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Graham: Ontario went to more stringent requirements a few years ago some states are very restrictive - others are not (see my post above) Lew

no, in most states you do not have to be a licensed architect/engineer when I worked in the DC metro area that covered 8 counties and 3 states (DC,MD,VA) we could create the permit sets and the builder or homeowner would sign and submit them sometimes an engineer would provide details and they would sign/stamp those pages and then they would be added to the permit set In NY we could still create the permit set but EVERY page had to be reviewed and stamped by and architect/engineer - the permit could then be submitted by the homeowner or contractor I believe there are some states where EVERY page must be created and stamped by the architect/engineer talk to the permit officer for each jurisdiction that you plan to create permits for as the requirements for what is needed can vary from town to town, county to county etc we also worked via the internet for projects across the US and Canada and France and Saudia Arabia use screen sharing software like GotoMeeting or Mikogo so you and the client are on the same page it gets crazy trying to describe a change "no, the third wall to the left" - "do you see it?" "no, not that one, one more to the left" Lew

Richard is correct however, I made sure that my website had the words "using software by Chief Architect" displayed at the bottom of every page thus, when a potential client surfs the web they may find your site but in the "about us" and the "services" sections I made it clear I was a designer and NOT an architect if they are looking for a designer they may contact you if they are looing for an architect they may move on if they did contact me and it became clear they needed an architect I would recommend that they continue their search for one and may even suggest a few recommendations Lew

Chief should be able to open the .pl1 files have you tried ??? what version of chief are you using to open the .pl1 file ? there may also be .pl0 and .pl2 for the other floors I don't have time now to try - maybe later Lew

I agree with Scott: raise the SSA to cover the cost no nickel and diming Lew

Hmmm, I think I would have another chat with the building dept's supervisor if your actual dimension is 36" then that is what you should specify if they insist on showing 30" ALSO then I would add a text box (min. req. 30") Lew

I agree - learn - learn - learn never stop learning but you either have it or you don't my partner/friend and I started a business designing with "no experience" if it was me, myself, and I - the business would have never got off the ground but my partner learned the cad skills to apply his art skills and we did pretty well you find a client and then another and within our first full year in business (2007) we had 13 clients and 18 projects and won a merit award for an historical renovation made about $54K to split between us I was full-time and he was part-time If he could have gone full-time - may have been even better story then 2008 hit and boom not so good be careful about "quitting your day job" as they say ... Lew

John: there have been requests for donations of lost hardware keys if you see one, work with CA's customer service to verify the requestor has a valid license I have done this a few times and I only charge $5 to cover the cost of mailing Lew

well, I was WAY slower than Larry coffee - hell - he must be on speed Lew

I would be very leery of anyone else doing the measurements could really bite you bad not unless you went with them the first few times and both of you do it and then cross check their numbers even then ??? Lew

You are 100% correct, and I don't recall the exact check-in frequency requirement, but I believe its only like once every 7-10 days Hmmm, then why did Joe get caught when CA's server went down a few days ago ??? I still like the hardware key In a non-perfect world it is the best choice for me every year, and the software stops working if you don't cough up the money what happens if CA adopts this strategy with the software locks ??? I can still run all my old versions and I no longer need CA's permission Lew Lew

Ncinus: I've never been much concerned about battery usage as I am usually connected to AC Lew

another method is to create a symbol of the out building then add that symbol to the "Master" plan Lew

David: reality can be negative Lew

Michael: good point about i5 not having hyper-threading for $600 I can get the SP4 with 8 GB ram instead of 4GB and 526 GB storage instead of 128 GB and the i7 something to think about .... Lew

probably best to contact CA's customer service dept or tech support they can probably provide the answers if you are looking for a BIM solution then Chief is sorely lacking in the BIM dept to the best of my understanding Lew

Michael: I think the i3, i5, i7 cpu's were released at the same time they just offer various levels of capabilities now on the 6th generation of these cpu's http://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/public/us/en/documents/product-briefs/6th-gen-core-family-desktop-brief.pdf Lew

Graham: thanks, even if I should run Chief it won't be for raytracing and I don't play action games Lew

it is my understanding the a plan created by any HD product can be imported into Chief Interiors or Premiere CI and CP should be able to set an edit flag and the HD product should be able to read/edit the plan IF, the edit doesn't involve features the HD product doesn't support you should contact CA's sales team to discuss your needs and workflow as they can best assist I have no experience with room planner I retired before it came Lew

I'm planning on getting a SP 4 with i5 and 4 GB ram I don't need to run Chief on it and will probably be using it for more mundane software like Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Family Tree Maker surfing the internet - rarely playing youtube or other videos but just in case I need to someday - can i5 run Chief X8 ? going from i5 to i7 is a big leap in $$ I have it but prefer not to spend it Lew

or install X1 and it should import the libraries for you if not, then look at the library menu and there should be a wizard for importing if not, ??? - X1's too old to remember much about it anymore Lew

I agree with Rod you could place some 2D items on the plan to show location of Geo system then on the layout just add pics and specs from the vendors brochure or website if you really need the 3D views Chief can probably do "something" to simulate the loops ??? Lew

HDP can't do raytracing it is limited to 1 page at a time layouts many other limits as it costs 20% of what Premier does you could start with HDP and when you keep banging into its limits then upgrade to Premier and full cost is applied to upgrade Lew

Graham: Chieftalk should be useable by an Interiors user it is just a subset of Chief Premier we don't get that many Interiors users asking questions because I think most see the wisdom of having Premier Lew

Scott: good decision Lew