DavidJPotter

The technical "Reason" is IMHO value and exchange. Suite and Interiors will do a lot for little money, for a little more Architectural offers additional features and choices with Home Designer Pro offering the ability to layout printed sheets albeit one file at a time. The exchange for HD Pro is $495.00. You get what everyone gets when they buy pro 2016. For $2,600.00 and then about $400.00 per year to maintain your SSA account you get rather a lot more because you exchanged more in terms of money and the time it takes to learn how to use and apply those additional tools and features. Chief Architect Inc is a business and to survive they must make profits, pay salaries, Insurance, rent, legal fees etc. It is their company and products and they have their own survival to insure. It is the way our world is rigged to run. DJP

Relative to some questions you might want answers to, a better choice for a source might be Tech Support or Sales instead of opinions of end users. I was suggesting that a direct communication to the originators of the software would then glean something other than an opinion or someone's guesses. For all practical purposes your question has been answered and useful suggestions made. DJP

The software sets a void or space between floors (Edit - Default Settings - Framing - Sub Floor for floor 2 input box), all the truss tool then does is to fill that void that you create via defaults when you then manually draw-create floor trusses. The roof truss tool works in a similar way filling the space you create between the structural ceiling and the underside of roof planes. It is something you do and not what the software does per se. You set the stage via settings and then manually create floor or roof trusses using the truss tools. DJP

Here is a You Tube explanation of what a roof baseline is and where it is: http://youtu.be/cD8xTwQ7SaI DJP

You are welcome. It does make a little difference but not a lot. I assume you are trying to emulate a bay window unit that is made in a factory as a single unit (Andersen, Pella etc). The only way I have successfully done this is to find that symbol at 3D Warehouse, download it and import it into a plan and then make a hole for it to fit in. Admittedly I did this in Chief Architect Premier and not Home Designer Suite but I am sure you could do something similar provided you do not expect a $60 program to perform like a $2,600.00 program. For the money, Suite is a steal but it does not and cannot do everything under the Sun, Moon and Stars, it is just a fact. DJP

Not me, sorry. DJP

What Mick and K9 suggested is correct but check it out for yourself, practice making changes as above and then view the results. That way you get your own objective reality as to what is what. DJP

Call Chief Architect Sales and find out for yourself what is true or false please. DJP

In order to approach what you want to do, you need to find a setting in "General Plan defaults" called "Ignore Casing when resizing Doors and Windows" ("Edit - Default Settings - Plan"). This allows you to place windows and doors without making space for the casings of Doors and Windows, it should only be used temporarily to create caseless bay or box manual windows and then turned back off when you are done. DJP

The last time I designed a stair lift, I found one at 3D Warehouse, downloaded it and then imported it into my plan file. I do not recall seeing a curved stair one (mine was straight). There is no such object extant elsewhere that I know of. So outside of that, use your imagination. DJP

The way Mick suggests is the ONLY way to achieve this (by cheating actually, placing two door objects in the exact same space but facing them differently). The only other way possible is to download a door from Trimble 3D Warehouse and place the imported door symbol in the same space as the first one created in your software. I prefer Mick's method as it is less trouble to achieve. DJP

The command is found in the Base cabinet Specification dialog - "Flat Sides" DJP

Suite 2016 has an "Edit Area" tool ( Edit - Edit Area) and also a "Reverse Plan" command (Tools - Reverse Plan). It would be smarter just to redraw the kitchen facing the way you are most comfortable with as opposed to those command tools but you do what seems right to you and live with the results. DJP

Here is a short You Tube tutorial about 45 degree walls (works the same in all Home Designer titles and versions: http://youtu.be/3CfnPPoJe8g DJP

Rotating symbols can only be done natively in Chief Architect Premier software. You can (after some practice and study) download and learn to use Sketch Up software to make things like that using Sketch Up and then export the file for import into Suite. Sketch Up is free to download and use. It is not terribly hard to learn and use but does require some confront and dedicated study but is a great adjunct to Home Designer software. DJP

