Joe_Carrick

You need to select the Grids and copy them (Ctrl_C will work). Then go to foundation Plan and right click - Copy Hold Position. You would need to do this for Floor 2,3, Attic as well. Framing Labels can be done with macros - either as direct Labels for the framing members or using Leader Line Text. I have a macro package that I sell for $50 that can be used to Label Framing Plans and Wall Details very quickly based on the Chief Model.

Scott, I don't advocate eliminating the Manual. I will admit that I seldom use it anymore, but it does have a lot of good info even if outdated. But DJP makes a good point - look in the Help and if you can't find it there look in the Manual. Then if you can't find it ask in the Forum - but don't expect that the answers you get from the Forum will automatically be correct. Sometimes we are wrong

That's not something you can delete. It's Chief's way of defining: 1. The Perimeter of the Structure 2. What's included as Living Area 3. Creating an Exterior Room Molding Polyline 4. Creating a "Room Polyline" that defines the total area of the Floor. 5. etc.

Those don't exist in Chief. You just have to adjust by using different line styles and colors of gray.

Dang it Dermot, I knew that was there but I just couldn't find it.

Brian, You can change the LineStyle, Color, LineWeight and Text Style on a per Layer Set basis. IOW, the same Layer can have different display parameters in different LayerSets. Then, if you also use Annosets, you can specify the defaults for Dimensions, Text, Rich Text, Callouts, Markers, Arrows, the current CAD Layer and even the desired Layer Set.

Yep, Active Cameras are always displayed in the Plan.

There are a lot of great new things in X8 but we Beta Testers aren't allowed to tell you about them. Eventually CA will release more of the "goodies" but we're bound to keep quiet under the NDA we signed. It would be nice if we could talk and would IMO generate a lot of excitement. Maybe CA will release the Public Beta for Christmas - and release the reindeer and the elves

How did you change the wall color? Did you use the spray can tool? It may be that you are getting a mix of the spray painted color on the underlying material. That will not give you a true color. To avoid this, change the material in the Wall dbx.

Scott, I assume you meant that you changed the depth of the shelves.

I made a couple of modifications to your plan. 1. I changed the 1st Floor Exterior Wall from Invisible to a new Wall Type named "Transparent Wall" 2. I Built the Foundation This should give you a pretty good starting point to add the Posts, Beams and anything else you need at the 1st Floor Plans - Lot 2 Blk D Holiday Isle2.plan

Dermot, If you read his post carefully, you will see that he changed the cabinets to full inset doors. This caused the default shelves (10.5" depth) to protrude through the doors. Changing to 10" deep shelves fixed it.

Maybe that Layer is locked in the Elevation Layerset.

Brian, If you must do 2D CAD, try Chief's "CAD Detail from View" Tool. It will take any Orthographic View (Plan, Elevation or Section) and create a CAD drawing that can be edited as 2D CAD. I only use this for certain large scale details but you might like it. It's a super fast way to go from model to 2D CAD Details.

I have my grid set to 3" and then I basically ignore it except when it gets in the way. Then I turn it off. Like Michael, grid snaps are only valuable to me in cases where I'm doing 2D CAD and that's usually something to do with a Custom Detail or a Layout Page Definition.

Draw a Horizontal Line thru those points and dimension to those CAD Lines.

Note that it's generally the "Origin" of Architectural Objects that snaps to the grid, not necessarily an edge. CAD Lines will snap to the grid.

Chief will at some point - not very far away IMO - be able to extract 3D Cut-a-Way details from the model. At that point, I expect that 2D Details will start to disappear.

What is your reason for object snapping in the Elevation View? If it's for dimensions don't worry about it. The Dimension Tools use appropriate Objects. It does seem that Object Snaps should work to anything in the Elevation but only seem to recognize Roof Planes. OTOH, they work to just about everything a Section View.

Brian, If you use Chief the way it's meant to be used the annotation and drafting is practically automatic. A complete set of ConDocs can be created with almost no manual annotation or 2D CAD drafting. Those 2D CAD programs only seem to have "more powerful 2D capabilities". There's very little that can't be done with Chief's 2D CAD - you just have to learn what to do in 3D and how to turn the results into the 2D views. The tools needed are all in Chief. I seldom need to do any 2D CAD in order to finish a set of ConDocs.

Glenn, So basically you did that with a double wall and eliminated all the studs (except the first and last) and then bridged between those two studs. It's not quite the same as a uniformly spaced "furring" layer in the wall type.

DaViper, It would help to communicate if you would edit your signature so we have a name (at the very least). IAE, Pole Barn design similar to Log Structures pose unique problems since they are not "conventional" framing. I'm not very familiar with the Pole Barn Structure, but I do Log Homes occasionally and I use some very different techniques for those. 1. I use a Wall Type that's just a single layer transparent material about 8"-9" thick for the Log Walls. It's kind of like a solid concrete wall except that it's transparent instead of being concrete. 2. I insert all the Doors and Windows in those walls. 3. I superimpose Log Symbols on the transparent walls and stack them just as if I was building the walls in real life. I think for a Pole Barn Structure a similar process might be appropriate. OTOH, it would be nice if Chief had a "Horizontal Girt" or "Horizontal Furring" material type that could be defined in a wall similar to how the Stud Framing material is defined. Then it could be a Layer within the Wall Definition.

It would help if you could explain why you want/need to do this? Note: There are 2 different ways to set the Stud Spacing: 1. Use different Wall Types (where the Framing Material has the Spacing) 2. In the Wall Framing Defaults: a. Uncheck (Use Wall Framing Material) b. Set Stud Spacing to the desired distance.

There are 3 possibilities: 1. Materials List - limited capabilities. 2. Framing Schedule - not currently provided by Chief. 3. Custom Macros to display the Labels a. Labels can be formatted to display the data as desired b. Lengths can be exact or rounded c. Members can be accumulated and displayed as tabular lists. (cut list or buy list) I have a macro package that will Label all Framing - very close to what's shown in post #1. I do not currently include the tabular lists but it would be possible. I can't say what Chief might provide in any future version, but Labels as shown require more than it provides at this time.

It's possible to utilize a "Plant Schedule" to do Keynotes. There's a thread someplace in the Forum about how to do it.