DavidJPotter

You would be better served to use the software as it was programmed to be used as opposed to what it sounds like you want it to do. You might take a long, careful look at the door dialog box to see what adjustments can be made to achieve your desired result. The ONLY controls that exist for a door or window object will be found its its dialog box and NOWHERE else.. DJP

The first thing I did was to open the "Help Files" and did a search for "Plan files" (when version X10 aka version 20 was new, I never used that feature. I do use it frequently in X13 and X14. I recommend that you find and re-read that section to familiarize how it is designed to work and not work. Actually, until your post I had not known that X10 had that feature, I may not be alone in that. DJP

Take a look at mine, the way out is the way through oftentimes... DJP

So you divide your 32 pages in to five consecutive page layouts, that would be seven .layout files to produce 32 pages. DJP

You can open a layout that is programmed in Chief Premier to "be editable in Home Designer Software" BUT it only has the functionality of HD Pro and NOT Chief, I think you would still be limited by Pro's programming to limit the pages with a Premier created .layout file. I would LOVE to be wrong but you can ask Chief Architect Sales or Tech Support for the Final word. The setting is in Premier in "General Plan Defaults - Allow editing in select Home Designer Software" check box. DJP

Chief Premier's layout files contain a potential of 1,000 blank pages but that layout file is NOT compatible with Home Designer Pro, so such a file done for you, you would not be able to open, view its pages or print those pages using Home Designer Pro. Your Only real option is to upgrade to Premier or just make multiple layouts using HD Pro. DJP

The best authority is Chief Tech Support. I have a similar system but a more advanced video card and have had no problems at all. It is probably your video card needing an upgrade to match the specs required for Chief Premier. DJP

https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/category/270/import-export.html READ THESE HELP ARTICLES, PLEASE. DJP

When you create a round window using the default window, no lites are possible other than manually adding them. There are some round and oval windows with lights in your Library Browser but they are not editable, what you see is what you get, take a look, please. DJP

You should always start with the plan default settings for the project you are starting, all categories, always. DJP

Joe Carrick aka Yoda in the past uploaded a large library of image people and animals some time back. Do a search at Chief Talk to see if you can find that thread and download address, I bet it is still there to access. DJP

Some of the things in your shared plan file make sense and some do not. Since I do not know anything about your conversations with your client as to their desires, I cannot make but a couple of comments: 1. The top most deck cannot be drawn in the presence of roof planes, you can either remove the roof planes and have the deck supply water drainage or manually pull back the roof planes to allow a proper deck room to be created. 2. The front most spiral staircase has a roof over it-This is not feasible in that stairs must have some "head Clearance" in order to pass code. Currently the top of that spiral stair intersects a roof plane, not OK. 3. other that one and two above the model appears to merely need some clean up and adjusting but without knowing exactly, in detail what you promised the client, I can say no more with certainty. DJP

DJP

The reason it opens in "Basic" is because they programmed it to do so. Rather than "Q & A", I suggest you make this a suggestion, to change and upgrade the Render techniques. DJP

When doing a specific area, I usually create all the surrounding rooms that would be seen from the target room in my 3D renderings so they look realistic. If one is not doing a room addition where exterior elevations are required, I just concentrate of the target area. DJP

When you go to Tools - Cabinet Schedule and create an initial Cabinet Schedule, you open the dialog for that created schedule where you can limit the schedule to a specific floor or a specific room or rooms, take a careful look, please, it is there to see and use. DJP

When you create a deck like room over an non-deck room you MUST name it "Balcony" and not "Deck" and the roof over the covered entry needs to have its ceiling height lowered so the roof planes do not interfere with the balcony above. Decks and balcony's by default are programmed NOT to have a "ceiling" and as such you, in order to have a roof built automatically you would have to open the "Balcony's" room specification dialog - structure tab and check "ceiling and roof over this room" there so it then will build a roof over the balcony automatically, otherwise you will have to manually edit the roofs yourself. DJP

You import the data that is to be ON the sign as a "Custom Material". When properly imported it will be visible in your User Library area. You then open the "sign" object and apply the custom material set to "Stretch to fit" so it displays only once and not multiple times. If done properly it works every time in Chief or Home Designer. DJP

If you got an email "from me" that speaks of or says "Please see the below proposal from Chief Architect®. for your review." , it is BS. I did not send it to you. It got sent to me and others this morning. It is some type of email con or scam using my Hotmail account. I have since changed the pass word for that account. Please delete the email "from me" that speaks about a "Please see the below proposal from Chief Architect®. for your review." -delete immediately knowing that I did NOT send this email nor does it have ANYTHING to do with Chief Architect Inc. business. DJP

DJP

Also when laying out a floor plan a designer needs to be able to predict the 3D geometry of the roof over a floor plan. Especially new or armature designer often miss this important point that the geometry of the floor plan directly dictates the geometry of the resulting roof structures. When I start a new project the first thing I do is to set all project relevant "Default Settings" in all relevant categories for the project at hand. Then I create the floor plan with its windows and doors, then the roof system, then the foundation, next the terrain plane, then con docs and renderings as required. DJP

Not me. The only times I see this phenomena is when I am working on a new or some-time users plan file where they did not first set all relevant floor and ceiling heights Default Settings before creating the plan file. Resetting or changing Default Settings after the fact causes some plan file psychoses until it settles out after just persisting and making all the room dialog boxes comply. This has been true since I started with Version 4 back in 1994. DJP

Your invisible wall is the problem. Either as DB said above: remove the offending invisible wall or move the invisible wall outside of the edge of your cabinet run so it does not interfere with your cabinets display. If you can delete the invisible wall, then that is another alternative provided that action does not interfere with your cabinet wall elevations details. DJP