Save As Dilemma

[cjanderson66]

 So my client has decided that she would like to see the house moved forward by 8' to show the neighbors how the proposed design would look at the current house setback.  Now the new home has a CC&R setback of 40' to the city setback of 25'.  My dilemma is that how do I move the entire house on the plan but still save the current configuration in the existing layout?  Do I have to a save as and create a whole new layout as well, which is what I am assuming?  I just have a horrible feeling that she is going to also want to flip the entire house as well.  Man some clients can just turn a nice set of hair grey!!!!

[robdyck]

For this type of scenario, I create a sub-folder in the project folder, then copy and rename the plan and layout file as needed. Yes, if you need to use the 'new' layout file, you'll need to relink the layout boxes.

I'll make copies of the plan as often as necessary in order to keep other plan versions which, like you alluded to, may become relevant again. Once the project is completed, I'll delete the unused files if they're of no further value to me.

But to your original question, you could use layer control, and saved views to show an optional building placement. Remember, you move the lot, not the house!

[Renerabbitt]

10 minutes ago, cjanderson66 said:

grey

Adding on to what Rob said, you can save your terrain model as a symbol in your library and place it as many times as you want in any configuration you want..same with the neighbors house

[robdyck]

6 minutes ago, Renerabbitt said:

Adding on to what Rob said, you can save your terrain model as a symbol in your library and place it as many times as you want in any configuration you want..same with the neighbors house

Exactly. Super easy to show various site positioning options. Convert to a symbol and assign a new layer, like "Terrain Perimeter, Option 2".

Once the client has signed off on the site positioning, you can move any CAD, text, dimensions, etc necessary for the site plan into the 'new' final position using the point-to-point move tool. Just place some temporary points to help with accuracy.

[cjanderson66]

Thanks for the feedback guys.  I have never used the Terrain as a symbol but I get the idea or jist of it.  Although I am a bit hesitant because of all the additional stuff on my plans that I have, i.e. trees, contours, setbacks elev. heights, etc...

[lbuttery]

Hmmm, I have always made the house a symbol

 

then placed it on the master file that has the terrain

 

very easy to move the house symbol around as needed

 

Lew

[DzinEye]

1 hour ago, lbuttery said:

I have always made the house a symbol

Huh?.. I was just wondering about this in a different thread.  How the heck do you do that Lew?  Add to library is not an available option if I select the whole house.  You must have to turn off certain layers I guess?  Which ones?  If I only have walls, windows and doors on it allows, but otherwise no.

[robdyck]

It's important to understand which will be simplest to convey the options to the client. If the terrain is more complicated than the structure, it may very well be beneficial (to you) to convert the house to a symbol to aid the client in the decision making process. That being said, a simple solid that is more or less the shape of the house would serve that purpose without slowing your computer down the way complex symbols will. If you start converting these complex items into symbols, you almost certainly will wish you had separate files as opposed to several repeats of the same symbol in one plan file. That would slow my computer to an unbearable pace.

[Renerabbitt]

58 minutes ago, DzinEye said:

How the heck do you do that Lew?

See this post, it has houses as symbols. You can pull a perspective overview and use Tools/Symbol/Convert To Symbol/ and it will convert any visible geometry.

Its helpful to turn all interior layers off as well as framing, floors etc.

Much easier, IMO, to CAD block trees and foliage and terrain and convert to seymbol

 

[Kbird1]

1 hour ago, DzinEye said:

Huh?.. I was just wondering about this in a different thread.  How the heck do you do that Lew?  Add to library is not an available option if I select the whole house.  You must have to turn off certain layers I guess?  Which ones?  If I only have walls, windows and doors on it allows, but otherwise no.

 

This may point you in the right direction ...............

 

https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-00344/modeling-a-subdivision-or-lot-with-multiple-structures.html

[joey_martin]

Rob and others have ideas that work...seems wordy and overdone though. I simply hit SAVE AS and use _move 8 feet and go for it. I HATE...HATE....sub-folders and copies upon copies. I do a save as and as soon as the client realizes I was right, I simply delete the turd and move on without having to re-link a bunch of files. I have one simple..simple rule....one layout file per job...PERIOD! I can put a thousand different plans, elevations, details, etc...on that one single layout file and let Chief do all the work of "warehousing" everything. As long as my SAVE AS and layouts are in the same folder, I am golden. You can also add a page for the options and delete them when they don't get used.

