Archnot-Boltz

First thing I look for. Always have on except when modifying a cad polyline. See attached Screen Shot attempting to explain sequence in which it occurs. I wish I knew how to do a vid to better describe the behavior. May have to bug phone support this morning.

Thanks Bill, I recently upgraded from 8 to 9 and I guess my snap settings migrated from 8? I'm thinking that maybe in X8 I must have changed it to 5 pixels to try and stop my dimensions from snapping off of "Ortho" when pulling a string across a busy drawing. Who knows. Looks like another case of "User Error".-bB

This morning, I was having major issues with the Point to Point tool when moving a floor ceiling beam to a cad intersection (two perpendicular cad lines) while in framing annotations mode. It appeared that the library item, a bonus library millwork (8" column) seemed to be interfering(blocking) the snap point intersection. I called phone tech support and was getting help from MIchael but with no resolution on this issue. After punting and relegating to send my plan file to tech support I brought up another issue I was having with driveways not cutting the curb at a street intersection .During discussion of this terrain issue, I found out that his snap distance setting was "12 pixels" and mine (which was the default X9 setting) was set at "5 pixels". After ending my tech support call, I reset my snap distance to 12 pixels and my point to point issue went away and my snapping behavior is way more acceptable from what it's been (also discovered that my default setting in X8 has been 5 pixels for the snapping distance, which explains a lot of my previous issues and frustrations while using x8. Why would Chief set the snap distance at 5 pixels by default? Or did I somehow do it and not remember......? What is the default setting from Chief for the snap distance setting? Regardless, I would like to thank Michael in phone support for helping me discover and fix my snapping issues.-Brad

I've been having/noticing issues (X8 & x9) when I use the "Text with Leader Line" function. See attached images. When I create a piece of text with leader line and then select the leader line end to pull the leader arrow on a hinged angle, the arrow reverses and points back at the original leader end point. Why and for what reason would Chief give us this "Feature"? The leader lines behave "properly" if you delete the leader arrow and then select Option/Add Arrow. If it's not a "feature" then my suggestion would be to please fix this behavior. thanks, Brad

MIke, I've been having this issue intermittently with X8 for quite awhile and just figured it out while on the phone with my SSA technical support. Apparently it's not a known issue with them either. In this most recent incident, I couldn't find any snap points (in plan view) when using the Point to Point Move tool. So I closed Chief and reopened-No Luck. Then I exited Chief and rebooted my computer-No Luck. I then opened another job folder and had No Problem. I reopened the offending job file to plan view (1st floor level) and still had no snaps. I then changed floors to the foundation level and had all snaps, same for the second floor level. Went back to 1st floor level, No Snaps. Finally, I selected the "Display Points" icon on my pull down menu, selected "Delete Temp Points", selected and placed a "Point Marker"- inserted the point marker in the drawing and was able to move it using the "Point to Point" tool. I now have all off my snap points working normally again. I relayed this to Tech Support and now they know about it. Not sure if this matters, but recently, when I start a new drawing, I place a "Point" and then relocate it to absolute Zero x & y and start my first wall from the 0,0 point. Let me know if this works for you next time it occurs. Thanks, Brad

My home CPU is a stock Dell XPS 8300 that's over 5 yrs old, i7, 2 gb Nvidia graphics, 16 mb ram, 1-T 7200 rpm hard drive and it still does Chief fine (I don't use Ray-Trace). My work cpu was built by our IT guy and he screwed up and bought a mother board that wouldn't accept an i7, so I only have an i5 with a 4 gb graphics card, 1-Terrabite 7200 Hard drive and this unit is 3 yrs old and running X8 fine (again, no ray-tracing). Both units are over 3 ghz and chugging along just fine, so future proofing with Chief ain't that big a deal if you start out with a modern machine.-BB

A belated thank you for this post. BB

Nice. Thanks also.-BB

Doi!! Thanks for pointing that out. I didn't think about it. But instead of making a suggestion, he's looking for one. Hence the confusion. -bb

I recently saw that Intel was coming out with a new i-9? processor to compete with AMD's new offerings.I don't know when or how pricey that new generation processor will be. I would make sure to stick with NVIDIA graphics cards as I noticed your first link was using an AMD graphics card. Other than that, I know nothing and there are others who may offer more and better info.-BB

