Joe_Carrick

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Everything posted by Joe_Carrick

  1. Joe_Carrick
    Larry, I use the Layout Label to show the scale: Scale: %BOX SCALE% In most cases I place the following in the Plan views: %view.name% which corresponds to the name in the Project Browser. Most of the views (CAD Details, Cameras, Cross Sections, etc) can be renamed in the Project Browser. The Floor Plan views can't be renamed so for those I just use Text. The macros shown above are Chief's OOB macros so it's just a matter of setting it up in your templates. Then the naming is pretty much automatic.
  2. Joe_Carrick
    The Layout and the Plan should be in the Project Folder. But secondary Plans located elsewhere can have views sent to that Layout. I have several secondary Plans that contain nothing but Standard Details. My standard Layout has many of those details already and for each project I will send additional details from those plans as needed. When I create a new project from an existing, I don't have to re-link those because they are in a folder that doesn't change.
  3. Joe_Carrick
    Very true, Materials, Textures, and a variety of other things can get very cluttered. Properly clearing out all unnecessary junk is critical. Since I use separate Plan Files for Details, and only use CAD Details within my Project Plan for Schedules, some Text Boxes for standard notes, etc there isn't much to eliminate. My Plans usually don't exceed 50 MB. Of course if you start adding a lot of 3D Symbols, Terrain, etc with high-surface-counts you can jack that up very quickly. OTOH, when you strip those from the plan it should go down pretty fast.
  4. Joe_Carrick
    Larry, The Layouts never really get that big. Most of what's in a Layout is just 2D graphics. The Plan will grow or shrink depending mostly on the 3D objects contained in the model. When you strip a Plan down to almost nothing, it will become fairly small. There will obviously be some data that remains but I haven't found a case where it creates a problem.
  5. Joe_Carrick
    Michael, Not much different at all. You can save any Plan as a Template. You can save any Layout as a Template. Usually you would save those to Chief's Template Folder but even that isn't mandatory. My system is designed to copy the entire Project Folder Structure along with everything in it and do the renaming of the Layout and Plan and any auxiliary files in a single step. The macro that does this is located in a CAD Detail in the Layout. I just open the CAD Detail, provide the new Job Name and everything is done. Complete New Project ready to go.
  6. Joe_Carrick
    I use a slightly different approach. I use any previous Project as a set of Templates. My system - macro based of course ;) , copies the entire folder structure of whatever Layout/Plan I currently have open and renames the copy to the new project name. Then all I have to do is relink the new Layout and clear out the Plan - as much as needed. Sometimes there are some areas of the Plan that can be kept, but usually I delete everything except the Terrain Perimeter, CAD Details and Cameras. Any secondary Plans (Detail Plans for example) linked to the Layout are automatically linked to the new Layout so I'm all set to go.
  7. Joe_Carrick
    I have my files on Dropbox. This works without delay because there is an actual "Dropbox" folder on my HD.
  8. Joe_Carrick
    I would check your AV settings and make sure Chief Files and Folders are exempted. That may not be the problem, but it might be.
  9. Joe_Carrick
    The only way I know of doing that is: 1. Display them in 3D 2. Use the "Delete Surface" tool on everything except the object you want. 3. Convert what's left to a New Symbol Repeat the above process with each of the composite symbol to get each individual.
  10. Joe_Carrick
    XOR is a programming logical comparison of 2 values. If both values are equal it evaluates as "true" If the values are different it evaluates as "false" Of course, this is pretty much meaningless to Chief Users. Programmers understand the term but it's pretty much gobbledygook to non-programmers.
  11. Joe_Carrick
    You should not put it in page 0 or any other "template" page. In Tools>Layout>Edit Page Information select the desired page(s) and enter it there in the "Label" field.
