VHampton

This has been an X14 issue to a degree as well. Zoom extent. ...or you can say "come out come out wherever you are", and then hit zoom extent.

Yes... the dots per inch reduction is a huge help, even if the reduction won't necessarily blur the PDF print. I have an old trick... Since a PDF (printed by Chief) can be customized. I made a custom 4" x 6" email size many years ago. This way, the resolution can be in the 600 dpi range, and if a client or whomever is looking from an iPad, the results are super crisp. This also knocks the digital print down to a range where even a 40 or 50 pages set can be mailed. This is with the full understanding that the receiving party won't be printing! Just viewing. With the cost of prints these days at over $3.00 for a colored 24 x 36, most GC's and their subs just share via email, and use BlueRay to do take-offs. Even the 11 x 17 colored client prints are pricey. The paperless method also keeps Greta Thunberg happy. Thanks for the extra info... It's always a pleasure to keep gaining more perspective. I've been using Chief since 2000, but you can never learn enough. Thank you!

I preferred the original format as well. But it was easy enough to arrange the settings to the "old" way. You just gotta be careful to avoid inadvertently dragging your mouse over each 'box" because they can get shifted out of place easily. There's definitely an upside to the new one however. For example, when it provides options to downloaded things which might be available at the Digital Locker.

Thanks Joe. I never send PDF's to layout either. They never even get saved to my plan files. But you are 100% correct. (I think you may not have completely understood what we were going back and forth over). What I was doing is sending a 'static' camera view to the layout page only (and keeping the live viewport out of the layout boundaries). Along the lines of what you are saying, the "live" camera view should never be saved in layout. Just the image file. Otherwise, when going to print, the PDF becomes enormous. Static views and jpegs will hold the Chief Architect PDF print as low as 10megabytes or less on average. Thanks again Joe. I remember you from the old days, and from the original forum from when Tim was one of the original Jedi's. Your words of wisdom are always appreciated. All the best ~ Val

Thanks again Jason. Yep... back in X1, the 1st time I sent a full viewport to a 24" x 36" sheet along with a handful of other view, the Chief Architect printer made the PDF to something way over 50MgB. I couldn't even email it. So this method of saving the camera "image" views on a layout is great, because the when the project is printed, the size is significantly reduced. Anyway.. .should anyone be reading this thread in the future, they may pick up on a good tip, ...aside from learning that the X15 download may not introduce all of your older X14 data. That's why the program had a breakdown. Me too. lol Thanks to fellow forum-ites, there's always good camaraderie and support! Much appreciated. -Val

Thanks Jason. Problem figured out... It appears that the program is looking for missing texture files when the viewport is clicked on. Probably not an X15 issue so much as bringing in an X14 plan into a new version. I also noted that more than several library files did not import when the initial X15 download had completed. Others have been reporting this as well. That said, a copy and paste of the X14 Library into the X15 Chief Architect Premier Data folder solved it. But the X15 Library was removed prior to this exchange. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To answer your question (and thanks very much for jumping in here by the way)... When live viewports are saved to layout, the PDF files get extremely large as a result. Which is why the camera view is sent to layout as an image. So in other words, I save the "Standard" camera views outside of the layout sheet - but save the static image view within the confines of the layout sheet. It's a relatively fast way way to update one's drawing package by having direct access to the saved camera. Meaning that you can click on the viewport for the updated camera view, and send back to layout as an image once more. The alternative is to go back to the plan and open the camera from there - which has been working.

Thanks Michael. It never occurred that the new grass may have a setting which could be causing this. What the rendering is showing is the standard terrain perimeter. For example... usually once something is framed, the auto-framing gets turned off since it turns into a memory hog. I'm going to explore the grass option. Much appreciated.

Working with an X14 file brought into X15. Clicking on the saved camera "viewport" causes the program to freeze. Camera views in layout are saved as images. Camera view itself is saved on layout sheet (outside of the layout boundary) for ease of access. Unusual behavior. The work-around appears to be that cameras have to be opened in plan view. Otherwise program locks up. Have turned off everything which would be deemed an 'auto-rebuild' likes deck framing etc etc. Auto-saves set to 0 to be sure that memory isn't an issue. (Posting here for CA tech to look into along w/ submitted ticket)

Thanks again. I'm inclined to upgrade several current jobs based on how good things are looking (with a beta release of all things). In the past, this has never been recommended as good practice, (meaning to bring forth older versions into the new). ...example, the glitchy text resizing issue with X-13 files when opened in X-14 Anyway, It looks like there are few in any down-sides in transitioning current projects. X15 is smooth, and when put to the test (with dated plan files), it performs extremely well. Thanks much for your observations which confirm my own findings.

Thanks for comments Perry. Likewise, it's running flawlessly. The new features are among the best upgrades ever. I have been tempted to bring both X13 and X14 projects into it, and your vote of confidence sounds like it hasn't posed any concerns.

So many excellent improvements on current features as well as some interesting new ones. The ability to create a depth perception, sun tools, speed of raytracing ...the list goes on. EDIT: It just keeps getting better and better. Thank you to everyone in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

That's the solution. Thanks to the wall offsets, outlets can be placed in the neighbor's yard if one wanted to.

Thanks Glenn! Glad I replied to the thread!

