TheKitchenAbode

From a pixel perspective I do not believe there will be any difference whether one uses the screen shot or export method. The image is mapped into the video card memory which is set to the screens resolution. Both methods obtain the image from the video cards mapped memory. If there is a difference it would only be related to how the software takes these pixels and converts them to either jpg, tiff or bmp formats. Some do a better job than others at this but the number of pixels they have to work with are the same. If the software allows you to increase the number of pixels during the conversion process then it uses an interpolation method, it just makes up pixels to fill in the gaps. Some software can do a pretty good job at this, just depends upon the algorithm. Graham

Not sure this is applicable but when I upgraded X8 it did seem a bit laggy compared with the Beta version. Was checking the preferences settings and found the default undo was set at 50. I normally have this at 10. Believe when X7 came out there was a similar lag issue, If I can recall correctly I believe it was suggested to keep the undos as low as only necessary. Might be worth a try. Graham

For a screen shot the pic only has whatever pixels are being used on the screen for the pic. Probably equal to taking a pic with a 1 or 2 megapixel camera, it's just not going to be very sharp. The fine tuning when exporting does not change the total number of pixels, it controls the physical print size. Foer screen captures a higher resolution monitor would help as there would be more pixels on the screen. Best is to run a raytrace and set the pixel size there, it now uses that number of pixels for the pic. Graham

Here is the little plan I was working with. The complete blocking out of the window occurs with the interior camera when raytracing, regular camera view is fine. The exterior one seems ok. Give it a try to see if you can figure out what's going on. Graham Triple Glass.plan

Glad you were able to find a setting that works for you. It can be a challenge to get a handle on all of the items that have an impact on lighting a scene, especially when you have multiple light sources & types, 3D lights, sunlight and interior/exterior ambient controls to name a few. The effect/result is also impacted on whether or not you use "Use Camera View Settings" in the Raytrace DBX, "Photon Mapping" and "Tone Mapping". Not only is the quality of the scene affected by these but also the time/number of passes needed to generate the scene. Graham

Mark - your bottom config is usually how I do it, just turn the knob off of the apprpriate door. This represents how the doors would normally be in that type of corner unit when hinged together. Graham

Also, looks like some of your other settings are not ideal. Here's one I just ran on a preliminary being worked on. 30 passes 1 min 30 sec. Graham

Looks like one of two things. Is the sun light colour set to "Grey", if so set it to white. Looks like the backdrop in 3D is set to "remove backdrop", just make sure that is the case. Graham

Just checked this out, there is no option to adjust the shelf depth for a corner cabinet. I think for this the only solution might be to set the number of shelves to zero "0" or find another door style that blocks the shelves from flashing through. Graham

Under shelves specify you can set the depth. Have done this for regular cabinets, not sure if it works on corner cabinets. Graham

I ususally place a 3D point light in the center of the room and center height, shadows off and sun off. If you are running with photon mapping you need at least one light sources. Graham

The wall should be a collaborative effort, not to control people, but if we build it high enough we could stop those nasty storms that come up from the Gulf and stop the cold from the Jet Stream coming down your way. Sound like a win win proposition. Graham

Is political discussion a no no ? I miss Ross Perot and his graphs. Graham

Scott - You are absolutely right! The beauty of Chief is that there are many ways to accomplish things. It's up to each individual to devise the method that suits their needs best. Are you certain you wish to venture into the political realm? I've been glued to CNN for the past 6 months. Even the best writers in Hollywood could not come up with something like this, it's the best reality show out there. Can't wait for the next episode on Super Tuesday. Graham

Yes Micheal, you are correct. Also, as you mention polyline solids and countertops can be used for more complex shapes. Here's a simple shower plan. Apologize if some settings are not correct, just upgraded to Public X8 and have not set things up. I put each major item in a separate layer, see "Shower - " to toggle, so you can build or work on the shower piece by piece. Hope this proves helpful to those looking for an alternative to the "Pony Wall" technique. Graham Partition Built Shower.plan

Hi Scott, Will try to post one later this afternoon. Just heading out to a few site visits. Graham

I know I sound like a broken record when it comes to this subject, and I do understand and appreciate the wall type technique. However, for those looking for an alternative technique I suggest considering using a partition to create and control all of the elements. You can construct everything with essentially one element, just need to change size, material and position. This provide precise control over positioning, the ability to dimension everything and the ability to work with the elements in every view type. With the addition of say a p-solid there is virtually no limit to how complex of a design you wish to make. Graham

Not sure if this would help. The GS60 has something MSI calls "Matrix Display", it's supposed to support up to 3 monitors. Here's the set-up procedure. Graham How to setup MSI Matrix Display on MSI GS60, GS70, GE60, GE70 Notebooks.pdf

Scott - I think what is happening is that users have a number of different methods as to how they start a new project. Some use templates as their starting point while others recall an existing plan or layout and then do a Save As to create the new project files. Others may also use file explorer and copy an existing plan and or layout to the new project file folder and then rename then accordingly. The method you use will determine how linked associations are created/maintained. Graham

Larry - as long as you do the Save As for both the Layout and the Plan and then initiate a global re-link. If you only do the Layout then the associated links will still reference the former Plan as there is no plan that exists with the new Saved As name to re-link to. The only time this is not applicable is the first time you open a Layout from Template. If the Layout from Template has not yet been saved and you then open a Plan from Template and then send the plan to the Layout it will ask for a Name. When you assign the name it will name both the Plan file and the Layout file automatically. From what I have been able to deduce is that this is the only circumstance where both the Layout and Plan will be named automatically. Once a layout or plan has been named and saved then any renaming as would be the case in a Save As must be done individually to both the Layout and Plan. Graham

Hi Larry - As Joe says, the elevation cameras are unique to the original plan. When you re-link to another plan with different elevation cameras they are not associated with your layout as they have never been sent to the layout. When you opened the elevation in your layout it went back to the elevation cameras in the original plan. This is why you have to open up the new plan, open the elevation camera and send them to the layout. If however you had copied the original file to a new folder and then initiated the global re-link then everything should be correct. Graham

That's really strange. If you double click on the layout elevation where does it take you? And once there if you close out the elevation does it ask if wish the layout to be updated? Graham

Hi Larry - just wondering, if you click on one of the elevations that did not update in your layout and click relink what file name does it show in the DBX. Is it the same as the new plan file one or is it still associated with the former plan name. Graham

Try reducing the ambient light setting in the 3D settings DBX. Just a note if you have the "Use Camera View Settings" checked in the Raytrace DBX then your raytrace will be impacted by this change. For myself I never raytrace using the camera view settings. I prefer to keep the two separated from each other. 3D settings are used only to control my standard camera view display and tbe Raytrace settings in combination with lights control the raytrace output. Graham

Unless of course you were unaware that there was such a command, which was clearly indicated in my response.