MarkMc

Copy the door, swing it closed, turn off all the hardware. Had to do this an hour ago.

That's why I posted what I deal with - Should have mentioned that I keep everything at "recommended" scaling (100%) and use WinAero Tweak utility to alter fonts so I can see. I used the snipping tool for a while, not nearly as fast for multiple shots but I have to save the sticky as an image if I want to mark it up (XnViewMP)-OTOH easier to have access to later with manage stickies (also a keyboard)

I've had issues at times when changing which monitors I'm connected to and what I have set as primary BUT I run a mix-Standard is: laptop 1920 x 1080; 27" 2560 x 1440 as primary, and a 24" 1900 x 1200. I've mixed/added/swapped in a 15" USB connected, 1920 x 1080 and a 39" 1920 x 1080 TV. Only had an issue once or twice and usually when I've mixed in the USB monitor. It may matter that I've used a multi-screen utility for a long time; helps with the different resolutions which was a bigger issue prior to Win 10 (great for moving maximized windows accounting for the varied resolutions). RE screen shots- I recently switched to using the sticky note program I use (also long time- Stickies by Zhornsoft-donationware-nonags) Let's me use a hotkey to take area screenshots. Since I have my stickies default to "always on top" gets to be quite handy to grab a shot of a DBX I need to copy information from or know what I changed.

Toward the end of this thread I posted a library

This really doesn't need to get all that complicated. At least I see no value in blocks or symbols in the long run. Does anyone do that for a building? how's that work if the walls are possibly being moved? Start with existing plan, save as and continue- as written earlier. No need to force open a second instance of Chief. Open layout, click to open plan, tear off tab, minimize or move to another monitor, repeat... Presto 4 open instances with 4 different layouts and as many perspectives/elevations as you want on each. KISS.

They had boxes at X3 and X4 when I started. I'm not sure when it went away since I never used them anyway.

I can add a subcategory to an item in the material list. I don't see how to add it to all items in a category-IOW to the Master list. I tried update to Master but that doesn't appear to do it. Tried hlep, ref manual, searched here, knowledge base, and scrambled around the rabbit hole for a while.... Am I missing something? And or is there some way to get "room name" into the material list?

That was "clients and contractors " because they want flooring under the cabinets. For myself, while I make suggestions dependant on floor type, I only care about accounting for what it will be.

At least half the clients and/or contractors I've dealt with would disagree. OTOH floor material regions show up in the material list- your problem solved.

For a material go to 3d, plan materials and edit the material there so it will be obvious. Blend with pink, or make the pattern pink or something obvious. Find it in a 3D view. Once you know where it is undo. No answer for an object.

Draw a polyline, or use a floor material region-open it will give you sq ft

I've been using schedules to get pricing our of CA for quite some time. Does Dewills have an on line ordering system? I did a qucik (and rare for me to do) video on using an online pricing system with a spreadsheet copied from a schedule. I just use drag and drop from the sheet to the ordering system (including mods). IT was done as a quickie so a few mistakes along the way (a brand I no longer use) That's over in the tips section. I have one brand that does not have an online system so I use a spreadsheet template of the order form. 3 monitors, pdf catalog on one (with user made bookmarks) , order sheet on main, other side has Chief and a scrub sheet where I adjust things to paste into the main. May actually be as fast as an online system but takes more practice. There is also an older video of a web meeting we did a few years ago that addresses some of the things I do to get a usable schedule. (Just saw this and have to head for dinner. A bit slammed the next week or two but I'll see if I can fit something in somehwere) The key is getting the nomenclature to match the mfg's. Gotta go do dinner, bit slammed the next couple of weeks but will see if I can help.

I've gone back and forth with this over the years. Currently I have both pdf and the Chief. I'll make simple quick changes IF relevant. I've learned to be pretty blunt-"we can't do that now but I'll not it for next time" when I'm at my best "No" at other times. I also keep a hammer handy. "It takes two people to make a painting. One to stand at the canvas with a brush, the other to stand behind them with a hammer and hit them when it's done"-paraphrase of Paul Cezanne.

Every kitchen project I work on starts with multiple options with most of the house drawn. I start with an existing, place a text block with %file.name% in it, add cameras then do save as for each variation (including dead ends for when the client says "what about") The kitchen always consumes a full meeting even when there is more involved so layout for it at this point is 1117 even when finals are Arch D. Send existing plan, elevations, and one or two perspectives (usually tech illustration) to layout which all amounts to 3-4 pages. Copy plan and elevations to new pages, link to new file, send perspective from new file, repeat. Print a couple of sets to give them something to hold, point to, and me something to write on, makes easy side by side comparison. I use 3-4 monitors for meetings in the office with large TV for client to focus on and a second viewable by them (set a primary so taskbar shows all open) as back up; two for warehousing. Makes sending files between screens easier (with a hotkey), tile within a chief as needed, still lets me use plan views to show other information quickly ( dimensioned, w/ demo, plain language descriptions, aisle clearances...), easy copy paste between plans (I want that island in this plan) and keep any needed reference pdfs or images of product available. (Bonus, the kid gets to play mission control As the preferred plan gets adjusted at the meeting it's saved as. After all the extra plans go into an archive folder without saving plan of views.

