Project Information Suggestions/Issues

[Renerabbitt]

[Joe_Carrick]

 

I do like the sort and macro suggestions.  I'm not sure however that I would need to insert macros into field values.  In most cases I will just enter the values as text - or copy the macro results from TMM into the field value.  

 

For the most part it's pretty easy to duplicate classes and copy field values.  To be honest, I am so happy to get this as provided that I basically overlooked the slight annoyances you outlined above.  

 

What I really want is for the field values to be returned as actual data strings.  Currently I have use a bit of ledgerdemain to get editable values.

 

 

Edited Wednesday at 03:03 AM by Joe_Carrick

[Renerabbitt]

19 hours ago, Joe_Carrick said:

I'm not sure however that I would need to insert macros into field values.

I was on a training call yesterday and, as I often do, I started by giving you big compliments. But I also mentioned that no one could simply pick up one of your layouts or plans and immediately understand how everything works. The workflow is incredibly specific, with a lot of knowledge required to perform even simple tasks, plus all the unique layers and layer sets involved. You and I wouldnt need this but its nice for end-use

All that to say, leaving a macro call inside a value is a smart way for the template to automate a task while still giving the end user one easy place to override that automation when needed.
In other words, its great for scalability without the need for unique training.
 

19 hours ago, Joe_Carrick said:

For the most part it's pretty easy to duplicate classes and copy field values.  To be honest, I am so happy to get this as provided that I basically overlooked the slight annoyances you outlined above.  

I always hear Kevin Transue screaming from the rooftops "inheritanceeeeeee"
Why this dbx was designed in a way that didnt just inherit properties from other similar dbx is what he would be referring to. Why isnt there a "user input dbx standard" module thats just plug and play so that it behaves similarly to the project browser/library browser or the "add lights" dbx?

 

 

19 hours ago, Joe_Carrick said:

Currently I have use a bit of ledgerdemain to get editable values.

as in a displayed polyline or other object with a label that says %$chief_project_zipcode="%project.zip/postal_code%";""% yeah...same wish +1000
 

[Renerabbitt]

11 hours ago, Joe_Carrick said:

Do you have Michael's hack for this?  I put mine in a the Label of a Polyline on sheet 0 of my layout.

yeah he posted it here on chieftalk somewhere a long time ago. I have a bunch of pages of notes in onedrive from things all of the macro guys have said over the years.
I use it in a plan file. the plan file is setup for all title block info and spec writing on your general sheet so its easy to swap out when i change jurisdictions or who I am drafting for etc. 
all of this gets sent to different parts of layout

and this polyline has all of the captures

[Joe_Carrick]

Mine is in the label of a polyline on my Layout Template.  That way it's executed as soon as the Layout is opened.

ps:  The polyline dbx really needs to have a label box with at least 10 lines of space to prevent the need for so much scrolling.

[Renerabbitt]

7 hours ago, Joe_Carrick said:

The polyline dbx really needs to have a label box with at least 10 lines of space to prevent the need for so much scrolling.

YES YES YES YES YES and more YES
 

 

7 hours ago, Joe_Carrick said:

That way it's executed as soon as the Layout is opened.

Mine also executes as soon as layout is opened, without ever opening the plan file  because the polyline is alongside of those information blocks and they are sent to layout
 

[Joe_Carrick]

23 hours ago, Renerabbitt said:

I was on a training call yesterday and, as I often do, I started by giving you big compliments. But I also mentioned that no one could simply pick up one of your layouts or plans and immediately understand how everything works.

You and I have a different way of dealing with project specifics.  If I understand correctly you generally deal with client specifics for projects while I deal with projects specifics.  

 

My title sheet - example

 

has virtually all of it's information supplied by text macros that reference the Project Information.

• Deferred Subittals has individual macros for each item and where a specific jurisdiction is needed it comes from one of those fields.
• General Notes and Building Performance are likewise macros that get specific data from those fields
• Project Name and Address - %project.info% fields
• Copyright - macro with %desigher.info% fields
• Property Details - Rich Text with %project.info% fields
• Building Codes - %code_list% derives the location, etc from %project.info% and constructs the list accordingly.  This macro is designed to provide the correct codes per the city,state,etc without any reference to client or contractor.  It automatically updates the current code year and code name depending on the project location (city, county/province, state).
• Designer & Consultants:
  • %info_Designer%
  • %info_Engineer%
  • %info_Surveyor%
  • %info_Soils_Investigation%
  • %info_Energy_Consultant%
  • %info_Geologist%
  • %info_Builder%
• Scope of work relies on data taken directly from the Plan itself.
• Sheet Title Block including Sheet Index, Revisions, Designer, Client, etc are all on the Default Template Page(s).

The Layout contains only 27 macros to handle all of the above plus

• 6 for Layout Box Labeling
  • 2 of which determine the number or letter of details and sections

I have separate Layout Templates (different sheet sizes) with all of the above ready to go. 

Basically I treat the Layout separtely from the model, just sending plans, sections, elevations, details, schedules images, etc to the Layout.

 

Project Information categories>fields is the source for all of the project specific information so I only need to edit those in order to change what's displayed on the Title Sheet.  I never need to change the layout macros since they are universal.

 

It's taken a long time to develope this system but it saves me thousands of hours.