I still don't understand the "1-Vertical Panel" thing. There aren't too many single panel garage doors (my grandfather's was and it had upper lites) used today so I don't understand why a door with more than one panel needs to be designated as 1-vertical panel in order to show the upper panel with glass? In older versions, I could put glass in the upper panels of plain garage doors (before we had the fancy carriage house style door library). Seems like Chief takes away some good basic stuff when they add fluff on a regular basis.-bb

As a designer, it would be nice to be able to design and properly detail a set of stairs. If I have to draw it with pencil on vellum (which is sometimes relaxing) then what good is Chief? Even at your level of required detail, a poor illustration or representation could lead to mistakes from your vendor. What about stairs for decks and the various simple ways to attach your newel posts? I can't be creative with a bad set of design tools (unless I learn and use a program like Sketchup). Look at the time that Problem Solver just invested and can't get it quite correct. That should be a wake up for Chief to give us better stair (and deck tools). I just had a freelance designer that we've contracted with to pick up some design work when I'm swamped interview with my employer. She's using Softplan and her 3d rendered images were a lot more realistic than mine ( I don't have time to wait for Raytrace images). Going to see if she has more control over her stairs when she does some drawing for us. -BB

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I don't think it's user error when Chief doesn't give you(us) the proper tools. I'm sure that Glenn or one of those guys that do genius things with the program that even the programmers hadn't thought of can come up with a complex solution/work-a-round that works but is no way intuitive or easy (or fast!). Your original stair looked great except for the inability to offset your railing independently of the "wall/railing" that controls it's location. They gave us a "newel offset" tool for deck and room railings but no offset for the railing, which is equally frustrating. Sorry I can't play with your plan until I get around to upgrading from X8 when I get time. Also at your mid-landing, I don't know why your lower section hand railing terminates into the fluted section of the mid-landing's newel.

Did you try eliminating the left stair rail in the newel part of the stair dbx? Then extend the landing railing over the stair and select "follow stair" in the wall/railing dbx. This is not something intuitive but I've had Glenn explain it to me on one of his thread replies. I would like to see more requests in the "Suggestions" forum continuing to ask for real controls for creating and actually detailing the stairs. Sucks when you know how to draw them with a pencil but your software can't accomodate.-BB

Chief needs to set it up (by default) that when you delete or move the object, CAD line etc that the arrow is pointing to, the arrow should not disappear nor should it follow the moved items. This could be an On/Off on the fly toggle or On/Off default setting in cases where one might want that type of behavior. Sometimes when I move objects or CAD lines that are in the same proximity as the the arrow, the arrow will follow that moved object. I'm surprised that this topic didn't get a lot more response.-BB

Thanks for the reply Michael. What am I missing when my text that I'm composing in the DBX is in alignment but when I view it in my layout sheet, the rows don't align? Admittedly, I'm not a wiz using word processing and tabs but shouldn't it still be WYSIWYG?-BB See attached screen shots

So, for something that should be extreamly simple: aligning with a tab or space bar, I'll have to learn some complicated BS Work-A-Round? Why even bother having half of the library items if they are so flawed? Maybe someone from Chief could explain how featureless/useless a feature is? I just want to use this stuff "Right Out of the Box". Before the X-series of upgrades, Chief was a lot more "Out of the Box" friendly.-BB

I'm using the Notes & Legends from the CAD Library (Statistics and Plan notes) and dropping it right into my layout sheet. Seems like this method worked a lot better in some of the older pre-X versions.

Was this issue addressed and fixed in X9? I can never get the text columns to stay aligned.-BB

Gotcha, yes very much in agreement. Also tweaking wall alignment and intersection issues as well as more and separate dimensioning tools (2d CAD only dimensioning mode etc).-BB PS the -BB at the end of my post is my initials (Brad Boltz) so was only referring to X9 not X9b, sorry for any confusion.

