Main difference between Interiors and Premier

[jlewis030609]

I am looking on purchasing ChiefArchitect Interiors. I have a few questions about things that can be done with it. First off, I am a interior decorator so I will be using he program for mostly interior designing/ remodeling, etc., however I do do the occasional outdoor landscaping. First question is will Chief Interiors support this or can I only find landscaping in the Premier? Secondly, with the library. If there is not a manufacturer, furniture, wallpaper etc., can that manufacturer/designer be added to the library? Third, when working with objects, such as furniture can you put in precise measurements of that furniture, change the color and dimensions of he furniture? The same with window treatments, hard or soft. Can you import fabric, color, blind, shutter, shade, color fabric and wallpaper? Basically, I am looking to customize every furnishing and textile. I have looked at he comparison chart but was wondering what is the main difference between to two? I am guessing that you can design decks, patios? I know all design programs are different. Any information that you could provide would be greatly appreciated!!

[johnny]

I can tell you for interior design there is nothing i've seen that can match CA's ease of use - and yes, you can add anything you want.  CA even supports most types of file imports, so you can bring a 3d object into the app and very easily setup your custom directories for your own library.  You can be very precise...so dont worry about that.

 

CA isn't good for "designing" furniture though.  If you import a furniture piece that has the fabric as a separate layer you can change those sections, but there won't be a way to map new fabric onto furniture.   Even with this you may need each section of the furniture fabric to be different so you can correctly map the direction.  Then again, if you are going to be designing and editing fabrics you will need a full blown 3D molding application.  However, you should still use CA for your arrangements and final staging and then use Sketchup or some other app for your furniture design etc.

 

If you are going to be doing much outside the home, I would just get the Premier version.  You can save a little money on the interior version, but I think you'd be best off with not having any restrictions.

[johnny]

OK, so how about this.  If you are trying to do this (below) you will need something like Maya,  Modo, or Vectorworks:

 

 

If you are trying to do this (below) then CA is best bet - in fact, even if you are creating your own furniture, then you can later bring to CA for staging.  FYI this is an older video, CA is much better today even.  

 

[ChiefArchitect]

Hello,

 

Thank you for the questions and for your interest in Chief Architect.  There are several differences between the Premier & Interiors version.  Some primary differences would be the lack of terrain, landscaping and deck design.  The interiors version also lacks the ability to create framing, so if you deal with any structural aspects and/or outdoor design, you will want to consider the Premier version.  Here is a matrix that will show a side-by-side comparison between the two products.  http://www.chiefarchitect.com/products/compare.html

 

In terms of the library, there are roughly 75,000 items in the library catalog.  This includes both manufacturer specific and generic items.  You can fully edit the dimensions of this content and apply different colors and materials to objects.  This editing capability also applies to imported objects.  You will find a list of brand specific content and bonus catalogs in the Chief Architect 3D Library.  This content is in addition to the core content already included in the program.

 

You can add various treatments to windows and doors and choose from different fabrics, colors, etc.  You can import textures from outside sources and add them to your Chief Architect library.  One thing to note about importing textures is that they need to be "repeating textures" so that they look accurate when you apply them in the software.

 

I hope this helps.   Feel free to contact us in sales should you have questions.  You can email us sales@chiefarchitect.com or call 208-292-3400.

 

Kind regards,

 

Derek

Chief Architect Sales

[MarkMc]

Having had both for a while, doing primarily kitchens and some other interior work, the practical difference to me is premier has:

• the ability to create a cad detail from view- this allows dimensioning some things that Chief doesn't snap to- with Interiors you are either placing cad lines and moving them to allow dimesnions to snap to those items OR exporting to dwg and creating those dimensions in another program.
• annotation sets- useful for creating finished drawings but we also have some set up just for use designing-bit daunting to figure them out (I found it necessary to have a completely different group of sets than the building folks.) but well worth the effort for productivity. Note that I will often be supplying a demo, mechanical, electrical plan for a job where annosets make a big difference.
•  the project browser a useful tool when working.
•  control over rough framing allowances for windows and doors when working on new construction.  It just makes working with field measurements and architects drawings simpler. Note that when I had a copy of each we did run into some complications around that when sharing files from Premier to Interiors but that could be pilot error (or not)

As to creating symbols-I've gotten to where I build pretty much any symbol I need directly in Chief nowadays (thanks in large part to info on this forum). I will occasionally adapt a SU model in that if there is something that is close enough to what I need. (for importing complicated furniture I have found the need to use something else to reduce the mesh count on those).

Building a model in Chief is different than what Johnny shows in Maya (or SU, FormZ, ...). Once I learned how the program thinks quite doable. I don't know if one or the other is faster, just that I find it simpler to stay in one program. (I certainly couldn't click as fast as that video shows in anything so hard to tell) Note that as I've worked building symbols in Chief I have developed a number of symbol parts that I can use as building blocks. These already have materials oriented properly, and I have a number of varied materials of my own- all of which speeds and simplifies the process.