lawrencelam2000

Dear Solver, Thank you so much! You solved my problem, now I know where I can adjust the size of the grid while I'm in a layout file, this is exactly what I needed. [In answer to your suggestion to indicate what I'm trying to do- sometimes when in a layout file, for expediency's sake, I'll just draw right on top of a drawing that I've sent into the layout view, rather than spend inordinate time in the plan file to make everything exactly right. When I do this, sometimes I need to "nudge" something I've drawn in layout view so that it reads more accurately, or if I have to rush and simply line something up that's a tiny fraction of an inch off so that it will print more legibly. Basically for me just a timesaver, but one that can save a lot of time if I have to micro-adjust a number of items overlaid over a detail view to make the drawing read nicely- the arrow keys are what I want to use to move things around.] Just the way I've evolved doing things to date in HD; I'm sure there are better ways, and I'll try to learn them as I get more experienced.

This may seem an odd question, but important to me because sometimes I want to microscopically nudge symbol objects that I have in LAYOUT (not PLAN) view, but when I press an arrow key the selected item moves too far, and I'd like to make each tap of the arrow key move the object a much tinier distance, for flexibility when adjusting. I have no problem setting the default nudge distance in PLAN view, because I can adjust it under Edit/Default Settings/Plan/Use Snap Grid/Units. So then, how can I adjust the default nudge distance for the four arrow keys in LAYOUT view? I've looked at every possibility in the Edit dropdown menu (in addition to the Default Settings selection), but I cannot find a nudge distance adjustment setting. I'm sure the answer is sitting right under my nose somewhere, but it continues to elude me. Help would be appreciated!

Never mind, I just figured it out... I re-created the wall type I want, and gave it a new name. Then I clicked on a malfunctioning wall, changed it to a different wall type, and then changed it again to the new wall type that I just re-created. Somehow by going through the above procedure, the malfunctioning wall type is obliterated by the desired wall type that I just re-created. Then I went through each wall around the perimeter and replaced the properly-functioning wall type for the malfunctioning one. All in all, a strange experience, but I seem to have gotten out of the conundrum. Thanks for your help!

I'll re-attach the image I'd just attached, which shows exactly what you described in words. The problem is that it's not just one exterior wall, it's ALL the exterior walls, all the way around the house. ALL the siding just disappeared. EXTERIOR RENDERING MALFUNCTION.pdf

I've been using HD Pro for quite a while now, but this is a new experience- I'm in the middle of creating permit drawings, and suddenly the exterior siding material I had previously selected totally disappeared from exterior elevations (2D) and rendering views (3d), leaving only the angled, repeated "Chief Architect" logo defaulting in place of the rendered siding material! I've now been toying and monkeying with all the various settings to no avail. My selected siding material refuses to show up (see attached rendering). I even tried creating a new (experimental) file from scratch just to see if the rendering engine is malfunctioning, but the siding material shows up just fine in the new file. What happened / what am I doing wrong? EXTERIOR RENDERING MALFUNCTION.pdf

I thought I knew how to do this, but now I can't seem to do it anymore: I imported a site plan pdf into my layout file, and my client requested that I enlarge it for readability. No problem! Or so I thought. I used to select the object, and an off-center handle would appear, which I could slide with my mouse and thus enlarge or shrink the image in the pdf. But now I no longer see this "resize" handle. Maybe I imagined it? Then I tried the transform/replicate command, but re-sizing the pdf object only resizes the re-sizeable window in which the image appears, not the image itself. Then I searched online and see that there is a "point-to-point resize" command, whose toolbar icon is a double-headed arrow with a slash through it. But I can't find this command anywhere, even when searching for it with in-program search tools. So after almost an hour of searching for a way to re-size my site plan pdf in a layout file, I've had to come to Home Talk Q&A Forums to see if anyone can help me re-size my imported pdf. Help!

I wanted to introduce an intermediate roof beam to break a long roof rafter span. Success in the floor plans, but when I took an interior 3D camera view, the beam is not visible in the cathedral space that it goes through. I can see the hole that it makes in the partition that it penetrates, but not the beam itself. Any way to make the beam show up in the 3D camera view?

Thanks, that did it!

