Joe_Carrick

Scott, I agree with you that the ML will never be perfect. I also agree that it's often easier to use a workaround (psolid, etc) than to figure out a way to do the job with something that will be accurately reflected in the ML. That's just the nature of BIM and it's not likely that it will get much better. It may be a little easier for me to get a relatively accurate ML simply because I'm more reluctant to use PSolids or any of the other Solids that don't have building intelligence. That means that I have more Library items available but it also means that when I don't have something appropriate that I will spend more time creating it. The trade off is speed vs accuracy of the model. I don't think there is anyone using Chief that can put together a set of Plans faster than you can.

Work from the top down. Changing heights of the topmost floor effects the floor immediately below, and then changing the heights of the floor below effects the next floor down. I know this sounds stupid, but that's the way it works.

Mick, If you want to change to a different MR definition you need to delete the current one and just place the new one. It would be nice if there was a "Replace From Library" tool for this ---- but currently that's not available. OTOH, you can edit the MR definition (a different color paint for example) and then save that to the Library.

Jon, I've not been able to create anything less than 1/32" thick for a Material Region. OTOH, considering Drywall Corner Beads, Tape, Joint Compound, Texture & Paint all together 1/32" isn't a stretch for what it does to the overall thickness of a wall.

Yes, but it's easier to have 1/32" thick Material Regions saved in your user Library and just apply that to the wall(s). You can have as many paint colors, wallpaper coverings, etc saved in the Library and you would have a lot less Wall Types.

No posted Plan - how can we answer without examining the Plan?

Yes, Material Regions are in the Materials List.

Use a "Wall Material Region" (single Layer) that doesn't cut the finish layers of the wall. You can save these in the Library and then just click on the wall you want to add the material to. It will cover the wall you click only - not the whole room.

For those of you who think it's too hard to do Materials Lists for Remodels...... If all your remodel work is on their own Unique Layers, you can select only those Layers to be included in the ML. It can all be done in a Custom Layerset. IOW, new walls, doors, windows, cabinets, fixtures, material regions, etc just need to be on the "New Layers" and "To be Removed Layers". It might be a bit more complicated but it's not as difficult as you might think.

Very nice Gene. Thanks, I can use that for some of my projects. It will be very handy for Ski Cabins/Lodges.

Sam, Actually, it does change. That's a bug that should be reported to CA. It only happens when the first digit to the right of the decimal is 0. I will call support on Monday and report it.

Sam, I tried this in X7 and the price remains the same. OTOH, if you change the wall length it still stays the same because it is just setting the price of one of the materials of the wall (per sq.ft.). This is not the appropriate way to set the price of a wall because you would need to do it for each wall in the Plan. It could be appropriate for remodel projects where you don't want to price existing walls, etc. Normally it should be done in the Materials List for the individual components and updated to the Master List so it can be used to update any Materials List in the future.

User Library is just one big file. There's only one file to synchronize.

I use SugarSync - but you can also use LogMeIn, Carbonite, etc to keep your systems synchronized. Dropbox is another way to handle it..

Some of the problems that people are having with the ML is understanding the relationships between the Master Material List, a saved Material List & a new generated Material List. When you create a new Material List for a Plan, it will only have basic information included (the stuff Chief already knows about) so you may need to edit some of the fields with Extras, Price, etc. Once you have done that you can save all or part of the List to a "Master List". You can also save the new List when you close it so you can call it back up using "Materials List Management". If you then create a new Material List you will see that none of the edited information is in the new List. However, you can update from the Master which has the detail of the edited fields. When a new Material List is created it is only a snapshot of the current Plan. Editing the Plan will not change the quantities in the ML, so a new ML must be created. You can open a previously saved ML but it will not reflect any changes to the Plan. It would be nice if there was a way to "Update" a ML to the current Plan but it's really almost as easy to just create a new ML and update the fields from the Master List. For purposes of using formulas for waste, etc you can export the ML to a spreadsheet and use the capabilities of that software. It would be nice if Chief had the ability to save formulas in the Master List but that's not something currently available so using a spreadsheet is the only way to do that currently. It would be a nice feature if there was a way to specify a percentage in the "Extras" column and have that as a part of the "Master List".

Check your Layers. It appears that something has been turned off.

Ruby can be used to report and annotate the number of Treads & Risers, the Riser Heights, the Tread Depths, etc - but not to place a single number on each tread.

On the issue of paint. Chief's Wall Types typically have been defined without paint layers. I've been experimenting with various ways of using Material Regions, one of which is to create Material Regions that consist of paint. These can be single or multiple layers and can be colors specified (Sherwin Williams or ......). You can also add the Drywall tape, mud and texture if you want. Those can have costs assigned to them and they will be reported accurately in the ML. I haven't tried the "Wall Coverings" but I would bet that they are also reported in the ML. As some of you have discovered, Polyline Solids are just CAD and are not really integrated as intelligent BIM objects. If you are going to use the ML effectively, you have to use the objects that have the intelligent info (components list) otherwise you will miss out. I don't totally agree with Bill Emery about the number of sheets of Drywall, OSB, etc being the same with doors and windows as if there were no openings. However, there is always going to be a certain amount of waste and that needs to be accounted for. Having a way to include formulas for material waste would be an appropriate addition to Chief's ML. I need to look at the Master List to see if that can be added to the "Extra" field. The bigger issue for me is keeping prices up to date. Quantities are one thing, but prices are a totally different thing - much more difficult to keep current.

Post the Plan and some pics of what you consider wrong.

Dennis, Create one of those stone columns and convert it to a Symbol. You can then add the materials to the Symbol Components and they will be reported in the ML.

You could go back to X6 I think only MS provides for a prior version look / emulation.

Shucks, It also happens in X6. I guess that got in without my noticing before.

Did anyone else notice? When you open a Layout and then dbl click on a Layout Box to open the View - The Plan File now appears in the Project Browser. Thanks CA. It's a big help.

Larry's right, changing the Layout to use this feature will be more work. In the long run it can be a great help - but if you're in that much of a time crunch....... Here's a pic of my Layout Page zero. It includes an automatic Sheet Index and more sheets than you will probably use in most cases.

Bob, Go to page zero, select the text for the sheet number, and change it to %layout.label%