johnny

Macs are good out of the box - but a PC allows you to better upgrade elements if you need to down the line. The operating systems are nearly identical now-a-days. I was Mac from 1996-2012 but switched to PC once I realized I wanted a certain setup I just couldn't get with Mac.

In Chief you dont have layers in which objects exist - unlike other apps. The only thing layers determine in CA is the visual of an object, as objects are actually on each floor - so that is why Joey recommends the save-as method. Although I seem to remember a Chief video where they showed a way to display multiple dormer options - you may want to see that vid. (added - never mind about that video, it appears they too used the save-as method) They then used layout to show pictures of the different versions.

Sounds good - that works well for the hand-rails!

Thanks Glenn I will try that. I guess I didn't do it since the transitional newel wasn't working correctly. However, I suppose I could get the top banister to work out. Isn't it a bit odd though that the block for a symbol cannot be brought forward or back? What happens if you had a symbol under something else - are you just SOL?

Very nice - I like how you carried your lines through the different materials - and I like the rafter tails.

Sorry, yet one more question. Symbols dont seem to have front/back group options. Railings dont either. Is there a way to get the railings to show "under" the symbols ive manually placed a newel posts?

Thanks guys!....just trying to learn how to do what I did in Vectorworks inside CA. Up to now i've been exporting my model from CA into Vectorworks to finish, like I know some others do - but I am trying to jump both feet into CA to see if everything I want to do can be done. So far so good, but its hard to know exactly the best method to use. Again, thanks for the help too.

Perfect - thanks. Also, I am trying to finish the entire plan in CA currently, and finished a wall section. Adding the dark profile line was really a pain. Is there a faster way to get profile lines on CAD sections other than tracing the entire drawing?

I am probably missing a key easy option, but what do I have to do to draw on a layer? (or i should say on the layer's properties) The only way i've been able to do that is by setting up a separate anno-set that defines the CAD layer....but there has to be a faster way?

Is there a way to turn off moldings on a certain wall?...or do I need to set the entire room no moldings and place a modeling poly? If it doesn't exist, I would be nice to have a checkbox on the wall Dbx for "no molding" on that wall.

Good to know - I was hoping it would apply to the macro, but I guess not. So does that mean if I want to use a room macro im stuck with inches?

Thanks for the info - that stinks though. I guess I should just type what I want then and skip the room label?

I can't get my room labels to display the number style i've set for that text box. Im using a macro, but how do I get the macro to display the way I want? Thanks.

I can confirm that it happens almost randomly. Glenn was trying to help me with this on a project and he submitted a bug ticket.

OK thanks - I guess I have to load them somehow....ill read up on it.

I am very surprised there isn't a gravel hatch included in CA. Can CA use other app's hatches/patterns? There are several "standard" hatches/pasterns that seem to be missing.

Great vid Micheal!

Wall material regions would be PERFECT if they could be used around the corner. I requested CA add this ability but I guess we'll see. What i've done to get around this is to use the material region for the wall panels and then use the same thickness and material corner boards. I turn off the line for the corner-board to vector it looks seamless. It works but really want CA to fix this for wall material regions since its not even like you can put 2 material regions together on a corner - they end up automatically being cut at edge.

Basically, your lower windows dont show on the floor plan, but do on the elevations and your upper windows dont show on the elevations but do on the floor plan. As Micheal said you have some very odd things going on in that plan. If you dont know how to follow Michael suggestion I would look at trying to setup a new file and copy/paste over to it with the new info. I did that and had to re-inset some of the windows but the file was stabilized.

Glenn or Micheal may have better fix, but if you explode the dormer and set a pony wall - with the lower being the limestone and upper whatever you want you can manually set the distance.

Sounds good - I just didn't know if there was a way to add the circle through a script or something. I have 2 options then - use the schedule (as in plant for schedule) or add circle around the label.

If you think about this business from the standpoint of owning "software" and "making money with this software" then you've already failed (just being honest). The software is only a tool. Its like me buying a bunch of shop tools and calling myself a cabinet maker. I think you either need to school or go work for a good design/arch firm and then plan to branch out once you know the ropes. Pretenders get found out quick in this industry and the mistakes you can make can be catastrophic both financially and physically.

Is there a macro that could go before the text that indicates to place border around the next?

Yep, here is an example. I guess you could say I just want a circle around the label text, since I could use "3.1" for the label text.

Is there a way to turn an object's label into a call-out? I use mostly footnotes in my plan, would love to use a call-out over an all text label.