dshall Posted January 17, 2017 Author Share Posted January 17, 2017 3 minutes ago, Joe_Carrick said: Scott, Doesn't this do it for you? Thanks Joe, I have been so busy I am now only reading every 7nth word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bernie Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 im using for example 4-5 different .plan files open Im working on at once. (cutting and pasting CA items inside chief) they are all in their own different windows folder. I might have the same (or different) 3-4-5 text files open (I have 1 main text file for each project) each project has a unique 4 digit code number. so I can edit projectA.txt file, edit projectB.txt file, in CA have project B open (and loaded with projectB external text data from projectb.txt file), and switch to project A, (which will now show project B external text data, until, I force an update by opening the macro dialogue window. now the reason I know it is showing the 'wrong' external text data is in my text file I have the 4 digit code number, and at the top of my page (in .plan file) it is displaying the 4 digit project number (so I know which file it is reading (or last read from). it is a v easy system - takes longer to explain than to use. have found it bulletproof over the years. only p.i.t.a. item currently is I have to manually hardcode the directory path. i.e. want to load into a variable (without any layout files open) the path to the .plan file into a global var. inside the .plan file. (no .layout files open) in x7,x8 I dont believe you can. was wondering in x9 if Joe (?) managed to twist CA arm to give us that functionality. and yes, when my projects get closer to the final working drawings stage then yes, i switch methods back to having 1 layout file open, 1 main working drawing .plan file open. (cad details are in another .plan file to reduce size/improve speed of the main project .plan file linked to the layout file) and as Joe says, once finish a project, (or want to swap) I close CA, start a new session to be safe. I generally start a new session 2-3-4x a day to be safe. just good work practice. Bernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe_Carrick Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 Barry, No, we don't have the ability to get the .plan file path directly. However, I can provide a macro that when TMM is opened will set the path for the current plan. You would need to edit that macro in each plan (it would be unique to each plan) by copy/pasting the full path name. Once done it would be a simple matter of opening TMM any time you are in a plan. The other option would be to have that macro embedded in a Label or Text Box on each Floor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaskan_Son Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 14 minutes ago, Joe_Carrick said: Barry, No, we don't have the ability to get the .plan file path directly. However, I can provide a macro that when TMM is opened will set the path for the current plan. You would need to edit that macro in each plan (it would be unique to each plan) by copy/pasting the full path name. Once done it would be a simple matter of opening TMM any time you are in a plan. The other option would be to have that macro embedded in a Label or Text Box on each Floor. 49 minutes ago, bernie said: only p.i.t.a. item currently is I have to manually hardcode the directory path. i.e. want to load into a variable (without any layout files open) the path to the .plan file into a global var. inside the .plan file. (no .layout files open) in x7,x8 I dont believe you can. was wondering in x9 if Joe (?) managed to twist CA arm to give us that functionality. What Joe said above is basically the way I handle it. Not sure what exactly you mean by "hardcoding" but I posted the basic macro format I use earlier in the thread... $FilePath = ' PASTE FILE PATH HERE '.to_s.strip.gsub("\\", "/") + "/" I just set copy and paste the file path into that macro which is set to display off to the side in my plan (you can set the file path text to display too just so you can visually verify that the path is correct anytime you're in doubt). That global variable is then used in other macros as necessary. Like I said earlier, there is also a way to use a layout box in the plan file itself but that requires manually linking the layout box to the correct plan file as well...pretty much just as easy to copy and paste the file path to a macro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RL-inc Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 Scott- Sorry to be so late in responding. I won't be able to attend the GTM - with all melt off and water damage we are having I am crazy right now. Thanks for the offer and I hope to attend one in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HumbleChief Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 Hey Joe and others. A bit late to this party but I can think of a macro I could use and perhaps you've already done so Joe? Let's say I am doing a remodel and I am adding 235 SF. I am currently using a macro to show the added space within a poly line label. In this case I manually draw a polyline box that encompasses the newly remodeled area and in the label field I use %area.round(0)% or similar to give me the area of the room addition. If the room size changes I change the size of the box to match a refer t the new label for new SF figures. What I would like is to have that label figure be reflected in my property data calcs. As the box size and SF changes I would like the data field in the project data field to be updated automatically. The more I write this I have the feeling you already have this more than figured out. If I can make the GTM perhaps you can show how these types of macros work real world? