lbuttery

probably best to contact CA's tech support I've never seen that msg before Lew

If you have reasons to keep the site plan and house plan separate make a 3D symbol of the house plan and save in the library then insert the symbol into the site plan and situate as needed Lew

Graham: yes, I can't draw at all, maybe not even a straight line with a ruler Chief made it possible for me to work in this industry Lew

before Chief allowed for PDF's to be imported I used the screen capture method many times best to save as .png or other lossless format again it depends on how "sharp" the PDF is etc Lew

depending on resolution try displaying the desired PDF page, take a screen capture then paste into a photo editor, save as .png then import into layout if it is good and readable - then it's "good enough" - maybe ? Lew

Here in NY, all pages of permit set must be reviewed/stamped by architect or engineer I did two projects here in NY, my sisters addition and my addition both times the "professional" made major mistakes for my addition it could have cost me $2k+ but my partner questioned the need for an lvl ridge beam with king studs to hold it etc he said with the collar ties it shouldn't be needed I contacted the architect and she says "whoops, I didn't notice the collar ties", "no lvl needed" for my sister's addition - the engineer made 14 mistakes luckily all were caught before plan submission my partner and I had 100% success rate in plan submission Lew

Bob: for clarity Chief Premier user can also convert the plans and set the edit switch so that you can continue to work with the plan after that NOTE: if Premier features are used that don't exist in HDP then those sections will be read only there are some Chiefers who have HDP also and they can do the entire plan in HDP good luck Lew

I agree with Browntiger on printer choice and "anything larger" Lew

website might cost $$$ if custom if generic $ or $$ I wouldn't be a large-format printer use Office Max/Depot or some other print shop create layouts - print to PDF - give or email PDF's to client let them print have a clause in your contract that if they print that signifies they have reviewed and approved I would plan on under $10K to get started then spend more as needed Lew

Meliisa: for clarity you don't convert .jpg's to .pdf's \ you print to PDF "virtual printer" just like you do a real printer then you can email the PDF or print it to a real printer Lew

I started with Chief 9.5 when they distributed PDF995 I still use it, there are many other independent free PDF creators out there I like using one independent of chief as I create PDF's while surfing the web and with my laptop when I don't have a printer attached for printing when I get home to email things to archive things Lew

also not sure how many independent designers have resumes ??? Lew

IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) is the key to integration between software. I suggest this should be the focus for change by Chief users to allow it to evolve into the growing BIM environment. Will Chief take up the challenge? I doubt it - I've been asking for a decade and have received negative feedback from CA and many users Lew

Shane: there are two "camps" some say floor 0 holds foundation and basement others say floor 0 for foundation only, floor1 for basement My partner and I have been in first "camp" and CA was in this "camp" when I started with 9.5 probably because back then there was a 10 floor limit Lew

sorry, I have already donated mine and my partners Lew

Larry: it's called being "user friendly" if the software design "encourages" user error time and again with user after user then it is really a "software error" Lew

this was one of the reasons I advocated for room locks along with wall and roof and floor etc if I had taken time to get various rooms all set the way they needed to be then made a change in another room and all the other rooms were affected that would NOT be good with the lock I would at least get a warning that they were going to be changed I could then decide to proceed or not Lew

using PDF also gives an archive backup so you know exactly what you printed for the client you can also email the PDF as needed I use PDF to save website info as I find it many other uses for PDF's Lew

Glenn: ok, then why this posting ??? remember I don't do roofs anything beyond auto and I send the plan to my partner/friend Lew

I don't have my 9.5 cd's I gave them to someone else who had an issue with theirs it is illegal for someone to sell or even give away versions that have been upgraded I knew this user had an active license so it was ok you should consider upgrading anyways - 9.5 is an antique try to get X4 or later from Ebay you can setup a search and have ebay send emails when the auctions start or use CA's rent to own and get X8 Lew

Mike: try PDF again - it should work if not, try some of the other free PDF creator's PDF has many, many advantages - it is the way to go Lew

Glenn: just curious, with one or two clicks or by "fussing" with roof planes ??? Lew

no idea how well this works but maybe Chief needs this ??? http://www.softplan.com/v13features_roof.htm http://www.softplan.com/v14features_roof.htm Lew

buy Chief Premier then model your own house do it completely and accurately by the time you are done you will have a good handle on most of Chief's features watch ALL of CA's videos if you do that you can probably skip CA's basic class if you need to get up to speed ASAP then take the basic class at some point take the Intermediate Training from CA's trainers save the advanced classes for "later" check out WWW.CHIEFEXPERTS.COM Lew

BTW: chat room is still there but you have to be logged in Lew