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Thank you, missed that one !

Not harsh at all. If you’ve been using this software as long as I have (since 2011), you’d realize it’s an incapable CA program issue as opposed to a user issue. You can use points, lines, regions etc, it makes no difference. It’s not fussy, it’s stupid. You will get spikes, dips, abnormal behaviour for nearly everything you do. Chief can’t do a gentle straight-line slope from A to B. It will hump or dip in the middle. Why? Add more retaining walls perpendicular to other retaining walls, and the software will hang for about 3 mins while it “Interpolates terrain” (only using 6% of my computer resources btw) and generates unnecessary spikes as if it doesn’t know what it’s doing. I’m using CA HD Pro 25. The use of the word “Pro” stands for Professional. These “glitches” have not been fixed since 2017 and will never be fixed because Chief took away so many controls from HD Pro and rolled it all into an inferior 26 subscription version at double the price and now support for Pro 25 is unavailable.

Did you turn on roof trusses to be visible in those camera views?

I use Home Designer Pro 2021 on a Windows 11 PC, my question is . . . why don't trusses show up in Perspective Full Overview or even Full Camera view ? I have roof auto build, frame auto build all set up but they don't show. The design also has no ceiling. The whole idea is to have them (trusses) visible from inside. I've looked everywhere to find my answer but having no luck. TIA

I'm trying to use my materials list to generate a rough estimate/take off. I see the category of General. This just seems to be measurements of walls but not actually materials. I see items like siding, house wrap, etc. in other areas. I'm assuming for a material take off, I can disregard the General category or, by doing so, would I be making some mistake? If making a mistake, what would the problem be?

Home Designer does not have the symbol import that allows you to choose the symbol type like electrical lighting objects – see the example from Chief Architect Premier. So, what you might try – import the 3D model and place a light behind it so it appears to emit light.

If you look at the top of that article, you will see where it applies to legacy products of Pro & Architectural, not Suite.

I have successfully been able to export a dwg file, but not import. I just received a dwg floorpan file, and given my experience with very simply exporting one, I thought I was good to go. Not the case. I followed the process on this page : https://www.homedesignersoftware.com/support/article/KB-03139/importing-a-dwg-or-dxf-file-into-home-designer.html and it appears that my version, 2022, does not support the importing of a dwg. This may very well be an operator error on my part, but I simply can't see how to do it given the options in the UI. I am starting with a blank plan file and only want to pull in the dwg floorpan, save it, edit it, and then export it back out. Maybe I need to have more in the plan file on order for the import functionality to present itself? I would greatly appreciate it if someone could help me out on this. Cheers, Shawn

Home Designer 2026, not Architect. I've got importing 3d models/fixtures figured out, but I can't reliably figure out light sources. I can add a light and mess around with it, but I don't seem to be able to create an "area light" property on imported fixtures so that, for example, a pendant light with a glass shell glows properly. It's either opaque or it isn't, so if I put the light source outside the shell the illumination works, but inside the shell, there's no light (because the shell is blocking it). Any suggestions here? I don't want to upgrade to Chief Architect to get this working.

@PhillipCA: Thank you! This is the type of answer I was hoping for. I just didn't see it called out anywhere that I could see, it just seemed to say that a new instance gets installed, no mention of a migration wizard. And I just didn't have the time to do an install and then risk doing a manual migration incorrectly or incompletely. Thanks again!

When you upgrade from 2026 to 2027, it leaves the HD 2026 installation intact and does a whole new installation of HD 2027. When you first launch 2027 it will take you through a migration guide, asking you what you would like to transfer from 2026 into 2027 (Projects, Libraries, etc.). This is as simple as checking boxes and clicking OK, and the program does the rest, but if you run into any issues you can contact tech support.

call or email HD tech support

So I bit the bullet back in July and upgraded my HD Architectural 2025 perpetual license to HD 2026 because I needed some features from HD Pro and I could no longer upgrade my perpetual license, I was forced to move to the Subscription model. Not ideal, but I was up against a wall, so here I am... Anyway, a question: I now have a download of HD 2027 available to me, but it appears there is no "Upgrade" path. It seems like it leaves the HD 2026 installation intact, and it just does a whole new installation of HD 2027. So then won't I have to manually migrate my Projects and Default settings and Libraries over from the HD 2026 instance to the newly installed HD 2027 instance? Can that be correct? I kind of expect to be able to click Upgrade and have the new version install over the old version, or at least migrate things over for me since I was up-to-date on the 2026 version.

You might try posting on chief talk in seeking services for one of the professional designers to help you https://chieftalk.chiefarchitect.com/forum/15-seeking-services/

I just did something sort of similar on a stairwell but used a 2nd floor area set to 'open to below' for room definition above the stairwell in conjunction with using high shed walls, and 'room has no ceiling'

I would have to play with it This might work first set ceiling height in room to the low wall. Then uncheck this room has ceiling. Then go edit the 16 ft wall and go to roof tab and check High Shed wall. Then create roof using the slope required to get your desired high wall Height.

A designer prepared drawings for a cottage where we have 10ft walls at the back and 16ft wall at the front to accommodate a loft and High Shed flat roof. My question is: 1. do you prepare the layout as 2 floors and lower the walls on the second floor, or 2. do you create it as a single floor and manually change the height of each wall. I can seem to get the roofline to drop properly with the 2 floor scenario as it creates the attic above the second floor that affects the overall height. The interior walls extend up to the underside of the sloped ceiling (no flat ceiling except under the loft. Any suggestions?

I went into Home Designer Pro 2025 and experimented with this. The software would not generate the 2nd top seat cut even after employing various methods, including following suggestions made on Google, and trying to "trick" the software. Home Pro is setup where many settings are fixed. I ended up going into 3D framing view and positioned my camera to allow me to drag both top plates up and adjust wall framing stud heights as well. At least this will allow proper 3D views of the framing. Max

It should have elevation location dims...think they call it offset from ceiling... So place it where you want it in plan view then click on it and open up the edit dialogue screen for it and adjust vertical location to be underside of shelf you want to locate it at.

I created this bookshelf using cabinet shelf tools. Is there a way to position the light fixture underneath the shelves?

I've noticed the varying file sizes can significantly impact project load times. When I optimized my plans, it improved my workflow considerably. Great insights shared here—thanks for bringing attention to this! curve rush game

Both of these comments are helpful. At least now I know I am experiencing reality rather than just me ignorance. Maybe I get the house foundation in and then rough something in from there. Thanks! Oh, by the way this is a DYI project just a bit bigger than most would tackle. lol

I noticed that if I do a save as, then eventually the file size drops significantly. Maybe it erases some of the stored changes that allow you to use undo all the way to the start. I had one that got all the way up to 187000 KB but the same one after save as is now 48000 kb.

I do not have the time and possibly the patience to lear more chief to finishe a plan I have underway. Looking for someone to help. Thanks, paul

draw your property lines and make sure it is an enclosed poly line then convert that to a terrain perimeter. OR go to terrain tab and select create terrain perimeter. The in floor plan turn on Terrain perimeter to ensure yo ucan see it then draw parallel lines inside these property lines. set their distance from the property lines as you set backs so yo get a "mini" property to create your house. no different then if you did by hand like an old timer on paper. The software does not know what a setback is. For more hel open the help screen and check the website as they pretty much cover how to do everything.