katalyst777

Which version of the software are you using?

Is it just walls you are having trouble changing the material on?

I think in 2015 Titles this is right Kat , but if you have an older version like me the "Help" isn't 100% the same as the Ref. Manual and it does not include the User Guide either but I am unsure when that changed actually. 

 

M.

I started with a version 7.0 HD program and it's always been the same as far as I know.

I would suggest forgetting about the PDF.  It's clunky and hard to search.

Instead, click the Help menu and select the first option "Launch Help."  This displays the full Reference Manual and User Guide (the exact same info in the PDF, but presented much nicer, IMHO).

You can search by keyword on the "Index" tab, view each chapter on the "Contents" tab, or search by a phrase that might not have a keyword associated with it on the "Search" tab.  You can even make Bookmarks if there's a section you might want to return to later.

In short, just activate the Thickness field for each layer, and you can see what it's made up of.

Check out some of the recommendations on ChiefTalk for settings you might need to adjust in order to make the materials, lighting and ray trace settings create photo-realism for the view.  Also, I believe the trial version has the full Reference Manual under it's Help menu which would include information on ray tracing.

It isn't perfect, but you can actually place a Half Wall and a Railing at the same location, but you need to start out by putting the railing away from the half wall and mark it "No Room Def" as well as increase its height and raise the bottom rail.

Probably more of a thing to send in to the company's Technical Support team than something we'd be able to help with here in the forum, but maybe look in to updating your video card's driver.

is there a better way to build a bath cradle?

Yes, use cabinets instead of half walls.

http://www.homedesignersoftware.com/support/article/KB-02020/

I also downloaded Chief Interiors trial version to compare and I get no ' photo realistic '  effects what so ever. In fact there is almost nothing in CA Interiors that will convince me to upgrade. Am I missing something here?

Yes, you are missing something, and it's called Ray Tracing, not available in Pro, but it should be available in the trial version of Interiors.

Thanks for the additional info.  I agree that it sounds like you've changed the Main Layer of the wall so that it is no longer correct with your custom wall type.

Check out this earlier thread which had a post on the same red tinged image export issue.

https://hometalk.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?/topic/791-reflections-in-mirrors/?p=4528

In short, it's a known issue with old drivers for some integrated Intel chipsets.  Update the driver, if one is available, to fix it.

If no newer driver is available, just do a screen capture instead of export to avoid running in to the Intel driver bug that's changing the color hue to something more on the red/pink/orange spectrum.

Yes, I used the Dishwasher (control panel) symbol, but it should work with any of the appliance fixtures that are designed to be places inside of a cabinet.

You can only delete or modify individual roof planes in Pro, so if I had to guess, I think you probably turned off "Auto Rebuild Roofs" so it won't update after getting rid of part of the structure.

Turn "Auto Rebuild Roofs" back on so that it can rebuild based on the structure currently in your plan.
 

Best answer - Manual framing is only available in Pro.

If you only have the one project, maybe you can get by with spending a bunch more time by trying to fake it using railings, shapes, and outside symbols, but if you are going to be doing multiple projects, probably best to just upgrade.

Yes, you just deactivate from one computer before activating on the other.

I'm not getting the same results.  What version of the program are you using, and which template style did you start the plan from

NVidia and AMD drivers now have their own auto update notification feature.

Personally, I find it best to be in charge of driver updates rather than than happening automatically when I'm not paying attention.  Home Designer, as well as other software, really doesn't seem to like if you try to update a driver while it is using it.

You turned on the "Reference Display."

http://www.homedesignersoftware.com/support/article/KB-00303/

Or, you can place the Dishwasher as a standalone object (you'll get a message indicating it's designed to be placed in a cabinet, place it anyway), once it is resized in your plan, add it to your User Library at the new 18" size.  Then you can add the modified Dishwasher in to a cabinet from there.

HD Pro 8 was deisgned to  run properly within Windows XP and perhaps Vista & Windows 7.

Only XP and Vista, according to this Knowledge Base article.

http://www.homedesignersoftware.com/support/article/KB-00073/

Did you customize your Wall Types at all and maybe accidentally specify the Main Layer at the wrong spot?

This Knowledge Base article might help, but it only applies to Pro, so let us know if you have a different version.
 

http://www.homedesignersoftware.com/support/article/KB-00038/

Thank you everyone. I appreciate your help. However Mick I do not fully understand what you mean by "and title to your signature" Could you explain that another way. Also the reference manual has many errors in it and is always written in imperial measurements that takes time to convert to metric. Also the index does not always answer my questions and USA call items different names to us so here in Australia I find the reference manual painfully slow.

Just so you are aware, all that info is Kbird1's signature, it shows up every time he posts something, and it isn't something he directed specifically at you. 

Assuming that your roof is complete and will not need any future automatic changes (since you have Pro you can make manual changes later if needed) then you need to uncheck "Auto Rebuild Roofs" in the Build Roof dialog.  Then go in to your rooms and increase the Finished Ceiling Height.

Where did you save the plan on your computer?  Have you tried navigating to that location to find it, rather than just trying to find it in the Recent Files list in the software?

If you don't know where you saved the plan, can you search in the operating system for the name of the file? 

Have you checked the software's Archives?

You can set the backdrop to a flat color, rather than an image.

You could also create Billboard Images around the sides of the house (if you have actual photos taken from each side this could create a kind of neat effect looking out the windows to see what would actually be there).