DzinEye

Ok.. gosh dang it... LOL...

I somehow knew you were going to take it to the extreme. Of course not everything, but we're talking about an angular dimension here... again, it's a DIMENSION... it's one of the most rudimentary functions of a cad program.

Ya, but that's 20:20 hindsight for you. You can only find it in the name if you can find it in the first place. I couldn't find anything because I wasn't looking for a line angle display, I wanted to find an angular dimension default... something which I think anyone who has a basic understand of Chief would expect there to be... so that's what I searched for. If they don't have said default, then you'd think that such a search would turn up some information saying there is no default, if for no other reason than to save the person from going onto the forum and bothering to ask where the default is. The screenshot in my original post shows what came up under that search as it's showing the angular dimension panel within their description for dimension defaults... in my book, that leads to confusion.

Ouch... that's gotta hurt

Thanks for the info. If you know... Did angular always 'default' to degree/minute/seconds... am I imagining it used to be decimal degrees? What's the point/purpose of the angular dimension dbx under General Cad if it doesn't actually do anything?

Can you just overlay some ragtime music and subtitles?

I was hoping you'd chime in... But you left a great void in our understanding oh mighty one...

Ahhh... but at least you know where it should be setting the defaults. Why is it under 'General CAD' and not under 'Dimensions' ?? Why does search under F1 help for 'angular dimension defaults' not mention 'General CAD' ?? and as you point out, why is setting that supposed default not doing anything?? (I just tried it myself to no avail).

Out of curiosity, if you go to create an angular dimension, what format is the dimension reading in? Mine's reading in degree/minutes/seconds.... I'd have sworn that OOTB it was set for decimal degrees?

If you put the correct offset the way Dermot showed, many of them will be correct without you having to manually move them

Pretty sure we all got cut off! Yep, it was great, thanks everyone for attending and contributing.

You will probably need to break your stair and only apply this to the lower part of your stairs

It probably qualifies as a workaround, but it works... I just used the new X12 ability to do a custom stringer. Set the width to match your wall thickness and I made it extra deep (30" below the tread) because it was the only way to make it look right on the curve. Set it for whatever height above the tread you want, and of course you can do whatever you want with the railing.

Like this?

Yeah... looking for how to set the defaults. I could've sworn I set those ages ago?...but if you don't know how perhaps I'm imagining it. Seems ridiculous if there's not a default setting ability.

I know I set this up years ago, and now that I need to do it again I have no idea how I got there? The dimension defaults shows nothing for angular and the F1 help just shows the 'Angular Panel' but not how to get to it. What the heck am I missing?

Not sure, but if you're working room by room, possibly could benefit by creating a layer for these objects in each room, such as Decor_LivingRoom, Decor_DiningRoom etc... and turning off all but the room you're working in.

Are they using Chief brand house-wrap?

Thank you Richard. Alas... despite once being the proud owner of a 1984 Macintosh, I'm back in the PC world... (crayons vs. your colored pencils)... the smartphone may be an option though!.. thanks.

Because of the ambiguity/confusion which Mick just highlighted. If it asked for width of hip there would be no ambiguity. When you suggest 'in from baseline' is consistent... what is it consistent with? If you are using 'in from baseline for a pitch change on a roof plane, then yes it makes sense, because you're working on the plane with the baseline it's measuring from. I understand that once you learn such nuances it's no longer an issue, and everyone who's gotten used to the 'way things are' doesn't want to see anything change, but in the long run, my opinion is that it's always best to make software as intuitive as possible.

Thanks Mick. I had all that stuff back in my gaming days... but no longer. May have to invest in something again. I will attend on the sidelines today, listening in.

I am not sure I knew that, thanks. I was going to respond the same! Also... Dermot, if you're still following... if you don't mind, what parameters qualify an 'appropriate' hole below it. I would imagine size needs to be at least as big as the skylight.. but is there an upper limit to the size of the hole?... and is there a limit to the distance, both vertical and horizontal from the skylight? Thank you, Mark

I would've probably experienced the same hang-up. Not intuitive. It would help make it more clear by labeling it "In from baselines" or "In from each side baseline"... but even better why not just ask how wide you want that upper hip to be?

Yes, look at the video Michael did in that link Chop sent

I pretty much agree with everything said by the guys above. Learning AutoCad in addition to Chief will most likely only benefit you in the long run. If you like doing residential work and have no desire to learn and do commercial projects, then you may want to reconsider getting an architects license. Don't want to discourage you at all, just that it really won't do much more for you in the residential world than good old solid experience will. I would recommend using a licensed structural engineer for all your projects. (Have your clients hire them independently). I highly recommend working in several offices to learn the different ways things are done and give you the knowledge to put together your own best practice if that's what your goal is. Whether or not you end up pursuing a license, I would still highly recommend you take some architectural classes in design and structure along with some art classes. Consider starting at a community college that offers an architecture program and if you want to continue to a BA or beyond then you can transfer to a 4-year college. Best to you