Joe_Carrick

Text Styles - naturally associated with Layer Sets. Eventually you will want to get comfortable with creating and modifying symbols as well as using macros.

Put all that text on one Layer and turn it off. Then create your other Text on a Different Layer.

100% Correct. Just about the only thing I put in the Layout in Text Boxes is on Page 0 - (Borders, Sheet Index, etc) I do have some additional Text Boxes on a few pages - some of which have macros in them but I generally don't add any text if there's a Layout Box. In that case the text belongs in the Plan.

Mick, It depends on the macro. If it's a macro that needs to get attributes from a Layout Box then it needs to be added to the Layout. OTOH, if it needs to get attributes from the Plan then it needs to be added to the Plan. The only user macros that I have added to the Layout are: 1. Filename macros (they get the full path and filename of Layout Box referenced Plan File) 2. Custom macros to read/write "Consultant Info" files to store and retrieve data that Chief doesn't provide for. 3. Custom macros to read/write "Structural Data Files" that provide (loads, spacing, member properties, etc) 4. Macros that I want or need to add to Text Boxes in the Layout All other macros are in my Defaut Plan. btw, Chief provides their "Global" and "Object" macros to display various data - those are available wherever you are (Layout or Plan & depending on the Object currently selected (if any). NOTE: If a macro is in the Plan and that view is sent to Layout then when the Layout Page is displayed it will activate that macro. You don't have to actually open the view, just display the Layout Page.

Ray, If you add the User Macros to your Default Plan Template and/or Default Layout Template as appropriate and "Save", they will be available for new Projects. Note that some macros are used just in the Plan and others are used just in the Layout. I have asked for a "Browser" type organization for User Macros (Similar to the Library Browser) but Chief hasn't done that yet. I hope they will have it in X8.

When Text Macro Management is opened, all macros are executed. I originally thought that only a selected macro would be executed but it's actually every macro. That is how the system determines which are valid and which are not. There is an unintended consequence of this. If there are any Global Variables that have been initialized with actual values - they could be modified by a macro that initializes those variables. It would be nice if there was an option to turn off this "All Macro Validation Check" so that the execution would be limited to "selected macros". This wold need to be a setting in Preferences > General > Ruby.

It's in the Bonus Library "3D Text"

The Wall Layer Text Box is by default named for the "Framing Layer" of the Wall Type. It doesn't make sense to me but that's what CA uses as the text.

Yes, you have to do it manually as Glenn said. Placing the macros (Chief's actually) in the Default Wall Labels only makes the title in the Project Browser for new Walls take on that data. For existing Walls you have to edit the Project Browser names. %view_name% reads the title from the Project Browser. You can't put those macros in the titles in the Project Browser.

Click on More Reply Options Then Browse to the image and select it. Then click "Attach This File"

The Defaults only work for "New Walls". For Existing Walls you need to edit the Name in the Project Browser. Basically, when a wall is created, the Name in the Project Browser is set according to what the "Default Label" is. That is the "View Name". %view_name% just returns what the name is in the Project Browser.

I put the Following in the Default Labels for Exterior & Interior Walls: Wall - %floor_number%.%wall_id% --- %wall_type% Which causes all new walls to be have a more descriptive name in the Project Browser. If you don't want the wall type to b included you could just use: Wall - %floor_number%.%wall_id% This will make each Wall Label unique. It would be nice if there was a Default for the Wall Detail Title.

I would give the Units numbers so that the rooms were numbered as well: First Floor 110-Living Room 111-Dining Room 112-Bedroom 113-Bath 120-Living Room 121-Dining Room 122-Bedroom 123-Bath First Floor 210-Living Room 211-Dining Room 212-Bedroom 213-Bath 220-Living Room 221-Dining Room 222-Bedroom 223-Bath The 1st number is the floor, the 2nd number is the unit & the 3rd number is the room within the unit.

Steve, Obviously you meant "Ray Trace" vs "Rendering". I can only assume you are using X7 since you don't have that info in your signature. You probably don't need more than about 4-5 passes to get a good Ray Trace. Why is the cabinet door glass not transparent? No way to tell - post the Plan.

That would be nice - but Chief doesn't provide an "Elevation View Set" as a standard. It would probably require some additions to the Defaults similar to the "Rendering Techniques" for "Layer Set". There are several such things in Chief where Layers are "forced" on the user which can be changed later but do not have user defineable defaults.

No, I don't think that would work. Cross Sections are in their own "Camera View" Windows. and I don't see any way (or any reason) to copy them. You do have the option to make a "New CAD Detail From View" but that's not live. It's useful for creating larger scale CAD Details but that's about the limit.

No, it can't be done.

FWIW, I tried copying a "Stair Section" from the Plan to a CAD Detail in X7, then in X6 and then in X5. X5 allowes it but X6 & X7 don't. So this is lost functionality - but it probably shouldn't have been there in the first place.

Normally, the only things that can be copyied to - or created in - a CAD Detail Window are CAD Objects. But I once put a "Stair Section" in a CAD Detail. I don't know how I did that but I still have that CAD Detail Window in my Default Plan ----- and I'm not going to delete it.

Another thing you can do if you just want access to an external file or web page is add a HyperLink to a Text Box. That file can then be accessed by clicking on the text box and then clicking on the hyperlink icon on the Edit Toolbar.

I don't think that's not correct. AFAIK, all CAD Detail will automatically update in the Layout. The only things that don't automatically update are Elevations & Sections - ie Camera Views don't automatically update to the Layout. However, all CAD (Text, Dims, Lines, etc.) added to an Elevation or Section View will update automatically. It's only the changes made to the Plan (Model) which effect the view that don't automatically update.

You can put almost anything in a CAD Detail Window. Hotkey Shift-V is the easy way to create a new empty CAD Detail Window.

Johnny, Elevations and Sections are automatically in their own Window (view) separate from the Plan. They are semi- live, but may need to be re-displayed in order to update when changes are made to the Plan. Sections can be trimmed by limiting the ends of the Section Cut (Callout), thus creating Wall Sections. Those can be annotated and sent to Layout at a larger scale than the Building Sections. For Larger Scale Details I might use a portion of one of those and as Tommy indicated use "CAD Detail From View". That kind of Detail doesn't need to be "Live". Personally, I usually put those in "Detail Plans" since they are more generic and can be used in many different Projects. IOW, those become 2D Details and become a part of a Detail Plan Library for use in any other Project.

In the Cabinet Schedule dbx (General Panel), uncheck "Group Similar Objects".

CAD Details - IMO the only way to go. I don't want anything in the Plan that would increase the boundary of what I send to Layout. It's just complicates things too much. Most CAD Detail Windows get sent to Layout on different Sheets than the Plans. Some CAD Detail Windows are just work product, substituting for the Library where things are just applicable to this project or are more convenient places to store and access. Note that CAD Detail Windows also have an "editable name" which can then be used with the macro %view_name%. This is a very nice way to get the view named in the Layout without having to use the Layout Box Label.