Joe_Carrick

You need a custom macro.

But by using Symbols as I suggested - the overview is almost instantaneous. BTW, I would have done the basic plan using CAD Lines or Boxes and then just added the Exterior Walls and Doors. That gets the Building Shell which can be used as the overall Floor Plan and provides for the typical units to be done. There is absolutely no reason to provide the detail for each and every unit.

Perry, A Full Overview is easy. You just need two Building Shells - converted to Symbols - and then placed in another Plan (Site Plan) along with the Terrain, Roads, etc.

Scott, This is just too many walls, doors, ceiling planes, etc for Chief to handle. I would just show the perimeter walls and a couple of rooms (typical layout) then use simple CAD Rectangles to indicate the repeated nature of the project. This is a typical process for documenting plans for hotels, hospitals, dormitories, etc. You are only going to need to show the dimensions etc for a couple of typical units. I would probably split this into 2 building Plans - one for the narrow building and one for the wider building. Then I would show the end units and one of the interior units with a note that the interior unit is to be duplicated 'x' times. KISS !!!! And for the Site Plan I would place Symbols of those 2 buildings.

Sherry, My Property Line dimensions show on the left-above the lines with the bearings right-below. But this is only true for lines that are 90 degrees or less.

All the predefined "macros" that Chief provides in the Global and Object Properties selections are what CA calls "Name-Value Pairs". The output of these are "fixed content text", not "interpreted by Ruby". Consequently the data can not be manipulated or changed - except by CA. We do not have any ability to modify the text that's displayed or use any numerical info for calculations. Perhaps the easiest solution in the case of the Room & Living Area Displays would be for CA to just drop the units. Then we could just add what we want to the end of the Labels.

I'm 100% with Michael on this.

Hi Kjell, I agree. AFAIK, only the USA and (maybe Canada) use the Imperial System. Everyone else uses the Metric System and "m²" is the standard for area. You should post this as a request in the Suggestions Forum. I'm not sure exactly where in Chief SQ M gets displayed. Its probably just in the Room Area displays. If you know of any other locations - include them in your suggestion.

I do this in macros that I provide in my "Macro a Month Club" subscription. You can of course simply enter in a text box m and then insert the Global Special Character > Superscript (2) to get m² Create a macro named %m2% result = "m²" then just add %m2% wherever you want those characters in a text box or label. Of course, this won't replace SQ M that Chief puts in anything automatically.

Yep, that's what is created when you select "Use Callout for Label" in the Schedule dbx.

Scott, You are getting the Schedule Number - but not the Callout. Basically you've included the Schedule Number in the Label, suppressed the Callout --- the Label is what you're displaying. It would be nice if we could display the "Callout" and also display the "Label" at the same time.

Steve, Google Ruby for a variety of information. I personally just use http://ruby-doc.org/core-2.2.2 There is the "Little Book of Ruby" which is pretty basic. Start with this and Chief's Ruby "Tutorial". Then migrate to the above link which has the complete documentation.

In the Schedule dbx, Label Tab, uncheck "Use Callout for Label"

Currently it's not possible to show both the Schedule Callout and the Label in the Plan simultaneously. However, the %schedule_number% macro can be included in the Label. If the Callout is turned off, the Label will then show that text. It would be nice if both the Callout and the Label Text could b displayed at the same time (perhaps separate layers) but currently that's not possible.

I would like to go. But my main interest is a direct meeting with the CA people to discuss some specific needs. I don't think the training sessions would be the best place or time to do that so I'm more inclined to set up an appointment.

Since you are using HD Pro 2015 you should be posting your questions in the HD Forums. Much of HD is the same as Chief Architect but not everything.

In that case it should be really easy.

You can but the sleepers will be parallel to the Floor Joists, not perpendicular. You also have to define the sleepers as a framing material with the 19.2" spacing and make sure the framing defaults use the material definition. I would just use an air gap and then note the sleepers in the sections.

Labels are not "Rich Text" so generally the answer is no. However, there is a .center(n) method for text strings in Ruby. For that macro we would have to first change the value from numeric to string using .to_s and add the " acres" and then center it. Here's the revised macro: referenced ? obj=referenced : obj=owner ((obj.area/43560).round(3).to_s + " acres").center(20)

You need to "Add" layers rather than change the thicknesses. You can do this in the Floor Finish or in the Floor Structure. It's also possible to add an air space and Ceiling Joists below the Floor Joists in the Floor Structure in order to lower a ceiling below.

Thanks Gerry, You beat me to it by about 5 seconds.

Sorry, try this: referenced ? obj=referenced : obj=owner (obj.area/43560).round(3)

referenced ? obj=referenced : obj=owner obj.area/43560.round(3)

When a Molding Profile is created in a Plan View and added to the Library - it can't be placed in a Cross Section or Elevation View. It can only be placed in a Plan View. OTOH, if it's created in a Cross Section or Elevation View and added to the Library it can be placed in a Plan View. There's something wrong with this. It shouldn't matter where it's created.

Most failures in wood structures are due to either dry-rot or bad connections. Back when bridges were being built using wood timbers the connections were done using things like "Split Ring" and "Shear Plates". During the housing boom of the late 1940's on into the mid 1960's a lot of homes were built using just nails. The failures that occurred due to winds and seismic forces have resulted in a lot of improvements using metal fasteners. Properly analyzing the lateral forces in wood connections is an important part of residential design. For very standard construction the prescriptive codes today are adequate. However, as soon as something is done that is outside of "very standard" it's critical that a competent professional is consulted. IOW, either an Architect or Engineer who is able to preform the structural analysis to ensure the structure can withstand the expected vertical and lateral forces.