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well said Ray Lew

yes, there is a print size limit but create the layout at 1/8 scale and then save to PDF then enlarge at print shop at 1/4 scale for 36 x 48 however, most jurisdictions will take 11 x 17 contact your local permit office and verify the requirements for submittal then check the software features etc many have used PRO to create permits but it depends on your area buying X7 can save in the long run - IF you are willing/able to climb the learning curve when the project is truly done - you could sell X7 for about 80% of current cost but by then you may not want to I have my house modeled and have decided to expand my deck and enclose it with a roof X7 will do the job nicely Lew

Contact David Potter look for his many postings on this forum for his contact info he has been helping other users for decades Lew

I use PDF995 back with ver 9.5 and forward it came with Chief around ver X2 it had to be downloaded from the vendor http://www.pdf995.com/ I haven't tried the new built in version since I am so used to PDF995 so chose one - just about all PDF creators should be able to scale and do large size prints Lew

create a folder on the desktop then when a good thread is found right click in any "white space" and select "create shortcut" this will put a shortcut on the desktop then drag the shortcut to the Chieftalk folder within the folder create as many folders as needed for topics etc Lew

I wouldn't bother with the CAD to WALLS tool It is essentially worthless It has never worked for me since I first tried it with ver 9.5 I just tried it again with ver 6 a few months back and again no joy ? I asked CA to send me a .DWG file that it would work for and no joy ? the recommendation on this forum for a decade is that it is far easier to import the image and scale it and then trace over it with chief walls this tool should be revised or removed Lew

yes, when I worked in the DC metro area ,we had DC, MD, VA and the 8 counties within these states to deal with plus more if he branched out to Baltimore and Fredericksburg and Richomond they all seemed to want something different concerning the codes I doubt if you will be able to cover "everything" so code for the common and do the "outliers" as needed Lew

win7 is more than adequate and while I was not impressed with Win 8, the issues were resolved with win 8.1 I would recommend 8.1 Lew

I know it is "heresy" here (but when has that ever stopped me) but I usually create the "new" plan first so that I can get to the clients ideas faster and show them the various alternatives once we are done playing then I will create the as-built plan in detail by cloning the "new" plan and then stripping out the new stuff all depends on how critical the dims are during the "play" stage if you don't like this method then feel free to rip it apart but it doesn't matter I will continue using it anyways .... Lew

I've always used two plans: existing and new it would be nice if Chief could handle alternatives in the same plan but that is a dream for now Lew

My partner Joe has created a way to show riser diagrams in 3D. These diagrams are schematics only (fake floorplans) and we plan to keep playing with this concept till we find a way to get them to work with real floor plans. The issued being how do you so them using real floorplans without getting two many walls showing and having some appliances on wall A and others on wall B and being able to tell the difference, etc. He also had to use a pedestal sink in the kitchen because a regular kitchen sink just couldn't be identified as a sink visually well enough. Note: the "drain waste vent" diagram isn't included here but could be. The Wash DC permit dept rejected two plans by two archtects because the Hot/Cold water riser and the gas riser diagrams were missing and the builder aske us to create these diagrams. Just click on the appropriate camera to see the riser diagram in 3D. Anyways, here is the riser diagram plans in X1. If anyone has any ideas on how to improve this method, please share. Lew 1318_RISER_DIAGRAMS.zip

probably to big a jump from V7 to X7 ??? maybe have a chiefer with ver 9.5 import the plan if it looks good there then try X7 you are asking about Chief V7 ??? Lew

Basic info in a schedule would be nice IF, the programming of the scripts was done right the casual user of Chief would never see the code or need to change the code IF, a change was needed, the programmer would probably have to make it unless the user felt "adventurous" IF, Chief had recordable macros the user could create their own scripts without programming just be doing clicks etc and then saving the recorded macro to be used as needed need to make a change to the script - just record it over or if capable/desirable - edit the script and tweak it Lew

Joe: I can only imagine the hard work you've done programming years and years, almost a decade ago I wanted chief to have scripts and recorded macros etc so that I could "go into business" selling my scripts they are your scripts (unless you found some on the forum etc) I also wish that CA would consider one of my other decade long wishes to put all of the living room area data into a schedule including the most common alternatives thus, the user would have access to this common data in a simple format since CA has yet to do this good luck on selling YOUR scripts BTW: I'm glad you are one of the "chosen" as I have advocated for CA to use SME's for almost a decade as well Lew

Jay: understood, thanks for the clarification Lew

Jay: well, that would be your privilege as boss I guess you are implying there should never be fractions in a plan ? or are you saying if there are fractions you would never "hide" them ? two different thoughts there If you are saying there should never be fractions in a plan then I say that you gurus must have special ways of modeling that us mere mortals haven't achieved yet furthermore, on the plans I worked on the builders and framers didn't give a rats behind about fractions and would have been annoyed if I had left them on the plans so I guess it all depends on who's in charge and what their standards/needs are Lew

Perry: I measure to 1/16" and model to 1/16" but at the end I only show to nearest 1" (or 1/2") I try to put in only essential dims as framers get mad if you try to give to many details Lew

you can try to get it close but it will NEVER be "exact" there is software to calibrate monitors and printers but even then color matching depends on the light and materials used on the wall etc best to advise the clients that what they see is an approximation and to buy small cans and do test patches and review them over the course of the day etc Lew

Perry: I prefer to keep my dims as close to live as possible until the very end then I usually set min fraction to 1" (maybe 1/2") Lew

Perry: that may work for new construction not so for as-builts Lew

change the actual room def to garage instead of just writing the words and the result is much different Chief's "room types" have meaning to the software and will cause different behaviors Chief's "room labels" have no meaning to the software Lew

as stated above at the very end set min fraction to 1" and all the fractions are "hidden" Lew

Glen: it becomes like Jello eventually you can come all around the plan and get back to where you started especially with an as-built Lew

Best way is to move the object 1/8" This doesn't always work as then the next dim is off by 1/8" I prefer to set "smallest fraction" to 1" or 1/2" at the very end of the project unless I think those fractions are going to matter Lew

also, keep in mind that floor defaults may not work well for rooms that vary from the defaults split-level houses, modern houses with many floor levels etc also go thru model looking for any polyline solids and slabs etc as they may need to have position adjusted also the more "workarounds" there are in the model the more "cleanup" you may need to do Lew