Joe_Carrick

Did you select the Image in the Library and assign the 2D Block there? It should then use it for all subsequent placements in Plan.

Sure, Images are objects. They can be forced to always face the camera or not. If you place one just 1/8" from the surface of a wall and make it so that it is facing the right direction (not always face camera) it will work just fine.

Gerry, I agree on this subject. Chief can obviously do a "match selection" as evidenced by "Select Same". All that would be needed would be to pass this list as an array to a Ruby macro to be processed. It would be easy to do with a named Global Variable.

Gerry's point is well taken. Rooms can be uniquely identified by giving them unique names (I use Room Numbers) but no other Chief objects have that capability. With unique names the data can be written to Global Memory so that the next time the macro runs it can be checked against the existing to prevent duplicating the item or counting it more than once. If there was a way in Ruby to return an "ID List" of objects of a given type so that a macro could process each object in sequence then it would work. At present there is no such functionality.

Symbols - Geometric Shapes

I agree with Scott. That tool is not very smart. However, it is possible to use a macro to create labels for the joists & rafters that will give the correct information, including the exact width, depth, length and type of framing member. The macro can be written so that if you are using dimension lumber it will still say 2x12 Joist but with I-Joists it will say 1-1/2" x 11-7/8" I-Joist The macro would need to be specified as the Label for the Joists. Justin has been doing some work with this in order to get even 2' lengths for his rafters. The procedure is basically the same but the macro itself would need to be written differently. IAE, this is a bug that CA should fix. It shouldn't bee too difficult for them to use the same information to make the Joist Direction Line provide the correct information.

No Plan

Text macros can do this using methods: upcase downcase capitalize but if you are using text macros you probably already have it correct and don't need to worry about this.

Are you sure? Post the Plan........

They are worth watching. The biggest problem is finding exactly what is available for what object....... For example: A Layout Box contains an anttribute (amongst others) referenced_full_filename which is the full path and filename of the file that was sent to the Layout. This can be used to construct additional filenames to read and write. Interestingly, the context for using this is "Owner" because you would have to put the macro in the Label of the Layout Box. Chief has not documented all the attributes available and where and how to use them. That's one of the biggest shortcomings. It would be really nice to have a complete list (indexed and searchable) but at this point the Ruby Console is the only source of that information. The other problem - and it's one I believe will be alleviated in the next release or two - is that a lot of object data is still not available to Ruby. One of those is something Justin asked about - Ridge Height.

Kelly, Try the NKBA Auto Interior. They are much better.

Any good lawyer (oxymoron) would pierce that scam in about a NY minute.

Kelly, Why not use Auto Dimensions? If there are some you don't want you can just grab the extension line and move it - that dimension will disappear. But you are correct that the Manual Dimension Tools are picking up more than just the Main Layer. I don't recall that in X6 - but OTOH, I seldom use Manual Dimensions.

Larry, Don't even think about doing any Condo projects if you don't have insurance. I won't do them anyway just because there is always going to be a lawsuit and you'll lose everything you own if you don't have a lot of coverage. The same thing is true for most commercial buildings. The insurance is one reason that Architects have to charge more. We have to carry coverage on our projects well into the future and it's the client who is going to have to pay for it.

Yep, Labels are "Owned" by their object. the Rafter is the "Owner" and that's the object that has the length. You could use a context of None but then you would need to specify owner.length instead of just length.

Wherever a dialog is when you close it will normally be where it is when you open it the next time. There might be something in Preferences that would change that but I don't think so.

Justin, I'm totally in agreement with you on the use of macros. There is so much power available by using them - it just takes some time to get it set up. You could further simplify your macro to: (length/24).ceil*2 You don't need anything more than that.

Does anyone have a "Fixed Font" similar to Arial? I really don't like Courier New (looks like typewriter output) but I don't know of any other font that I can use to insure nice neat columns of text and numbers.

Your CAD Blocks were created at "Real World Size" so if you want them to appear at a scale of 1/2"=1'-0" you would need to reduce the size to 1/24. An easier way to deal with this is to place your details in CAD Detail Windows in a Plan File and then just send to Layout at 1/2"=1'-0" Scale. I never use the Library for Details.

Even that's not really correct since the finish_floor_elevation is likely not 0.00 even on the 1st floor. If you really want the finished ceiling height you need to used both attributes. There really is no reason to take a short cut - the macro if written correctly will work for all floors.

Thanks Alan. I don't do much remodel work but using multiple Plan Files is also my preferred method.

For those of you who do a lot of remodel work. Have you considered using 2 or even 3 Plan Files to show: 1. Existing and Demolition 2. New or 1. Existing 2. Demolition 3. New IOW, having 2-3 Plan Files with one Layout File? It would seem this could really simplify the ConDocs by avoiding having to show New and Demo at the same time. It would also make it easier to determine the existing areas vs the finished areas.

Thanks Joey and Alan. That will help me put together a demo that will cover your type of work. BTW Alan, the "Building Coverage %" in your example doesn't appear to be correct. That's one thing that I want to prevent.

I'm trying to put together as comprehensive a set of Building and Site Data as I can. What do you show on your Permit Submittals? Site Area ? Buildable Area ? Livable Area per Floor ? Total Livable Area ? Site Coverage ? 1st Floor Area 1st Floor % of Site Area? Floor Area Ration (Total Livable Area vs Site Area)? Paved Area ? ....anything else ? Pics of the Plan Data section of your ConDocs would be a real help.

There are additional settings for RO and Trimmers.