AvoyeDesign

You will get better responses if you post this in the Q&A forum. This forum does not get much traffic and is meant for people to showcase working methods they have developed or discovered that make certain tasks easier and/or provide better outcomes.

You will get better responses if you post this in the Q&A forum. This forum does not get much traffic and is meant for people to showcase working methods they have developed or discovered that make certain tasks easier and/or provide better outcomes.

On 12/19/2023 at 9:00 AM, Kenoeightspot said:

The window is not backwards. The exterior casing is smaller than the interior, this is the opposite of the other windows.

How do you suppose that OP caused this without manual editing of the casing? Default settings would not get this result.

It is more likely as Chris indicated that there is some issue with which side of the wall Chief considers to be the interior.

Does anyone know why my temp dimensions appear like this when I want to resize a cabinet? If the cabinet is not adjacent to interior walls or other object, it will show the cabinet width. Otherwise it will show distance to a nearby wall and not indicate the cabinet width.

On 9/5/2023 at 6:40 AM, rlackore said:

 

This is expected by now, isn't it? Most Chief "new features" seem to need more time in the oven.

You beat me to this. Frustrates me to no end.

On 8/14/2023 at 5:09 PM, Renerabbitt said:

Just requires a method. This is an old video, my method has changed a bit but basically he structure of it:

Thanks for sharing this. I was thinking something along the same lines. I would probably write a python script that handles a lot of this. I already use a script to copy my template project folder. Here's a quick video:

I'm looking to expand my team and am exploring the IT side of it. I want to have all projects stored in a central place, either my workstation or a server, but I'm of the impression that chief doesn't like to have files on a central server. I'm wondering how some of you deal with this issue? I'm not even sure if I'm asking the right questions as this is something I haven't ever really paid much attention to.

45 minutes ago, Renerabbitt said:

 

You both responded to my suggestion about combining notes and callouts, and this is EXACTLY something it would be used for...if callouts and notes were one tool, we would have a callout schedule that could be reordered and used for things such as a detail schedule or simply for detail enumeration
Rod this is in my Pro Plan...it was tedious to setup but works really well and takes no maintenence once established.
 

I'm curious about your setup, and also got thinking about something myself. I made a suggestion the other day that we need to be able to add cad and cad blocks to custom schedules, and I think it would be cool if the schedule would show the cad block like it does for roof planes, windows and doors, trusses, etc. Then a detail sheet could be just a schedule basically. 

Edit: Getting a cad block to show in a schedule at the proper scale would be a nightmare.

23 hours ago, Joe_Carrick said:

I'm sorry Rod, what you show in your video is IMO a total kludge and doesn't provide the kind of automation that's possible with the NVPs I've been requesting along with a few well designed macros.

I think I put a fairly healthy disclaimer to that effect in both my post and the video, but thanks for being an ass anyway. 

I've been exploring this workaround that was inspired by Joe Carrick's post below, but I'm not sure if I like it or not. I just wanted to post the video for feedback and to see if any of you have better ideas or want to take off running with this. I haven't explored this much in X15 so there may be a lot better implementations of what I am trying over there.

1 hour ago, djhplanning said:

Just wondering what other Mac users are using for their systems.  Looking to speed up my system.  I know Chief Architect has told me that it's best to use a pc with gaming cards in them.  I need to stay with a Mac because of other graphic things that I do (I also do photography).  I need to have the display of a Mac to show true colors.  Interested if anyone could share what they are using for Mac with Chief Architect and how they find it is performing while using Chief.  I currently have an iMac 27" 2017, with Radeon Pro 580 8GB, 64 GB 2400 MHz DDR4 memory.  Finding it quit slow even on medium size projects.  Maybe I need to just have a separate PC system for using Chief.

It would be helpful for people to know what your workload in chief is like; do you raytrace? is it mostly design and construction documents?  are you running multiple monitors?

This is one reason I stay away from Mac, because I want to build my systems specifically for my workload and not rely on a pre-built scheme.

I will also say that my PC system (see specs below) was built around the same time and is showing its age, even with the 7700k overclocked to 4.8GHz.  This could simply be a matter of older hardware not up to the demands of newer software.  It could also be bloat; lots of software installations that are weighing down your system resources like memory and CPU.  Have you had an Apple technician service it in the last 6 years?

For future questions, you might want to use the Q&A sub-forum in the Discussion category of this forum.  This sub-forum is for users to share with others interesting tips and workarounds that other people can learn and use to improve productivity.

https://chieftalk.chiefarchitect.com/forum/7-general-q-a/

You probably want to do this with moldings in an elevation camera.

The pictures attached show my setup.  I use a 32" center monitor flanked by two 24s.  Having a center monitor is ideal for neck comfort, where having only two with the center bezels directly in front is going to cause neck, shoulder and back strain.

