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Ryan: as I stated they need to be aware of the limitations of HD PRO so they can evaluate whether a Premier solution will work for them Lew

HD PRO users can benefit from following ChiefTalk as PRO has many manual features like Chief Premier has Just understand PRO's limits and if you post on Chieftalk please clarify that you are using PRO and that some of the suggestions may not apply to PRO Lew

another choice is to have a plan for each terrain place the house in the new plan - then make a symbol of the house and place it in the old plan a layout can reference multiple plans Lew

Gene: be aware that even with monitor and printer calibration the colors can still be "different" depending on the material used on and the time of day etc warn the client that they should do test patches and review at various time of day etc before buying many gallons only to find they don't like it Lew

https://www.gps.gov/systems/gps/performance/accuracy/ military stopped "selective availability" in 2000

GPS data from sats used to be 3 meters off or was it 3' (1 meter) ? this was a requirement by the military not sure if this has changed Lew

Chief has never been backward compatible and never will be With Chief's 3D model there is simply to much complexity to go backward If the plan uses a feature from NEW version and it was saved as PRIOR version what would be done with any features that were used in NEW version that PRIOR version doesn't have ? just leave big holes in the plan - leave stuff dangling unattached out in cad space ? Lew

Shane: I did that years ago and every time I contacted tech support they blamed the issue on Chief being installed "wrong" I finally gave up and re-installed to C: Lew

saving CA to an Autocad readable format By choosing to save it as whatever the version Autocad the other user is currently using Note: Autocad is 2D software and can be saved as an older version - because it is simple cad lines Chief is 3D and thus the plans are far more "complex" and it is not feasible to save as an older version Lew

Jim: A companion for Chief is Planswift You export .jpg's from Chief and import into Planswift then do your material lists with pricing https://www.planswift.com/estimating/general-contractors-estimating-software/ Lew

maybe things have changed but years ago tech support got very grumpy about my having moved the locations they started to insist any issues I had were due to having moved the locations you may want to discuss with tech support the best way to approach this issue Lew

Hi: what version do you currently have ? I would recommend getting the latest version X13 I think it is best to stay current I would recommend at least X10 (X11?) which introduces plansets Lew

I'm surprised you had any luck with CTW tool at all I never could, I rarely hear of anyone that uses the tool, especially successfully I suspect you will just have to change them to windows manually ? Lew

my partner and I worked with Chiefers with older versions so we kept the last two versions active plus the current version working with older versions than two back became a mental hassle David Potter has EVERY version installed including all of the HD products and all their versions sometimes you have to tell the client - sorry... Lew

I'm curious if this would work probably not open X12 for a new empty plan open X13 for the current plan use edit area all floors for the entire plan in X13 use ctlv-v to paste the X13 plan into X12 new plan probably have a lot of cleanup assuming it even copies over Lew

Yep, I was one that found it annoying that I couldn't place a temp dim. when a dim was already in the area Lew

Glenn and others have the ability to do multiple buildings in one plan I found it easier to use the symbol method make a change to a building - create the symbol - insert the symbol repeat if needed which is the better method ? Lew

be aware that Windows 11 is coming so get a PC that is capable of upgrading to win 11 without hassles Lew

Will I be able to make a complete set of drawings with Home Designer Professional? Hi: maybe using HD PRO ? however, the layout is for one page at a time with a max size of 12 x 18 while PRO has many manual tools like roofs and framing and cabinets there are limitations to the software that may cause "hinderance" - maybe not start with PRO for $500 and if the limitations become an issue you can upgrade to Premier and the $500 is applied to the upgrade after your are done - Chief Premier can be sold for about 80% of the cost the cad tools in PRO or Premier are different than in Autocad so there is learning curve for using the software there is a comparison chart on CA's website for seeing the feature differences between PRO and Premier keep in mind PRO is $500 while Premier is $3000 hence the various limitations in PRO many projects have been done in PRO if you can live with the limitations personally I have suggested that PRO be called Deluxe the PRO name gives the impression that it is meant for building professionals and that may be a stretch ... Lew Lew

I suspect CA is no longer selling X12 ??? If not, then you would need to find a license for sale on this forum or on Ebay any seller should be willing to verify they have a valid license if its a second seat license it should be cheaper than a primary seat but you may have to buy another primary seat if getting it from Ebay you can set up a search on Ebay and get an email each time another sale starts besides posting here you could contact CA's sales dept by calling them Lew

Ryan: the last time I tried that - many versions ago - it left some pieces and parts behind that's when I made the recommendation - perhaps it works now I let my partner do stairs (terrain, roofs) Lew

I recommended over a decade ago that Chief allow for Stair assemblies such that each piece and part is attached like branches and ornaments on a Christmas tree then the entire assembly/block can be moved around at will try creating a multi-floor complex stairwell system and then move "everything" over 1" it currently becomes a real hassle to do so Lew

I usually created layout for 24 x 36 with 1" border all around for 22 x 34 space then I could print at 50% on 11 x 17 paper if needed Lew

It's kind of sad to give someone correct information and get downvoted for it. I feel the same about giving an opinion downvotes are for children and those with petty grievances Lew

Hi: unfortunately, "save as" is the preferred method for Chief Softplan has a building options feature - no idea if it works Lew