What Would Be 1 Thing You Would Love To See Ca Fix Or Add?

[lbuttery]

Glenn:

 

I just posted one in the the "living area annoyance" thread

 

with my health issues I really don't have time to concentrate on much these days

sorry if you don't understand that

 

what energy I have is being spent my museum

 

If you are truly interested in the benefit of recorded macros

you will stop issuing challenges and try thinking of some yourself

 

but I will be watching this forum and anytime I see repeatable steps that can benefit

from a recorded macro I will point them out

 

who knows I may even have a day free of other activities and will bang around in chief

and document a few others

 

I will play your game even though I am sure you will try your best to shoot each example down

but I will post them anyways for others who may be really be interested in the benefits

 

Lew

[Ed_Downunder]

Auto update elevations. The disconnected elevations has no logic to it. A layout should reflect the plan without having to select each and every elevation on a page to update. Can't even group select. This is particularly difficult if late in plan development the client changes  or even just tweaks a few thing. Update elevations is not a feature it goes to the core of practicality.

[lbuttery]

Glenn:

 

I just added another recorded macro in this thread:

 

https://chieftalk.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?/topic/3051-why-isnt-line-weight-in-plan-and-layout-the-same/

 

that's two

 

Lew

[ACADuser]

Thanks for the example Lew, I can make one to change all my existing plans text sets to "Ariel Narrow"

[lbuttery]

Alan:

 

yes, the power of macros and recorded macros will be "legion"

once CA gives access to all the data internal to Chief

 

Lew

[rlackore]

A real brick ledge (and reverse brick ledge) tool that doesn't make me jump through hoops.

[Rosco2017]

Wouldn't life be great if you could could have "automatic" arched brick lintels? LOL That would save me a lot of time! LOL 

[Jay_on_Cape]

Has to be stairs.

[4hotshoez]

Enhanced section cuts.

The stair might display better if we had a way to slice the plan horizontally at any elevation, say a cut at 60" off the floor, looking down, which would show only things below the 60" cut. We can do this in 3D in standard view, but it would be cool to do this in any view style in parallel view. So in essence there would be a plan camera. Also with the cut with any section, vertical or horizontal, the planes cut would show a thick line or option to thicken or create a closed polygon on a layer that can be filled and have a line weight control. Archicad and Sketchup can do something like this.

[joey_martin]

Lew that macro example is totally bogus! You described something that is taken care of in the profile templates for the plan and layout files. You are describing that macro like its something that users do on a regular basis....I haven't used any of those settings in years! Long drawn out record-able macros would be for users that don't know what they are doing within the program, and aren't likely to learn with crutches like those.

[ACADuser]

Joey,

I found the macro useful as a newbie because I am still sorting out may templates.

And from the look of it it may be a month or so before I can figure out what all needs to be changed in the templates.

 

Far more powerful would be Ruby with full access to the environment & objects.

At that point your imagination would be the only limitation.

[lbuttery]

....I haven't used any of those settings in years!

 

Joey:

 

so what ???

 

Glenn had a need to post them

therefore the macro would have use for a newbie

 

 record-able macros would be for users that don't know what they are doing within the program, and aren't likely to learn with crutches like those

 

sorry to disagree but when time allows I plan to show how recorded macros can be used

for creating demos just like Scott and others do

 

they can be run step by step inside the plan

the viewer can then examine the various dbx settings etc - then continue on

 

these are also just examples of how to use recordable macros

there a zillion other "tasks" that could be useful to some, while others for others

 

open your mind to the possibilities

instead of being a "nattering nabob of negativity" ....

 

Lew

[jcaffee]

As much as I hate to agree with Lew on anything,  the recordable macro could be useful.

 

E.g., I'm developing my "Style" and use a collection of camera settings.  A recordable macro would allow for saving these setting to buttons on a custom toolbar or to hotkeys.  So, whet I'm ready to start shooting my camera views, click the button and drag the camera--no fuss, no muss.  This way my style is consistent over a range of 5, 10, or 20 camera settings from project-to-project.

 

Is this the ONE thing for me, not by a long shot.  But it could be useful.

 

jon

[Doug_Park]

Let's not derail this thread into a discussion about the good and bad of these requests.

[keithhe]

1) OK, admittedly minor, compared to the very good suggestions previous, how hard would it be for CA to list  plants by their common name in library, versus this non-sense. Podocarpus macrophyllus Maki. Really frustrating to plow through all those names, and YES I know about the plant chooser.

 

Pretty sure nobody using the program would prefer the scientific name. At the very least, an option for which way we see it.

 

2) Also, In playing around with Ray Trace and settings for same, I'll experiment with the various settings. Problem is that I will occasionally hit a bulls-eye with the settings and will have gone through so many that I can't recall what I had set. If program could store, in some manner, the settings previously used. Yes, I know you can save the settings too, but when experimenting the save may be far worse than what you had previously.

[mthd97]

Good 3d BIM program to program collaboration language will solve most of these problems as it does in other cad software!

[bernie]

once rooms and platforms are defined and set up a master dbx (framing) user interface to select each platforms object(s) in logical sequence (ie foundations, joists, bearers, floor, walls, midfloor framing, midfloor floor, 1st floor walls, top plate(s), rafters, trusses, purlins, etc) to set each objects (framing) attributes thereby allowing a closer-to-the-real-world backclipped cross section to be developed. all to be set up on a room group by room group basis to handle split level etc.

[mthd97]

The ability to explode the 3d model and to move or break off parts of components like slabs etc. and to relock them into position without auto build overriding them and shifting components back.

 

That would require that the moved components override the defaults in the corresponding dbx's.

 

That would stop allot of extra work for many of us and Scott Hall would not have to make so many work around movies.

[hollyandco]

Stairs!

...or auto update elevations!

...or stairs!  I thought Revit was bad at stairs but CA wins that award hands-down.

[4hotshoez]

Archicad had trouble with stairs. Building in 3D and showing properly in 2D is tough for any program, but there must be a way to do it.

[4hotshoez]

Can I add one more thing? The connection between CA and Sketchup is great! However, it would be better if CA could "see" edges of a Sketchup model rather than just a bounding box. (Or just merge the two Apps and I would be quite pleased.)

[DavidJPotter]

The ability to place a niche in one click with its own dialog box so you could define its depth and shape as well as width and height. 

 

DJP

[HumbleChief]

The ability to place a niche in one click with its own dialog box so you could define its depth and shape as well as width and height. 

 

DJP

+1 to that David. I see 'how to create niche' threads all the time.

[simonas]

Make rendering better! or plug-in for 3d rendering software (Maxwell Render for example). So far Chief is poor at rendering...

[ragetoca]

I would rather CA to fix all the "work arounds" first (stairs, niches, elevations, columns, etc and etc) than for them to spend their efforts in improving the rendering engine  - I think what we get works great for quick presentations (I have seen others who create some nice renderings inside Chief) - my 2 cents