VHampton

Yes...  a duplicate of each backdrop. But they're the reverse images of each other.

Since my inventory of backdrop image files contains reverse views, this is somewhat of a non-issue.

Hopefully you'll find an easy fix.  If Mr. T can get it to work however, then it is a bit of a mystery. 

Having said that, the duplicates should present a simple resolve the slight hiccup. 

Have had the same issue on using image files for framed artwork as well.

Meaning that they arrive into the program as being reversed. 

Solution... edit the photo w/ whatever photo viewer software you may have.

Flip it horizontally. 

Then try a reimport for the backdrop. 

This may help. The winders aren't coming to a point like in your plan, but the concept is there.

The stairs can be modified to suit your floor plans.  

Our codes in the US don't allow them to converge so tightly.  

We need 6" of space at the narrowest part of the tread.

By the way, the walls are invisible (glass) as they encompass the stair. For a better view. 

Good luck. It can be tricky indeed.  

Stairs.plan

6 hours ago, ChiefDesign2023 said:

working on different computers.

...or perhaps the door in the current plan (made w/ computer A) can be added to the Library on computer B ? 

 That's actually not so bad.

BTW... I do the same.  Meaning set aside a rendering set on 11 x 17 for the views and leave the projects set on larger format. Presumably the PBR views use up every bit of the Tabloid paper size (less the borders and title block).  Again 5 MB and 15MB total is excellent. 

BTW... I rarely get those numbers anymore because the camera views are static vs active. 

A typical set can get into the 50 plus sheet range after it includes structurals, mechanicals, electrical, schedules, and interiors. Throw in a PBR view, or live camera, and a full set can reach the 30MB range no problem.

Pattern files are also known to skew the size. Over the years for example, I've learned never to use a "sand" fill for stucco. That can send the PDF print into some really wild numbers. 

 Anyway... it sounds like the printing issue might be resolved?  Hopefully tech support can help. Those folks are great. 

Gotcha... and I agree. There are indeed steps involved. 

However... no matter how much memory one's set-up may involve, a PDF using live cameras can easily reach well over 30 to 50 MB depending on what the PDF is formatted to. Even an Active Camera view can increase the size of a PDF to the point where it can't even be emailed. 

In terms of the PIA in having to always resend images, that kind of comes with the territory to some degree. It helps keep the PDF size down for starters. 

Anyway, good luck with the tech support. Their findings may be pretty much the same. None of their sample plans even dating back to the earliest X versions has ever had a live camera in layout. That's primarily due to the memory issue which you're experiencing, and the increase to a PDF file. 

Printing multiple views of live PBR cameras can lock up almost any computer even w/ 64 GB of memory and over 16GB on the graphics card. 

Observation... Live camera views on layout take forever to print. PBR's in particular. 

The original post says that you've got PBR cameras on the layout page. 

What happens when they (the live cameras) get sent to layout as an image file. 

Meaning keep all live camera views out of the bounds of the layout borders. 

The print process should be an entirely different experience. 

With GPUs, the model number indicates some basic information about the cards. Here's the simple way to read them.

- For Nvidia, their naming scheme is based on numbers. Let's take an RTX 3080ti for example.

• The "RTX" Letters at the beginning indicate the type of card that it is. Nvidia makes RTX, GTX, and GT type cards. RTX cards offer hardware-accelerated ray-tracing and AI processing features. GTX cards lack these features, but are otherwise fully-capable Nvidia GPUs. GT cards are typically marketed as display adapters and are not intended for gaming, generally speaking.

• The first number (30) indicates the series (generation) of card. Newer generations offer better efficiency and more features. Nvidia's last five generations were 9, 10, 16, 20, and 30.

• The second number (80) indicates the performance tier of the card.

  • 10-40: Budget tier-- usually a GT card.

  • 50-60: Mainstream tier -- good performance for most people.

  • 70-80: Performance tier -- high-end cards.

  • 80-90: Enthusiast tier -- Flagship, top-of-the-line cards.

• Finally the suffix Ti or SUPER refers to a "boost" in performance over the "standard" model of whatever card it is.

For example-- a GTX 1080ti is a 10-series Flagship card. It's several generations older than the RTX 3060ti, but manages to match or beat its performance in many games. "80" places it in a higher tier.  

Back to the OP... Will a 4090 be fast? Absolutely. The question is, does the work require that kind of horsepower.  Unless one might be making movies in Ray Trace mode, Chief runs quite well with a 3090. Everyday drawings and an occasional render may rarely result in GPU overclocking on a 3090. If renderings however are the primary output one's day to day work, then the 4090 makes sense. 

This from a 2020 tech article may shed some light on the 3090 vs. the 4090:  

"When fps are not CPU bottlenecked at all, such as during GPU benchmarks, the 4090 is around 75% faster than the 3090 and 60% faster than the 3090-Ti, these figures are approximate upper bounds for in-game fps improvements. The fact that the 4090 is currently the fastest performing graphics card available is reflected in its jaw-dropping MSRP of $1,600. Since PC gamers rarely buy AMD GPUs, Nvidia only have themselves to compete with. Surprisingly, $1,600 is actually reasonable value for money, when compared to previous gen. flagship cards. Prospective buyers will need a top of the line system to extract maximum performance from the 4090 and because of its monstrous dimensions, many will also need a new PC case. Consumers that demand value for money, should wait a few more months for the 4060 / 4070 models by which time AMD's 7900 series will also probably be heavily discounted. Alternatively, shoppers looking to buy in the near term should consider the last gen. 3060-Ti, which offers excellent real-world (1080p) performance at a fraction of the price ($400 USD)."

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The deck surface is also concrete.

