Joe_Carrick

IOW, it depends on what you have set as the smallest fraction. if you have dims set to display a 1/16" fraction then the +/- will only be displayed if the actual dimension is not exactly a multiple of 1/16"

It's possible to select all the Interior Elevation Callouts for a Room and send them to a single Layout Page as a "Batch". They will all be "stacked" on top of each other but it's easy to separate them horizontally and move them as a group up or down on the Layout Page. If you do this, be patient as it will take some time for each Elevation.

I don't think it should be too difficult for Chief to add the things I liked. I think all of them have been requested multiple times so they should be on the list for X8 or X9.

They actually look like they are right out of my yard. We built on an old granitic core of an ancient volcano. Wherever I dig I hit boulders ranging from 6" to 100". Our house foundations are secured to solid rock with rebar epoxied into holes drilled into the rock.

Defaults > CAD > General CAD > "Use Line for Framing" at the bottom of the dbx.

FWIW, I saw some things in the Revit Demo that I liked: 1. 2 way Schedules 2. Ability to enter data directly in the Schedule 3. Ability to Group Schedule Columns 4. Levels - (Platforms, Ceilings, etc.) 5. Wall Intersections 6. Room Numbering I also saw some I didn't like: 1. Library access tied to Project rather than System Wide 2. Material Textures - very weak. Then of course there's the Price...... As far as how fast the building could be put together and the various views being created - I think Chief is just as fast, maybe faster. The Symbol Libraries available to Revit are probably more extensive but I don't know if they are better or not.

Have you checked the text color? It could be "white".

I'm with Richard. During my career I've done several Hospitals, Office Buildings, Custom Homes, Condos and Apartments. I won't do Condos any more because of the law suits that inevitably come after a few years. My current practice is limited to Custom Homes of various sizes. I've never done a project over 8 stories, but none of the projects that I have done couldn't be done quite quickly using Chief. There are several things I would like to see improved so that I could do less text entry, but Chief already saves a massive amount time and does a better job than any other 2D or 3D Architectural Software that I've seen. I have tried several demo versions and Chief is my favorite by a lot. I spend most of my time now making Design decisions and very little converting the design to ConDocs.

Thanks Jon

Doug, .....sometimes the code that tells the program that something has changed is not always hooked up correctly. . Adding or Editing a Text Macro doesn't trigger the "something's changed" flag.

David, There is nothing wrong with using the CAD Detail method. It's just not my preferred way of working. I like to be able to change the "Existing" when/if I find there was something wrong with the "as-built".

Larry, As I've stated previously, I seldom do remodels. However, I have Layers for Existing, New & Demo for Walls, Doors, Windows & Cabinets. I also have Layer Sets defined for Existing, New & Demo that allow me to display the various objects. The Demo Layers are "Locked" in my "New Layerset". I wouldn't want to use separate Plans - there's just too much possibility that there would be something different between the Plans. It's easy enough to switch Layer Sets and send each to Layout. BTW, That is all in a "Remodel Template" since I don't want the extra Layers, Layer Sets and Annosets in my regular Template.

Larry, It can be done using this method and different Annosets/Layersets and different Layers for the "Existing", "Demo" & "New" Walls, Doors, Windows, etc. I've never found a way to superimpose 3 walls, but 2 is not a problem.

If one of those walls is "No Room Definition" they can occupy the same space. I do this quire often when I need a railing wall in a "Doorway". But it doesn't have to be a railing. You can put 2 walls in the same space as long as one of them is "No Room Definition". Try it.

I just love it when you guys answer your own question - and then mark it as the "Best Answer". Nice pat on your own back.

Scott, PT#%^#$ Plan

Sometimes it just takes a "Save". I have found a couple of cases where some Chief Tool apparently resulted in "reloading" something. The problem is it's almost impossible to find what caused it.

Dermot, The program decides quite enough (in some cases too much) already. Let's leave this one alone.

FWIW, I use a variety. 1. Simple notes are just Text - usually controlled by "Text Style" 2. For larger blocks of text where I want different Fonts, Sizes, Attributes and/or Colors - I use Rich Text. 3. Labels are Text - because Chief doesn't allow Rich Text in Labels.

I understand

1. Everything is to Scale 2. The Layout is consistent 3. No need to make additional Layout changes when the Plan is modified. a. Mostly because almost all the text in the Layout is generated by macros

No, but they would be on the "Interior Fixtures" Layer and I don't think that's appropriate for this particular use.

Personally, I like text boxes in CAD Details in Plan Files. I can send them to Layout and if they are a bit too big or too small I can just "rescale". OTOH, if I just copy/paste the text from a CAD Detail in the Layout File then I can stretch the Text Box to fit the width available. Most of my major Notes are in the Layout.

Mick, You can do it either way. If you do it in a Plan CAD Detail then you would create the text in real world size and send to Layout at Scale. IOW, if you wanted 1/8" high text you would make it 6" text in Plan and send to Layout at 1/4" scale. If you do it in a Layout then you create the text as 1/8" high.

Jon, Exterior Furnishing, Exterior Fixtures, & Plants all have the Options "Sits on Floor" & "Inserts into Terrain Hole". Take your pick of what you want it to be. The basic difference will be the Schedule that each might be included in and the Layer they would be created on.