On 3/26/2023 at 5:34 AM, stevenyhof said:

Thank you gentlemen for your comments! Right now with 2 flat monitors I feel like the last foot on the ends of each monitor are facing away or past me, and a curve would be a better use of space having all of it's space facing me. And also with the two monitors above which are typically used for email, scheduling and reference docs, are still cranking my neck to look up all the time. Thank you once again for your feedback.

I use a 3 monitor setup, with a 32" in the center and a 24" on either side.  Having to look to one side or the other all the time is not ideal and can cause neck, shoulder and back pain.  The side monitors are for quick reference, and the pictures show my standard setup with the Layout file open on the left monitor with the library and project browser, the plan views on the center monitor, and the 3D views to the right.  If I have to look at one for more than a brief moment I drag it to the center monitor.  I plan to upgrade the side monitors to 32" and raise the 24s above them.  I use this THIS MOUNT to hold them precisely where I need them and keep my desktop clear of stands.

On 3/25/2023 at 2:03 PM, Chopsaw said:

Are you currently running 2 1/2" Sata SSD drives ?   I am pretty sure there are others that would be grateful to have the system you are running now but if you have 4K for an upgrade that looks like a pretty sweet build. 

I still have my Z170 board and 7700k from like 6 years ago.  I'd upgrade to his current system in a heartbeat.

The new elevation cad snaps makes custom muntins a breeze!  Just dropping in a thank you to Chief for that.

Never made sense to me that north arrow and sun angle were in cad lines.  They are geographic settings and impact exterior lighting and shadows.

55 minutes ago, Chrisb222 said:

 

What browser is your client using? 3D Viewer models viewed in Safari (OOB Apple browser) do not show a Full Screen button, but Chrome does. 

 

In fact Safari is very buggy for 3D Viewer. I use Chrome to preview my models and it works fine.

Thanks for your responses, I will forward this information to the client.

Rod

My client sent me this email this morning:

Quote

Hello Rod,  received your three emails.   Im using a Macbook air laptop.   A little different moving around the rendering.  Im figuring it out but cannot make the image go full screen as your tutorial says to click bottom right.  There are no icons in the bottom right of my screen.

I'm a PC user, so I can't go and investigate this.  Can anyone help me out here?

Thanks!

On 3/23/2023 at 9:38 AM, Gawdzira said:

The only room names that matter: Kitchen, Ballroom, Conservatory, Billiard Room, Library, Study, Hall, Lounge and Dining Room

I swear it was Professor Plum in the Hall with the candlestick!

Personally though, I think "bowling alley" needs to be in the default rooms list.  Because reasons.

And because my dream home that I will never build will have a bowling alley.  Don't judge!

I got the release email and I'm not on the public beta.  I was wanting to download the trial version and kick the tires, but it sent me X14.  Weird.

You can edit a truss profile in a cross section view.  Draw the truss, create a cross section, and then pull the bottom cord of the truss down to the top of the jack stud.

1 hour ago, Kiwideziner said:

Rod

I just purchased Revit lite bundled with Acad lite last week.

It seems like this is an actual comparable programme with CA, except CA has more automated tools eg framing. However Revit seems to have much more control of every item. There are heaps of you tube training videos available, I have watched about 20 hours so far.

Also plenty of country specific fixtures etc ( families) available for free.

My plan was to get Revit LT to evaluate and learn, while still working in CA for the time being, until my SSA expires in July. This was done before the announcement by CA as like you our exchange rate is similar( really bad). Then if I find lt insufficient I can go to full Revit or stick with CA. This also gets me trained on the industry std for this country.

 

Curious why Acad lite?  Is it for something else or is Revit not enough?

17 hours ago, Bondbuilding said:

Hello Friends and Chief Sales!

24 year user here... I have recommended and gotten more friends using this software than I can remember.

This is interesting news from Chief. For me personally it has provoked a lot of thought about my personal situation and relationship with Chief going forward.  I have read the entirety of the comments which mainly seem focused on the SSA relationship in the future.  The comments are interesting and I get that Chief needs to make a profit!  I think the issue with me is that not one size fits all, and It seems that the new pricing program is geared towards a "Heavy User", someone making a living drawing plans.  I want to make some comments that don't seem to factor in to Chiefs thinking about the purchase model going forward.  I totally get that all the big players have gone to the subscription model. 

 

I started with Chief 6.. 22 some years ago ...upgraded to 8...then to V10 ...then to X7 Premier which is where I am now. I want to say Chief 6 was $1400 all those years ago. (which seemed like a lot!) I have seen the software evolve quite a bit over the years.  I have never had SSA other than the original purchase included. (this was generally offered/presented as Customer Product Assistance/Service which I very rarely if ever needed)  

I am a Home Builder/General Contractor and I only use the program to design homes that I personally speculatively build or custom design for clients to custom build. This amounts to probably an average of 2-3 plans a year. I am getting near the back end of my career and it makes absolutely no sense that I would need to or want to pay in perpetuity $2000 a year or $200 a month just to use the work already created, or draw a handful of additional plans per year.  Obviously I can always open the files with the original program......but we all know that once you open a file with the new version you can't go back. The situation does present some concern if the program fails or ceases working will a new future operating system. This could put me in a situation where I really don't have a lot of options.  I feel pressured now to buy an owned version of X14 before Jan 9th...or use what I have until it dies.  If I buy X14, how long will it be supported as an owned version?....

