Joe_Carrick

Barton, I think the difference may be that the OP is using a MAC. That particular video may not be able to be maximized on the MAC.

In Plan View, you can grab the Focal Point of the Camera and move it wherever is convenient. I a perspective view, you can just select the "Center on Point Icon and pic the location the you want to rotate about. You probably need to then select the "Center Building Tool" on the right toolbar.

I don't think so. This is just one of those that you have to get used to. ps: The Autobad method is WRONG ;)

The reason I asked was to get a better understanding of your knowledge, experience, & capabilities. I started with CAD before AutoCAD existed, migrated to it about 1990 and subsequently to Chief Architect. Obviously Chief is quite different and like any very competent CAD Software has a fairly steep learning curve. I never went to ArchiCad or Revit as I considered them too complicated and too expensive. That said, I have investigated both products and studied several videos/demos of both. There are things that AutoCAD had which I miss in Chief - most notably the "Comand Line" but 2D CAD lends itself to that much more than a full 3D Modeling Program such as Chief. The bottom line is that it takes time to become an expert - and even when you get to the point where you think you might be there will always be more to learn. When I come up with a special requirement that has be stumped, I just start looking in the Help Files, Videos, etc. But probably the most helpful of all is this Forum.

What is your background? What sort of business do you have?

I agree with Gerry. The key is that Chief is basically a 3D Design Tool, not a 2D CAD Tool. Most of the CAD needed is: 1. Automatically created from the model using "Orthographic Camera Views" 2. Small bits of 2D CAD to enhance the Orthographic Views. I had only used 2D CAD before I started with Chief. It took a while to realize that I didn't need 95% of the 2D CAD that was provided by AutoCAD and that I was much better off making sure that I got the 3D the way it need to be and then let Chief handle almost all of the 2D Drafting. I tried SoftPlan but found it overly restrictive in many regards. It's taken me several years to get to the level of expertise that I have with Chief but it would have taken me the same amount of time to master SoftPlan - and I wouldn't have nearly as good 3D Renderings and Ray Traces.

The other thing you should do is pay attention to the "Spray Can Modes" on the Edit Toolbar. This will allow you to control what is painted. If you have existing messes to clean up, select the room and edit the Wall Material to "Use Default". That will eliminate any "Paint".

Gene, That would require a definition in a ".pat" file. It would be a bit difficult to do with fill, particularly with circles. BTW, what scale would you be using this with? Maybe you could just use a CAD Block and replicate it - perhaps with a Distributed Region.

Some settings will update automatically when you change the defaults - but only if the symbols are set to use the defaults. In some cases this is done by having (D) in the field. In other cases there is a choice in the drop down box Use Default. For some settings, For Casings, it's a checkbox and that can only be set globally as DJP indicated.

Mark, The Callout Below the Line Automatic Label is the same as the Layout Page Label. The problem is that you put "Interior Elevations" in that field instead of a Sheet Number. See the attached Pic.

Mark, Check your defaults for what gets displayed below the line in the callouts. It appears that you have a macro assigned to that.

Mark, If you use a "Wall Cabinet" with a blank front and then add Moldings to it you can get the form you want and it will appear in the Cabinet Schedule and will have a label. Essentially, you're creating a Soffit but Chief's Soffits don't appear as cabinets in the schedule.

See pic

Can't help you with that

For the record - it was created in Chief as a filled (almost white) square and a 3/16" filled (black) circle which I replicated at 1" intervals in both directions. I then snipped it to a png and pulled it into Chief as a new material. Very simple way to create a texture without needing to take a photo.

BTW, it comes in as 20"x20" but should be 12"x12". Just open it in the Library and change the size - then it'll be right whenever you use it.

