Kbird1

Look closer at my pics above you need to break the wall into 3 sections not 2 ie the PINK bits in the pic above. M.

I think that makes you the only person who reads my Forum Signature Rob , it also includes a link to a post on how to add pics or your plan to a post , and another to the HD Knowledgebase (KB) where HD put their Tutorials and is there to save me typing the same requests over and over ( and over ). Apologies if you thought they were directed at You. You Signature is fine by the way

you would make the layer adjustments before sending to Layout if you want the Roof planes to show on different pages of your Plans. Pro only has one layout page though, so you have to use multiple "Save As" Plans for each level. Chief has other options for this , might be worth trying that Trial too if you are using the Software Professionally. m.

not sure I understand 100% but ceilings don't show in Plan view so shouldn't effect anything as far as "seeing" the Stairs and walls. remember that you are really working with 3D Objects , not lines like in other CAD Software ,and the stairs show just like they are in real life if you took the roof off . M.

Chief has a support line in Oz too now , if you need it http://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/

I missed the HDA part.I was thinking Pro , so I am not sure you can adjust the Clipping distance as DJP mentioned , so the only alternative is to move closer in the view ,so the clipping doesn't have that effect. I think Jo_Ann has mentioned this before She has HDA too , a forum search may find her Post. M. She beat me to it above

Sounds and looks like what is called Z-Fighting and is an issue when you are too far away from the model usually, as the defaults are set to Clip at 24" , try setting it to 300" as suggested in this KB Article , under Large Terrains about 1/2 way down. http://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-00107/ do a search on the Forum for z-fighting and you'll find plenty of other posts if you want/need more info. M.

I usually just set the Transparency to 50% not 100% so it's not so See through which I think looks better . I did read on CT that there will be a method in X8 (2017) Titles though ,that works like more traditional CAD Drawings. Glenn Woodward did come up with a method in Chief but I'm not sure if it works in Pro or below or is worth the effort required but here it is his plan GlennWW_Dbl_stairs.plan his post https://chieftalk.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?/topic/2295-fantastic-new-solution-found-re-how-do-you-show-partial-open-railing-stairs-and-how-to-show-the-door-to-the-basement-stairs-underneath/#entry18608 another post on CT from this week... https://chieftalk.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?/topic/4586-2d-stair-appearance/

I think Eric is probably right , what he has pointed you to, is the Toggle buttons for Toolbars and the Status Bar , they should have a small check mark on the icon if enabled. if that doesn't work ,try Preferences>Reset Options>Reset Side Windows. M.

it appears from your 2nd pic your drew the railing on the Basement/foundation level , hence that's where it shows in 3D , delete it on that level and redraw it on level 1 using the Reference layer to position it between columns if needed. and yes I'd use a straight DECK railing not the interior railing. M.

It may suffice ?, I don't know your needs so best bet is downloading HDA as a Free Trial and just playing around, I would just try it and see if it's worth the upgrade to you.

haven't used the Surface personally ,but do a forum search over on CT and you will get more Posts about LT's like this one https://chieftalk.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?/topic/4662-advice-using-buying-laptop/

Eric is correct , that is the current solution in HD and Chief Currently. M.

if you draw it on the foundation level it will show on the foundation level M.

Home Designer 2016 ok but WHAT TITLE? PRO? ARCH.? SUITE? Please update you Forum Profile with the above info thanks. Also Pics and the Plan file help , see the 2nd link in my Sig. for a how to do that Post. , Thanks

This Product Matrix will answer some of those questions , use the PDF Find function , to look up the Tools you want HD2016 Product comparison-matrix.pdf The 2nd floor would just be a standard brick wall , no need for a Pony wall there...HDA does have Pony Walls but doesn't have all the features of Pro, but may do what you need it to. Only Pro has window Sills and Aprons and Lintels AFAIK (check matrix above) The horizontal stripe maybe able to be done if the Version has the "Wall Covering Option" in the Wall's DBX when you open it. Why don't you just download the HDA 2016 Trial ( or Pro) and try it out? https://www.homedesignersoftware.com/products/trial.html

in Edit>Preferences under Folders, it tells you were each of your Default file locations are , and there is a browse button to take you there....at least on the Windows version there is. M.

Geniuses? you might be in the wrong Forum Did you try just Copy/Pasting the Terrain onto (a copy, always work with copies when playing) the House Plan ? Copy/paste>Hold Position may or may not work for you depending on how you want the land/terrain setup , but pasting this way should allow you to use the edit handles etc after the paste to move it around and rotate it if needed. If HDA has the Edit>Edit>All Floors Option use that, other wise you'll need to do each "level" independently.....this is the other reason to take the Terrain to the house not the other way around. M.

you sure you opened your Plan file and not a NEW PLAN? if you made saves your plan should be where ever you saved it to? ...My Documents>HD Pro Data perhaps? If not you should also have an Archive Backup file in My Documents>HD Pro Data>Archives>{Plan Named Folder} too M.

try playing with the options in the Render panel of Preferences , turn off shadows in preview should help as may turning down the software edge softening especially if you are on the lower limit of the graphics card. Are you on the latest videocard driver for your OS? Your laptop doesn't have two videocards does it? if so you need to set HD Pro to use the better one as the default card (often an intel HD is slow) will be slow in 3D as you are experiencing , this is a common problem on laptops, but I still do it on my windows desktop too to get better performance out of the Nvidia Drivers. M.

The Toolbars in Pro are fully customisable , you can drag them to different place or even have them floating , you can delete buttons and add buttons for one you use often etc. There are also different configurations already setup for doing CAD detailing. Terrain Work etc , and you can make you own as well , check it out in the reference manual. M.

That's not how the "software thinks" , it is programmed to build level 1, then level 2 ,then the attic/roof and finally when done, the foundation... you can make the software work ,how you build it in the real world , yes , but it'll be more work as pointed out by Eric. ...a lot more effort than the 3 minutes it took me to do the other way. When you rebuild the foundation it automatically cuts out the wall in the foundation for the new bumps outs , but because you want it on 36" (37 1/2 with sill plate) you have to put the full height (100 1/2 (96 1/2") basement) wall back 1st.

If you drew up the existing house fully , then added the addition , it could be as simple as the fact you didn't rebuild the Roof after drawing the addition , in Pro "Build Roof Auto", is not on by default. You also have the option to manually drew Roof Planes in Pro. which is a bonus as Addition Roofs can be a bear ! (below) On the other hand you may have run into 2 old time HD/Chief bugs ....sorry 1. HD doesn't like adding a room the exact same width to the end of an existing structure , eg a Shed roof addition on the end of a one/two storey Gable building , narrow the addition down a few inches each side and it will do it usually but sometimes 2. there seems to be an issue depending on the roof where if the room heights are within 12" of each other , the Roof will screwup similar to no#1. best to post pics or even your plan , so we can check it out , in my signature below is a link (2nd one) to a post on how to do both. M.

If you are just trying to change one FULL wall , it is easier to just go into that Wall's DBX and change the Wall material as needed , you can do it with Broken walls too. Once you break a wall ,alter it immediately ,or it will revert back after your next click , you can make two or 3 breaks if needed in a row but make the change next or HD will assume it is the same wall still and merge them back into one wall. M.

3d Mice aren't supported AFAIK , this question comes up on Chieftalk too fairly often, twice in the last week or too https://chieftalk.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?/topic/4479-3dconnexion-hardware/ https://chieftalk.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?/topic/4552-3d-connection-space-mouse/ add your +1 in the suggestions forum too