How does one go about creating variations of a remodel that can easily be compared?

[DIYJon]

If I draw out my existing property and I want to make adjustments to it, new floor plan, kitchen layout, etc., but I want to retain the original so I can switch between variations without having multiple design files to manage, how do I go about doing that?

 

It would be like creating a whole new layer from the original, then editing that layer only, and being able to make additional layers with derivative or "source" layers...sorta like software development with github where I can go down one design fork and come back if I want to abandon that design...

 

Thanks! 

[Alaskan_Son]

1 minute ago, DIYJon said:

If I draw out my existing property and I want to make adjustments to it, new floor plan, kitchen layout, etc., but I want to retain the original so I can switch between variations without having multiple design files to manage, how do I go about doing that?

 

You don't.  Chief simply isn't set up for that.  There are all sorts of workarounds that allow for you to place multiple items in the same locations but they aren't worth the hassle in my opinion.  Until Chief creates something else, multiple plan files is the way to go.

 

Having said that, IF all you really need to do is show floor plan changes, that IS possible in a single file and can be achieved using any number of methods.  One of the easiest however is to just use multiple floors all using the same Reference Floor as the basis.  Each floor is a different design iteration and its easy to Copy/Paste Hold Position between floors whenever you want.  You can also use 3D Reference Display capabilities but then you're right back to using multiple plan files so the benefits are pretty minimal. 

[DIYJon]

Hmm...

 

It is certainly difficult.  If a scenario arises where in all three variations of a remodel I want to change a common feature in all 3, I find myself changing things three times instead of changing the original only and having those changes propagate to the child design...bummer.

 

I wonder if it could actually be practical to make my CA resources folders part of a git repository so I could actually use file versioning to fork the designs that way.

[Alaskan_Son]

28 minutes ago, DIYJon said:

I wonder if it could actually be practical to make my CA resources folders part of a git repository so I could actually use file versioning to fork the designs that way.

 

I don't feel like this would actually solve much of anything.  This isn't much different from manually doing a Save As or going back to the Backup Archives.  Any changes to a common feature would still require changing in all forked version of the plan.