Rashid_Garuba

On 12/25/2016 at 9:03 PM, mthd97 said:

 A merger or takeover would be worth it for me

Me thinks a merger with a larger, deep-pocketed Company is what is needed.. More resources... more programmers. As Johnny has mentioned before, the advantages CA has over others is shrinking and a semi-Automated Vectorworks or Archicad Residential could surprise someday.  Hopefully they see this market as worthwhile someday.  Ultimately a matter of how motivated the CEO/President(s) at Chief are (or will become).. 

Some of the suggestions that the "establishment" don't want/need (CAD, 3D modelling) open Chief to new Markets which helps Long-Term.. 

13 minutes ago, HumbleChief said:

post without some specific details for needed improvements Chief is really lost as to how to improve the current features.

I really, reeeaaally hope not... Can't imagine a vendor for Medical equipment software not having healthcare professionals on staff or as consultants.. I think stairs are basically VERY high hanging fruit because Chief's wall automation has a VERY hard time with multiple objects - walls, handrails, frieze boards, skirt boards.. occupying the same space... Isn't this one of the causes of issues with Chief? mis-aligned walls delete/displace anything else..

Dave,

Crazy here in Atlanta. The miracle of cheap money. Managing resources IS the secret to running a great business.

Scott,

Bad day? He/She WAS proud of the renderings...

I think it's more interior decorating taste that is unique rather than the renderings themselves.

Make CADD great again.

LOL!!

You've got to try to be good enough in Design to target the high end where the margins are better to have a chance at higher Hourly rates... Or you become a lower end, paycheck "employee".. Point being you don't want to be in a place where a high volume of commodity work is REQUIRED to pay the bills. Your age and bills become a factor as well..

Learning difficulty depends on the house and scope of the project. Small ranch on slab with hips everywhere you'll feel like a hero which is deceiving. The irony is it tends to be the more complex jobs that require 3d.. which is the way I started in Chief a looong time ago. Quit using it due to frustrations and hours stuck. Came back a few months ago and it is much better than before.

Get help.. either a live tutor or a good step by step training manual. FAST PC required. DO NOT learn with a paying, deadlined, complex project. Learn Hotkeys.

I see the movement as a clandestine way to make the masses almost happily accept the coming lowering of living standards.

Fact is there would be NO reason for any extra sets whatsoever if sets didn't automatically change on you. Users have adapted to what IS a short-coming.

It's a very simple question: Is is not better to avoid creating/needing extra safety sets???? If a new feature will improve the working lives of some (many?) without being negative for anyone why not?

You all know you can have more than 1 electrical Anno-set, just create a new electrical Anno-set with furniture and framing. 1 click is all you need.

I though anno-sets refer to whatever is in the layer set.. If I inadvertently modify a layer set, will the anno-set override that?

Rashid,

 

I am not sure I fully understand your question.

Are you suggesting that under no circumstances would a user want to alter their layer sets?

Glenn,

Sure I would like to alter layer sets but only to do so permanently by saving... not by hiding or turning on a layer.

Ok I will suggest this... Glenn, great idea but why would anyone want their layer sets altered in the first place?

Perry.. I do have some Anno-sets I use but I will need a lot for every possible view... ?

So I am working and temporarily hide a layer.. Then later I find I forgot to turn that layer back on in that set (The set was altered by hiding a layer). I love to hide stuff I am not working on a lot, So I find myself often checking to make sure I didn't forget something off... I think layer sets should only change with a save button...

or I am missing something?

My latest Project, a 26,000 SF home to be built in Pflugerville, Texas:

 

https://skfb.ly/QqUY

 

DJP

David... Are those A/C units under the Garage Windows???  I remember a 21,000 Sf. home I designed for an Indian Family with a racquet-ball court in the basement.. They kept saying: Bigger.. BIGGER!.. Not easy to switch to the limitless budget mindset.. Of course there was a limit when it came to fees..

I don't do many remodels but digital measuring tools look interesting...

http://www.digitaltrends.com/home/roomscan-app-iphone-floor-plans/

http://www.sensopia.com/english/index.html

Anyone tried them?

Same here..

Thanks Michael.. You read my response #46? worked great.. Please don't spend your precious time on a video.. thanks.

Hmm.. This would be very helpful.

The column I made with molding Polys.. no option to make a CAD block out of them. Perhaps the Column should have been built differently?

file attached.. Thanks.

EDIT: Glenn I see your note about CAD blocks only... Thanks again.

Thanks for the tip Mark..

Play.plan

For the life of me I never understood what Windows 10 had that people wanted to upgrade for.. May have been "free" but not really.. Risk has a cost. Thrilled with Windows 7 here. Honestly there is NO benefit of 10 over 7 worth upsetting my cart for.. Now 3.0 to 3.11 for workgroups was a killer upgrade... 3.11 to 95.. sure. But these days like with mobile phones Windows matured back in XP and Microsoft has been out of ideas since.

Michael,

Blocked column so only center can be used to place..

Needed to align top of tapered edge with frame which cannot be snapped..

Drew dashed line to locate where center of column would need to be to achieve such alignment..

Then used evenly distribute copy...

took 30 seconds.. so now I "gain" 29 mins and 30 seconds every time I do this...

The thing to keep in mind in chief is due to the frequent lack of snapping availability you must use guides of some sort.

Thanks for offering.. you are a big asset to Chieftalk..

WOW when I use VCAD I draw a line across the room and goo to "divide" and put in the number of segmaents. Of course this was in the 1984 version. It takes a while for Chief to mature. (wisea** Ron)

Thought I had seen it all....! Had to space some blocked columns (so there was nothing to snap to) today at an angled porch.. Spent 30 minutes on it and still don't have them exactly where I want.

One simple divide tool to divide ANYTHING (including a distance defined by clicking 2 points - in which case it should place points) into any number of segments. There is a reason 99.9% of CAD apps do it this way.. 

That's a gem Curt.. Thanks for sharing it.

This reminds me of a good analogy... I am an avid car guy... Sports cars, and particularly Porsche.. When they started SUV development the outcry from the 911 core was deafening.. "They are diluting the brand".. "Dr. Ferry Porsche is spinning in his grave".. "What's next, trucks"??  Well time has passed and because of those SUVs the sports cars are better than ever due to SUV profits..

Generally new ideas are feared because of worry it will risk current productivity... Johnny has posted bits of his work and EVERYONE compliments him.. the feared architect. 

Those early and established tend to protect turf and not "tip the boat"... Even the long-term power users will tell you Chief can be a pain even for them... Imagine what it is for a new user, once they get into high end residential...? Is it too much to ask to move towards ease of use - i.e. consistency?? For 3d shapes to require you to remember which views in which this or that was created is an alien concept. It took me a while to figure this out because I ASSUMED it to BE view independent. If you can go from A to B in a straight line why in the world go through D first..? At some point you start to question your own IQ level.

So I started contracting out my Chief work out due to the difficulty in forecasting project completion time.

Ultimately Chief needs more resources to make greater enhancement every version.. Therefore a larger user base (Architects included) helps everyone here. So the question is "How do you attract more Users?"....