rlackore

I'm totally confused by your description, but I'm not the sharpest tool in the greenhouse. If you're looking to fabricate a space frame out of 2x2 HSS, I'd consider welded connections. As far as modeling this in CA is concerned, maybe draw the outline of the bent in a CAD elevation, then convert to a solid, copy at your preferred spacing, and then drop in more solids for the girts, etc.

Oh, now I feel stupid. Thanks for the clarification. Sorry, Glen.

Okay, now I understand the arrow thing: But I still don't see any difference with the Rotate About setting. Here is with Rotate About set to Object Center: Here is with Rotate About set to Current Point:

Let's say you've drawn a stub wall. Now you need to lengthen it to 5'6" from 4'6". Open the dbx, lock the appropriate end, and enter the length. Nope, I'd never noticed that either. I assume you're referring to the triangle that lets me rotate the wall. Thanks for that tidbit. I don't understand this. Regardless of my Resize About setting, everything looks the same to me.

Maybe you have the "Walls, Main Layer Only" layer turned on; if so, then the sheathing and brick cladding won't show.

Okay. Too much brain energy expended on thinking, though. I'm going to use the "s" and "e" indicators. Thanks.

Cripes. One little checkbox, buried where I never would have looked unless you'd mentioned it. I searched the X6 manual for "wall end" and "wall start", with no hits; I never thought to search for "start indicator" or "end indicator", but there they are on page 109. Thanks Perry.

Is there any way to determine visually, in the plan file, which is the start and which is the end of a wall? When I select a wall, I wish one of the end points would be colored, or a different shape, or something. I always guess wrong which end to lock, or which end to to make "through wall", etc. This is driving me nuts.

Thanks Joe.

In ACAD all it takes is one click, because you can have a dockable window open that displays all the layers, their properties (color, line style, etc), states (locked, hidden, etc), layer filters (layer sets), etc. ACAD also has dockable windows for object properties, referenced files - a whole bunch of stuff. This is a strength of ACAD that CA should try to implement so we aren't slaves to the multiple levels of dbxs.

If you've grouped the chairs and table into an Architectural Block, then the z-order gets all messed up. If the chairs and table aren't blocked, you should be able to select the table and send it to front via the toolbar button - but it's true that you can't control symbol draw order by the dbx.

Joe, Can you share the plan file? Thank you.

Larry, Do I HAVE to show a return? No - I imagine the house will get built just fine without it. But, as long as we're trying to get things right, I think this situation should show correctly in plan. The drywall return shows up in ortho, but of course any room moldings don't build along the return. So in instances like this, CA has it only half right. We always talk about building the model correctly. Well, in this case, I can't - and this is a pretty common condition.

Other than fixing this issue with CAD, is anyone aware of a method to generate a drywall return at a change in wall thickness?

Amen. It would also be nice if we could edit the schedule text directly, which would update the component data without the need to track down the actual object within the plan.

I commiserate with the OP on the difficulty of coming to grips with a move from ACAD to CA. There are a lot of settings in CA that are very useful, but are buried deep within defaults or preferences and many layers of dbxs. One of the strengths of ACAD is that you have instant access to these variable settings through a command line interface, or through AutoLisp. I think what is really missing from the grid snap / distance function is the ability to discretely set (through clicking on the screen or direct coordinate entry) the origin for the grid/coordinate system. This request has been mentioned several times before, both in this forum and the Suggestion forum.

Not as well as an automatic solution, which would give me a "pie slice" cabinet that would look correct in plan, elevation, and ortho. CA handles the situation reasonably well if I turn the corner with more cabinetry - but it can't build the condition correctly if I terminate the run at the corner.

Creating a shallow cabinet didn't occur to me. This method looks fine in elevation, but requires more work for plan and ortho. Thanks for the tips.

Lew, that would be the best. I'm just happy that CA chose a recognized standard and implemented it well.

Is there a way to place cabinets in this corner, using CA's standard cabinet tools, so that I get a nice "pie slice" filler? I can't figure this out, and any help would be appreciated.

Okay Lew, point taken, I was wrong. Other methods are used. Other opinions are available. Regardless, CA closely follows the ANSI standard. If people are interested in learning more about the hows and whys, they can reference the standard.

Thanks for the Preference option Perry - this helps me a lot.

Lew, Of course there is variation - all ANSI standards are voluntary unless mandated by the governing jurisdiction. That said, there is broad use of this standard throughout the industry, and the CA implementation conforms very closely to the ANSI methodology.

General Plan Defaults>Living Area To Selecting Main Layer will calculate Standard Area to the exterior face of the Main Layer. Selecting Surface will calculate Standard Area to the exterior face of the exterior finish of the wall, minus bay, box, and bow windows. This is in line with the ANSI Z765 method for calculating square footage, which is what developers, marketers, and realtors use.

You may want to check this post: https://chieftalk.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?/topic/1743-recessed-window-casing-brick-walls/?hl=window