Line Drawings

[HERETOGO]

I am hoping you guys have some patients with me here. I have purchased the Chief architect premier and am using versionX7 at the moment, and am finally getting back to trying to figure things out following a busy year using other software.

 

I am at the moment figuring out drawing details rather than copying them from my old system. I have a couple questions that I am hoping someone can help me with

 

1) is there somewhere where you can offset lines rather than copying placing and the moving them to the proper position

2) Is there somewhere where you can trim or extend a line to a different line, or is everything moved by your mouse

3) Is it possible to draw a line by typing in the x-y coordinates for the purpose of drawing a eave detail and the slope of the roof

 

Thanking you in advance

[Alaskan_Son]

Not sure I fully understand your questions and what you're after, but I'll give it a shot.  By no means does this fully cover the subjects at hand, but hopefully this crappy video will at least get you started down the right path.  Sorry for the abrupt end.  I just ran into my 5 minute limit.  Hopefully this helps...

 

http://screencast.com/t/wxDLqICr

[RodCole]

1)  Click the Multicopy button on the Edit tool bar.  Then click the Multiple Copy Interval edit button on the pop up toolbar.  This should open a dbx where you can enter the desired offset in the highlighted text box.  The line should still be highlighted.  Now drag the line from the edit handle to produce the number of offset copies you want.

 

2)  Use the Trim and Extend tools on the Edit Toolbar.

 

3)  Start drawing the line using your method of choice.  Then press the Tab key to open the Enter Coordinates dbx.  You can then make the appropriate selections and settings.

 

BTW I use the Multicopy method all the time for offsetting objects.  It does seem a bit of an odd way to go about things, but it works just fine.  If you want more options, then use the Transform / Replicate Objects tool located on the Edit Toolbar right next to the Multicopy edit button.

 

Hope this helps.

[chief58]

In Alaskan video the last part I would do what he does but change under the number style and change that to pitch they you just have to put in the pitch you want the rafter to be, then I would copy it in the z axis the distance I want the rafter to be 2x- whatever then connect the points with vertical lines

[Korel_Design]

I have the same question, sort of. When drawing a plot plan I need to show a line, either a building line, easement line, etc.. which is basically an offset from the property line. Say I have a 25' building line that is offset from the property line. Only one copy 25' away from the line I already have drawn. In AutoCAD, it's easy. Just select offset, enter the distance, select the line to offset and click on the side of that line where the new line will be. Walla Bing Walla Boom. How can I do that in Chief?

[Geyatautsilvsgi]

Not to be cliche, but there are plenty of training videos in the support section. They can be a wealth of information to acquire before having to post and then wait for a response. I use it when I have an issue. If  I can't find my answer there, then I turn to the many brains on here that have various methods of achieving the end goal. Either way, you'll get it.

[Joe_Carrick]

Jerry,

 

Chief doesn't have the ACAD "Offset" command.  It would be nice if it did, but the tools listed by Michael will do the job.  One way to get to those commands quickly is to "right-click" on the line which will pop-up a list of tools to select from.

[Alaskan_Son]

Not sure if you watched my crappy video or not Jerry, but what I would normally do is...

 

Method 1:

A. Select the line you want to offset

B. Click "Copy and Paste in Place"

C. Start dragging the line in the direction you want to move it and hit tab.

E. Enter you desired coordinates/dimensions

 

Method 2:

A. Select the line you want to offset

B. Click Transform/Replicate Object

C. Check "Copy" and enter 1 in the Number of Copies field

D. Check "Move" and enter the desired coordinates/dimensions

 

Method 3:

A. Select the line you want to offset

B. Click Multiple Copy

C. Click Multiple Copy Interval

D. Enter the Desired Dimension in the Primary Offset field (should already be highlighted)

E. Drag the line using either;

    -the circular edit handle to move relative to the original line (if its drawn at an angle)

    -by the square edit handle to move in whichever direction you drag it

    -by the rotate edit handle to create a copy that is rotated around the object center

 

There are probably other methods as well but those are the ones I would suggest.

[Korel_Design]

Actually, Training Video #5480 was helpful in drawing a Plot Plan. I will watch others that came up with the search term Plot Plan.

 

Thank you Michael for your suggestions.  I will try those. How about offsetting from a curve? Say I have a property line that's on a 50' radius and I need an off setted arc 25' behind that which will make it a 75' radius and the two end points are radial to the original line?

 

Thank you for bearing with me.

 

Jerry K.

[Korel_Design]

Michael, You did a great video. I was able to follow along very well.

 

I still would like to know how to offset an arc if there is a magical way of doing that.

 

Thank you so much for your help. I owe you a brewsky.

 

JK

[Alaskan_Son]

Michael, You did a great video. I was able to follow along very well.

 

I still would like to know how to offset an arc if there is a magical way of doing that.

 

Thank you so much for your help. I owe you a brewsky.

 

JK

 

Thanks for the compliment.  To offset the arc, my instructions would be essentially the same...

 

Method 1:

A. Select the arc you want to offset

B. Click "Copy and Paste in Place"

C. Start dragging the line in the direction you want to move it using either;

    -the square edit handle to move an exact copy of the arc

    -the circular edit handle to move a concentrically resized copy of the arc

    and then hit tab.

E. Enter you desired coordinates/dimensions

 

Method 2:

A. Select the arc you want to offset

B. Click Transform/Replicate Object

C. Check "Copy" and enter 1 in the Number of Copies field

D. Check "Move" and enter the desired coordinates/dimensions

Note:  I'm not so sure you can use this method to create a concentrically resized copy of an arc

 

Method 3:

A. Select the arc you want to offset

B. Click Multiple Copy

C. Click Multiple Copy Interval

D. Enter the Desired Dimension in the Primary Offset field (should already be highlighted)

E. Drag the arc using either;

    -the circular edit handle to make concentrically resized copies

    -by the square edit handle to make exact copies in whichever direction you drag it

    -by the rotate edit handle to create exact copies that are rotated around the object center

[johnny]

HERETOGO:  Something that might help you is to realize CA decided to do most things completely different than other apps.  It will hurt you, as it did me, to try and relate/seek tools (and features) from other apps to CA.

 

Throw out everything you've come to know about other apps and learn CA from the ground up.

[Korel_Design]

Johnny - You are right about that. This is like starting all over and I'm almost too old for that. I've been using that "Other App" for nearly 30 years and it's not right to teach an old dog new tricks.

 

Michael - I was able to get your suggested methods to work. It's just gonna require some repetitive practice to really get the hang of it.

 

Stay close.... I will probably have some more questions.

 

Mucho Gracias.

 

JK

[johnny]

Johnny - You are right about that. This is like starting all over and I'm almost too old for that. I've been using that "Other App" for nearly 30 years and it's not right to teach an old dog new tricks.

 

Yeah, I know its a rough road....but I can tell you from experience, what CA does well for residential is so good its worth the effort.  Yes, 2D and generic modeling in other apps is much better (IMO), but CA is just so superior and more convenient in other aspects it still makes the decision relatively easy.

 

I also think X8 is such a massive improvement in key areas it makes the decision all that more compelling.