This is odd- I'm at the point where I'm ready to finalize my framing plans...I noticed that the auto rebuild roof framing tool had spaced my roof rafters at 24" o.c., and I want them at 16" o.c. So my thought was to go into Edit / Default Settings / Framing / Roof and change the default spacing to 16". Which I did. But after going back into the drawing and auto-rebuilding the framing, the framing remains at 24". I looked all through the various nooks and crannies of the program, but the roof rafter spacing stubbornly remains at 24". What am I not doing correctly? Thanks in advance!

Thanks to both of you! Yes your advice helps.

Came across an interesting minor but apparently unsolvable issue when I re-opened a plan file I hadn't touched in a few weeks- I wanted to total up the floor areas on a two-story house that I'm working on- the ground floor total floor area appears, but when I shift to the 2nd floor, it doesn't. I checked all the default settings, layers on/off, etc. but nothing seems to get that now-completely-elusive 2nd floor total floor area label to show up. What am I doing wrong?

Here's an interesting conundrum- I am modifying a Master Bathroom per my Client's request. The room was increased by 2' in one direction; this allowed increasing the counter cabinet to become long enough to accommodate 2 sinks. (Why not? It's a Master Bathroom for a couple- makes sense!) But I encountered a problem- the arrow icon "Select" tool refuses to select the sink so that I can copy/duplicate it. I can select everything else in the drawing, but not the sink. I even went into full camera mode, and I still can't select the sink when in 3D. At this point I've tried just about everything I can think of, to no avail. What would cause such a situation, and how can I correct it? Thanks in advance.

Done! Thanks, sorry I got confused about exactly what "signature" means in this context. Now I'm officially Pro '22!

Brilliant! I will give your approach a try, and will also update my signature. Thanks, Keith!

Hi, First of all, I'm using Home Designer Pro, not Suite; does that make a difference for me? Second, having a layout view projected straight down onto the roof allows me to indicate where roof penetrations will be, as well as provide a comprehensive, detailed understanding of the completed roof. It just seems to me that a builder of the house would appreciate such a drawing so that he or she doesn't have to guess about what the finished roof will look like, and get questions during construction answered much more readily. This would seem all the more important the more complex a roof is. On my and my competitor's "non-HD Pro" drawings (by hand or AutoCad, in earlier years before I purchased HD Pro), we have always included roof plans for our clients. If HD Pro doesn't have the functionality to put the roof plan into a layout file, I will need to create a workaround, with CAD lines, layers on/off, etc. which just seems like a lot of work. Does Chief Architect have this capability? Thanks for your help.

I want to look down on my successfully-drawn roof in 2D straight projection, not perspective, but when I click the floor level change button, of course there are only the levels: "0, 1,2, and A"; nothing higher. How can I get a view looking straight down upon the shingles so that I can lay out my roof, with construction notes and dimensions?

I just discovered that under Tools / Display Options, I can turn off the second indicated room area. I still don't know why there are two areas indicated, however.

Something odd just appeared on the plans I'm currently working on: 2 slightly different room areas are displayed beneath each room label in my plans. Previously, I was very happy that only one area was calculated (I had presumed accurately), and automatically displayed under any given room label; now I am befuddled as to why each room label now has two slightly different numerical areas displayed under it. I can't find any switch to turn off the unneeded one. Further, I'd have to figure out which of the two indicated areas is the one that I'd like to switch off, without having to do the arithmetic checking to be able to figure that out the hard way. Anyone able to clear this up for me? I'm stumped. -Larry Lam

I'm a few days into HD Suite 2022, and have had some interesting experiences so far. Great program! But after working on a design and, looking ahead, I thought I'd try to create a titleblock layout from a template, as I'd seen in some of the tutorials already. After all, I will soon need to print my drawings in order to get approvals and permits. But there doesn't seem to be a File>Layout>Template feature whatsoever, in the version that I purchased. All I can do is open a new or existing data file in which to draw; no "Layout", unfortunately. If "Layout" exists in the version I purchased, how can I access it, if not under "File"? Or if it doesn't exist, to what version must I upgrade in order to obtain this feature? Thanks!

Very odd...I earlier inserted a stair object into a small room on my plan, and now I'd like to work further with it, but I cannot select it with my cursor. I tried "select next object" in a dialogue that appeared, but no luck with that, either. What am I not doing right? Update: please disregard; I just figured it out- the stair is in the basement 0 level, not on the first floor level 1. Apparently I had the 0 level set to "visible", so it was only an image when I was active on the first floor Level 1. (Sorry, I'm new to CA! Still learning my way around.)