joey_martin

Well.....if you have or find the "simple" fix to the seemingly random missing frieze boards, I would love to know what it is!! I have dealt with this problem for all the years I have worked with Chief (v9) and honestly have no real explanation to how or why they show up and then don't. Same with roof returns. Best solution I have come up with, is to ignore the fact that they are missing, and many times they will re-appear like magic. If they don't re-appear, I will manually edit them when completing my final elevations and call it a day. I know it sounds like I'm being a smart a$$, but I spent countless hours back in the day trying to figure out what I was doing to cause this issue, and finally cam to the realization that I am not the problem. And...to make matters worse, when I have reported the problem and sent a plan file to be looked at.....you guessed it, the frieze boards were there. Good luck, and happy Chiefing!

Check the tool again. The newer version may have the same option Chief has, in that, you can take the ELEVATION VIEW and then change the camera type from that view. You may need to set the DEFAULT camera view as VECTOR rather than STANDARD. I have attached a screen shot of what the tool looks like in Chief.

Yep...another confirmation. Last update caused all my open windows (library, project browser, etc) to move around. They DID NOT do this before the update I just installed a few days ago.

I would have to guess that you are sending a camera view and not an elevation vector view...as best I can tell without seeing a screeenshot or something.

Not only have I given up requesting the stair tool(s) be made better, I have all bu give up using the stairs all together. I draw a simple staircase in so that is shows in sections, but all of my plans stairs are drawn in plan view with lines.

0d00'00"

When I do remodels....and that's a BIG WHEN since I hate them like poison.....I turn the existing plan footprint into a CAD block and use it as an overlay. Why anyone in their right mind would try to put multiple walls in the same location anyway is beyond me.

Looks like everyone has the answer you need. I always do basements on floor 0 and step the foundation as needed per lot slope. And to add info for Mr. Potter...I have designed my own foundations here in Indiana for 20 years. I think if I called an engineer to do a residential foundation for me he would ask why I am crank calling him.

Layer Sets

I used the "place a line or X" method for years, but with X6, as others have said, just copy the layout window and hold in place on the other pages. Works even better than the old system. A few of you hold overs need to try it...it will speed up your work flow even more!

You are right Michael. Before Dropbox I worked from a USB drive that I wore around my neck. I now work from Dropbox. There are some that say you should never work from a drive other than the hard drive, but I have been working like this for years and have never had an issue. Make sure that your libraries are the same, or about the same, and go to work. And to tell you the truth, if I have a plan with a material on my desktop that I am working on, and switch to my laptop and the material isn't there, I just ignore it and move on. Once you open the plan on the desktop again, Chief will find the material and there you go.

My system is pretty easy. I take a camera view and make a copy of that camera view set and call it ELEVATIONS, EXTERIOR. I then turn off everything I don't see ( cabinets, interior fixtures, interior furniture, etc....) and hit the button for SELECT ALL turn all the layers to black, and then set all the line weights to a thin number (this depends on the settings you have, mine is set to 2) Now I set the WALLS, EXTERIOR , ROOFS, whatever I want thick, to a thicker line weight (again, depends on your settings but mine is 18) When you send to layout make sure that the boxes are unchecked that take control from your layers and place it on the layout. You want to control the line weights, not the layout. Hope this helps.

I also use layer/anno sets for my live elevations. All line weights controlled before sent to layout.

I call them "Rake" boards, or a rake molding if a board isn't used.

Those walk-out walls would be framed walls just like above, not full foundation walls.

Two words my friend.....layer, sets. Takes care of all the clutter and allows a basement/foundation plan to be separate from the basement/finish plan.

I generally set my backclipped sections (slice) at 12", 24" for certain framing situations. If I need to see certain details in the background to better explain the design idea, then I use the section/elevation camera.

I only really notice it on darker colors, or on colors that have a "matte" finish. There is a setting the color DBX for that color of red, that will allow you to change to emissiveness ( I think) that will show better in 3D.

I never need to to do that, but I just tried with this elevation and it didn't work. I would probably put a small CAD line there and dim to that.

Here you go....the only thing I did was change the angle of the sun.

I will throw my two cents in. In the attached pic you will see; Building Section : Larger diameter call out with (2) letters "AA", "BB" telling the viewer the section goes from one A to the other A, heavy dashed line connecting them Local Section, or Wall Section : Smaller diameter call out with 1 letter, or in this case "WS1" for Wall Section 1. Also notice the cross section line is solid, with a "tail" pointing the same direction as the view. Elevation Call out : I use numbers for elevations. The call out has a smaller filled in arrow, and the diameter is smaller then the building section. This is the method I was taught in arch school 20+ years ago, and I think college text books still use these methods. My plans and elevations are being used in the current version of this textbook..... http://www.amazon.com/Architecture-Residential-Clois-Kicklighter-Ed/dp/1590706994 ...so I must be pretty close.

Turn the building and you will see that it is red. It's in the shade. you are over-thinking this "problem".

If you're coming from an AutoCad background, or any other 2D CAD program for that matter, the first thing you need to do is "unlearn" some of that other stuff. Chief is a 3D program, and thus you need to think in 3D. One thing that I find when training or working with newbies, is that they forget about all of the side effects to moving a wall. In a 2D CAD program, you can move a couple lines that are called walls, and everything else is OK. In Chief, you can move a simple bedroom wall in 16" and think, "OK, that looks good" but when you go to the 3D view.....WHooo. There are auto generated attic walls sticking out everywhere, the foundation wall now has a roof plane snapped onto it, the framing is flying out the side of the building, so on and so forth. Many of the folks I work with would be well suited to stop looking at the 3D views and trying to figure out how to "fix" things, when all along, moving that wall 16" should have been started at the foundation and worked up to the roof and everything would be OK. Newer versions of Chief make this easier with the more advanced Auto tools, but then again, Chief won't do everything for you. Leave some of the 2D stuff you know behind, and start thinking in 3D.

Just tell it OK and then relocate the ends of the dims....the point markers will go away. Faster than telling it NO and trying over and over again. I just draw a dim and let the damn thing snap to whatever it wants.....which it does....then just grab the ends and relocate to where I wanted it.

Double click the selection tool and turn off that label individually. I have been with Chief since version 9 and have never used that label for the very reason you are describing. I just use a macro under my plan title.