Kbird1

Largely depends on Budget but try for something with a Nvidia graphics cards and make sure to set the NV Card as the default card for HD Pro to use it for 3D or it may use the intergrated chip which is slower. Some windows Tablets will run it too like the Microsoft Surface. I run it on a Desktop so I can't point to a specific Laptop but you could do a search at Chieftalk , it is a commom question there too. https://chieftalk.chiefarchitect.com/ (same user id + password if you need it,you are signed in here, so maybe not) M.

Thought I'd try making my 1st video since this is pretty quick and easy .....I used Jing for the video (free 5min.vids+pics) so hope it works ok , let me know, here is a link to it... no Audio sorry....but doesn't need any. http://screencast.com/t/rEe8VujtF if you want to try Jing it's here: https://www.techsmith.com/jing.html

Because you are familiar with AHD I think the Learning curve will be way lower ,and you will have simple "mockups" done a lot quicker to look at "What If" scenario's however HDA9 isn't a choice Online for the Rebate (ver10 is latest, and I'm not sure how long it will be on the list as 2016 came out on the 25th March) ,so you will need to call Sales and see if they will still apply the Rebate to your Purchase , HDA to HDA is $75 rebate , so $125 while a HDA to Pro upgrade is a $200 Rebate (= cost of HDA) so $295US. HD Pro 2016 is based on Chief X7 and has some nice addons/upgrades and a new UI , see my post here : https://hometalk.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?/topic/902-any-major-difference/#entry5169 the upgrade page: https://www.homedesignersoftware.com/products/home-designer-pro/

never had much luck myself with .obj files myself. AFAIK there is no time limit on the Trial of HD Pro/Arch , you just can't save plans or print or export extra ( so don't close Program or computer if you need to play with something longer than one session) check out that article above if you didn't , it shows how to get smoother curves in SU and double check your file for missing faces and other anomalies M.

there are a number of cosmetic changes like hi-res icons as it is based on Chief X7 ,but in Pro in particular there are a few new tools , you can read up on the "what's new" page here : https://www.homedesignersoftware.com/whats-new/ but here is the PDF versions too: home-designer-2015-2016-changelog.pdf home designer new-features 2016.pdf

HD and Chief use a "Room" based paradigm on which everything is based and everything is a 3D OBJECT as opposed to a lot of CAD software which is based on Lines and Walsl ,so for those coming from other software you will have to think a little differently, but once you learn some of the concepts it will become more intuitive. I would download the Reference Manual PDF and User Guide (Help Menu Links) and , save them to your Desktop and while doing the Tutorials in the User Guide ,have the Manual open and actively read different sections about the Tools available etc , and of course ask questions here when something needs clarifying as some stuff you'll only get by "doing it" and playing around , so set the Undo to 30 in the preferences so you can always step back if needed and don't "Play" with new technique on you Working Plan, do a "Save As" and play around on a copy of your working Drawing. Mick.

post some pics and update you profile perhaps ,so we know what software you are using, thx see the 2nd link in my sig. for how to post pics.

You can see the saddle (cricket?) in the photo actually if you look hard in the shadows....as mentioned this is a very bad design... however if you want it.... ,and depending on the real design it may not work well but two ideas..... you can cheat with the Gable over Window tool since there are windows but you wont be able to change the Dormer in Suite since it has no Roof tools or you can just break the Wall into sections with the Wall Break Tool ,(Ctrl-b,) and make each section "Full Gable" with the icon on the edit toolbar or via the Wall's DBX on the roof Tab. like this:

came across this short article today ,which has some pointers on the curves in Sketchup models http://blog.sketchup.com/sketchupdate/value-clean-modeling

Platzie , I think you are forgetting to click the attach button, nothing again , here is a tutorial on adding pics and plans to posts https://hometalk.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?/topic/221-how-to-take-pics-of-your-plan-to-post-here/?hl=pics

Sorry to hear that Robyn , let me know if I can help more when you are ready. Mick

Surprised to read that , after reading the article I linked to above which mention Gaming with Wine, but I have no WINE experience myself. M.

