needs to be very flexible.

I have been told that in some jurisdictions the Garage is included in the FAR and in some jurisdictions it isn't. I've also been told that some jurisdictions only include the Living Area while some count everything including unfinished basements. What do you have to include and what can you exclude?

Only way that's going to happen with Chief's built-in macros is to have a different one for each. btw, I can do it as a user preference. ;)

I got it - I'm out of town and will respond on Monday afternoon.