lbuttery

Does the software stop working altogether on an installed machine with out internet or just the activate/ deactivate feature?. Eric: If you can't connect to the mother ship after X days your Chief stops working until you do connect again a more likely scenario would be a massive fire at CA's HQ and the servers are melted down I wonder if the have a secondary site on the East Coast ? If not - then one by one the software locks will grind to a halt until they rebuild Lew

That would not be dissimilar to Microsoft Windows which is tied specifically to your computer I have Microsoft Office 2010 - 3 PC license and have it installed on all 3 of my PC's Norton Internet anti-virus uses the same method no need for software locks or hardware locks Lew

Richard: for many releases now we have to pay extra for the hardware lock last years it was $125 Lew

Richard: if the laptop is turned off and not connected to the internet how can it be activated ? maybe when I turn it on at client site or hotel room - but what if no internet available how does activation get to laptop ? Lew

John: HD PRO users can benefit from following Chieftalk since PRO has manual roofs, framing, cabinets etc just be aware of the differences in feature sets Lew

If they have email, they obviously have the internet. Clients just love to share their internet with "strangers" NOT !!! That being said, to be safe, you could technically activate your laptop at home or office prior to leaving for your meeting. yep, if I get it out of the bag , turn it on, connect to internet - then repeat when I get home Personally I don't like physical hardware locks because it opens the door to the possibility of losing something that isn't cheap. a business insurance policy with named property takes care of that Forgot to bring your dongle with you though? SOL no method is perfect CA has had times over the weekend when the activation server was down and anyone needing activation was SOL Lew

Bob: CA is considering extending the 2-week check in requirement for those who ask I find that unacceptable as I like the hardware locks for other reasons currently CA suggests staying with X9 if not having a hardware lock is an issue Lew

Level 0 = Foundation Plan Level 1 = Basement or, if there isn't a Basement Level 0 = Foundation Plan Level 1 = 1st Floor Plan Joe: that seems rather inconsistent ??? My preference would be to stick with one method or the other I've always leaned towards floor 0 being foundation and basement same as CA does but I was seeing merit in those who suggested separating them but I like Joey's solution Lew

use Anno Sets to be able to separate the floor plan from the foundation plan Joey: nice to know Lew

open your laptop at client's house yep, what if no internet - as you mentioned in your post if my laptop is in its bag and turned off - then deactivate/activate from desktop won't work right ? sorry but we like the independence the hardware locks provide Lew

CA probably bounced him Lew

Mick: I didn't realize they had deleted any threads maybe somebody got nasty ? Lew

Mick: you can show venting on the 3D diagrams and more labels etc I've attached an image that shows venting Lew

I believe most of CA's sample plans have foundation and basement on floor 0 but I can see the advantage of keeping foundation separate from basement but never did it while in the business Lew

Ray: 1. I hate doing the deactivate/activate dance I would have to deactivate on my desktop, disconnect from internet get my laptop out of the case, power up, connect to internet, activate when I return from client get the laptop out of the case, power up, connect to internet, deactivate, disconnect from internet connect to internet, activate on the desktop 2. concerned that someday CA may decide to turn off software locks if SSA is not kept active 3. hardware lock gives total freedom Lew

years ago my partner created a 3D method of showing riser diagrams on floor 1 click on the camera icon then choose the appropriate layer set Lew 6314_RISER.plan

Perry: I have been - thought I would start one like the ray tracing thread to try and keep them in one place oh well !!! I no longer care about plansets anyways Lew

Hmmm, this appears to be a dead thread apparently no one wants to show off or share their templates etc I was interested to see how plansets worked with annosets etc but since X10 won't have hardware locks I am no longer interested in plansets my partner and I will be staying with X9 Lew

Steve: do you stay connected to the internet ? Chief needs to contact the "mother ship" every two weeks for the software lock to stay activated this is why I prefer the hardware locks Lew

if this concerns you - call CA's customer service and let them know My partner and I have always used the hardware locks and I plan to stay with X9 and not bother using X10 not a happy camper Lew

personal choice - as Robert said benefits for either method - hassles for either method Lew

For those interested in exploring methods of using templates, annosets, plansets, macros everyone has reasons for the way they do their workflow - so its time to showoff how you do it and why please post your plans and layouts or videos on what works for you Lew

I've suggested before that settings be stored separately, and a template be made up a group of settings. A base template supplied with each new version would have a group of settings layered on top, but not be part of the template itself. Eric: that sounds like a good solution ... Lew

my method is to do a "save as" with the following naming convention 123_OAK_MODEL_180117_1545_LB_X10.plan and .layout MODEL could be REMOD or ALT01 or ALT02 or LAYPS OR LAYCP or LAY01 etc - where PS = permit set and CP = client presentation this is for my backups then I do another "save as" using 123_OAK_X10.plan and .layout this is to keep them in sync at all times doing double "save as" is very quick and easy during work sessions I will do it as often as every 5 minutes or whenever I finish a task I don't want to repeat Lew

your walls are inside out do what Larry suggests Lew