Presumably, the slab elevation is literally less than one step above grade and therefore no rails will be involved. 

If that may be the case, why not try invisible walls and call the "room" a slab?

It seems like there literally is no deck, but rather a patio. 

21 hours ago, Renerabbitt said:

 

a detail system that is lightning fast in my Pro Plan

Incredible. Your knowledge base is amazing. 

Many of us old timers may only be using one or two tools of the Swiss Army knife by comparison.

Which is perfectly fine, but what you've got going on there is MACRO in every sense of the word. 

My compliments. 

PBR is a memory hog in general. Tech support will confirm. 

Maybe save that camera in plan - and send to layout as necessary - but again - only as an image file. 

Suggestion...

• Keep the PBR viewport out of the layout sheet's borders. 
• Save the viewport off to the side as a way to gain quick access to the camera which is set to update manually. 

Never have cameras set to refresh automatically. 

• Send whatever that camera view is to Layout as an image. 

PBR's watercolors, active cameras, and even line drawing cameras become a fairly large memory request even with the most robust hardware when they live on a layout page.  Secondly, even static camera views (on a layout page) can turn a PDF in an astronomical size when going to print. 

On CA's sample projects. there's not an active camera in layout ever. All image files. 

In sum, image files only in layout will shut this bad behavior down quickly.

Hope this helps. 

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If I were you, I would first make a copy of this plan file before using the above method, so if you get unwanted results you have the original to fall back on.

This is excellent guidance.

When doing any big plan changes, it can be helpful to go to > Manage Auto Archives. 

...and then do the "trial run" on the archived copy.

Apparently, this is a feature w/ another software.

It would be great if CA could consider.

Without naming the the product... it's called: the "spot slope annotation". 

Elevations will show the roof slope triangle.

Over the years I've saved almost every CAD slope triangle in the user library, so no big deal.

But as new bells and whistles are inevitably going to make their debut, this one more tool in the tool box would be very handy indeed. 

Thanks for suggesting Rob. 

Agreed Maureen. The underside of an exposed deck can provide nooks for just about anything. 

The elevated deck in the image shows covered seating below, and presumably, it's water-proofed, with a soffit (which would eliminate bee concerns).

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Make sure to spec solid blocking at the guardrail connection and thru bolt back to the beam with additional blocking per the various deck railing framing guides.

100% agree. The rail posts will probably want to be centered on the girder. It's common for a spliced connection w/ blocking and bolts.

Excuse the earlier posts about girder center etc... 

Just now realizing that the question was more about the "ladder framing" along the outer edge. 

Alan's sketch is exactly how it's done when the flush girder terminates the joists, but the deck framing needs to extend past the columns.  

Edit... (as per Alan's sketch below). 

That Ledgestone is probably all non-load bearing veneer.

With the girder (and post) presumably in the center of the column... The outer deck perimeter is probably packed out.

In the same manner as one would do w/ rake boards at a gable end overhang. 

A few suggestions... 

What kind of line weights are being used in the .dwg file?

On average, anything in the 18 - 25 range is good. 

What output for the export is being used? Is it in inches or feet?

That could explain the variation in line heaviness. Not sure. 

Lastly... The issue is not all that common.

If for some reason, exporting as a newer version of AutoCad is an X-15 quirk, then "back dating" the export file could be a possible solution. 

Try sending the .dwg as an older release of Auto Cad. Like early 2000's. 

If an older Layout has functionality when it comes to printing, that says something.

Especially when all other projects files are printing ok - including the new layout. 

Rather than embarking on a journey down a rabbit hole, it sounds as if all went well.

Glad that worked out. 

In the Manage auto-archives, is there a former layout (for this project) prior to the watermark being used?

If so, how does that layout print? If it works well, that's a helpful clue. 

In addition...

To trouble shoot, have you cleared the printer cache?

What happens when the print is changed to black and white?

Bazinga. You got a green arrow for that one. 

How is that object (custom newel) being saved?

If it's all blocked (as an architectural block)...

Covert it to a symbol - then change the definition of the newels on the stair. 

That secondary crown under the newel cap should stay in place. 

Edit: Mr. T's post arrived about 30 seconds before mine. Symbol is the solution. 

11 minutes ago, ChiefUserBigRob said:

Straight up gangsta...........Tracing over a pic is the way to go for sure then just scale it to what you want!

I'll take that as the highest compliment. lol 

Back in the V versions of the program, the ability to drag .jpeg files from the desktop, and straight into a plan file was ground breaking. 

It's a neat trick to this day, especially for tracing over floor plans.  

Agreed with the replies.

Everyone should be familiar with the 3D Solid tool which is invaluable. 

Making 3d shapes is quite straightforward once you get the hang of it.  

Here are some steps below. In addition, a CAD file of the bracket so that you can try it out for yourself. 

That's the best way to learn. 

All the best.  

bracket elevation.dwg

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Do you usually just leave those kind of oddball wall types that are mostly specific to each project in their plan file, or add them to the user library? 

Hi Brett,

So to answer, every project is unique.  When starting from scratch, repurposing a former plan file with wall types A,B,C is totally fine. The exterior wall type which the clones were generated from will always be the default. (The clones can be used as needed, or they can be deleted.) 

Typically, I don't save wall types in the library since they're pretty easy to cut and paste from past jobs. But having said that, the "Library save" is a quite a helpful feature, even if some of us still do everything like it's 1999.  Hope this helps. ...and thank you.

...and glad to be of help Jim. This is true! 

2 hours ago, JKEdmo said:

Thanks!  old school = good school!

On a side... I just finished a project where your very same issue came up.

A clone of the siding type was made for the roof fascia and BINGO... the roof facia was toggled to match the same spacing as the siding.