FlightDeck

Secret setting!!  lol     Okay got it, thanks!  Here is the actual model redone with this attic wall technique and patched with one "soffit sheet of drywall":
 

 
Pretty much seamless underneath, and no more problem with the stair stringer trim on top.
 
 
I tried the ceiling (roof?) plane idea but had zero luck with it.  No idea how it works.  Found it easier to just fiddle with the sloped soffit.  Using a cross-section view through the stairs to see the alignment from the side was very helpful.

This might help:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_in_architecture_in_the_United_States

You can easily (and should always) stamp stuff you create/design with a copyright notice if you're sharing it with others.  Makes them think twice (unfortunately some aren't too bright...).  As the article explains though, if you don't actually register the copyright, bringing a claim against someone using your creation becomes more difficult, and your ability to recover damages is much more limited. 

(For any Canadians reading along, the story is different.  Registration of copyright is generally not required in Canada.)

Good builders should already be used to dealing with designs created by professional architects and therefore know better than to rip them off.  They should treat any design you bring to them no differently.

 

Agreed.  Took me a few mins to figure it out as well.  I think there is a tutorial video or article in the knowledge base for it.

Lol I actually searched for "change units" before posting and that thread didn't come up.
 
At any rate I guess the short answer is no, it's yet another basic thing that Home Designer doesn't do. 
 
I'll just leave the model in ft and do any conversion calculations myself..., which, based on the scribbled notes on the metric blueprints, is exactly what the construction guys did as well. 
 
Thanks anyway.

So among all the bad news I got today from CA about Pro and it not doing some of the things expected, I did receive this happy little nugget.  In Pro it's possibe to use panels on stair railings, using a roundabout way.  Here are the steps:
In stairwell properties, turn off the railings Draw straight railings *on* each side of the stairs (or curved railings if curved stairs). Open the properties of the railings and select "Follow Stairs". Changes the Rail Style to panels and then choose a panel from the library. It's obviously got limitations, but this is certainly improved over the Arch version that doesn't allow panels in stair railings at all.  Here's a couple examples (straight and curved):
 

 
This is probably old news to many of you but I'm posting in case it might help other newbs like me!    Regarding my original question in this thread, it was due to not being able to use panel railings on stairs that I wanted to know how to control the stair railing shapes.  Now that I know I can use panels on stairs (with the Pro version) I have another way to get something closer to the actual stair design.
 
Regards,