  12. Joe_Carrick
    Here's a "Pocket Door Pull" that works and doesn't protrude too far from the face of the door. Actually, I would prefer it be even closer (ie: flush) but IMO it's close enough. You need to assign it as the pull for both sides of the door. Pocket Door Edge Pull.calibz
  13. Joe_Carrick
    Perry, Let's get back to post #1. We don't need to beat a dead horse with the "pocket". I am going to agree with showing the pocket. I just want CA to pay attention to the rest of the stuff as well.
  14. Joe_Carrick
    This is one of those problems where since there are no casings, Chief has incorrectly eliminated the "Jamb". Of course the RO still needs to be zeroed out, but the door still needs a "Jamb", just like a window needs a "Frame".
  15. Joe_Carrick
    Unfortunately, sometimes we really need to bring a plan forward from an older version. Technically, a Plan is no different than a Template. The only difference is that when you create a new plan from a template you have to give it a new name when you save it. The fact is that when we bring a plan or template forward it really needs to work 100% with the new version. That means CA has to internally modify the file structure to accommodate all changes required. Anything less is just not going to work.
  16. Joe_Carrick
    I'm bumping this post. It was originally posted 3 years ago. AFAIK, only #7 was fixed to date.
  17. Joe_Carrick
    Gerry, can you provide a link to the video about Fill Patterns? Never mind, I found those attributes - but only in X8. They don't exist in X7. So why did CA add those attributes to Polyline Objects in X8 but didn't add other attributes that would be much more useful? Such as fill_name
  18. Joe_Carrick
    Gerry, I really don't want to use an external line style editor. We should be able to use Chief to do this. I agree we should have a readable & editable name field but until we do, the layer works for some things quite well.
  19. Joe_Carrick
    To satisfy Glenn, I guess I need to start using an install program. Maybe that would actually be a good idea anyway. It would reduce the amount of time I have to devote to setup instructions.
  20. Joe_Carrick
    Gerry, I tried using Line Styles and found the following: Chief's built-in Line Styles have names that are usable but user defined Line Styles have a different name (Ruby Attribute) than what the user named it. This makes it almost impossible to use custom Line Styles as an identifier in macros. As far as pattern_angle and/or pattern_spacing: Those attributes are not available to Ruby, so they can't be used. The line_weight is the only really usable attribute that makes this work properly. If you have some way of accessing other attributes not listed I would be delighted to know how. X8 added the Layer Name as an accessible attribute (for all objects) which has proven very helpful - but the ideal would be a name attribute for all Chief Objects.
  21. Joe_Carrick
    Brian did confirm it - I haven't heard anything more from CA. It really should not matter, but the numbers are off by the thickness of the Floor Finish. It essentially is making the Stair that much too tall and results in the risers being a fraction taller than they should be.
  22. Joe_Carrick
    Scott, I had a problem with a plan brought forward that I sent to CA. Basically the Stair Top Elevation did not match the 2nd Floor Elevation. The problem was apparent in the dbx for the Stair vs the dbx for the 2nd Floor Room. New plans from X8 Templates don't have that problem. I am hoping they will have it fixed in the next X8 update.
  23. Joe_Carrick
    It's a simple matter of having the macro in the Roof Plane's Label or not. Each Roof Plane is set to a different line_weight (number) and that's the ID in the table as well as the Label in the Plan. The macro also recognizes, labels and tallies the Roof planes as Existing, Demo or New depending on their Line Style.
  24. Joe_Carrick
    Sorry Glenn, My Roof Macro Package is dynamic and once set up is a lot quicker. It labels each roof plane and provides tables with all the individual roof plan data as well as totals. You can view the video http://screencast.com/t/fDqTIdWZw1 to see 3 of my macro packages, including the Roof Package. It's all done in the Roof Label.and is 100% updated and correct whenever the Layout is printed or displayed. I think Gerry has another method but I think mine is easier since it doesn't require any "process" to get the data updated. 100% accurate and dynamic on the fly.
  25. Joe_Carrick
    True, but automatic calculations are not possible with the built-in label macros. Only with custom macros can calculations be performed.