Yes scale is off Only checked the one length, did not check for distortion. Adjusted and attached. Adjusted.dwg

They do not if I have to paint walls. Might as well use regions as break walls and make tons of definitions.

NO, I forgot to mention that locate objects need to be set to both casings and sides. In that case it will dimension to the outside of the casing and with a 0 overlap the inside of the casing aligns with the frame. I imagine you can callout reveal with a macro (rev= frame_top_width + interior_reveal) gets the dimension as decimal.

Hmm- I guess I could go around an place material regions on every wall. Thought it might be worth it if I could copy and paste but the regions don't copy to another floor. Still may be the best options. Really looking to get the wall finish from the wall definitions.

This only works IF two of the lines are parallel and the distance between them is equal to or greater than the diagonal of the rectangle. IF the distance is greater than the diagonal of a fixed rectangle it can't be tangent. IF they are not parallel a fixed rectangle may work one a a gazillion times but that too may be impossible. In any case this works, tested on a second set to get as far as if it was not by accident. Plan attached. Place point at interstion of one parallel line and cross line. Pt to pt move the one corner of rectangle to point. draw a circle with radius equal to the rectangle draw a line from the point to where the circle intersects the second parallel line measure the angle between the cross line and the radius line, have the angle dimension set to degrees. select one line, copy the dimension, escape Transform replicate the rectangle- rotate, about current point, paste in the angle you measured Copy-point to point move the secondary parallel line to one corner of the newly rotated rectangle. Pt to pt move the new rectangle to the intersection of the new guideline with the cross line. This may have actually been easier back when compasses ruled, always liked this stuff though, fun waste of time three lines.plan

Yeah that's how that setting works. Just tried this- set your window default to have the casing overlap the frame = 0" Pull manual dimensions, size your windows. Then reset your casing overlap to what it should be. The dimensions stay put.

I need to get some sort of information for wall finishes, by room, to include sq ft and finish name. I received one suggestion to use "Calculate From Room" but that doesn't work as far as I can tell. (ref manual says "A Materials List calculated from a room is created for only the contents of that room: wall materials are not included") A room finish schedule will give me wall material BUT if there are several wall finishes in a room it just lists them- does not identify the wall or provide the quantity. So I found a very old thread. Based on that- in a test plan I added layers "wall finish" in the wall type definitions. Then select room, standard area polyline, convert polyline-materials list polyline, calculate materials. So that works to a point. that gets me sq footage in a material list and it does break it down by wall... BUT no wall finish. I can specify the label on a wall and that will show up in the material list description which gives me a wall "identity" and could be used for finish BUT the object eyedropper doesn't work for walls. The only thing I can think of is to add a mess of walls to the library and drag them onto existing ones. (better than a sharp stick in the eye but for the clients proposals I've already got 20 rooms w/ 5 wall types and they want 3 variations.) Is there a way to get both? To dig the information out of one into the other? or out of both into something else that I can use (Rich Text and export?) Is there a way to do this without the polyline business? (this project has either 120 or 240 rooms depending) I've been told by someone who knows a lot more than me that a macro is "not worth the time or effort" It seams like I'm almost there and this looks to be something I'll need in the future.

It's a small thing but it made me happy. When I've had to do this in the past it's always been a PIA forcing books onto shelves, gets worse if you need to mix in nick nacks, vases, hummels (I know an awful hummel joke BTW)...worse still when the cabinets change or move. So I have one now and was dreading getting them all in. So I opened my symbol template plan (4 walls, cabinets are set to blank faces with zero inch separations, has a camera that doesn't show the room or walls; and a couple of backclipped sections) Started to drop in some books and such. I did two rows that match the current cabinet shelf spacing. Maybe should have done one but will see. Saved the plan. Then converted those to a molding symbol with an origin offset that forced them into the cabinet. Tried adding them to the cabinet dbx in the moldings-not so good. So just put in a molding line, added the symbol, then added another row with a vertical offset. Presto 4 rows of books with some random spacing. Copy elsewhere as needed. Changing to a run of nick nacks instead is as easy using replace from library in the original saved plan, new symbol, yadaydadda.

I've taken to fewer simpler templates and importing defaults as desired. (anno sets too)

The two images I showed were done that way. Here is how you get there. Floors would be similar Since the material is already in your plan then you need to select "plan materials" , pick material, edit. If you edit it will change for the entire plan. IF you copy first it depends.it will change any dynamic default.

To be clear: defaults, materials, "cabinets" & "cabinet doors" NOT cabinet defaults or defaults "cabinet" Clear as mud.