Joe_Carrick

I believe that CA can't rely on the current SSA to support the existing cost of development and support. There is only a limited potential customer base and it's probably already been substantially realized. Unfortunately, a great number of those customers have elected not to pay for SSA. That means CA's revenue is too low. Since they have the "Perpetual License" even for those who don't have SSA it's a problem. If there was a way to convert all (or at least a large portion) of the "non SSA" users to "SSA_Lease" it might solve CA's profitability issue. The key would be that in order to continue using Chief Architect the users would have to pay the annual $595. That amount could be locked for all current users. New users would have a SSA_Lease fee at future $$. This would IMO be a better solution. The key would be how to convince non-SSA users to upgrade.

2D CAD or 3D Symbols? The 3D Symbols would be much better as a Catalog.

Correct.

I would also think that "Leases" are tax exempt. This may be something CA should look into. Selling a Product is one thing - but "Leases" & "Services" are another.

Generally sales tax is only charged for the state where the product is delivered. That of course can get complicated because the vendor has to keep track of the sales tax rates for each state and make payments to those States accordingly. If CA is classifying SSA as "Software" then it would be taxable on a per state basis - but only to end users, not resellers which we might be considered since the software is a tool which contributes to the product that we sell. Internet sales have made this a slippery slope.

That's weird. Isn't SSA a "service charge"? I don't think there's supposed to be tax on services.

Perry, What area of the Chief Website did you go to see that?

As of the current listing on Chief's Website - it's $595 to renew if it's expired. But there's no other price listed so I don't know if that's the normal renewal price. The key is - don't let it expire. I also note that there appears to be a sale on additional licenses right now - next 10 days - at $1995.00 IAE, I'll continue to pay my SSA every year so I will have the current version as my "owned" license. It's just the cost of the new features and the SSA Fee is quite reasonable IMO. Dinner for 2 once a week at our favorite restaurant and a couple of tanks of gas each month - is more than the annual SSA.

Very good !!! I missed the "treat as one object" checkbox.

I just tried converting to a Symbol instead of a block. Then you can add it to the Cabinet Schedule. I did a couple extra things: Made the Cabinet w/o a Top Named it as "Double Base Cabinet" -- you can use whatever name you want Placed on the BASE CABINET Layer Put it on the BASE CABINET Display Layer Added a Custom Countertop with 50% transparent fill. Not the perfect solution but it works. I would also add a comment or some Custom OIP Fields for the Cabinet Mfr.

Maybe if Chief would provide a "Mull Cabinets" tool you could use the Schedule and Labeling features of "Mulled Units". This would be similar to "Mulled" Doors and Windows. There was an Import capability of a symbol as a "Cabinet" in prior versions. You first had to export the symbol as a SKP and then import it. I think that's still available but I don't think any of the Chief Cabinet parameters are retained.

What is the SSA price per year compared to the annual subscription price? Is there an advantage of one vs the other?

But it only works for an "angled front". The OP wanted to get an "L" shaped cabinet without the center stiles. I don't think it can be done using the cabinet dbx. Actually, I think this is a bug (or at least a shortcoming) since the doors on an "L" shaped cabinet would usually be hinged as a "reverse-bifold and the stiles wouldn't be there.

Only by using a Library Search for a specific named object. Most of my Library Searches are just to get close to the object (ie: not a single object). IMO this wouldn't be a efficient use of the Stream Deck and I don't think it's really feasible. I think a Toolbar with Library objects makes more sense for that facility. It's definitely quicker but you need the picture with tooltip to know you get the right item.

It seems that macros are not being updated in certain cases where they used to be. For example: a Schedule Column where the the underlying data is the result of a macro in the row objects. In order for the data to be updated in the Schedule - the Schedule has to be opened and closed. I'm pretty sure the data could previously be updated just by a redisplay. Can anyone else confirm this - or any other cases where macros are not getting executed on a redisplay?

I think it's overkill. You should be able to get a good system for about 1/2 that amount. The 4090 is an extra $1000 over a 3000 series. Currently I only know of one Chief user with a 4090. I don't think even CA has one yet.

Rob, I'm pretty sure I have some 10 series GPU's that I'm not using. Let me know if you want one of them.

Hi Charles, You might consider purchasing my Chief Setup for the Stream Deck. It'll save you a lot of time getting the best setup for Chief. Hotkeys included (thousands of keystrokes).

Velcro - lots of it

Here's what I use for Layout Box Labels (It uses the %box_scale% with some inline modifications: The Text Below the Line is: Scale: %box_scale.delete(' ').gsub('=',' = ').gsub('ft','\'').gsub('in','"')%-0" You can copy/paste that into your Layout Box Label

You didn't need to make them Symbols. Just specify the railing wall as "No Room Definition" & "No Locate". You can then select the Railing and "Center" on the Post to Beam railing. You can still adjust the ends so they stop at each post.

Not if the 2nd Railings are each separate and just go from Post to Post. I don't make such railings continuous.

Railings and Stairs are some of the most complex items in terms of options and how they are built. Chief is constantly trying to improve on what's available in these tools. I'd be very surprised not to see improvements in each new version of Chief.

It's just that there isn't a combined "Post to Beam" and "Rail to Post". You just need to treat them as 2 separate items. That's actually how they would be built - Structure 1st, then Railing. Some users would just do this as "Framing" (Posts and Beams) and then infill with "Railings". There are lot's of different ways of doing things in Chief. It's just a matter of finding the one that works best for you.

Hi Matt, Create your Post to Beam Railing as "Open" Create another Railing "Balusters", "Rail to Post", "No Room Definition" away from the first Railing Move the 2nd Railing to be Centered on the 1st. You might need to have a series of the 2nd Rail Type that just go from Post to Post. You might also need suppress the "End Posts". ie: set them to "None" There are other possibilities - but I've found the above works pretty well. You can also insert a "Doorway" into the Railing as needed. You can do a similar thing with the Stair by creating the railing off to the side and setting it to "Follow Stairs" before moving it into place. It's a little tricky getting it to match up at the deck but it can be done.