rlackore

If it's just for decoration you can use Soffits - they can be set up to follow the slope of the ceiling plane. Check out page 779 of the X7 Reference Manual.

You can extract the image used in the SketchUp file and import into Chief using Build>Image>Create Image. Then it will have the proper "face me" behavior. EDIT: Or better yet, use Terrain>Plant>Create Plant Image. Then you can add all sorts of plant data if you want.

What we need is Chief to give us area lights, volume lights, dark lights, etc. These have been requested before, but the more people that post in the Suggestion Forum the better.

The symbol is just parts built from primitives - took about 1 minute. I created the Material texture image in Genetica (by Spiral Graphics), but it could just as easily be created in Gimp or Photoshop using the Selection tool to select areas to make transparent; then save the image as PNG file to preserve the transparency and use it in the Chief Material.

You can make a Symbol by creating a Face and assigning it a Material that uses the plant image as the Texture - BUT it's a pointless exercise because the Symbol won't behave like the plant Image - in other words it won't automatically turn to face the camera. Chief hasn't given us the ability to assign that kind of behavior to a Symbol - only to an Image.

You can also use a material with transparency to achieve this: It saves you some polygons.

Yeah, I understand that technology budgets are never given the priority they deserve. The nice thing about assets like the Xfrog plants and trees is that they never expire - no annual licensing fees - you buy it, you own it. I also understand that the boss usually expects more than a most employees can deliver within a reasonable time frame and budget. All you can do is explain to your boss that if he wants pretty flowers and trees, he needs to pay for them.

I don't believe there is an option to display to the main layer. There is nothing that allows this in Preferences, Defaults, or the Plan Footprint dbx.

Xfrog is a company. It's employees expect a paycheck. Most of their assets are used by professionals for commercial work that generates income. Have you EVER tried to model a flower or a tree? Not easy - though you could use Xfrog's excellent software for windows, only US $190, and create your own. If you monitor Xfrog's site they will periodically offer even more free stuff. Get on their mailing list if you want to be emailed offers. And I would assert that if you can invest US $2700 in Chief Premier, then you can afford US $169 for a flower bundle.

The faucet in your first post was created, and the material was mapped, in SketchUp. SketchUp has tools that allow mapping a photographic image to objects, including positioning the image, wrapping it around cylinders and corners, etc. Chief doesn't have these tools.

If you don't have any drafting or modeling experience, some terms can be confusing. Terms vary between software programs and professional disciplines. A profile is a representation of an object in outline represented or seen in a side view. A section is the profile of something as it would appear if cut through by an intersecting plane. Draw something in Chief. Literally anything with three dimensions: a wall, a slab, terrain - insert a symbol - whatever. Draw a wall and insert a window: Now cut a section through the wall at the window using Chief's Cross Section/Elevation tool: The Cross Section/Elevation view will automatically open. You are now looking at a section through the wall and window. To model a skate park ramp start with a blank plan. Use the Cross Section/Elevation tool to open a Cross Section/Elevation window. Don't worry that there is nothing visible - all you're actually doing is asking Chief to create a window that allows you to draw on an x/y-z plane. Now use the CAD tools to draw the profile of the ramp, just like I did here: Be sure that the profile is a closed polyline - in other words all the vertices need to be joined to form a closed loop - no open ends allowed. Now select the profile, click the Convert Polyline tool icon, and select Polyline Solid in the Convert Polyline dialog box: When the Polyline Solid Specification dialog box pops up you can change the properties. Use the Thickness setting to set the width of the ramp: Click OK to close the dialog box, shoot an Orthographic Full Overview, and admire your new ramp (use the All On layerset to make sure the ramp's layer is turned on): Once you understand the basic concepts it's a simple matter to create profile sections in Chief using the CAD tools; then give the profile section depth by converting it to a Polyline Solid. If you're still having trouble do a Google search - there's plenty of information out there. Have you downloaded and read the Chief Reference Manual? It has many topics that can help you understand the steps I've described above. I hope this helps - there isn't much more I can do to explain the process.

Xfrog.com is always offering free stuff, both 2D and 3D.

Read about pre-defined metals on page 854 of the Reference Manual. You can assign these in the Properties tab of the Define Materials dialog box: EDIT: Please note that these metals will only show up as shiny in a Raytrace.

All we're referring to is a closed polyline that describes the profile of the shape in a section view. For instance, to create the skate park sections in this picture: ...I opened a Cross Section/Elevation view and created these two closed polyline section profiles: ...then converted them to Polyline Solids.

If you're not creating the slab as part of the room's floor definition, then you can draw a polyline in the shape you need and use the Convert Polyline tool to create the slab.

Draw a closed polyline. Assign a solid fill to the closed polyline. Adjust the transparency setting.

No idea.

I'm sure you noticed this: So, yes, maybe this functionality has been lost.

Don't confuse Primitives with Polyline Solids. You can create all kinds of shapes with Polyline Solids - simply draw a section profile, then convert it to a Polyline Solid: The Reference Manual covers Polyline Solids starting on page 776. EDIT: When building the skate park elements be sure to create the section profiles in an elevation view.

How could you create a union of shapes that don't intersect each other? From the CA X7 manual in reference to creating a Union: "If the original objects do not overlap, they will either not produce a new object or will be duplicated on top of themselves."

Here is some more detail to what I outlined in post #2: 1. Create molding profile in plan view and save it to your User Library: 2. Shoot an elevation of the building (3D>Create Orthographic View>Cross Section/Elevation): 3. Create a detail from the elevation view (CAD>CAD Detail From View): 4. While in the Detail view select the lines across the top of the facade that you need to assign the molding to, then Edit>Copy, switch back to the Elevation view, and Edit>Paste Hold Position. Immediately (without de-selecting the lines) convert them to 3D Molding Polylines: 5. Assign the correct settings in the 3D Molding Polyline Specification dbx; you'll have to play with them to get them correct: 6. Work on each molding separately - sometimes when 3D molding polylines are close together they will behave unpredictably when editing them. You may have to move them away from each other and edit them one at a time. You can achieve a return at the ends by extending the a perpendicular leg an inch or so. With a bit of work you should be able to get what you're after: EDIT: You could also create a single instance of the molding in 3D, save it as a symbol, assign stretch planes, and plop it into your plan.

See what we mean? All you have to do is post the plan - and an instant answer!

Create the molding profile and save it to your Library. Shoot an elevation, then create a Detail From View. Select the lines from the Detail that define the top edges of the facade, copy them to the Elevation, and turn them into 3D Molding Polylines, assign the saved Profile, then position them in place.

Post your plan.

Xfrog is far from a scam. Can you model 3D trees? You have to pay for quality assets. Besides, there are many 2D and 3D models available from Xfrog for free. As far as the skate ramps, this is a quote from your first post: "I'm very new to CA and I'm trying to make some man-made hills & mounds for the landscaping in my project." No mention of skate ramps. To make skate ramps like you see in the video, I'd suggest learning to create Polyline Solids from closed Polylines, and review the Primitive Solids tools as well. Or you can model them in another program and import them into Chief Architect.