This will shed some very helpful light on what you're after: Link to Twin Motion Animation Tutorial on YouTube ...at 4:46 into the clip, he'll explain.

What is being sought after is not available. not yet anyway. The only thing which the program may 'remember' where it was last opened is the library. After it is "undocked" there will be recollection of where it was last positioned.

Auto walls will build (on the foundation level) when the foundation senses a roof above. Note how the 1st floor is held inwards. Shouldn't they be aligned w/ outside of foundation? Anyway, the roof is causing them to go skyward. You could turn of "auto-rebuild attic walls" and that will tell them to stay put.

ok... so patterns and fill turned off on Export results in a clean stripped down wall. Perfect for the receiving end. That's typically how AutoCAD users like them. The fill and hatches can make wall adjusting a bit of a pain in case they need to move anything.

You're welcome. Yes - unmark fill when exporting. This way, cabinets, stairs, and fixtures won't arrive as solid black. If floors and decks have tile patterns as the designated room fill, that's when patterns can be turned off. Not sure if that includes hatch in the wall though. For good measure open up the exterior wall type and make sure that "no pattern" is designated for the plywood. This will ensure a clean wall without the default pink hatches every 12 inches on center.

Every AutoCAD user that I work with has zero issues. Engineers, Surveyors and interior designers. Chief .dwg exports always come in clean, and they can turn the stuff off which doesn't pertain to their work. ie... cabinets and CAD blocks. Only minor complaints have been with wall fill, and wall hatching (angle hatch is the default pattern for plywood in our software). That can be altered in your plan file by changing the wall setting, or by turning off pattern lines before export. As a general rule, Chief walls are kept clean and without patterns (on my end) This avoids headaches on theirs. Regarding export calibration... feet and inches is typical. Surveyors prefer feet. No bad joke intended. Agree w/ Michael's method as well. It sends the entire story... and they can easily extract what they need.

Per Gene's point every engineer is different. For the ones who draw and specify the steel and the mechanicals, CAD files are a must. However this unfolds... The end user should be receiving plans without any "fill". (This why the Chief cabinets and stairs are being imported as solid dark). Just check the setting to turn fill off upon export. It'll be a big help to them. Some folks like wall layers off as well. That can be done in your layer set settings. They can also adjust layers on their end as well (sorry for stating the obvious).

Agreed. Thank you Justin. Per my initial suggestions (to Kate) flat parcels can often have the terrain removed. Hillside contours however should necessitate the terrain import so that the TM model is correct. By way of example, I just worked on a bluff side project, and the grade was quite important to show in the TM model. BTW... really nice work! All the best -Val

Glad to be of help Kyra... and thank you Steven. Rosetta options sometimes pop up immediately when using a certain software. Many may not be aware that this box needed to be checked with Chief Architect. In case folks from the future may want to learn more, this link from Apple is somewhat enlightening: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211861 All the best - Val

You're very welcome... and yes, always be careful with the 3D warehouse. They have incredibly helpful things on the site, but any objects over the 2-3MB range should be used sparingly. Example... they have some awesome cars and trees on the site, but objects w/ over 12megs of data means that they've got many many surface layers. That can bog a plan down quickly. Stick with low-poly objects whenever possible, and the plan file will remain fast and smooth - as it should. By way of example, pretty much all of the Chief Architect 3D library inventory is on the lower end of the surface count spectrum. Regarding a way to track down where things went side-ways, try opening the manage archives folder. Top left under Find. Choose one of your past files (Manage Auto Archives) going back to the approximate date of when the program started acting up, and then give the RayTrace process a go. You may be able to sleuth your way through the steps in what may have been introduced or changed before things went haywire. In the camera view delete or turn off various objects to see which ones may or may not cause the crash. Since the file is archived, there's never that uneasy concern as if you were taking apart the original. Good luck with that! ...It's great to know that you can RayTrace again. ...as any FYI, when you have a moment place your system specs. and current version of CA in the signature if you have time. In the eventuality that users may have to pay a visit in the future, having info. on system spec.s can help folks who may be trying to help. Not that it's needed here, but the forum police hand out warnings on occasion. Lol All the best.

You can use WeTransfer to upload a file. It's free. Totally safe, and our print shops use them for ease of file transfer. Anyway, the upload will result in a link which can be copied or emailed. Files can get so large these days that email often won't send them, and likewise, they can't be posted to the forum. Regarding TwinMotion, yes, it's like driving on the opposite side of the road at first. lol. Just takes time. Everything is bizarro including how the mouse works. Lumion operates the same way. So to answer, the landscape in their virtual world needs to be adjusted. When you click on it (the landscape) it will highlight and the ground can be raised or lowered to the correct elevation. Sorry to make this sound all too easy, but there truly is a low learning curve. You will be amazed at the results.

While I don't have a MacBook, M1 chips can RayTrace as do the newer M2 chips. Obviously there are still issues here and there. Again, many software developers are making their very best efforts to accommodate the hardware changes. Having said that, I was a Windows user for many many years, and the very best computers (for rendering) are typically Windows systems with the magic Nvidia card. Gaming computers in particular. CA has always been extremely loyal to its user base and it wasn't until something like 8 year ago that one could even use CA on an Apple product. They will come through. The folks in the tech department are continuously making improvements on the software. X-15 may possibly result in some welcome upgrades.