DavidJPotter

That particular tool is confined to placing piers only along foundation stem walls-footings and will not place them outside of the confines of such drawn walls. The software is merely stating that fact to you. Other than that I am not sure what you want to accomplish, I mean it looks like you have piers in place, so what exactly do you want to do that you cannot aparently do please? This software is full of cryptic "error messages" that are worded in a way that is often hard to understand by end users (they are worded in programmer Geek-Speak mostly). Trying to understand them is often a waste of time and the important issue is "getting your creative work done" as opposed to becomming fluent in "Geek Speak". Those messages are mainly for the software developers. They are parsed and created by software developers for their own use. In other words such messages are well understood by those persons but were not written with us, specifically in mind. I rarely read such "Error Messages" having seen them all multiple times and only worry about getting things done, that is my advice to you about such things. DJP

Dear Lady, respectfully a statement such as "The training video instructions do not work." is just another way to say in fact that the steps shown in the training video were either not successfully taken and or not fully understood and implemented. Please keep that in mind. Steps successfully taken always equal desired results, so look for the setting or step not implemented and you will then have a success. A room named "Deck" by default will have no roof possible (open the Room Dialog Box - Structure Tab" of any "Deck" room and you will see that "Roof over this Room" will be unchecked by default due to the naming convention choosen. Place a "check mark" by "Roof over this Room" in the Room Specification Dialog and then when a roof is ordered built and you properly set the directives in each of the germane Wall Specification Dialog box - Roof Tabs then a shed roof will then and only then appear. I am not a mean-spirited person but do mean you well by the above words, my intent is to help you. DJP

New users most common error is not setting "Edit -Default Settings - Floor" and other germane default settings before starting to create walls etc. When settings are incorrect and not planned out from the beginning you always get chaos and unnecessary wierd results. The software must be guided to a desired result, it is a mechanical device and "knows" nothing other than what you set it to "know". Take the time to study and practice using the Reference Manual as your guide and then apply that competence to your project. Otherwise you then learn by trial and error only, wasting your time unnecessarily. Learn to use your tools and then and only then, use them is my advice. DJP

I agree with Mick in that Suite is not capable of creating a Dutch or Texas Gable. Otherwise you should be able to get close in terms of the covered porches. That is done in each of the exterior wall dialog boxes-roof tab where you can then preprogram each wall to have a compound roof pitch situation over the walls that define the porch roofs (there is a input box on the "Roof Tab" for "Pitch and then Second Pitch" so over such programmed walls the sofware, once properly set will then build a low pitched roof and then a steeper pitched roof over areas so programmed by you. If you really need it done correctly in every way you would be better off to have Home Designer Pro that has manual roof tools and other enhancements that once learned would then inable you to create whatever you desire. Suite is very able but not in the area of complex roof design and creation. DJP

All you need to do is to turn on (check) "Attic Walls" while in an overview camera (they (attic walls) were turned off in that "Display Options" dialog for your overview camera. (see attached You Tube Video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQejzVauWoY&feature=youtu.be DJP

By the way, did you enclose your second floor with walls when you ordered it created? No walls equals no floor or walls and I see in your images no floor or walls that define the second floor. What did you do or not do please? DJP PS: I am busy working on a couple of paid projects and thus have little time for gratis work, sorry. You post the plan and others can at least look and help

LIke Eric, I mainly use Chief Premier and HD Pro but in Suite you would have to set up the roof commands in each of the wall dialog box - roof tab - pitch input box that define the flat roof area. They would be set to 1/16"x12" or 0" x 12" pitch so the roof generator would then be guilded by those commands and build a "flat" roof.(even a flat roof is not oerfectly flat do it will drain during rain) The rest of the walls that have hip roofs built over them can be left alone with their settings as to pitch done in the Build Roof Dialog box - Pitch input box. DJP

You can also use free services like "Google Drive" and "Dropbox" for files too large for directly posting here (you post a hyperlink to such files instead of the file) so any size file can easily be shared thereby here. DJP

Eric, why do you have an invisible wall next to a deck railing-invisible wall (that is what it looks like to me you have done). Commonly you just use a railing wall that is invisible to demark the boundries of a deck "room" and such walls, so programmed have an "exterior and interior" wall setting that colors the visible edge of the deck so defined. An additional invisible wall (if that is what you did) is unnecessary and productive of unwanted artifacts. DJP

I prefer 2D images for people as fully 3D life forms either look ugly (angular and unreal) or if very well done have so many 3D faces (facets) that their presence overwhelms most PC's ability to render them (that is why I prefer 2D images, they look better and do not stress my PC's rendering hardware). DJP

An easy way to visually eliminate "Z" fighting is to set the "sheathing" layer of your roof planes to the same material as the roof surface. This makes your materials list inaccurate but fully eliminates the sheathing showing through your surface material assignment (shingles). Something else you should check is under "Properties" for the shingles you are using to make sure they are set to "matte" as opposed to "reflective" or "polished" in terms of how they handle light refraction in rendered views. DJP

Most of my software programs are also 32 bit but a 64 bit PC will easily run 32 or 64 bit programs easily. A 64 bit PC or Mac has hardware designed to run 32 or 64 bit applications. No, in that Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7 x 32 will only use a maximum of 3Gb of system RAM, one would have to have a modern, 64 bit operating system to use more than 3Gb. Open your Windows "Help" files and search for: " Diagnosing memory problems on your computer " DJP

