lbuttery

transfer files to and from a colleague with no issues Yep, that is what these cloud services are designed to do not so good at allowing multiple users to work on the same file at the same time Lew

Networking is good for library sharing even plans - for quick access by multiple PC's but not for two or more to work on the same plan at the same time you should contact CA's tech support team to discuss your "network" needs Lew

working on 1 file from multiple locations it is my understanding that this is not possible with Chief and would most likely end up in a corrupted file or person A's changes being lost when person B saves etc Person A needs to finish before Person B starts Lew

I would recommend saving to another folder on your hard drive and then when done with a work session copy the file to the google drive folder Lew

at this point I would say any videos for X4 or X5 would essentially be useful for X6 any older than that be aware that while the principles are probably the same the tools may be different CA use to release a new set of vids with each release but stopped with the X2 release the vids for the X1 release cost over $1200 to purchase now CA releases what's new vids and will try to re-do older vids if enough has changed to warrant it Lew

Mick: 0,0 doesn't need to be at the bottom left hand corner put 0,0 near the center of the screen or where ever it makes sense it does help if the house if closer to 0,0 (wherever it is) than not Lew

Kilgore: on the old forum over the years there were many, many threads on how to add a two wall corner set at 0,0 to the template time and again replies to z-fighting and far off camera issues have been "set the origin" perhaps this has become an non-issue ??? I'll wait till the next time a poster replies and states the origin being off caused an issue Lew

Dermot: "forcing" should not be the issue it should be a preference or default such as "place first wall at 0,0,0" why not make it easy for the users ??? Lew

Glenn: I have followed every post on this forum since 2004 and I see sun study questions and light thru window questions etc - all the time I see various users post various suggestions and "work-arounds" to control the settings etc usually with frustrating results I haven't touched a sun study since 2008 and only did a minor one at that I did take two Sketchup classes back in '07 and '08 (both teachers were horrible) but did watch and play with the sun studies in Sketchup and they seemed much more user-friendly back then - the movie/anim tool was really easy to use over the many versions since then I haven't seen or heard of any "improvements" in Chief hence my suggestion to checkout Sketchup's free videos on doing sun studies if Chief can do this then why do I keep seeing queries and frustration with Chief's tools ??? you are a "master" chiefer - maybe the "ordinary" chiefers can't get your results ??? see the OP's original post in this thread Lew

Glenn: yes, I have advocated for a wall lock and floor lock for a long time and will continue to do so I know you disagree but I can only hope that CA will do this some version I no longer post my suggestions but wait until someone else has the issue then I chime in this way its not "just me" Lew

Alan: the concept/definition of "workaround" has been debated many, many times on this forum there have been many, many suggested "procedures" on how to ensure a plan or symbol is being placed at the origin 0,0 yes, these are all "workaounds" CA finally added a feature to the symbol import tool to allow a symbol to be placed at 0,0 that is a feature prior to that there were many hassles and many workarounds CA needs to do the same with the first wall placed Dermot says Chief is already doing that if so, that is news to me and I suspect many others so if Chief is auto-magically placing the first wall at 0,0 then all those "workarounds" are no longer needed Lew

renders use the video card raytraces use the cpu 8 GB min for cpu 1 GB min for video best not to share ram between cpu and video card video should have its own ram yes, a gaming laptop would be the best choice for Chief expect to spend $1200 give or take - you can spend way more but be careful of "overkill" Lew

Lew's knowledge of Chief is somewhat obsolete. It is very rare to see plans that are far away from the origin these days Dermot: could be... but I'm not alone time and time again I see posters suggesting to verify if the model is close to the origin 0,0 I, for one have been advocating that Chief allow the first wall to be set at 0,0 there have been many, many work-arounds on how to do this so if Chief has been "fixed" then few that are aware of it Lew

How quick could you reproduce the OP's CA model Curt: the OP indicated that they don't have a Chief model yet they are in the exploratory conceptual stage Lew

Curt: I may be mistaken but I don't think the OP is after "good looking" pics sun studies are not about "WOW" they are concerned with where the sunlight will reach and where shadows will be cast based on factors like overhangs, roof pitch, placement and size of windows etc Chief seems to struggle in these areas - thus my suggestion to try Sketchup for those quick "what-if" scenarios check out the free Sketchup videos concerning sun studies and make movies/animations of the results of moving the sun hither and tither Lew

Jintu: actually, it started with my post #3 Glenn's advice was "what's the big deal" since then I have been trying to clarify why it is an issue and continues to be an issue Lew

Jintu: I understand that I'm not talking about Joe king but rather the overall principle of seeing this type of post time and time again when I started with 9.5 another Newbie trap was about island rooms not being allowed - usually in relation to stairwells we would all post back - create an invisible wall to cure the island finally around ver X4 CA fixed Chief so that it auto-magically creates the invisible wall now we don't see those types of postings anymore even if a poster is not a newbie they may not follow this forum there are thousands of chiefers who don't follow this forum so until they experience an issue and learn the solution they are a newbie on that issue Lew

Or just save your template plan to the zoom and location close to 0,0 That assumes the Newbie is aware that this needs to be done so they post here in frustration someone has to post to give this advice lots of wasted time and effort for something CA could "fix" Newbie traps can make a new user think "very bad thoughts" about the software Lew

What's the big deal? If you really want 0,0 exactly, place a point in your template plan Glenn: Hmmm, maybe because for time after time for almost a decade one of the common responses to z-fighting or issues with cameras being far far away etc is "are you close to the origin, 0,0,0" so if it's not a big deal to you if would be a nice help to many others not to be frustrated and confused to the point where they need to post on the forum and request HELP !!!! everytime CA can eliminate a frustration point then everyone is happier except maybe you ??? Lew

Chief can now place imported symbols at 0,0,0 so why not the first wall ??? Lew

Pat: try setting the roofing layer thicker in the structure dbx try setting the "clip plane" in camera defaults to 300" or there-abouts also verify the house is close to 0,0,0 origin if necessary, place a point at 0,0,0 then use edit area with point to point tool these changes may help control the z-fighting it has been requested many, many times that Chief be "fixed" so that the first wall drawn is placed at 0,0,0 - but ??? Lew

Joe: try setting the "clip plane" in camera defaults to 300" or there-abouts also verify the house is close to 0,0,0 origin if necessary, place a point at 0,0,0 then use edit area with point to point tool these changes may help control the z-fighting it has been requested many, many times that Chief be "fixed" so that the first wall drawn is placed at 0,0,0 - but ??? Lew

Dennis: did you create a foundation ? just guessing that might have stopped the sun under the walls ??? Lew

While edit area can work - it can also "miss things" so verify - verify - verify one project I remember having to add 2' to the middle of the house edit area did the job fairly well - but still needed manual cleanup and verification on all three floors good luck Lew

Martha: for almost a decade I have been asking for "wall locks" but so far the powers to be consider the concept ridiculous was it user error - maybe ? probably ? however, it doesn't matter.... once an area is competed it would be nice if it could be "locked" such that a warning would be issued if Chief "needed" to move them this warning could be a preference item for those who don't need warnings for some a warning could be a lifesaver Lew