In my State it is a $5,000.00 fine levied by the Texas Architectural Board for claiming or intimating that one is an Architect (I know, I almost got fined for just saying I use "Chief Architect" software but I got that straightened out, no problem). I call myself a "Building Designer or Construction Designer". I started out as an Apartment Maintenance Person, then was promoted to Manage 60 maintenance men, porters, plumbers, electricians, carpenters , carpet cleaners and HVAC technicians for a large Property Management company. I had good leadership skills , an ability to listen and communicate well with bosses and workers. I supervised large renovation projects and helped evaluate the condition of investment commercial properties. I eventually started my own remodeling business, doing my own drawings. I started with Home Designer type software and then graduated to Chief Architect. I have never had any formal classes or training other than squarely looking at what others do and have done in the field and in plans. When I need an interior decorator I hire one or when I need a Structural Engineer I seek one out. When I encounter a term I do not understand, I look it up and get it clearly defined. When I do not understand something, I just say so and get it understood. I charge $75.00 per hour for my services. Competent Architects commonly charge a lot more per hour and depending upon the scope of the project Architects are worth their fees for sure, especially when the project is not already clearly defined and developed. You should survey local Architects, Drafters and Designers to see what they are charging and then decide for yourself what to charge. Some designers charge by the square foot (such a figure can be worked out for yourself, I prefer an hourly figure, I have never signed or offered to sign design contracts but many designers do develop their own from their own experiences. I am kinda of old fashioned where my word is the contract where maintaining another's trust is my responsibility). You have to develop your own style and policies and then keep to them. Most local colleges offer drafting and Architectural classes which you can take or audit. The standard is competence and certainty about your own abilities to plan and create. Accuracy is a personal, competence matter and is not something one is trained to, rather it is an Ethical standard one imposes upon yourself. Training and classes expand your understood nomenclature, general and specific understanding and control of your tools and concepts. In terms of Education, always follow your own interests and not someone elses "know best" (the only person who can know best for you is YOU) When I develop a custom home design for someone, I try to find out what is real to them relative to a total budget (The easiest and most worthless thing I can do is to design something they cannot hope to afford). I like to have them give me photos or sketches of designs that they like or an Architectural look they have affinity for to help guide the Architectural look and feel of the home. Often they will have a "napkin sketch" of the potential floor plan that I can use as a basis for starting the design. I do this work and use these tools because I love it and it makes me happy to do so. DJP

If the problem persists, you can get Tech Support help from Chief Architect Inc Tech Support, Pacific Time Zone Office Hours. DJP

Please post a copy of your plan so other can see if they get similar results. I have copies of Home Designer back to version 7, all titles. DJP

Your CPU is not the pivotal matter, your video card is the main factor relative to rendering and camera view speed and stability. Of course a faster CPU will help, faster RAM and having an SSD hard drive helps but your video card is always the main bottle-neck for visuals. Most laptop video support falls short for Chief Architect and Home Designer title performance. DJP

I have never successfully used "Automatic Heights" when working on Winders, NEVER. They must be done using manual height settings. See this You Tube video for more mass (data-reality) please: Even though I use X5 for the video, Premier and Pro have identical tools for custom winder stairs. DJP

Not a bug, just something that you have to be very precise and plodding with. The key is precise placement of stair objects, one to another in both plan view and in the "Z" axis (relative height). That and practice will help you arrive, there are no tips or tricks other than making sure all settings are correct and that spacial locations are perfect. DJP

Call Chief Architect Sales to get a cogent answer to your question please. DJP

This should help provided you have Home Designer Pro: DJP

You should print the layout to a Adobe PDF file and then e mail or carry the PDF file to Staples. They cannot open ".layout" files most likely but PDF files they can help you with. DJP

Create a doorway. Size it to the dimensions you require. If your software title allows you curve the top using the "Arch" tab of the "Door Specification Dialog" Turn off the "Casing and Sill" of the doorway. locate the doorway above the floor Make a small custom "slab" to fill in the back of the doorway DJP This should work in Home Designer titles that have an "Arch" tab and "Custom Slab" abilities, what do you have?