Read these Knowledge Base Help articles please: http://www.homedesignersoftware.com/search/?q=split+level+entry&submit.x=0&submit.y=0&default_tab=support&site=chief_architect&client=chief_architect&restrict=ChiefArchitect&proxystylesheet=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chiefarchitect.com%2Fsearch%2Fchiefsearch_stylesheet.xslt&output=xml_no_dtd DJP

That is the way it is designed to be used: you make your presettings, build roofs, then manually build trusses and then and only then build framing. The auto-framing then frames to the trusses that should be in place. That procedure is laid out, step by step in the Reference Manual found under the "Help" menu. I realize that it is many pages but the way to address that document is a little at a time followed by practice on what was studied. It is searchable and so you can persue your interests as opposed to reading it in sequence. DJP

There is a "Raise off Top Plate" input box in the build roof dialog that controls roof height relative to the top plate. The way the truss tool works is that it manually fills the space between the flat ceiling and the bottom of the roof planes so it is imcumbent upon you to tell (set) that height as above and then the truss tool will then fill the spaces you create. In terms of posts and footings, you must manually edit those to your purposes using manual tools. The software is merely a mechanical device that must be led-controlled to a specific result and that control must come from you (not the software). DJP

The ethical thing to do is to buy the plan and then you have a legal right to edit the results to fit your needs. If you really like it then properly exchange with the author is my advice and leave dishonesty to criminals. DJP

Say which title of the software you have please and also post some screen captures so we can better understand your delima. Too much verbage and not enough "show me". DJP

I am guesing that you are using a laptop and as such there is little you can do other than eventually upgrade to a more modern, expensive PC or Mac. The problem with most laptops is shared memory for the video card. For best performance you need a video card with 2-3 Gb of VRAM built into the video card (not shared as you currently have). I realize that the above is not very useful in terms of a solution but it probably the truth of the matter. DJP

An elevator is basically an "Open Below" room that is aligned floor to floor and on each floor the opening has a sliding door. Otherwise a pre-fabed object to go inside that space can be had as above. DJP

The easiest way to share plan views is by printing to PDF or some image format, though a lot of plan sharing does not actually make a lot of sense except to illustrate a problem or problems you may be experiencing (why would you share a personal residence plan with strangers except to get help?) Be that as it may, Chief Architect Inc does run design contests from time to time and any and all users are welcome to make submissions. This is more a forum for help in using the software as opposed to a design sharing activity (as I said those usually tend to be personal and private). That does not mean that you or others cannot share or discuss anything relevant to the use of Home Designer software, the above is merely my opinion. DJP

The proximity of walls to the stair object will often bring about the condition you show in your image. You can try what Mick (Kbird1) suggested but if you keep having that unwanted result I would make the offending walls "invisible" and use a custom slab, reshaped soffit or reshaped cabinet to emulate the non-workable walls. A lot of functionality is pre-programmed into the software and sometimes that programming is not appropriate for all instances or situations (like now) and so you just do what you must to get the results you need and then move on. 3-D modeling is more about appearances than "virtual actualities" anyway. DJP

The software has no ability to differentiate between individual buildings so instead of using the "Create New Floor from floor below..." default command you use the "Create Blank Floor" command which creates the virtual floor but nothing else. You then manually draw in the walls of the new floor where you need-want them using the "Reference Display" to be able to see where you need to draw them in alignment with the walls below. What you need to understand is that the software is not capable of reading your mind or other intuitive actions, you must tell or guide the software to a result always, so it the results are not what is needed and wanted, you are up against not knowing what settings, dialog's or procedures are required for a successful outcome. Almost all answers are to be found in the video tutorials, Help files and Reference Manual so along with your creative activity you should balance that with applied study followed by practice in a methodical manner so you are then able to better control and guide the software. DJP

The common remedy for this is to take the existing material (that is running the "wrong" way) and open that material in "Plan Materials", select that material, the "copy" (make a copy of the material - it will by default be named "Copy of xx-material name" at which time you can edit the copied material and turn it however you need it to go it is "Define Material Dialog Box - pattern and texture tabs". Each material is defined commonly as a "vector pattern" (for black and white line plus color views) and a 'texture" for "Standard Render" views. The above description works in Home Designer Pro and in Chief Architect Premier but if you are using something other than that you choices may be a little more limited or cumbersome. What software are you using? DJP

Keep in mind that many things can be emulated, represented or 3D modeled using combinations of objects and tools that may not on first look be "intuitive" or labeled as what you need and want. Really learning how to do whatever you need and want is a large part of learning this software, this takes thinking out of the box and just using the tools and resources you have at hand, looking past simple settings and dialog box settings. Just because there might not be a particular named object in the Library Browser does not mean that you cannot portray it or perhaps download-import it from 3-D Warehouse to get your work done. DJP

Architectural does have a slab tool which can be used creatively to do what you want, a custom spa can also be constructed of soffits (cabinet tools) or of cabinets creatively sized and programmed to emulate lots of things. These objects can be made thick or think, wide or skinny and carry any material appearance. This is also true of terrain tools but these are limited to being somewhere within the boundary of a terrain plane. DJP