Rashid_Garuba

Edited my sig... I attached the Print View before... hmmm.

it is recommended to print to PDF first

 

many advantages to do so

 

Lew

That doesn't make any difference..

Print preview shows drawing fine... If I click fit to sheet in print dialog (after waiting) sheet is blank..

Just noticed the preview shows 2,541 pages... definitely the reason.. trying to figure this out.

NOTHING more annoying... having to reschedule appointment as a result..

Hello,,,

Trying to print a job I printed last week with no issues whatsoever... Just made minor revisions and it hangs in Print view for over 2 minutes.. then there are at least 20 nearly blank preview sheets .. (only 1 sheet in this job)...

@Rashid, you just saved me a ton of time. Check out the next two images. I only traced the critical area. The bulk of the elevation just gets a large cover. See the temp blue line for a point of reference.

 

In the plan file

less work.JPG

 

Then in layout

layout image.JPG

There's always a way in Chief.. I thought it was crazy tracing the whole outline..  You're welcome.. Ha!

Then you should stick with what you feel most comfortable with.  

 

Sometimes it is difficult to challenge ourselves to adapt to a different method in spite of the advantages of the different methods.

 

I am in the process of training a 45  year old who has been using a computer for many years.  A very very sharp guy.  He is right handed.  I suggested he switch to using the mouse in his left hand in spite of the fact he is right handed.  He embraced the challenge and now he wonders why he did not try it sooner.  He no longer has a problem using the mouse in his left hand.

 

This guy is using hot keys for just about everything he does.  No problem.  He recognizes the advantages.  He cannot imagine using the icons.

 

If someone told me I would do my work quicker by standing on my head,  I would do it.....   just saying....

Makes sense.. Most of us are right handed yet we use our less dominant hand to keyboard .. a more important task if you hot-key a lot... Still can't imagine switching though.. First I'd have to buy a left handed trackball.. (which by the way is MUCH quicker than a regular mouse.. ;-))

Octane is GPU only.  That means if you do not have a Cuda enable video card that is supported by the current version it does not work.  Octane is very new and is being developed quite rapidly.  Vray is a very nice engine so far as I know, but the reviews that I have seen like Octane a bit better.

 

Octanes claim to fame is that it is physically based and unbiased.  Very powerful yet time intensive process for CPU renderers.  Workflow is CA export to 3DS, Blender export to  obj.  There is a Plug In for Blender that I will probably pick up before long that would allow for physics features in animations from a Chief model.  Blender Cycles is worth a look as well, a bit spoiled already with Octane myself, but still intend to check it out.  Love to see a Plug In for Chief, not holding my breath.

 

The biggest advantage I have seen so far is speed for one, and the ability to fly around the scene "interactive interface" and as soon as you stop the camera the image is nice after 3-5 seconds.  I have had clients call it, and they both said 8 seconds was fine.  Nobody wants to wait on a standard render interface once they have seen Octane.  Basically real time ray tracing with clients present.  Higher setting will take longer of course. 

 

The disadvantage is learning how to run it at an advance level, very different from Chief.  Another disadvantage is not having materials readily available like we have in Chief.

Rod.. thanks

Would be nice have the poly only screen entities so you don't have to carefully trace... yes we are needy..

This is a work in progress test render created in Octane Render and the kitchen was created in Chief X7.  I still have a lot to learn to be able to run Octane anywhere near it's potential, but I like working with it so far.

 

Specs:  Direct lighting mode, 2500 samples, 2 min 11 sec,  good image at 8 sec but I let it cook a bit.  Only have a single default light so far, that is why there is no ceiling showing.  Still a lot of details to finish up the kitchen design.  Just thought I would pass this image and info along.

Hi Rod,

What is Octane biggest advantage over V-Ray, C4D.. etc.?  What's the work-flow like from Chief to Octane?

Thanks

AMD processors do not compete with Intel at this time at the high end of processors. They are a great low-budget alternative when choosing/building a system.

