GeneDavis

I dipped my toe in this when I first saw the video about it by Dan Baumann of ChiefExperts. Another member here (ACAD_user?) showed it in a thread I started about CAD details. Here is the link to Dan's video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVdMimpRWck&t=197s With a little practice using a mouse with wheel or similar device, one can go anywhere one wants in a model. Into and out of rooms, all around outside, under the terrain to view the foundation, inside the kichen cabinets, simply anywhere. And it is all under the user's control. Up the stairs, along the galleries, look down from second floor into family room, it is simply limitless. The free version give one up to five annotated views, and the first level up that costs $ gives one up to I think 30 views. An annotated view is a camera you set and assign text to, such as, "Kitchen view showing sink centered under window," or "guest bedroom, queen sized bed shown with two 36" wide nightstands." While the user can freely move the camera anywhere in the model space, the annotated view feature fixes the camera at locations you assign, so you can control what is seen that is linked to your annotation. Isn't this as good or better than whatever other 3D viewer we have for Chief?

Here is a new thread for users to chime in and describe their methods for creating, storing, and retrieving CAD details. And please, Scott Hall, tell us which of your YouTube videos address this. I like your technique of having a single plan file in which you keep all details, organizing the details using floors zero, 1, 2, 3 way up as high as needed. Is that what you still do? Does that file have a CAD detail for every CAD detail shown on the floors? How do you address scaling?

Mark, thanks for the remarks. My con docs are a little different in that some are for a couple builders (and me) that do not buy branded cabinets. We've integrated cabinet building into our program and use eCabinets software for aiding the building and all the buying. Cabs come to the jobsites as a batch of ready-to-assemble parts, and the accessories such as pullouts, susans, and more all come in their manufacturer cartons. We use a lot of Rev-A-Shelf and Hafele stuff. Thus the drawings, the 1/2" scale plans and elevation views, are an important guide for the placement of the accessory parts. I still think that if Chief can give us the susan option for corner cabs, and show the susan in planview and a code in the callout, that Chief should do the same for a trashbin-slide base.

A susan is an accessory product installed in a cabinet, much like a trashbin slide. We get a susan to show in planview and the cab callout includes it. Why not the same treatment for the trashbin slide? What is different? While it is nice that people have done the work of modeling trashbin slides in 3D and they can be placed inside cabinets, it seems a little gimmicky to me. My plans all show closed cabinets on the con docs. And if we must have 3D trashbin slides, then what about breadboxes, nesting drawers, spiceracks, vertical dividers, and all the other types of inside-the-box accessories?

Take us through that process of symbol editing, Eric. I need to learn it.

Here ya go, done using SU. column.plan

Here is a screened porch with a hinged door in one wall. I moved the wall-side edge of the door to where it would be if the post adjacent it was a 4x4 (3.5" square) and the post tight against the wall sheathing layer. I get the look I want on the latch side of the door, but Chief shows a line on the hinge side where the half-post is. Door by me, from my library.

Here are screencaps from a test model. I did a rectangular set of walls using out-of-box "siding 6" and out-of-box deck railing wall at 3.5" thick. The walls of the deck are specified as post to beam, newels 3.5" square, boxes unchecked so there is a halfpost at wall. I tried using the edit-wall-intersection tool to see if it moved the halfpost position. As can be seen, there is no effect on the position of the halfpost newel. I drew a cross box the size of a half-newel for reference and placed it where seen. Chief sticks the half-newel to the outside of the wall. That placement, to outside of wall, is fine and matches what we do when building, for interior walls. Outside, though, we prefer to build posts and newels to the sheathing layer, and cut siding finish to the post surface.

An And that's what I did, Perry. Thanks. A hidden gem of knowledge from a pro. The railing wall gives me both the top beam and the mid- and shoe rails I want, plus being a wall, it can contain the door I need. My plan views and elevations look as I want, and I get doors shown properly with hardware and swing indicators. They appear on the door schedule. I'm in business.

Further work shows editing the wall intersection has no effect on the post. You can place either a half-post or no post at a wall intersection, and it sticks to the outer layer. I cannot get what I want without a workaround.