Then what?

I go stints where I don't use the software for months..maybe as long as a year and then may draft 3 home plans with it. I had a fairly significant run in the 2009 bust where I didn't use it at all for a couple of years.

The software is an absolute marvel, ...but the fact is it does about twice as much stuff as I could actually care about.  I'm not trying to create perfect 3D houses with perfect renderings and imaginary accoutrements. I am drawing 2D house plans.  Obviously the function of drawing and creating in the program is in 3D, but the end goal for me is to have some 2D plans. It's is, and was, a brilliant concept. A person composes a a 2D drawing dictating its 3D properties and can see and take views of it. A person can draw an awesome 3D house if they want to put the time in!  One of the things I say to my customers is that "while we are going to have some 3D modeling, the focus here is to complete a set of 2D plans to build a Real House ...not create a perfect "virtual one"".

Other features the software does, again, are not super useful to me, (estimating, generated materials list, intricate framing diagrams etc) ...because they require too much time perfecting the "virtual home" to use. For me the time effort for me as a Builder is better spent doing it old school...labeling the 2D plans with the methods and features... "floor trusses 16" OC" etc   and then sitting down and figuring it out.  (This is just me...to each his own)

Lastly... My younger brother who does remodeling uses Home Designer Pro. He doesn't typically do whole homes and does not want to pay big money for software for a handful of remodels per year.  I have helped him finish some plans in Home Designer is not significantly different or better than my X7 as far as functional modeling...but it does kind of stink as far as the restricted feature set...(no preset plan views, inability to change views on the Layout Page, only 5 Layout pages...and a few other things). Honestly, if Home Designer Pro did just a few more things it would work for me perfect.  

 

If the whole method is going to subscription, then it seems that Chief should have some sort of cheaper subscription for a light or intermittent and Long Time User.. like me....or .....something a little better than Home Designer but not quite as full fledged as Premier 14.  I'm sure it's a fine line to determine the feature set of Home Designer Pro so a person will buy Chief Premier....but $60 a month going to $200 a month with nothing in between is a big leap when there are a significant amount of features in the step up software that a Builder Type or Remodeler Person could care less about.  Maybe a light user lease or legacy plan.  ( I get this would be super hard to administer but might be worth retaining some users).

It's been a long ride ...hopefully its not over for me.  ✌️

 

 

 

 

I completely understand your sentiment but from somewhat of a different perspective.

I an 15 years into my business and career, and I'm currently using X10.  The SSA renewals have simply been problematic for me because they are due near each new release, which is in the winter, which is a slow season for me.  As much as I have tried to budget for it through the busy times, it always seemed that I needed the money elsewhere more urgently.

So every year a new release went from a $595 SSA renewal, to an $800 upgrade, to a $1200 upgrade, to a $1700 upgrade, to now a $2200 upgrade.  Plus exchange to CAD.  I'm doing fine on X10, and I learn to be efficient and effective with the tools I have.  But I want to expand my team, and I now have one license at X10 and can only get a 2nd license at X14/X15 at FULL COST unless I upgrade X10 first.

Ok, so that's a cost of doing business, but I can make it work.  If I were to upgrade middle of 2023, I'd have two versions of X15 and I could chose whether or not to upgrade them later.

But now, once I do this, I only have one fallback license of X10 I can use, as the rest are subscription based and I really don't own anything.  I'm in for the ride.  I can make that work, although I don't consider it ideal.  But this presents me an opportunity:  If I am now faced with a new pricing and licensing scheme, then now is the time to shop around other programs.  What else is out there?  I haven't looked at SoftPlan since 2007, I'm sure they are much better than they were back then.

Or how about Revit Lite at $500 a year?

What I'm saying is that in their bid to get new customers, they are really forcing legacy customers into an uncomfortable shift, where their only option to keep the status quo was to have been diligent all these years with renewing their SSA.

I would need to pay $3,100 by the deadline to get the "grandfathering" scheme.  What else could I buy with $3,100 today?  Everyone's on subscription now?  Oh, look!  Softplan is $95 per month!  I wonder if they will do?

I would happily pay Chief $3,100 for 3 licenses of X10, based on what their upgrade path values my license at, so I could have 4 software packages that are compatible.  I'm in for a LOT more if I want 4 compatible versions of X15 one day.

So... I'm going to shop around.  See what I find.  Weigh my options.