Joe_Carrick

Larry, If we're just talking about a wood framed stair built in the field I might agree - but I would want a very strong note on the plans stating that the contractor verify all dimensions and report any discrepancies before fabrication. OTOH, when it's a prefab (shop built) stair it's a different story entirely. Then it needs to be exact and shown on the plans. Most building departments are very strict about adherence to code for stairs. I know that many users don't consider Chief as software for commercial buildings - but I'm not one of them. Yes, it seems to be best suited to frame construction but there are users who don't shy away from concrete, masonry or steel frame buildings of 3 or more stories. I've done Hospitals - many years ago all drafted by hand - that could easily have been done in Chief and I have absolutely no problem with doing commercial projects today using this software.

Dermot, When can we get this one fixed. It can really cause problems with the ConDocs, creating a situation where the stairs can be built such that they don't comply with code. This is not something we as designers want to deal with. It's expensive to fix in the field. It could result in a stairway having to be rebuilt at our cost. I pay for Errors and Omissions Insurance - but I don't want to have to use it. BTW, I just determined that any intermediate Landing Heights are also incorrect.

The bug reported in https://chieftalk.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?/topic/8209-stair-height-vs-floor-height-in-x8/#entry76190 has not been fixed.

Here's a pic showing the problem. The First Floor is a Slab at Elevation 0 and has a 1/2" finish thickness. The Second Floor is at Elevation 109.375" and also has a 1/2" finish thickness. The text showing the Stair information is the result of a macro that uses the stair attributes. It should show the riser height as 7 13/16" and the total height of the stair as 9'-1 3/8". IOW: 14 R.@ 7 13/16" = 9'-1 3/8" The 1/2" discrepancy is the thickness of the first floor thickness. Note that if the first floor is framed construction instead of a slab the riser height is reported correctly in bot the stair dbx and in the attributes.

This problem only occurs when the lower floor is a slab. In that case the finish floor thickness of the lower floor is not being taken into account. This results in the riser height being reported incorrectly. I was hoping it would be fixed in the latest X8 update - but it wasn't. PLEASE move this up to the top of the list.

Here's a Symbol for a Dometic RV Refrigerator. Works well in Tiny Houses. Dometic 2865 RV Refrigerator.calibz

In the File Menu there are options to Import: Backdrop Backdrop Library

Defaults/Camera/3D Views/Backdrop

I'm not having this problem. My guess is that it's a matter of something in Text Styles, Defaults or Preferences. There may have been some changes in going from X7 to X8.

Jared, You would need to modify the "Text Styles" on your associates system to utilize the font you loaded. His Text Styles are currently using something else.

Johnny, How are these Columns going to be built? Is there a Post or Framed Wall? There are several ways to accomplish what you want but Cabinets would not be my choice. I would create the Geometry using Solids and Molding Polylines. Then I would convert that to a Millwork Symbol that I could super-impose on the underlying structure.

Usually it's when I want to modify the 2D Block of a Symbol that came from the Library. That Symbol may have been placed in several rooms, on different floors, etc. By modifying the Block and giving it the same name I change all instances in the Plan. I can then save one of the symbols to update or add to my Library.

Ditto - Thanks Perry. I usually do the update just as a matter of policy. Did they indicate any time to get it fixed?

This sort of "glazing" is usually applied to the entire door and then wiped off so that it only remains in the recessed areas. Shadows can help to partially create this effect. There are some "Distressed Paint Colors" in the Library that seem to work fairly well. They can be copied and modified depending on the desired color.

The over-glaze is an artistic effect that is almost impossible to achieve in a Chief Render.

Perry, One way to do that is to "copy/paste" the name. You already have the CAD Block in the list so just open CAD Block Management and copy the name from there and paste it as the name of your new Block.

The February 2016 Macro of the Month is: Stair Label - Section & Stair Label - Total. These are used with Leader Line Text to annotate Stairs Example output for Stair Label - Total is: 14 R.@ 7 7/8" = 9'-1 7/8" 12 T.@ 9" deep x 32" wide For Metric Plans the output is in mm rather than Imperial units.

Just a side note about this system - all the Details are "To Scale" and you can use not only CAD Objects but you can use walls and any other Chief Object to create the Details.

That would be a problem - I'm often actually wanting a new block with a different name and still keep the existing block. If you use the same name all the existing instances will be changed. Sometimes that's helpful but sometimes it isn't.

Chief provides a Template CAD Block Template that contains on Floor 1 a variety of CAD Blocks that are useful for creating Details. I use this template to create my Detail Plan Database. The Basics are that I have a Detail Plan for each category: Railing Foundation Roof Doors Windows etc.... For each of those I've enhanced Floor 1 by adding additional CAD Blocks that can be used to build up new details. I also have a Detail Title and a Frame to contain the detail. After I've created a detail I copy it to a CAD Detail Window in the Plan and name it so that the Project Browser acts as my INDEX. These Detail Plans are always available, independent from the Library and make it much easier to copy and modify. Since the Details are sent to the Layout(s) and always link back to the Detail Plan(s) - any modification of the Detail will be reflected in the Layout of any project where it was used. Typically my Layouts (including my Default Layout Template) have not only the Project Plan linked, but since the Details have been sent from the Detail Plans - all of those Plans are also linked. Whenever I open a Layout and select a Layout Box with one of my Details - I can open the Detail in its Plan directly. I never have to go searching thru the Library for a Detail.

When a Symbol is used its CAD Block is usually named to match the Symbol name. That's helpful because it allows you to find it in CAD Block Management and even Insert it in the Plan independently from the Symbol. However, when you just Block some CAD Objects Chief names them block1, block2, block3, etc which doesn't much - how do you know which block to choose. However, you can rename them by opening the blocks' dbx and changing the name. Then when you want to use that block it's a simple matter of opening CAD Block Management, Hotkey "V", selecting that block from the list and Inserting it. This is particularly useful when creating Details since there is an attribute object_type that contains the name. That can be used in a macro to automatically annotate the object using Leader Line Text.

When using a macro in Leader Line Text it is sometimes difficult to connect to the correct object. Here's a little trick: Select the Object and move it to the "Front Group" & also "Move to Front of Group". The Leader Line will then connect to that object instead of another object at the same location. In the case of Closed Polylines with a Fill the arrowhead can be inside the Polyline. If the Polyline Fill is hiding something that you want to show - such as the walls under a Stairs, etc just make the Fill 25% transparent.

I think the main reason was that most of us don't do "Plant Schedules" and it wasn't easy to have multiple Schedules for the other items without conflicts. In addition Plant images don't convert to Symbols and it's easy to make them very small and hide them behind the Callout.

Tommy, Cabinet Doors (in the Library) are in fact just Symbols. It's really easy to display one in 3D and make it a Symbol of another type (Millwork, Interior Furnishing, etc) and set it to "Hang on Wall" or whatever other behavior is needed. IAE, yes the use of a Symbol is appropriate for the panels.

You can use leader line text with a user macro (referenced & evaluated). The macro would be: %LayerName% layer.to_s.gsub("_"," ").upcase You just need to create a layer with the name you want and place the line on that layer. That macro will work to display the layer of any Chief Object beginning with version X8. If you don't want the leader line to show, you can do one of the following: 1. Change it to a "Blank Line Style" (this is actually available in Chiefs dropdown list. 2. Change its color to white.