Yes nice improvement for many in 2016 and Chief X7 , they redid some of the 3D rendering programming apparently , The last update that X7 got actually mentioned HD 2016 even though it wasn't released yet . So Pro 2016 not X7 Interiors then? M.

yes it's true Donny ,2016 came out March 25th , the announcement is in the Announcements Part of the Forum here (with the link for the the free upgrade) I guess Support never asked when you got 2015.....but here it is https://hometalk.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?/topic/876-released-home-designer-2016-for-mac-pc/

if you just paid for 2015 in the last 30 days Don ,you are eligible for a free 2016 version upgrade which I think now has a new update to address Intel chipset Videocards added to it according to reports I saw On Chieftalk ....as DJP said, it might be best to talk to Tech Support direct. M.

the Edit toolbar and the Join Roof Planes Tool show in Plan view too ....you must have a Roof plane selected though to get the JRP Tool to show on the Edit Bar in any view, to use it properly you must select the EDGE of the roof plane you want to join on each roof plane , not the Roof Plane itself. M.

This is the 1st report of anything like this I have seen here or on Chieftalk , so it maybe computer specific and only Tech Support can help with that. M.

Thanks Eric , not sure what made you think unchecking Specify railing and then rechecking would make it allow you to check follow stairs but it works even in my old Pro 10 , I have always done it the other way but this is obviously cleaner and nicer. I noticed in 10 that if you have the wall railing and the solid railing both at 36" they are not at the same height when viewed in elevation, I think the wall measures itself off the floor while the railing is measuring itself off the stair nosing line as it should. PS you don't need this trick in Chief , you can select both Solid and follow stair without the Railing check/uncheck. Chief has the same height issue though. M.

is the railing wall connected properly in that outer corner ? the lower wall doesn't appear to meet the post ( or the post is outside the porch? bit hard to tell from posted pic) It appears that post is taking it's height from the Room ridge height rather than the outer wall height but can you not select the post in that view ? then grab the top edit handle and drag it down to the correct height? M.

I would call Customer Service on Mon. As not too many have 2016 yet , Tech Support would appreciate a copy of the Plans I'd think so they can try and recreate the issue too. https://www.homedesignersoftware.com/company/contact.html http://support.homedesignersoftware.com/ then use the green "new case" button M.

Somehow I knew you'd have a fix for this , gonna have to have a play , seems I have been clicking check boxes in the wrong order or something is different in 2015... much nicer look though so great. M.

Remove the auto railings on the staircase and add an interior wall beside the staircase ie a 2x4 wall with drywall basically which is what I think you want ? yes? then in an elevation view of the staircase ,shape the 2x4 wall as needed using the Break line Tool you can use a sloped soffit to make a wall cap if needed. The solid railing wont follow a staircase for some reason, neither does a 1/2 wall (which is really a railing) so the above method works , I'm not sure if that has changed in 2015 or 2016 Versions though?

export out of Sketckup as 3d Model> .3ds and see if hda9 handles it better , if not do a save as > sketchup version7 you may need to model it in a blank plan in SU ,ie just the Object you want , then save as Ver.7 ( this is also what you have to do in Chief) M.

I thought Pro 2015 had the Custom Backsplash tool? The old trick is to just put a cabinet in the same width as the range and then reduce it's depth to say 1/2" and you will still get the backsplash as long as you keep the Countertop ,reduce overhang to 0" but keep it. you can remove the cabinet face if you want but it's not usually needed. M.

I thought HDA could only import .skp's ? are you using the File>import Function or just drag and dropping , D&D doesn't always work correctly. Try PM Jo_Ann .....She is very good at workarounds and still uses HDA 10 so may know what your issue is https://hometalk.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?/user/63-jo-ann/ If the uploader doesn't recognise the file type as "allowed" just zip the files and try again they are allowed. Mick