DavidJPotter

DJP

"Edit (main Menu) - Default Settings - Walls- Exterior Wall" . You should also set the same exterior wall material here after setting your exterior wall default here:Edit- Default Settings - Materials - Exterior Wall". DJP

LawB10 is a lot of things to a lot of people. He is not a genius, what he is, is a guy who has bothered to study the Reference Manual and Users Guide to a degree that he knows how to get a result with this software. He is competent, not a genius. I hope you are willing to become competent too, it is more fun than guessing and being incompetent. DJP

Creating a shed dormer starts with Edit Default Settings Dormer, where you set up the 3D geometry settings of the intended object. When that is done you then have to place the dormer object on a section of roof where there is enough 3D space to allow the new dormer to exist or to be created. Once you have properly done those things, then and only then will you be able to have a shed dormer. Posting a copy of your plan and filling out your signature will help others understand the limitations of the software you are using and exactly what your problem or problems are. You know what you want to do but WE do not, help us, help you. DJP

You should not buy anything but Home Designer Pro in my opinion. No software draws itself, you have to be willing to spend the time to really learn how to create specific effects using the software and its tools. If you are unwilling to dedicate yourself to competence, then keep your money. I have been using this software since 1994 and I love the creative work I can make with it, it is not work for me, rather it is fun! DJP

I defer to LawB10 in that he and some others here seem to be more facile with non-Home Designer Pro titles than myself. He has obviously figured out how to do what you need done in Suite. I have been spoiled for years by Chief Premier's manual roof tools. DJP

Commonly one creates the title block as part of your .layout template file, is that what you are doing? Or are you trying to do this another way? DJP

The house shown in the above photos will be hard to impossible to model in Suite. It can easily be done in Home Designer Pro once you learn how to manipulate its manual roof tools. DJP

If all you need and want are 2D symbols, you can make those using just the provided 2D tools in Pro. They will not act like electrical symbols that ship with Pro, made by Chief inc. but can serve. I have downloaded some symbols from 3D warehouse sometimes at need. I mostly use Chief Premier and it is capable of making 2D/3D symbols on the fly. I often use 2D CAD arc's to represent specialized electrical lines where the default "wiring tool" falls short. DJP

Not that I know of unless you are a software architect or engineer to rewrite the code of your software. DJP

It is always a setting, checkbox or input box, see attached image for specifics: DJP

My advice is to find which Sketch Up version works on your machine and then stay with that version if found. Your only other recourse is to buy Sketch Up Pro and repair your "free" downloads when they fail. DJP

I downloaded the skp symbol in question with no difficulty and it looks as expected inside Home Designer Pro. The thing I have noticed about Sketch Up Files is that they are certainly "Free" but Sketch Up also does not apply ANY quality control over these free symbols. That means that you and I must be the QC people. I commonly discard several .skp files when I am trying to acquire a new symbol, I have to commonly download several and evaluate them to find just one that is acceptable. I do not consider this unusual or a bug, rather it is people just being people. I have also observed, as you have that which version of Sketch Up to import makes a difference, which is again a hit and miss proposition for me as well. It just seems to come with that turf. DJP

I do not see a house much less a roof. You are going to help us help you by way of more data about your house and roof if you really want some useful help. DJP

Be sure that when you are drawing walls that "Angle Snaps" is "ON". With it off it is very difficult to impossible to draw right angle walls. DJP

Once learned this software is wonderful for the designer. If you want the software to display average size in terms of feet and inches, it will do so IF SET to do so by you by way of Display Options-Rooms. I commonly do not use that setting as it is, as I said an average of dimensions of each room after it is named and the Display Options-Rooms- Dimensions display is selected. You can also have the software display each room's size in terms of Square Feet per room if you like. I prefer using Manual dimension tools creating a dimension string up and down and another string left and right which then show the exact room dimensions on screen. I never use auto-dimensions or auto-Temporary dimensions as you seem to be doing. Read the Users Guide please and also use the Help files to find out how this software is designed to work, once you do, you will find it more fun to use. Guessing is a waste of your time. DJP

I assume that you are referring to how the software can be made to display dimensions under the assigned room name. Personally, I never use that display BECAUSE it is not accurate and is a rounded off display of dimensions. When I want to show dimensions in a room, I draw those dimensions so anyone can then see, accurately what the dimensions are. You can also display via "Display Options" the square footage of rooms accurately. Please study the sections of your Reference Manual that describe what these displays mean before using them. The Reference Manual can be found under the "Help" menu and provides important information you need to have to understand how to use your software competently. DJP

Correction, that can be done (I did a fully 3D HVAC layout for a client).but not in Home Designer Pro, at least not in HD Pro alone. You would have to make that stuff in sketch Up and import as symbols. An extremely taxing and exacting enterprise. In thirty years of drafting, I have only done one such job and that client was a psycho. No one does it, no one needs to do it, plumbers do not need such directives and work from simple 2D plans like everyone else. Chief Premier has a 3D molding poly line tool for doing pipe runs but again, NO ONE DOES THIS OR NEEDS THIS KIND OF DISPLAY! You are welcome to blaze new trails but I assure you it will NOT be an easy road to track. DJP

In HD Pro you can manually draw a gable roof and then using the trans-replicate tool to set how high or low the roof planes are to be. In all other HD Titles, you must generate roof planes using pre settings in walls and room specification dialogs. Those are the facts for creating roofs. DJP

Try rotating the offending soffit and see if that does not help. DJP

If you do not know what a poly wall or wall covering is, please take a look in the Help files and Reference Manual where those tools are explained. DJP

Look under "Specialty/ Misc/ Other" on this web page: 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& Look for "Silhouettes" there DJP

No one (except Chief Inc employees) is required to answer any questions by anyone here. snarky or otherwise. Most people here answer, however they answer out of a simple sense of helping others. The total essence of being snarky and irresponsible is to then critique or complain about the freely given answers to questions by those who asked those questions. DJP

What difficulty or difficulties are you having, please? DJP

Well, in order to"SEE" the line weight change on screen you must also turn on "Show Line Weight". Once that is done you can then and only then "see" the line weight change on screen, of course, you can print and see the change but that is an inefficient way to do so, after the fact. That is what the "Show Line Weight" tool is for, take a look (again). DJP