Joe_Carrick

Ok guys, Here's a plan. Glenn's answer was as close as I could get to making it work but it's not ideal. This is not a "MonoSlab" Foundation - it's "Foundation Walls" with a 4" Slab at the top. With the Floor Surfaces Layer ON and the Rooms Layer OFF I can see the "Slab" but also the 2nd Floor Sheathing and the d%#m "Soffit" at overhangs. These "Surfaces" are just one layer thick in the Framing Overview. If CA can make a MonoSlab look right in 3D there should be no reason why a Slab as a part of the "Foundation Wall" shouldn't also look right. Foundation Example.plan

Glenn, Floor Surfaces gives me the "Floor Finish", not the Slab. It' like Chief just doesn't have the Slab on the Slab Layer when it's a Foundation Wall instead of a MonoSlab.

Why can't I get the Floor Slab to show in a Framing Overview when using Foundation Walls? It shows with a Mono-Slab but not with Foundation Walls.

Dan, That's not nice. I'm sure that a lot of users have those items checked since those are the OOB defaults for Rich Text. It also answers the question of why 6" Rich Text appears to be 9" tall, etc. When I uncheck those my 6" Rich Text becomes 6". I'm going to need to make a lot of changes to my Plans to eliminate those settings - but I will have to increase the size of all Rich Text by about 50% - or just live with text that's smaller than I want. IAE, the performance hit in Layout is not something I want to live with, so I will just have to bite the bullet and do a lot of editing of Templates and Current Plans unless CA can come up with a tool to convert all Rich Text in a Plan to "uncheck" those and edit the specified sizes.

select a roof plane, open the dbx and edit the material.

I believe that's call Skirl siding. I thought there was some in the Library but I can't find it.

Sometimes I give the wall cabinets a xhatch fill - but I don't use a "solid" fill other than the defaults as mentioned above.

I think #3 is the default OOB. I don't mess with it.

Johnny, There are different defaults for Text & Rich Text. - totally different (one doesn't effect the other) In addition, Text can be specified to use the Layer Settings, a Text Style, or a Custom Style.

Toby, Chief doesn't make that kind of LineStyle. However, you can make a 2D CAD Block that has that appearance or you can download the Bonus Catalog "Closet Accessories" for the Hanging Stuff

Ron, The Plan is X7. The Windows version shouldn't matter but you will have to make sure your system is trying to open it in Chief Architect X7, not Blueray. Or were you asking something else - just about the Asus computer?

Curt, That was a down and dirty quick plan and I didn't pay much attention to the vertical heights. The Rail sizes in the dbx are irrelevant since it's a "Panel". The Rails are actually a part of the Panels.

Robert, Here's a sample plan Storefront Sample.plan

Panel Railing Walls work pretty well. You can even put Doors in them.

The first 25 subscribers will get a bonus package of 3 macros: %Living Areas_Get Totals% accumulates the names and areas of each floor living area %Living Area Table% displays the area of each floor and the total as a table %Living Area Total% displays the total living are of all floors The first is simply added to the default room label to accumulate the areas. The other two can be place in a Text Box or a Rich Text Box to display their output as shown below 1st Floor 302.00 Sq.Ft. 2nd Floor 249.00 Sq.Ft. ===================================== Total Living Area 551.00 Sq.Ft. Total Living Area = 551.0 Sq.Ft.

I would suggest calling Chief Architect Support - assuming that you have SSA. Otherwise, open the "Object Layers" tool on the Edit Toolbar and see what text styles are being used there. One of them is probably controlling the text size.

Arrows do stick to PSolids but if Chief adds Labels for Polylines then the macro could simply be added to the Label instead of using Text Boxes with Arrows. I almost always create macros to work with either Owner or Referenced Objects.

Here's a video of Site Area Analysis using macros to accumulate the data in Global variables and displaying it in a variety of tables. I did this video in a metric plan but it works the same in an Imperial plan. Because the data is collected and updated on the fly, you can rely on it always being up to date. http://screencast.com/t/4RmyhGYV7

Mike, I would in that case have created the side rails using Molding Polylines drawn in a side elevation, then added the rungs (either molding lines or solids) in Plan. Then I would display it in 3D and convert it to an Exterior Fixture Symbol.

Mike, You can place a molding profile, convert it to a polyline solid & set the thickness. Then you can convert that to a solid. Scott was wrong again

Click on my email address in Post #1 to sign up. You can email your macro wishes to me. Requests for macros from non-subscribers will not be put on the list. Click on my email address in Post #1 to sign up

I will provide one macro a month ($2.50 / month, paid in advance for a year). Macros will be provided based on requests from subscribers. I will determine priorities based on the number of requests and general user applicability. If it can be done in less than 25 lines it will be added to the to-do list. Each month I will distribute to all current subscribers that month's macro. I will also maintain and publish a list of prior macros that can be purchased for $2.50 each. Sep 2015 - Format_Number (see post #7) Living Area Bonus Package (see post #5) Oct 2015 - Opening Labels w Header (see post #8) Nov 2015 - Post Footing Labels (see post #16) Dec 2015 - Wall Labels (see post #19) Jan 2016 - BlockName (see post #37) Feb 2016 - Stair Label - Section & Stair Label - Total (see post #39) Mar 2016 - CounterTops (see post #40) Arp 2016 - Opening Header Label (see post #41) May 2016 - _Chief Architect Version (Displays the Version of Chief Architect in use) June 2016 - Area_Perimeter_Volume (Displays those values for Polyline, PSolid & Solids) (see post #43) July 2016 - Floor Name (Displays the Floor Name in a Text Box) (see post #44) Aug 2016 - Vent Labels (Displays a 2 line Label for Vents) (see post #49) This subscription system doesn't include any of my "Macro Packages": Site Area Analysis Package ($75.00) Building Area Analysis Package ($100.00) Roof Area Analysis Package ($50.00) Project and Consultants Package ($35.00) http://screencast.com/t/EUwgvruMXz0H Wordwrap Package ($25.00) Framing Labels ($50.00) Openings ($35.00) Vents ($25.00) Areas - X8 Hash Table Area Analysis ($25.00 non-subscribers- or $15 for subscribers) etc. which can be purchased separately. Contact me for the details of these comprehensive Packages. To Subscribe, click on the email address listed below. joe.carrick@dslextreme.com

You got it. The reason I still have the regular room labels (albeit virtually invisible) is that I have other macros embedded that accumulate room data for area & volume analysis.

Use a Rich Text Box. You can put it on it's own Layer, control colors, fill, text size, font, etc. I still have my Room Labels displayed, but they are very small, white, locked. so they aren't really visible and don't get inadvertently selected. When you place the RTB in a Room it will pick up the data from the room. You can even add an arrow if you need to place the RTB outside the room.

Graeme, That's the beauty of saving the details in CAD Windows. Each CAD Window can be individually named and individually edited. You can also copy the detail to a new CAD Window. and make modifications to it. These Warehouse Plans for Details are very small since there's almost nothing in them but 2D CAD.