KilgoreTrout

Mike, Send Amy all of the .pl* plan files. If I remember right, the pl1 file will always be larger then the other files because it also has all of the defaults, cad blocks, details, materials, and what not. The other pl* files will just have the walls and stuff on them.

Are you using the 32 bit or 64 bit version? If you are using the 32 bit version, I would bet that the problem is that you are running out of memory. You could try downloading and trying the 64 bit version to see if that solves it for you. If not, I would try contacting tech support.

Hey Ron, rather then complain about all that you think is wrong with Chief, why don't you let us know how you actually solved your problem? Half a dozen people spent a bunch of time trying to help you and I don't know if any of us actually figured it out.

Yes, but I think those only happen when the window/door is recessed? I still don't like the little 1" tics on your pictures. They just look messy to me.

I have a feeling that GT knows way more about playing with the master list then I do.

I see them in Scott's pictures too. I think they are more noticeable if you have recessed windows/doors. I would send in a bug report.

Unless the "label" is not really a door label or a schedule callout. If the label was something else, like say a text object or a manually placed callout, then it's size could be controlled differently. I'm just making WAG's (wild ass guesses) at this point. I bet someone could figure it out in 2 minutes if we only had a plan to look at.

Do you have show line weights turned on? Have you checked your line weight scale in your drawing sheet setup? If it's not either of those, post your plan.

Have your tried turning off auto rebuild attic walls in your wall general defaults?

Then you did something wrong. Post your plan or call tech support.

Check out using the master list. I highly recommend that you watch the training videos.

Open the layer display options dialog. Select the "Doors, Labels" layer. Change the text style there.

No. They can change materials in one of the Home Designer products but I don't think the new versions have been released yet and the older versions can't read X6 files.

"So the CBS walls calculate right..but the CMU does not." I did not get the same results as you. In fact, when I changed the walls to CMU in the plan you posted above, I got the same number of blocks as the CBS walls. The only thing I can think of is to make sure that your wall dimensions are what they are supposed to be. Depending on whether you changed the wall types (and your resize about setting) or if you drew new walls, you may not be comparing apples to apples. I don't use the material list very often but every time I have created a test plan and checked the numbers I could not find a case where they did not make sense. They were not always what I wanted them to be but in all cases, the math looked like it was correct. The example of the stucco area and number of blocks are a good example of what I have seen. Because the program drops the stucco down over the platform, it calculates more stucco then you thought it should. The program's math is correct, just not what you were expecting. Same thing with the number of blocks. It calculated the number of blocks based on the lineal length of wall and does not try to figure out the number of whole blocks you need based on cuts. Again, the math is correct but maybe not the exact numbers you wanted. Only you can decide if you trust the numbers enough to actually use them for estimating.

I think you are clicking on the "Select" button instead of the "Add New" button. You use the select button to change the molding to a different one from the library. You use the add new button to add another molding that is separate from the first one.

You are also not calculating the length of your walls correctly for calculating the number of blocks Look at the following picture. You don't have 40' of wall. You only have 37' 4".

You are going to need more then 320 sq ft of stucco. Look at the following picture. Your walls are taller then 8' tall. Chief drops them down to cover the platform underneath them.

You changed the stair balusters and newels to a symbol that doesn't make any sense as a stair baluster or newel. Basically, stair railings can't do what you want automatically. The only way I know of to get what you want is to create a manual railing that is set to "panel" with the cable set as the panel type. Then mark the railing as "follows stairs" and then move it on top of the stairs. You also need to turn off the automatic stair railings.

You changed the material for the "exterior room". Room materials always override wall materials. If you would like to change it back, you can either open the exterior room and change the material back to "use default" or use the material painter to spray "use default" back on to the exterior room.

There is no easy way that I know of. If the material is used on an object, you can do like Jon suggested to try and spot it in a camera view. If it is being used in one of your defaults, the only way to find it is to look at each of them. As for getting rid of it, you can always use the "merge" tool in the plan materials dialog.

If you turn off the "connect island rooms" and delete the room divider, you will get a "living area" in the middle of your plan and you will also get a very strange exterior room. This is why you should not turn it off.

Do not turn off "connect island rooms" in your general wall defaults. The problem is that your utility closet is creating an island room. An island room is any room that is not connected to any outer walls forming an "island" inside your house. Island rooms cause all kinds of strange and mysterious problems which is why you don't want them. Turning off the default will just cause you more problems later. Instead, you should always connect your island rooms by manually drawing your own invisible walls. Once you have correctly drawn your own invisible walls, you can delete the automatically created one. If you don't want to see them in your plan views, then just turn off the layer.