Try This one PegBoard.calibz

Mark, The fact that you can add an Arch Block to the Schedule is helpful, but in the long run the only way to get everything you want is by having Custom Cabinets (stored in the User Library) with all the components you want. Using Chief's generic (aka native) cabinets is always going to result in a lot of editing to get the model and schedule complete and comprehensive. Kitchen Design at the level of detail that you need is more than most Chief Users. If you take each of your projects and systematically add those cabinets to your Library they can be used for other projects and will carry all the details with them. This is true for all sorts of objects, not just cabinets. CA gives us a starting point with their Libraries but building a comprehensive User Library and Templates is the only way I know of to eliminate (or at least minimize) the tedious work to get the consistent results. For cabinets you start with the basics - Base, Wall, Tall, Partition, Soffit - editing the details for Doors, Drawers, Hardware, Moldings, etc. and set up a Library Folder Structure with those items. Then over time you can add and refine - anything you might use repetitively gets added to the Library with a cataloging system that you can relate to. My system looks something like this: My Cabinets ...Inset ......Design Style 1 (Doors, Drawers, Hardware, Moldings) ..........Base ..........Wall ..........Tall ..........Partition ..........Soffit ......Design Style 2 (Doors, Drawers, Hardware, Moldings) ..........Base ..........Wall ..........Tall ..........Partition ..........Soffit ......Design Style 3 (Doors, Drawers, Hardware, Moldings) ..........Base ..........Wall ..........Tall ..........Partition ..........Soffit ...Lip Inset ......Design Style 1 (Doors, Drawers, Hardware, Moldings) ..........Base ..........Wall ..........Tall ..........Partition ..........Soffit ......Design Style 2 (Doors, Drawers, Hardware, Moldings) ..........Base ..........Wall ..........Tall ..........Partition ..........Soffit ......Design Style 3 (Doors, Drawers, Hardware, Moldings) ..........Base ..........Wall ..........Tall ..........Partition ..........Soffit ...1/2" Overlay ......Design Style 1 (Doors, Drawers, Hardware, Moldings) ..........Base ..........Wall ..........Tall ..........Partition ..........Soffit ......Design Style 2 (Doors, Drawers, Hardware, Moldings) ..........Base ..........Wall ..........Tall ..........Partition ..........Soffit ......Design Style 3 (Doors, Drawers, Hardware, Moldings) ..........Base ..........Wall ..........Tall ..........Partition ..........Soffit ...1-1/4" Overlay ......Design Style 1 (Doors, Drawers, Hardware, Moldings) ..........Base ..........Wall ..........Tall ..........Partition ..........Soffit ......Design Style 2 (Doors, Drawers, Hardware, Moldings) ..........Base ..........Wall ..........Tall ..........Partition ..........Soffit ......Design Style 3 (Doors, Drawers, Hardware, Moldings) ..........Base ..........Wall ..........Tall ..........Partition ..........Soffit Whenever I create a new configuration - such as a cabinet with appliance(s) I add that to the Library. Then any time I want that or a similar configuration I can just grab it from the Library and place it in the plan. I'm refining this approach all the time. One of the things that seems to work best is having the Basic Units in each Design Style - no (D) designations so I can place one of each in the Plan and use those to set the Plan Defaults. All the special configurations are set to use the Defaults so I only need one of each special configurations - but I need one for each appliance Mfr/Model. This is what I call a Sharp Saw.

It used to be (back in v9.5 and maybe even in v10.0) that you had to export to 3DS any symbol and then import - regardless of what kind of symbol you wanted. I got CA to change that so we could define symbols directly without the export/import step - but we still have that problem for Cabinets.

Mark, In order for them to be in the Cabinet Schedule the Symbol needs to be defined as a Cabinet. You can do that by exporting the symbol to 3DS and then importing it back as a Cabinet.

Jon is correct. This is basically a two story space. The two smaller rooms have a ceiling that's contained by the second floor while the second floor is open to below in all the rest of the area. The walls surrounding the area that is the ceiling of the smaller rooms are basically 0 height railing walls.

Another way to do this would be to use a "Pass Thru Window" with an Full Arch. You might need to add a Solid as a Wall Cap, but that's pretty simple.

Draw a Half Wall about 12" away from the opening. Make it "No Room Definition" and then move it into the arched opening.

So, 7+ months after the kitchen fire last December.... Our home is finally being repaired. All the framing and, sheathing, etc has been sprayed with KILZ (tinted gray) so none of Larry's color scheme works in our home.

Lew, If each apartment is in a separate Plan File then the Schedules can be done in each Plan and sent to one common Layout File. Each appartment Plan can then be pasted into one overall Plan and that can also be sent to the common Layout File. That's what Perry is talking about.