robdyck

Same issue to deal with using a wall that has stone on both sides at the exterior of a covered entry. It's simple to add a doorway so that stone appears within that doorway, but not around the ends of the wall. I'll probably just change the wall def to a single layer of stone after I frame it and retain its framing.

Cladding material wrapping would be a great option to have. I think the above suggestion worked better in X11. Now I've got a small gap in 3D.

You can also add a short invisible wall perpendicular to that wall. It'll need to be 1/2" thick, with your drywall material as it's only layer. Make it a through wall at both ends.

Make your own brick texture...Check out the link below. https://brick.com/masonry-designer

Use a lighting set for each camera. I save my lighting sets with names that correspond to the camera they are to be used for. Experiment with a very low sunlight setting (1000). You can also change its color to affect the hue of the scene. Adjust the PBR camera technique settings. Perhaps don't have shadows on for each interior light. Again, experiment. For the island, you could add rope lighting under the countertop, or just an 'added light' (think flashlight) to cast more light into that area. Playing with those should get you closer...

Absolutely agree. Not at all easy. A bit of math with your slope gain factor will get you the right shape to draw the molding in plan view, then convert to symbol, and place accurately. Note that I had to rotate my moldings 44 degrees, not 45 in order to get them to line up with my sloped ceiling.

It would be a bit simpler to discuss the setup in Chief by first reviewing a typical drawing set from a previous project, then thinking about the steps, tools, saved views, layer sets etc that would be needed to produce similar or improved results. As far as complexity, if your 3D views will be generating a million plus surfaces, that may reduce the operating speed of Chief when your'e producing working drawings, whether its floor plan views, or interior sections / elevations. You may need to review your hardware specs at some point to ensure your machine is capable of producing renderings without slowing down plan views and sections / elevations.

I think a 3d molding would work but you'd need an intimate knowledge of all the spacial coordinates (x,y,z) in order to enter them for each segment. I'd go with Graham's suggestion.

What he said! Adobe recognizes the text. Chrome does as well. I wouldn't know about any other pdf apps. I've included a quick vid of the link in action. Note that the opening page is from a pdf open with Adobe Reader. weblinkpdf.wmv

Hey Joe, I was referring to Charles' response about providing hyperlinks to Chief's 3D viewer, which I place in my layout file. Printed using 'Chief Architect Save As PDF'.

Those should work when place directly in Layout, no need to open Acrobat. At least they do for me. I should've clarified my response as I assumed the OP's goal was linked callouts for navigation within the pdf.

No. If you can handle listening to this guy, check out the video. This is what I use. Goes with me every where.

No. You'd have to do that in a pdf program that has that functionality, like Adobe Acrobat, for example.

I hate to say it, but this is entirely dependent on your skill level with Chief, as well as how much tweaking and adjusting your design will get. Just focusing on the island for the moment: Define your cabinet / pilaster / panel layout in plan view before adding the details. The details can be super quick if you disseminate the process before you start. The furniture molding can be drawn in mere seconds. It can be replicated 30" up and replaced with a different molding. Applied moldings for the pilasters and panels can be drawn in plan view, converted to a symbol, rotated to be vertical and stretch planes adjusted, then placed and sized around the pilaster and panels almost as quickly as you can type this sentence! It's a good idea to define and organize your moldings before you start!

Plant images only produce shadows using raytrace. For shadows in PBR you'll need 3D plants, and you'll need to select carefully. Look carefully at the vector view of the 3D plants' leaves to get an idea of what the shadow will look like (big squares vs leaf shapes). Also, plant shadows in PBR are usually quite harsh and may need to be backlit in order to soften the shadow. Keep in mind that the lighting used to produce a good pbr may be terrible in raytrace. If you're using both render types, I'd suggest using different cameras with different lighting scenes. FWIW I never touch raytrace anymore...too time consuming. If I or my client need those top quality images, I've found it's cheaper to outsource.

On bigger projects, where the customer may be interested, I'll definitely let them know that I'm able to provide them with better visuals. But, for example, the last addition I just completed, was a 12x16 room added to a 1800 sq ft house. In that case, and with that client (who just needed an extra bedroom because of an expanding family) it's pretty tough to justify the time of a complete site measure plus the time to draw and model a complete house just for a small rectangular room. It probably would've taken 10 times longer, you know? So in this case, it's not about showcasing my work or ability, or 'going the extra mile'. It's about listening to the client, understanding their situation and delivering just what they need (and hopefully leaving them some money for diapers). And by saving them as much as possible, they return the favor by word-of mouth referrals. And, what some might call 'extra effort' for me is time stolen from my family, my friends, and most importantly...my bikes!

In cases where the permitting office allows it, this is exactly what I do in order to keep costs down. I do include a key plan and/or a site plan showing the location of the addition to avoid confusion. But, like I said, in cases where my customers want to spend as little as possible, then I must draw as little as possible. Seems like a win, win. If they want to spend more, I'll happily oblige by modeling the entire as-built. Really depends on the client and their project / budget. My MO is not to spend my client's money unnecessarily. Obviously if they want to burn some cash, I'm quite happy to bring the gasoline!

I used a soffit. The crown molding generated on its own, then disappeared, so I just made a room molding polyline...which would also be needed to do the crown molding returns on the lower ceiling level.

Use a sill for the bottom. If you don't want it to be seen, make a really small molding to use for that sill, like a 1/16th square, saved to you library.

@sunroomguy5555 I can do that for you. Send me a message if you'd like...

The visual indicators are great, but I find that the point B has more trouble finding my intended destination when I hover over 2 points in order to get the connected end result. It doesn't hold those axis lines as well. It's like it's really windy inside Chief. Anyone else notice this?

Nope. Didn't change nuthin'. It's really quite weird; there's some pretty random behavior! I could send you the files if you're curious enough. I'll check with tech support.

I've opened some file that originated in X11. The line weights in layout have gone kind of wonky. Anyone else experienced this and if so, is there a solution or is this a bug? Here's a couple of screenshots displaying the difference.

Use control now.

That copy-in-place tool was really loved by some, wasn't it? And today seeing this come up again, and the reasoning for that choice just made me chuckle (read: groan and cry). What else causes too many user problems and should be gotten rid of? Perhaps we should make a list...terrain, roofs, rooms, framing....I could go on!