Joe_Carrick

FWIW, I've previously and repeatedly asked CA to make much more available to Ruby and also to make it so Interior & Exterior Elevations as well as Sections would allow Ruby macros for annotating Walls, Roofs, etc. IOW, a Reference Macro placed on a Wall should be able to extract data (wall layer thicknesses and materials) so that notation could be almost automatic. Just Dreaming and Hoping

Barton, One advantage to using a macro for a simple Text String is that it's going to use the current Text Defaults so the text will be the right size. A CAD Block will not be scale dependent, so you might have to resize if you use it on a different scale drawing Example: A CAD Block created for a 1/4" Scale Elevation would be twice as large if placed on a 1/2" Scale Interior Elevation. This is of course the same problem that you can get when taking Details from the Library. They may be larger or smaller than you want. The other advantage as Perry indicates is that it"s "LIVE" and will update if you change what's in the macro itself.

Barry, The Annoset is a set of Defaults. When you select an Annoset, the Defaults for the Plan are actually changed. It's actually possible to completely ignore using Annosets and define everything in the Plan defaults and in the Layersets. Annosets simply makes it easier to change several Defaults in a single step. The main reason for having Annosets is to adjust the sizes depending on the scale of the drawing. This is due to the fact that Chief defines annotation in Model sizes as opposed to print sizes. Assume that you use just one scale for Plan Views (1/4" = 1'-0") and your standard font is 1/8" Chief Blueprint then you could use a single Annoset for all Plan Views and control everything else within the Layer Set. iw: Use custom Text Styles for individual Layers such as Room Labels, etc.

You might need to adjust the Symbol's "Y" origin, depending on the wall thickness. I set it to 19" but for a 6" Stud Wall it should be about 20-21". You can play with it as needed.

The attached "Doorway" Symbol can be used where you want a Roll-Up Garage Door. It won't show the "Overhead Rectangle" that a Garage Door normally shows, but you can add a CAD Rectangle for that if you need to show the Roll in Plan View. IAE, it displays correctly in 3D, and will be in the Door Schedule if "Doorways" are included in the Schedule. Roll-Up Garage Door.calibz

My guess would be that you are creating a PDF with way more resolution than you need. Try setting the resolution down to about 60-90 dpi. It should then import into Chief at a much more reasonable physical size. You might need to play with it a bit to get the best resolution but in the case of PDFs you really don't need anything more than 120 for use in Chief - smaller is better.

Here are some examples of macros for Stairs: Stair_Risers_Imperial_Short # This Displays the number & Height of Risers nR = num_treads+1 cText = nR.to_s # Convert Decimal Values to Fractions inches = riser_height.round case when inches > riser_height inches = inches-1 end frac =( (riser_height-inches)*16).round.quo(16) case when frac == 1 result = "#{inches + 1}" when frac == 0 result = "#{inches}" else result = "#{inches} #{frac}" end # 'Risers = '+cText+' @ '+riser_height.round(2).to_s+'"' # 'Risers = '+cText+' @ '+result+'"' cText+" Risers @ "+result+'"' Stair_Treads_Imperial_Short # Displays Number & Size of Treads # Convert Decimal Values to Fractions inches =tread_depth.round case when inches > tread_depth inches = inches-1 end frac =( (tread_depth-inches)*16).round.quo(16) case when frac == 1 result = "#{inches + 1}" when frac == 0 result = "#{inches}" else result = "#{inches} #{frac}" end #Display Results # 'Treads = '+num_treads.to_s+' @ '+result+'"' num_treads.to_s+' Treads @ '+result+'"' Stair_Width_Imperial # Convert Decimal Values to Fractions inches =width.floor frac =( (width-inches)*16).round.quo(16) case when frac == 1 result = "#{inches + 1}" when frac == 0 result = "#{inches}" else result = "#{inches} #{frac}" end #Display Results 'Stair Width = '+result+'"' The 3 lines in the text box shown in the pic below are created by the above macros.

There are many things that you can annotate using Ruby macros and attributes that Ruby has access to. Generally, this only works in Plan View and you have to have the correct relationship between the text macro and the object. The first thing to understand is how to get at the attributes for any object. 1. Select the Object and open the Ruby Console 2. Enter "owner.names" which will list the attributes associated with that object. 3. Assuming that one of the "names" is height, type "owner.height" and the height of the object will be displayed. The next thing to understand is that a Text Object that references that object (usually by having an arrow pointing to the object) can retrieve the data. If that Text Object has a macro embedded in it the data will be displayed instead of the macro name. In the case of Chief's "Labels" such as a Door, Window or Room Label the macro can be directly embedded in the Default Label and it will then automatically display the data in each Label. Owner and Referenced context must be properly defined for each macro. Macros specified in Labels or in Text Objects need to be in the form %macro_name%. In most cases numerical values will not be in the format you want and you will need to have the macro perform calculations and formatting to get the text you want displayed. There is a lot to learn to use macros to the ultimate possibility and - as Gerry pointed out - Chief has not given us access to enough of the model data so that everything could be automated.