What's it mean to edit the intersection of the walls and move the end handle from the main layer, where it was, to the sheathing layer, where the edit stuck?

Every time you learn something from the HELP files, a training video, or a trainer, do it yourself in a test model. And when doing it, if it involves specification dialogs, examine all the alternates in those dialogs and how they affect things.

I'm experimenting with X8, doing a post and beam screened porch room. I've a 3-1/2" railing wall, set to have a full post (not half post) at its end where it abuts a siding wall. Am I missing something? Is there no way to do this? The setting for the post at this junction seems to permit either "no half post at wall" or "square half post." In the image shown here, I drew three boxes to show where I want posts. The one at the wall junction abuts the sheathing layer, not the main framing layer, which is the way we build. I edited the wall junction to be at the sheathing layer. Checking either one of the half post boxes does not seem to affect my wall post at the junction. Having edited the wall juncton has no effect on the post location. All I get is a half-post butted to the framing layer.

Thanks, Joe! Took a little exploring, but there it was.

The rut I am in for screened porches is a simple post and beam frame, 3.5" thickness, square posts, tenoned into the 3.5" x 12" beam, top of beam up at 8/0 height above deck. We go full post where screened porch wall meets adjoining building wall, and butt the post tight to the sheathing layer. Wall runs are sized so we get between-post bays between 2/6 and 2/9 size in width. A door or doors go into full bays and height wise, run from floor to bottom of beam. I've played with a test model just now and can get pretty much what we want (X8), except I am unable to control the depth of the beam at the top. Does X9 give this? We don't care about seeing screening in 3D or 2D elevations.

Thanks. In that case I will go to the suggestion section.

Show boss the exterior renderings on Chief's website. If boss wants more, you have a problem. Rendering takes time no matter what you use.

If I define the wall as post-to-beam, edit it to have a middle rail and a shoe rail like we build them, how can I stick a door in one of the openings?

Michael, when you say now are you meaning in X9? Or am I missing something in my X8? I've not done a brickledge since X5 so I don't know.

I don't have X9 yet, but X8 and some earlier versions require the use of the pony wall feature to do a brick ledge in a stemwall foundation. See the pic, attached, clipped from the Help in Chief. When displaying pony walls in 2D planview, X8 and earlier give us the option of showing either the upper wall or the lower, but not both. You want both, and you want the ledge face shown as a dashed line. You cannot have both, but you can get what you want by controlling how the upper wall displays in plan view. Look carefully at the snips, attached. Your wall definition for your upper part (the ledge part) of your pony-wall stemwall will need to be edited to get the 2D display you want. I did the example to show a dashed line at the ledge face (line weight 18) and heavy lines (35 weight) at the inside and outside faces of the stemwalls. I changed the fill of the brick layer to be concrete. You'll want to change the fill of the air gap (drainage gap) to be concrete, also. Fiddle with it until you get what you want. And of course, check so that you are displaying the upper part of the pony wall in planview. For stepped brickledges as for a house built on a downslope lot, you can go to elevation views of foundation walls and edit the height break where the ledge is to be.

It is a good idea, if you are going to be here and posting threads, to create a signature line that includes whatever personal info you are willing to share, plus your version of Chief Architect, a description of the rig you run it on, and any other relevant software used in partnership with Chief. And for sure, when asking for a solution with a project you have in progress, you should try to include some visuals, and a copy of the plan file. Close the file, zip it, and attach it to your post. Or if you are using Dropbox, include the link for it. As for doors and windows, please study the specification dialog, every single tabbed page. You have complete control over casings, exterior and interior, and can check a box to turn them off.

Modern, in the style of James Krenov, as seen in his book, "A Cabinetmaker's Notebook," about 15 x 48 x 29 inches high. I made one like this for our daughter last year, in cherry, and it turned out well.

Love the colors!

It is annoying because when you sheet across a house width that is 4' modular (24', 28', etc.) you end up short and need to buy more material. To keep from having a small strip of make-up under a wall, I like to start off with a ripped half sheet.

An annoying fact about most all t&g sheathing panels is that they are not 4-foot modular in the short direction. I figure on getting 47-5/8 inches. The mills make the sheets 48" wide to the tip of the tongue.