VisualDandD Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Hi all! Been a while since I have posted here. (forgot my old screen name on here ) I have been a long time user of chief all the way back to 6. My work has morphed over the years from mainly doing my own drawings for projects to recently getting busy doing work for other builders and coming with that, more detailed plan sets. I saw an email from chief that there was a 20% off upgrade which perked my interest to see what was new. I found the list of 'whats new' but was having a hard time figuring out what came new in X5 as well. From what I could tell, the biggest improvement (as would apply to me) seems to be multiple monitor support. That would be a significant help. X4 had annosets (which I dont yet fully take advantage of....but need to brush up more on). I keep my renderings limited to watercolor with line drawings. I play at times with raytrace, but watercolor do what I need them to do and in a way leave a little to the imagination. (which means I dont have to get as detailed for them) Mainly I do 8-10 page plan-sets. General notes, foundation, floor plans, roof sets, elevations. Sections as required and some details. Any other improvements that you would say significantly improve your productivity? (I realize X7 is coming soon in Feb so I will get that upgrade as well). I just dont like falling behind so far and wanted to stay abreast of things if they improve productivity. Thank you! Hope to be hanging around a little more. I can always improve my skills for sure Thanks! Justin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lbuttery Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Justin: see post #10 in this thread: https://chieftalk.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?/topic/2414-question-about-the-early-history-of-chief-architect-in-the-1980s-before-it-was-called-ca/?hl=%2Bsoftware+%2Bhistory attached is the What's New for X6 Lew CHIEF_X6_REFERENCE_WHATS_NEW.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VisualDandD Posted December 28, 2014 Author Share Posted December 28, 2014 Thanks Lew! Looking over the list, I am not seeing any huge things that would improve productivity. Being from the early versions of chief, I have become well versed in the 'work-arounds' . If there is anything I am missing, anyone please feel free to point it out. (meaning any new features in X5/6 that are real productivity savers.) Again, the multiple monitors seems to be the big one for me, but I realize I may be missing some key things. Thank you again for taking the time to help out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gawdzira Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 X4 -X6 You will see some production speed up in drawing time lag. If you are doing watercolor renderings you will see a significant speed up. Your multiple monitor support works best if you have symmetrical monitors. It has been a long time since using x4 so I don't remember much. The general thing for me is I like to keep current. If there are one or two tools that increase my productivity it is always worth it. X6 kicked in the ability to have multiple keystoke hotkeys. This is huge if you are using it. If you upgrade now you will be getting the x7 upgrade with your SSA support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VisualDandD Posted December 28, 2014 Author Share Posted December 28, 2014 I downloaded the x6 trial and the renderings were quicker. For keystrokes, I mentioned (under my old acct a long time ago) that I use a logitech g13 programmable gamepad. It is very versatile and I have several 'modes' that I draw in. I hate having to move off the numpad when putting in ft-in, so made a custom keyboard with numbers and ",' handy. I set my joystick up to toggle ortho overviews, tile windows vertically, or cross section cameras....etc My drawing was very slow for a while but since it is picking up now, I am of the same mindset in that I dont want to fall too far behind. Thanks for the advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kbird1 Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 would you mind sharing your G13 Profile ? I just picked one up to try but haven't got around to programming it yet , be good to see how some else has it set up. Thanks Mick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VisualDandD Posted December 29, 2014 Author Share Posted December 29, 2014 Sure. I will have to dig them up. Have quit using it as of late, but need to get back to it. I remember how much time is saved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VisualDandD Posted December 29, 2014 Author Share Posted December 29, 2014 Thanks for all the advice given. I decided to upgrade.....it was about time anyway. I have a few plans I am in the middle of that I have to finish and then I can start switching over. I really need to buckle down and learn annosets....I am a little behind Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kbird1 Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 thanks that would be really helpful for a G13 Newbie....... do a search on the forums as there have been a couple of good threads on Annosets in the last 3-4 months that will probably prove helpful. M. Forgot this morning that Terry Munson has so Tips on Annotations too http://www.munsonhomedesign.com/Annotations.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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