What would be gained by downloading Draftsight? 2d Cad that would integrate with SketchUp?-BB

I don't understand the question. I don't have X9, using the most updated version of X8. The only thing that saves me when working on a remodel with various floor elevations on the same floor level are my section & elevation views with manually created CAD floor elevation lines. Also, because of layer and wall alignment issues, especially when pony walls are added to the mix, I will locate certain wall corners or wall surfaces with a locked CAD line and put it on an Existing conditions CAD layer (locked) and copy it to all floors to make sure my walls are aligning properly. Some complicated wall layers don't allow all walls to align using the wall align above or below tool (the reason I keep asking for a Wall Section Alignment Graphic and dialogue box).-BB

And as I've said at least once before, Softplan and Chief should have an affair (without wearing dongle protection) and the offspring would benefit all of us. User definable wall heights, floor platforms and ceiling hgts that don't readjust because you've moved a wall etc. Learning curve wise, I self learned Softplan 8/9 while working for a builder through a temp agency during a 5 month span. At some point during that time period, I purchased a Chief '97 demo cd and manual for $25.00 (a terrific value and marketing device) and started playing with the program on my home computer. Compared to AutoCad (tried ACad 10, DOS version beginner's course at our community college and hated the interface), and DataCad (good price, promising 3d but very difficult to learn and use) both Softplan and Chief were the only two that drew walls in an intuitive, user friendly manor. Both programs allow a person to be self taught and become real world usable, fairly quickly. At first, Chief seemed a bit "Micky Mouse", like one of those $50 homeowner CAD programs (and it kind of was: re: identical interface as 3d Home Architect). Unfortunately, to a degree, all of Chief's current shortcomings are related to it's "Homeowner CAD" roots but it continues to improve (grow up). In my short stint using Softplan, I never got the hang of their cryptic roof tool (sort of like Chief's cryptic Terrain Tools). Softplan did have a killer roof dialogue box graphic which showed your birds mouth seat cut and HAP (height above plate) which you could adjust on the fly, which I would like to see implemented in Chief. Each program had good things to offer and Chief always had a slightly more user friendly intuitive feel that allowed the interface to get out of the way and allow me to draw. Lately, since the X-versions, I've been fighting the the loss of some of that intuitive feel. When I purchased Chief "97 I paid $599.00 or 699.00 on sale. At the time Softplan 9 or 10 was about $2 Grand, or I would probably bought Softplan because of it's material list (gives wall framing lumber count versus lumber lengths and had a good wall framing detail per wall section, similar to what Chief now has). Not having any real CAD background using AutoCad etc, I found Chief and Softplan to have much less intense learning curves compared to any other software I've tried to learn since. I started learning ArchiCad one summer in an architect's office a few years ago and my brain could not wrap around the drawing interface (having been spoiled by Chief's for over ten years). After 3 months, there was no way I could attempt to do a project in ArchiCad. I did see and use some CAD tools in ArchiCad that would be nice to have in Chief but I would expect Chief's developers to be continuously reviewing their competitor's software and user interfaces. Lately, I've been contemplating purchasing Sketch-Up Pro because I'm having a lot of difficulties with Chief's framing tools (inconsistant floor and roof truss behavior- I don't understand why Chief does roof trusses so cryptically).I've read about an architect that uses Sketchup to create complete sets of construction drawings (I wouldn't mind seeing Chief merger with SketchUp). I also hate the default automation of Chief's deck framing tool. I would like to just draw a closed polygon (still don't understand why Chief calls a polygon, a poly-line?) and set the framing parameters (joist size, spacing etc) and manually add my beams (boxed or dropped) and add a railing later. I don't like defining my deck perimeter using a railing (glorified wall tool). Chief's roof tool is the most versatile and creates the most stable areas of a drawing (roof doesn't automatically change hgts when you move walls or adjust floor hgts etc.). I wish they would stabilize or provide floor platform thickness and floor elevation locks so that a floor platform remains as drawn when moving interior partitions. Nuff said. I too have heard that Softplan's management is no where near as accessible and friendly as Chief's regarding issues and program suggestions. For now, Chief works best for me but I'm constantly looking over the fences to see if Softplan's grass has gotten any greener. Would like to hear more from current Softplan users regarding roof creation tools, wall heights and floor platform stability, oh yeah and do they allow you to draw a foundation wall that doesn't incorporate the sill plate in the calculation (eg" 97.5" for an 8' high cmu or poured wall in Chief)? Better yet, I'd like to hope some of those improvements are in X9-BB

Let's take it up a notch with a request to Chief. I've been doing this for many years. The only issue with it, is once you've created a "Non-Cased Opening", the opening is virtually impossible to select while in 3d or elevation view mode. I usually have to go to plan view in order to select the "uncased opening". Any one else have this same issue?-BB