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe_Carrick Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 Larry, If you are able to make the GTM Friday at 3:00 I will be demoing my system along with some other pretty cool macros. I see you are signed up so I look forward to showing you what I have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capitaldesigns Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 Please count me in on the meeting. Thanks, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComputerMaster86 Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 Count me in on this meeting. I am interested in attending. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshall Posted January 20, 2017 Author Share Posted January 20, 2017 13 hours ago, capitaldesigns said: Please count me in on the meeting. Thanks, Mike Please send me your email. It looks like we have 24 folks, 25 is the max. there may be a few more that will request to attend, I will send out email invites at 2:45 PM PST, please show as soon as you can, I will send any newly requested emails at 2:55 PM, after that it is first come first serve. We will start promptly at 3:00 PM PST. Thank you for your interest. DIPSH**HALL, Jon Scussel (Spelling corrected), NYGreg, Perry (because he always shows up), Ray Rood the "Fireman", OKC, MARK MCA, JOE CARRICK, ROBERT EVANCE, "ALAN HIP WADERS LEHMAN" (you guys figure out what "hip waders mean") , DAVID SKOGG, CHOPSAW, LARRY "HOT KEY" HAWES, MOE G., SCOTT MENARD, BRIAN NEWKIRK , CHARLES VOLZ, MATT KENNEDY, ALAN BUTLER, JPC (i always love to hear what JPC has to offer), ZOWIE (I BET HE IS GREEK OR FROM THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA), CHRIS ROOD, LANCE VOORHEIS, PARKWEST, CAPITAL DESIGNS, ..................... 25 TO DATE 25 MAX 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parkwest Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 Sign me up, if you still have an open spot. Do you still have my email from earlier? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopsaw Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 For those that can not attend or did not sign up on time I will try to record and post the video here for the morning after. Also I am sure there will be lots of great stuff that we will all want to review. Good Morning all. Here is the raw footage after an 8.5 hour upload. There is a spot about 6 minutes in where I completely lost audio but it was only for about a minute, there are other parts that are rather laggy but if you can put up with that, there is some really great information contained here. Many thanks to Joe and Scott for putting this together and Michael for his macro's that were demonstrated. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshall Posted January 20, 2017 Author Share Posted January 20, 2017 2 hours ago, Chopsaw said: For those that can not attend or did not sign up on time I will try to record and post the video here for the morning after. Also I am sure there will be lots of great stuff that we will all want to review. I swear, I hate this new format on ChiefTalk, I spend more time trying to answer a question than I spend with my wife. Hey guys, I have received several question about whether we are still on for today.... yes we are..... as soon as Trump finishes parade or I finish my nutria-system bar, we are on..... IOW, 2:45 PM PST, 35 minutes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshall Posted January 20, 2017 Author Share Posted January 20, 2017 I just sent out invites, if you did not get one, let me know....... somehow I think JPC did not get an invite.... I swear, that guy is a mystery to me....... 6 months ago I flew 3500 miles to see him and he dissed me.... but I love him... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoeGia Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 Nothing here; could you resend? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshall Posted January 21, 2017 Author Share Posted January 21, 2017 Here are a couple of vids on Michael's method. Not great vids, Michael also did some vids on his method.If you guys can get through an hour of boredom watching the vids, you will probably find the time spent was well worth it. PART 1 PART 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshall Posted January 21, 2017 Author Share Posted January 21, 2017 One final point. With these area poly lines we have been talking about FAR, COVERAGE, IMPERVIOUS AREAS, etc. But do not forget required attic ventilation vent requirements and crawl space ventilation requirements. Take the area of the (3) attics, add them together divide by 150, multiply by 144 to convert to square inches, divide by the area of each vent, stomp you feet 3 times hit enter, and you will get the required number of roof vents. Change the polyline that represents the attic area because your client could only afford a 1500 sf home in lieu of a 4500 sf home, and you get the new number of required attic vents. This can be very powerful stuff that will minimize errors and time on a project, really good stuff. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HumbleChief Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 It is really time for a new title to this thread as X9's new features haven't been mentioned but a few times but either way in regards to yesterday's GTM, thanks for hosting Scott and thanks to Joe for all the great macro possibilities, there's a lot more to explore than I thought. One thing I'd like to add is that I am the most macro-phobic person there is and not because i haven't found the few I use to be useful but because the setup is so complex and most results seem easier to insert manually and move on but I have always been interested in an area analysis that was relatively simple, accurate, and flexible. I purchased Michael's Area Analysis videos HERE and plans and found that using the DIY videos I was able to create a custom Area Analysis that seems to fit my needs though I haven't used it real world yet. The videos were clear and the best part was at the end I kinda knew how to create my own custom poly lines with areas and formulas for calculating various areas. I have a few real world questions that should be answered on my next couple jobs but I am optimistic and would highly recommend the purchase to see if it fits your work flow.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HumbleChief Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 1 minute ago, dshall said: One final point. With these area poly lines we have been talking about FAR, COVERAGE, IMPERVIOUS AREAS, etc. But do not forget required attic ventilation vent requirements and crawl space ventilation requirements. Take the area of the (3) attics, add them together divide by 150, multiply by 144 to convert to square inches, divide by the area of each vent, stomp you feet 3 times hit enter, and you will get the required number of roof vents. Change the polyline that represents the attic area because your client could only afford a 1500 sf home in lieu of a 4500 sf home, and you get the new number of required attic vents. This can be very powerful stuff that will minimize errors and time on a project, really good stuff. Since I actually understood how to create formulas after the videos I can see a LOT of cool possibilities using simple poly line boxes. Again real world will be the test for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HumbleChief Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Nice job on the vids Scott. I was wondering about the second floor and you answered that question nicely. I wonder if Michael can create a more user friendly version of this for second floors? Or is it even needed once one gets the work flow figured out? And one more shout out to Michael's video's and plans - WELL worth the $15. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HumbleChief Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Small note to anyone using Michael's method. I was using rich text and there were some formulas that wouldn't read correctly but when I changed to a regular text box it added some easier flexibility. Also MAJOR issues when using a CAD detail for the site plan. Haven't figured that one out yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OkcDesigner Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Thank you to everyone, for letting me be fly on wall at the meeting........... Yesterday.......... Very good info, seems like I'll be getting some more macros soon....... I'll have my brain around some of this by next meeting??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRAWZILLA Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 4 hours ago, dshall said: One final point. With these area poly lines we have been talking about FAR, COVERAGE, IMPERVIOUS AREAS, etc. But do not forget required attic ventilation vent requirements and crawl space ventilation requirements. Take the area of the (3) attics, add them together divide by 150, multiply by 144 to convert to square inches, divide by the area of each vent, stomp you feet 3 times hit enter, and you will get the required number of roof vents. Change the polyline that represents the attic area because your client could only afford a 1500 sf home in lieu of a 4500 sf home, and you get the new number of required attic vents. This can be very powerful stuff that will minimize errors and time on a project, really good stuff. Great idea-Scott this is another thing that macros could handle. New and existing attic;s. Also different roof's (tile, compo., metal, have different size vents, so the number might change, I use Ohagens vents Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jscussel Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Using X9, I had Chief make a Living Area Poly and found that Chief didn't split the wall between Living Area and the Garage. Is this new in X9? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dskogg Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 It was good to learn about these macros.. i currently do mostly renovation design build.. I go to customers home and input their existing home into a 3D as built and then do a design and price Reno. i am looking for ways to automate the material quantities for pricing purposes. with x9 I wonder if a room schedule could export martial quantities by room? Or maybe I use poly lines for flooring and wall tile? David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now