Barry, Annosets can be used for just scale related items (Rich Text, Text, Callouts, Markers, & Dimensions) by specifying "Use Active" for Current CAD Layer and Current Layer Set. IOW, one Annoset for each dwg scale that you use. If you use it this way you will have to change the Layer Set and Current CAD Layer separately. The other option is to have an Annoset for each scale for Architectural, Structural, Electical, Plumbing, HVAC, etc. and have the Annosets select the Current CAD Layer and the Current Layerset. IMO, the Annosets should be used just for the sandard text size (1/8" in my case) and possibly for different fonts. Special Text Styles (Size and Font) for specific uses I relegate to the Layer Set individual Layer definitions. I do prefer to have one click to set everything and currently that can only be done in the Annoset.

Put one in the Library

It's rare in construction that anything is built closer than 1/8". But for certain details you might need the smaller fractions. My recommendation would be to create the model accurately and have the Dimension Defaults set to the accuracy needed for the scale and the drawing type as needed/appropriate.

You probably also need to check the Dwg Scale and make sure it's also 1/2"

Did you save the CAD Detail after changing the Annoset? Are you accessing the CAD Detail from the Layout?

You can place multiple appliances in a single tall cabinet. The key is to first place one appliance - I prefer the oven. Then open the cabinet dbx and select the front element below and set the type to "appliance" which you can then select from the Library. Continue to do this for each fron element. Once you have the Cabinet customized with all the appliances in it - SAVE IT IN YOUR LIBRARY - so you won't have to do the same thing on the next project where you want that configuration. BTW, IMNSHO you are trying to put too many appliances in a single cabinet. It makes the MW way to high - unless it's for a couple of NBA or WNBA Players, My maximum stack is a Warming Drawer, 30" wide Oven, Microwave (with trim kit). For double that, I put another stack right beside the first one.

Not "Molding Planes". "Molding Polylines" - basically a Line on which you can add 1 or more Molding Profiles and/or 3D Molding Symbols. Learning to use this tool is a big deal in Chief. With it, you can create a lot of "extruded shapes" for railings, etc.

1. Why use "Floor supplied by Room Below"? 2. What is the Room Below?

Robert covered it pretty well. There are other ways to do it (and it could have been pretty easily built in Chief instead of Sketchup) such as Molding PLines, etc.

I'm jumping in late here, but I think you could just not call it a garage and change the Floor Height in the Room dbx. That should resolve the Stem Wall issue. You can Name the room "Garage" but just not use the "Garage Room Type"

Still no attachment. Once you select the file, you still have to click "Attach this File"

I just right-click on the Taskbar and select "Start Task Manager". I guess I just like using the mouse rather than the keyboard shortcuts.

No attachment. IAE, you would probably want to import the SKP as an Exterior Fixture or Furniture Symbol.

Just curious, has anyone tried makeing the symbol "Ceiling Mounted" with "Flush Mounted"? The z origin might need to be adjusted to mount at the correct height relative to the beam, but it should work.

I would like to be able to set Upper Case as a default within any given Text Style and/or Label. IOW, make it possible for us to specify what we want to be Upper Case and what we want to be Uppercase/Lowercase. Typically, I like general text (the 1/8" Default Text - whatever font I select- usually Chief Blueprint) to be all Uppercase. That's the body of notes, etc in the CDs. Larger Text such as View Names, etc I have come to be comfortable with as Uppercase/Lowercase - mostly because it allows more characters within a given width. Note: Just for readability reasons alone, I don't want anything less than 1/10" in height on the final printed sheet. I actually prefer 1/8" but since the computer fonts are more legible than hand drafting I can accept 1/10" as the bottom limit.

I would use a 3D Molding Symbol on a 3D Molding Polyline. The Symbol would be a single Brick + a grout space (soldier course) and the 3D Molding Polyline would be an arch drawn in the Elevation View. For the Material of the Brick, use a grainy brick red color/texture - don't use an actual brick texture. The other option would be just a 2D Molding Profile on the 3DMolding Polyline and a Brick Texture.

It seems like Wendy disappeared once Chief provided Shadow Boards. What happened to her?