solver

Change the materials, tread thickness, overhang etc to create concrete steps.

I don't know of such. Hovering your pointer over the icon will show its name. You can find everything and more under the menus too.

Use 2 cabinets.

I'd contact support providing images of the pointer in HD and some other application.

You did not say where -- upper base etc. You have the Partition tool which may be used for a simple flat filler. For base cabinets, make a cabinet that is 3" wide, and remove the drawer and door. You can save this cabinet to your library for reuse.

I might draw in the unit next to yours making it the correct depth front to back but just 12" or so wide. Then your roof will build against the wall automatically. You could delete the walls after your place is complete if desired.

A bit on aligning walls. You can click YouTube at the lower right after the video starts to watch full size on YouTube. I forgot to show in the video that the center room has a different (not the default) ceiling height. It's 109", and everywhere else is the default of 109.125". This 1/8" changes how the roof builds. My guess is that working one-on-one with someone would be better for you.

Have you reviewed these resources? The 1 hour webinar recordings on YouTube helped me get going when I started. The basics are the easy part, it's when something is just slightly different and the software falters, especially with anything except Pro, the that real work starts. Getting Started Knowledge Base YouTube

These are some of the wall alignment issues. Grab the back wall of the master bedroom and drag it across to the back wall on the other side of the house. You will see they don't align, and I imagine they should. Consider furniture placement too. In the bedrooms, the beds will need to go against the bathroom walls -- not the best place, and where will other furniture go? Imagine yourself using the toilet in the master with the door closed. There is not enough room to stand up without opening the door. Not trying to bash your work, just suggesting that you work through everything as you go.

Another something to consider is how the roof will be built. Your interior ceilings should reflect the bottom of the roof framing. Scissor trusses are common for a vaulted ceiling, so the ceiling plane would have a different pitch than the roof.

What didn't work? Here I draw in a ceiling plane, copy and reflect it about the center, then join it at the ridge.

I took a quick look at your plan, and want to suggest you are getting ahead of yourself worrying about the roof and ceilings when there is so much that needs to be corrected first. I'm referring to walls that are not aligned, and dimensions that should be changed. Strive for 1/2" as the smallest fraction, and whole numbers are preferred. Your master closet, with hanging on 3 sides will only give you about a 10" isle, and there are other things. Not knowing anything about you, the house, or your building site, I'd be thinking about something like this. By changing the orientation of the center of the house, you get far more light, and far better views out the back

https://www.homedesignersoftware.com/search/?default_tab=video&q=ceiling

You need to draw in your own ceiling planes. They work just like roof planes.

That's one way of thinking about it. Preferences change how the program operates. You can change things that are part of the program, like Fonts, and which directories are used for various things. Defaults change how things in the model are drawn.

Yes it does. Consider doing a test run. Just simple one room structures. Go through the process and decide how you want to do things, then start the real project. You can create new materials -- copy and rename existing materials and use them in your existing or new construction too. You could have Siding - Existing, and Siding - New, for example. Both will show in the materials list, but you will be able to see the difference. You could create a new wall type using these new materials and the material list will show them as unique line items. If you assign a non framing material to a wall and build framing, that wall will not have framing generated. Change the Type to something other than Framing, or choose another material and give it a Type of Framing. With Pro, you can delete framing to, so in a Perspective Framing Overview, or in Plan view showing framing, simply delete what you do not want.

Have you downloaded all the applicable bonus catalogs?

Are you wanting the Wall Elevation camera? Look at the first item under the 3D menu. These items are also on one of the default toolbars.

The software makes a copy of your active layer set when you send something to layout. So you will have layer sets for layout too. You can turn this behavior on or off in Chief -- not sure about Home Designer.

Create a new plan, draw a wall. Review the Layer Display Options. Use them as a guide to the settings in the problem plan.

Home Designer products are forward compatible, so plans created in a lesser version open in higher versions.

Double click the file, drag the file into Home Designer, Library>Import

Delete the bump map.

They are now using Bump Maps by default, which cause this. Some textures they help look more real, but not brick.

Not in Home Designer.