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Michael: I took a "Learn to read Blueprints" class at community college and we went over paper plans for a Wendys so I don't think actual hands on is required for learning about buildings Lew

I was amazed with ver 9.5 that there was nil/lousy fireplace/chimney tools and I am still amazed a decade later Lew

I agree for this situation a separate plan may not be needed but I have learned to just do it since most plans start having other elements come into play like roofs and terrain etc so its a choice I make - never meant that separate plans are required Lew

then when you have to do the roof and then have sloping funky terrain all around the extra buildings it may become easier to do them in separate plans Lew

contact David Potter, look for his frequent postings he has lots of videos and training material on roofs also look for Terry Munson and buy his training books on X7 and also "Doing Manual and Automatic Roofs" Lew

I find it easier to create the shed in a separate plan then save it as a 3D symbol and place in the library then add the symbol to the "master" plan and place as needed Lew

Jacob: check these out: http://www.chiefsymbols.com/ Lew

I recommend saving anno-sets for a later day try using the anno-sets provided by CA and then slowly create more as needed if you provide large con-docs then learning anno-sets may be something to learn right away otherwise concentrate on the basics first Lew

I would prefer not having to finish it into the last minuscule detail before I can start on my new design Nicinius: when doing remodels, I will rough sketch the house and then proceed to do the project area in detail the clients want to see the alternatives right away and not wait for me to "finalize" the as-built when the remod design is "completed" then I will go back and create a clean as-built Lew

I agree with David Lew

Scott: HD PRO can be a fine starting point it has many manual features but it does have limitation too CA does apply full cost toward an upgrade to Chief Premier if those limitations become an issue the rest of the HD products are for the DIY homeowners to play around with Lew

none of the HD products can do manual roofs - except for HD PRO so Hoosier_Daddy you would need to upgrade to HD PRO or Chief Premier your other choice is to send your plan to a Chiefer and they could do the roof for you and set the flag allowing you to read/edit your plan with the caveat that you can't edit anything that involves features that Suite doesn't have also the Chief has to have the same compatible version so that you can read/edit the plan that they send back Lew Lew

I'll go for the serious Chief Designer and Project Manager Lew

to follow-up on Perry's suggestion model your house/apt or a relative's or friend's in doing a real world project you should become quite proficient by the time you have it done - probably a few weeks depending on time spent at it Lew

only HD PRO has manual tools like Chief does Lew

consider getting Terry Munson's books on learning Chief currently has X6 and X6 workbook and learning roofs - manual and automatic contact him to see if X7 books are coming http://www.chiefapprentice.com/Downloads.html also check out Dan Bauman's webinars etc at www.chiefexperts.com Lew

Dennis: I'll go against the grain, and say that you can go slow with anno-sets and study them and use the ones Chief provides and then add more as you need them unless you do 20 - 40 page condocs and need all the power they offer right away concentrate on the basics and roofs and terrain Lew

Softplan has had a building options feature for a few years now It seemed interesting and I have been suggesting to CA that with "total" layer control Chief could maybe have that feature also Chief also has a "lame" implementation of Ruby with a full implementation of Ruby and a recordable macro feature there could be a script for each option with sub-routines for the common areas update the sub-routine(s) and all the options would be updated but alas, Chief doesn't have those features at this time Lew

Scottisimo: yep, small world - where are you now ??? Lew

Scottisimo: sorry for Scott's reply, he likes to chastise ... if your walls are zig-sagging then you probably have "angle snaps" off what type of "short wall" are you trying to create posting your plan will get better replies as to your issues Chief is probably best for doing residential/light commercial plans Sketchup has many benefits and makes a nice companion to Chief I have Sketchup for sale for $350 (lastest update cost $95) includes many training books etc I am retired and no longer need SU, but still use Chief for personal projects A troll is someone who joins a forum to tout their software or to cause trouble welcome to Chieftalk Lew

Facer03: I started pushing for BIM almost a decade earlier the lack of interest is telling bottom line - don't hold your breath Lew

try putting it on page 0 not sure HD products have that feature Chieftalk is primarily for Chief Premier users you may have better luck with the Hometalk forum Lew

also note: floor A can't have rooms defined you would need to use floor 2 for your "attic" rooms Lew

HD can open and edit Chief plans if the "edit flag is set" Lew

Tanya: got it for some reason CA doesn't make it clear about the two forums and many HD users end up at Chietalk causing confusion and frustration for all Lew