 

 

 

[robdyck]

@RenerabbittIn addition to the Project Information dialog, I built myself a tool set that will update several key note items at one time including some structural and climate zone items. This makes me curious about the pros and cons of using one system, like notes & schedules, and/ or macros, vs the Project Information dialog...OR how they can be integrated to be even more robust.

Edited Thursday at 11:14 PM by robdyck

[Renerabbitt]

4 hours ago, Joe_Carrick said:

but it saves me thousands of hours.

Your system is not all that different from mine conceptually. You and I just have very different needs.

Keep in mind that I distribute my templates, and they need to be workable for beginner to intermediate Chief technicians. Because of that, above everything else, the system has to be user-friendly with very little need for additional process documentation. It also cannot be overly specific to our California code requirements, which would be 10x overkill for most of the rest of the world.

It also has to be intuitive from the perspective of someone completely new. Like you mentioned, it took you a long time to build your system. It also took me a long time to discover what is actually intuitive to an end user versus what I personally perceived to be intuitive.

Designer, client, and project information all come from a Project Information plan. This allows someone to easily swap out that file with other versions they have built by copying it, which can be used for things like changing the title block, logo, design load criteria, specifications, and so on.

This is not just California-specific. The system does have automatic lookup for a few criteria across several states. Previously, I had automatic spec switching based on project city, state, zip code, or country for NBC Canada. But again, even that became a bit too complex for the end user.

Now, with X18, the end user simply types the code criteria they want, such as “2025 IRC,” into Project Information, and the spec switches through a macro. So at the base level, all the end user has to do is swap out their logo, fill out their designer information, and enter the code criteria fields. Simple user input. The macros handle the rest.

I strongly dislike gathering data from polylines. I find them to be the least intuitive for end users, and they carry the most liability because the user has to manually update them whenever the building model changes. Because of that, my area analysis comes from a room schedule with some macro magic that allows for adjustments. In other words, site analysis is coming from the building model itself. Thats the bulk of what I have on my G1 page or G001 for you maybe

I have three template pages: two scaled pages, one at 1/4" and one at 1/2", and one no-scale template page. Switching the template changes the scale annotation and adds a graphical scale.

That is all I am including in a base-level plan intended for distribution.

[Renerabbitt]

6 hours ago, robdyck said:

be even more robust.

I built this for my X17 templates. it read right from CSV automatically and while in project management mode. 
I personally loved it, but again was too complicated for scalability. 
Not only does a system have to be hands off and intuitive but it also has to handle modification and unique parameters if I were to distribute. All in all, even though it was only a few steps to setup, I had user after user wanting to setup unique parameters and naming conventions that would break the system.
It was very cool though for my own personal workflow to just tell my ai agent to go look up my last meeting and update my designer/client info based on that into a csv and then open chief up and see it all there. 

[clearvuedesign]

Really interesting thread. I've been working on this same problem from a different angle.

Instead of trying to make CA handle all the project data internally, I built a web-based project management platform called ClearVue that sits outside of Chief Architect and manages everything — clients, builders, project details, files, billing, communications, building codes, and construction specifications. It's purpose-built for residential architecture.

The building code piece is where it gets useful. ClearVue stores verified design criteria per municipality — wind speeds, snow loads, frost depth, seismic category, flood zones — so when I assign a town to a project, the correct values populate automatically. There's also a 70+ field construction specifications checklist that captures every design decision from foundation type to window specs.

The integration with CA works through a file-based data bridge. When I open a plan through ClearVue, the current project data is automatically pushed to a location CA can read. I have about 30 text macros that pull from that data — client name, project number, address, building codes, structural loads, specs — so title blocks, structural notes, and labels all populate without any manual entry inside CA. Update something in ClearVue, macros reflect it next time they evaluate.

@Renerabbitt — sounds like you built something similar with CSV for X17. I went the same route conceptually but kept the data management entirely outside CA in its own platform. That way the complexity lives in ClearVue, not in the template, so the CA side stays simple.
 

[Renerabbitt]

2 minutes ago, clearvuedesign said:

ClearVue, not in the template,

very cool. this is the system in X18 thats more for spec but can handle any information output to a csv:

[clearvuedesign]

Very cool, Renee. That sounds great, and I already own your Pro plan. I don't use the entire thing; I use maybe about half of it because there are so many things I have for the area that I'm in, and it would be too hard to integrate.

 

I'm pretty old so I'm really used to the old school in a lot of ways. There is one thing: I just looked and you're doing the X18, but something changed between X16 and X17 to X18. Now my icons in my toolbars lose all the information. Some of them will actually fill with the icon, but when you press it, it's empty and it wants me to re-link. It has something to do with them changing something in their coding, and I'm interested if you can give me an update on how much it would cost me.

 

I sent you an email through Discord concerning it because I want to be able to get those things to work correctly now. I think it strictly has to do with it because everything else works, but with the library items, when you place them, it wants to connect to the stuff that I've used from you 

[Renerabbitt]

9 hours ago, clearvuedesign said:

I'm pretty old so I'm really used to the old school in a lot of ways. There is one thing: I just looked and you're doing the X18, but something changed between X16 and X17 to X18. Now my icons in my toolbars lose all the information. Some of them will actually fill with the icon, but when you press it, it's empty and it wants me to re-link. It has something to do with them changing something in their coding, and I'm interested if you can give me an update on how much it would cost me.

This conv better in chat most likely but I give 40% off to all previous purchasers. There are update codes in the accounts tab when you login. There's also a bout a billion hours of development since you last purchased, ha...probably some things you might really like.