[DzinEye]

17 hours ago, Kbird1 said:

 

This may point you in the right direction

 

17 hours ago, Renerabbitt said:

See this post, it has houses as symbols

Thanks guys!  Interesting you have to do it from a 3D overview.  Kind of like exporting to Chief viewer.  I can now see it's not quite what I was imagining, but would def. be useful in some situations.
 

[DzinEye]

17 hours ago, joey_martin said:

Rob and others have ideas that work...seems wordy and overdone though. I simply hit SAVE AS and use _move 8 feet and go for it. I HATE...HATE....sub-folders and copies upon copies. I do a save as and as soon as the client realizes I was right, I simply delete the turd and move on without having to re-link a bunch of files. I have one simple..simple rule....one layout file per job...PERIOD! I can put a thousand different plans, elevations, details, etc...on that one single layout file and let Chief do all the work of "warehousing" everything. As long as my SAVE AS and layouts are in the same folder, I am golden. You can also add a page for the options and delete them when they don't get used.

I'm using this method too, but I have to say it's still rarely that simple.  You're mighty lucky if you only ever have just one outstanding option that you're waiting for a client to decide on so you can just go back to your original or whatever.  Or do you just say you're not going to do any further work until a decision is made?  Seems it's not unusual for me to have one or two options outstanding and before those are decided on by the players I have to continue to move forward with other plan/model development, and then sometimes I guess right and do that development in the chosen plan and sometimes I'm wrong and I have to copy things over to the other plan...which can be a royal PITA depending what was done.

[joey_martin]

@DzinEye I'm still a little old school when it comes to hashing out ideas. I don't sit in front of Chief and do a ton of changes. I print the floor plan(s) and elevations and use a roll of tracing paper with the client to work out options. Changing Chief files over and over again is not something I am going to do. Old school still works for planning and talking with clients. 

[cjanderson66]

Well to add to the confusion!!! My client just called and now she wants to move the whole house forward by 5' and flip or reverse the design all together. I'm with you @joey_martin, still Old School, print plan and elevation and roll up around a good ole canary sketch paper.  But, this time is has got me puzzled and leads me to @Kbird1for the reversing a plan and @Renerabbittmaking a symbol out of the plan.  I have gotten that far but the problem with a symbol I am having with the plan is I cannot move the plan to a specific location without exploding it first.  Not that that is a problem because then I just have to move each floor to that x,y location.... Make sense?  Or is there another way

[Renerabbitt]

MIND POSTING YOUR PLAN FILE WITH A FEW ANNOTATIONS TO ILLUSTRATE WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO ACCMOPLISH...oops sorry all caps, was draftig..not gonna re-type that

 

[cjanderson66]

7 minutes ago, Renerabbitt said:

MIND POSTING YOUR PLAN FILE WITH A FEW ANNOTATIONS TO ILLUSTRATE WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO ACCMOPLISH...oops sorry all caps, was draftig..not gonna re-type that

 

I would but this file is huge.  Here is the issue I am having.  I did what you suggested and converted the house into a symbol after I reverse the plan.  Now the house is a symbol and I can't get it back to an actual plan.  Is there a way to explode the symbol so it is back to my plan with walls, roof etc.  Man this is frustrating sometimes.

[Renerabbitt]

3 minutes ago, cjanderson66 said:

I would but this file is huge.  Here is the issue I am having.  I did what you suggested and converted the house into a symbol after I reverse the plan.  Now the house is a symbol and I can't get it back to an actual plan.  Is there a way to explode the symbol so it is back to my plan with walls, roof etc.  Man this is frustrating sometimes.

My suggestion was to convert your terrain and landscaping to a symbol, much easier IMO. I think I remember suggesting you copy your plan over to a new file for each new day of work so you don't listen your projects. Might have to dig through archives, no way to reverse that without undo.

[Renerabbitt]

Do you have a cloud service you can upload to and share?

 

[Kbird1]

2 hours ago, cjanderson66 said:

Now the house is a symbol and I can't get it back to an actual plan. 

 

If you assumed you could explode the House Symbol in the Terrain Plan you were assuming incorrectly , as a symbol it is just a bunch of "faces" ie a hollow box.

 

You would need to do the Opposite as Rene said , use the same technique to turn the Terrain into a Symbol and bring it into the House Plan, just make sure the Terrain is Finished 1st as once again, once it is a symbol it can no longer be exploded or edited as normal.

 

Mick.