Intel definitely dominates the top end.. but nothing to regret with AMD.. I am using the FX-8350.. It is not too far off the i4790 4.0 for a bit over half the cost..

http://cpubenchmark.net/cpu_lookup.php?cpu=AMD+FX-8350+Eight-Core&id=1780

Hard to imagine a $6000 chip!

Joey,

I still start with paper but transition to PC asap... Old habits die hard but no growth without pain... Is there a setting that makes the tape measure only snap to main layers? Occasionally temporary dims are not enough..

Thanks for your thoughts

I used Chief from V9 to X1,.. quit and just came back.  I never got to power user stage for various reasons.  One that was key I think was keeping Chief out of my way in the very early design stages. I always felt a pressure to make decisions that were frequently undecided too early.. What ended up happening is I would get bogged down with wall types, fixtures.. etc. (I even had to be draw exterior walls clockwise only -- has that changed??) which ultimately meant I ended up much slower than I was in 2d CAD..

So this time I am building my "best practices" wiki so things go better this time. 

When starting a job I want to start with a 3.5" "design" wall (main layers only) and specify no defaults. (when I use layered walls I have to zoom in a lot to avoid extra layers with the measure tool) I simply want a piece of paper that happens to be to scale. Do others start this way? Will I run into issues later selecting same type and THEN setting defaults? The room planner uses this basic principle but I haven't used it much...

Thanks

Ditto what Gawdzira said. Stay away from AMD processors, you will regret it. 

Why avoid AMD??? I've had an AMD for years with no issues whatsoever... Building a new box right now with AMD again..

There is no video his post...?

Thanks..

I have looked far and wide... it's under my nose I know it...  I want dimensions to show 26'-0" rather than 26'...  Thanks

If any of the market leaders turn their attention to residential tools (which they have been focusing mainly on commercial), I really could see a near end to CA  - IF CA doesn't adapt before that.

In the old thread a few years back I mentioned the hope a bigger outfit with resources investing in CA.. Always comes down to how large a market there is.. currently CA may be too US Residential focused for that... BUT whenever profit margin AND scale is detected competition ALWAYS shows up... Better build your mouse trap so good others buy yours rather that develop their own.

Even Doug agrees modeless is the way to go. We aren't looking for "fancy".. All we want is to cut down dbx's and endless clicking.. I don't care how it's achieved. Maybe Chief shocks the world and finds and even better way.. fine. Just do "something"... 3D mouse still no support..<gg>..

Short-Term pain avoidance is at the very core of a lot of what ails us.. even as a country.

Dennis,

Those are very very good... It begs the question "what is Chief lacking the most?".. Were cabinets more in need of improvement or GUI/CAD? I know the answer: depends on who you ask.. .. I think Cabinets are easier to improve.

Rashid - I am a remodeling contractor. I and many others in my field use Chief for kitchen & bath design either as stand alone items or in conjunction with renovations and additions.

Dennis - Thanks for the info... Question for you.. how lacking were the K&B tools in X6? It seems the Suggestions section I don't often see many requests regarding Cabinets.

I used Chief years ago (ver 10) and am considering returning.. The GUI was a good part of why I stopped using Chief and it seems Chief has greatly improved BUT the GUI has not improved.  The GUI is the foundation and needs to be addressed.  The line editing post was absolutely hilarious and reminded me of the frustrations I had with Chief years ago. I saw a post of keyboard short-cuts from glennw that may placate the urgency.. I will see if I can bring those into the trial and give it a go.

Don't Kitchen/cabinet guys have specialized programs they use? In 25 years in residential architecture I have NEVER been asked to do any cabinet work so the effort in the cabinet area in X7 is baffling. Even if I did any cabinet work builders will NEVER use them but forward the plans to their K&B team.

I think Chief developers simply don't want to swallow the pill they will have to sooner or later. Clearly they under-estimate the impact of the current GUI.

I have seen some good result from Sketchup with the help of plugins.. That's my other option.