solver

I'd work with stacked roof planes as you suggested.

I'd go buy an inexpensive surface to use as a drafting table, a T-square, a couple of triangles, some pencils and a good eraser and be done Before you get too far into the basic structure, you might want to experiment with deck railings. Done manually.

There are dimension videos on the website showing how to modify dimension strings, and check your dimension defaults for what is located. Make friends with the various handles when a dimension string is selected.

Just what he said. He made modifications to materials in plan and not in the Library.

That's been available since at least the 2015 versions.

Suggest you rent Pro for $59/month so you may experiment for yourself.

There are a bunch of plans available on the Chief website, and maybe the Home Designer website too that you may download and work with.

Only you know what is required for permitting. And keep in mind, this is not deck design software. The deck related parts of the software need lots of work and you will probably need to things manually to create an accurate model. The program does not automatically do this. Search the Simpson website and the 3D Warehouse for symbols you may import. Also search for CAD details that already show the needed hardware and include them. You might find some already in the Library, or in one of the Bonus Catalogs. The materials list reflects the model. Accurate model equals accurate materials list.

Draw CAD in plan. Place a note.

You can mask the numbers and/or cover with your own text. I'll suggest this is generally a bad idea as changes to the drawing will not be reflected in the dimensions.

You might try a design focused site. HomeTalk is really about the software. I'm sure there are others, but see houzz.com for one.

Home Designer does not have this feature.

Auto dormers will not cross where two roof planes join. You will need to build them manually. You might find a video on my YouTube channel, or something on the Home Designer website if you are unsure how to.

Why not download the trial and experiment for yourself? To answer your question, individual Pro 2023 Layouts may now have 5 pages.

Home Designer lacks this feature -- and it would be a CAD Block, a feature that Chief Architect Premier does have.

I suggested this back in 2017. Still no way to do it. https://chieftalk.chiefarchitect.com/topic/13605-roof-better-control-of-raiselower-from-ceiling-height/

Click on it. You will select the wall. Then Tab to select the CAD. Or, select one of the CAD tools -- the Line tool will work. Hold Shift and marquee select.

Look at the image -- it's a 2017 version of the program. Things change. Your program has the same ability -- look at the Offset and Angle section. My image above showed materials in the library, not cabinets. You need two materials -- one rotated 90 degrees. No workaround needed.

Manually changing wall top and bottom heights is always a last resort tactic. You need to understand exactly what happens when you do so, and new users never do. Start by Edit>Reset To Defaults Choose All Floors, Wall Top Heights, Wall Bottom Heights. The software uses the concept of a Room to automatically control things like ceiling heights. Divide the garage into two sections -- there is a Room Divider wall type for this, change the ceiling height, build the roof.

Group select. Yes you can. Have you watched my video on creating a custom template? I think it covers plan templates only, but some things should apply to layout templates.

If you want specific answers to your individual questions, best to contact Chief directly for questions about does the latest version do this, or starting multiple threads (one question per) asking how best to use the software you have now.