DavidJPotter

Contact the ultimate experts at Chief Architect Inc Tech Support. Due to the variability of hardware to Operating System you would be best served to talk to Tech Support. I only have my own PC as my experience to which I have not had any insurmountable problems since 1995. I have called upon Tech Support at need and they have always come up with a solution. DJP

"Wrong" is not the right word, rather it is merely hand-eye coordination that is needed which comes after lots of practice, it is a developed ability. Open "Edit - Default Settings - Cabinet" and carefully study those default settings and then study the Cabinet Specification Dialog for each Cabinet Type practicing changing settings to see the results of having done so in simple test plans. By the time you have done that you will be more certain of hand-eye-mouse actions and more certain of allied settings for those objects. Useful time spent. DJP

Take a look at some of these help articles: https://www.homedesignersoftware.com/search/?q=adding+catalogs And then go here to download some additional catalog files:https://3dlibrary.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?r=site/library&search=&x=0&y=0&x=true&soft_family_2=2&hid_soft_family_2=2&utm_source=&utm_medium=&utm_campaign= DJP

You have the Knowledge Base of help articles that is searchable, you also have access to Chief Architect Inc Tech Support, use one or both of those venues. DJP

Yes,it will once you learn how to use its tools and settings. Please contact Chief Architect Inc. Tech Support for help with your difficulties during their Pacific Time Office Hours. DJP

A material is composed of a pattern file which is "Vector Based" (just lines) and a texture file (an image made of pixels) if the grout lines are some color other than black in the associated image you must make a copy of the image, changing the texture based grout lines with darker ones in an image editing program like Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro or some other image editing program, then re-import the edited image as a custom material. DJP

Is this to be by or beside a stair? DJP

This knowledge base help article should help: https://www.homedesignersoftware.com/support/article/KB-01084/creating-a-custom-library-material.html , the main thing is to use the "Define Materials" tool ( its icon is a tricolor), when you use it you get a "Define Material Deffinition" dialog which allows you to resize a material and to do other intended edits, the article will introduce you to it. You know, everything you need to know is already in the Reference Manual, Users Guide and provided videos (found under help) DJP

You should be able to open and view his X4 files but once you have done so, you cannot return those files opened in the current "Client Viewer" (which is a client viewer for Chief X8) but that is better than nothing. Your Architect will not be able to open any of your files that you might create because of the version differences in what you have and what he has. DJP

You use the tools at hand. For sidewalks you can use the spline sidewalk tool. You can also just use a "Terrain Feature" and edit it like any poly-line using the line break tool to segment it and the line to arc tool to curve line segments. DJP

Railing walls have a dialog box for their editing, unlike other walls that also have edit handles as you have observed. DJP

Depending upon which software title you have, you may be able to simply use the polygon-deck tool which will create a perfect polygon deck which you can then convert the railing walls to whatever walls you wish. That IS the easiest way to draw a polygon house but not all titles have that feature found under railing draw tools. What do you have? DJP

What software are you using, they all have different capabilities and routes to solution? DJP

Whatever you set as wall studs will determine the initial dimensions of the blocking. Once the blocking is added it can be edited to any size you wish by way of each framing members dialog box, one at a time. I had never tired to place wall blocking in Home Designer Pro before today, I have done it many times in Chief Premier but its tools are superior to what you have to painstakingly do in Pro. It can be done however you wish but is entirely a manual effort to do. DJP

Within reason you can do whatever you want AFTER you have fully learned how to use Home Designer Pro. Truthfully software does not DO anything by itself, it takes a dedicated user who is willing to take the time to fully learn through study followed by practice how to use the software to emulate to other building professionals what is needed and wanted. That is something you do after spending the time to develop the competence necessary to do so. There is no short cut to competence other than just hard, dedicated work. DJP

Eric is correct, you will need to draw custom ceiling planes (found under roof tools) to model this. It will not be completely easy for a new user, the ceiling planes must form a ridge under the main roof planes, so their baselines must follow the angles shown in your photos. I am sorry but I do not have time to make a video (paid work to do). But your room has flat ceilings as well as vaulted ceilings ( the interior vaults will emulate the vaulted ceilings) so it will be a combination of invisible walls (where you require flat ceilings) and custom ceiling planes where you require a vaulted ceiling. DJP

Make the bay window a "room" by drawing an invisible wall to make it so, then open its resulting "Room Specification Dialog - Structure Tab - ceiling over this room check box (uncheck)" and you will then have a common rafter vault in that area. If you want something more fancy, then please say so, the above will vault the enclosed area but only in that area, not into the adjacent room. DJP

This may help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KX98L1IB-w and this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-Y5tSYtk9E DJP

Victorian roofs can be done in Home Designer Pro but I do not believe a truly professional representation can be done in anything else. The Architectural decorations under, on and around the top of the roof can be emulated with some difficulty. What software do you have? It really depends upon how detailed your finished model (plan file) needs to be to determine what software to use. If all you are interested in is floor plans or interiors, any Home Designer title will do but for relationally correct inside and out type 3D models you really need Home Designer Pro IMHO. Even with Pro you will have to learn how to use its tools, in and of itself, it does nothing, you lead it to a result, it is a tool for you to control. DJP

Vector view is what I use 99% of the time, you can do as you wish. DJP

This You Tube video may help you: https://youtu.be/cKNYRFvTqsA DJP

"Corbels" found in the Library Browser under "Architectural - Millwork - Corbels" DJP

Dormers have a dialog box like any other object. That dialog box has a "Walls" tab where you can select the type of wall you desire. If you properly set Wall Defaults to the wall type in Edit Default Settings - Wall - Exterior Wall and set the exterior material of the wall in Wall Defaults - Exterior Wall and in Edit Default Settings - Materials - Exterior Wall to the same desired outer layer (exterior siding) then and only then have you done your job properly. The software is merely a mechanical device that requires your control and guidance in terms of your intended outcome. DJP

A material is defined by two separate file types per material 1. is a .pat file or pattern file for visuals in vector views 2. For render views a material has a texture file (usually a bit map image file like .jpeg, .png or .bmp file formats) You can find the precise procedure in your Reference Manual, the section is about "Custom Materials", how to create and import them. In order to have a circular pattern the texture or image would have to show a single instance of the masonry pattern and so seamlessly repeat itself across 3D faces or surfaces. One would have to learn how to write .pat files (such technology exists on the "WWW", I used to know how to write simple .pat files but have since forgotten how to, if you are determined enough you can do that as well). If you can find an image of a single instance of your intended texture (often times an image from a masonry company website can be used but it must be properly trimmed so it repeats across 3D surfaces seamlessly. This is about all I know about custom materials. DJP Here is a video about making seamless texture files:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2xR3WQDSZc

Brian Spector asked me to repair his roof system and shared the file so I could do so. He created the design in Architectural 2015 and I repaired it in Chief X6. When your floor plan is asymmetric your resulting roof system will be also and sometimes that is beyond the capabilities of anything than Pro or Chief. The video is of me editing Brian's plan file: https://youtu.be/ZkMd20pWUJw DJP Roof Help.plan