mthd97

I guess those of us that have a perpetual license probably won’t change to a subscription model ? The new users can come in on a subscription and if they get hooked on using DIY HD they might just keep on using it ? The old school users will eventually retire and their operating systems may eventually become obsolete. I think that if Chief Architect Software can keep the revenue coming in, they will certainly find a way to keep doing that now and in the future.

Not from my point of view at least. HDP although having great features is no match for CA. CA still has much improvement to be made also. Once you are used to using CA the limitations in HDP can be quite annoying or at least it is to me.

I tried again by dragging and dropping the file onto HDP7 and it asked me to download the file again, and I did. I downloaded the windows vista file 7.08b from the CAHD official website and this time the browser didn't give me the question or warning for some strange reason ? The file installed fine and everything worked ok after entering the CD Key and having the dongle in place. The important thing is to install the update otherwise the dark red HASP dongle key will return errors when you try to run the program. The other thing to do when installing the program on a newer machine, is that you have to manually double click the .exe file so that the program will install. In this case there are two program CD’s. One more trick that @Bob_Medvetzhas shown me, is to edit the registry so that the drivers for the HASP dongle install correctly. You can see his posts on the ChiefTalk website. Please search Chief Architect version 10 on newer windows machines. The newer versions of Chief Architect are the best to use and I have CA X10. But much of my work like others was done in much older versions. So if you have a client from say twenty years ago and they want to add or remodel their home, you don’t have to start from scratch. Beware you need save older CA files via X8 to get older files to display more correctly in plan and in layouts. You will still have some editing to do but most of the model will be correct. Hope that helps others who are in a similar situation as us older users are.

Hi, the download is safe becuase it is from an official Chief Architect website so I trust it. When I try to run it as an administrator it looks for another program to open it and provides a program list to choose from. I have tried dragging and dropping the update file right onto BH&G HP7 icon but all to no avail. I will put up another screenshot to show what is happening and what the update file type is. Maybe someone could help ? I have this software BH&G HDP7 running on new computer with XP pro on it. So if it doesn’t work on the newer machines, I am not that worried about it. But I like to try and see if it will run on windows 10 & 11 machines as well with a little help from other users. Edited: Problem solved now and it is indeed working on my newer windows machines. Thanks for the support.

Hi Bob ! Thanks once again for your help. Here is a pic of the download message I get after downloading the BH&G HDP7 update.

No this is ancient because it goes back to CAV10. (Better Homes & Gardens) BH&G HDP7 is based on CAV10. About 20 years ago lol. . I do have HDP 2025 though, the last perpetual version. I can get CAV10.08b working on these newer machines as of today with help from other users and with the old red HASP dongle key. I was trying to find out if I can do the same with BH&G HDP7 that also has an old red HASP dongle included with it ? X17 in reality is version 27 of Chief Architect as you may know ?

Hi all, I was wondering if anyone here was able to use Home Designer Pro 7 on a newer Windows PC like windows 10 or 11 ? I have installed the program from the disks and have downloaded the program updates but I am having difficulties in installing the program updates. I get a red triangle on the download with an exclamation ⚠️ mark on it, asking if I trust the download before opening it. Of course I trust it becuase it is an official download from CAHD site. I have dragged and dropped the files onto HDP7 but they do not install. How do I get these updates to install on a newer windows PC with either windows 10 or 11 ?

Once you have used HDP the other options can be harder to use and quite limited in my experience. No short cut from doing personal research BTW on these alternatives.

I find way too many restrictions in HDP and I much prefer CA. I upgraded from HDP7 to HDP2025 for the upgraded space planning tools. I want to use them for drawing as built conditions with a compatible Disto and for quick set out of rooms in a house.

Hi, you can rent Chief Architect for the period you need to create your flared roof home design. Curved roofs are only available in CA. Scott shows us how to do it in this video. https://www.chiefarchitect.com/videos/watch/1956/flared-roof.html

The good thing is that our older versions will still work until our computers become redundant in the future. I have a new PC that runs XP pro natively and I can still run all my older versions no problems.

Subscription Perpetual Vs Subscription timed out ? Who wins the future home design software business ? We will see the results in time. My guess is that those that stay perpetual and give good value will win in the long run. Open source software is growing and so is AI automated rendering. At least some of those companies could reconsider scrapping perpetual subscription. I personally may not choose to buy a subscription timed out CAD software in the future. At least Chief Architect Premier still has legacy SSA perpetual available for those who keep paying the yearly fee.

Very interesting, I will be looking forward to the details of this change in the near future.

Dragging and dropping the room box into the exact position. I just need a bit more practice with the new system and I will be ok. Well done to Chief Architect for improving this feature for space planning in Home Designer as well. A great tool that makes this software fast and easy to use for quick home design. Edited: I think I needed to watch the snap indicators a bit closer to get my boxes sitting in the right positions.

Effective method @Renerabbitt, @Kristinewould also like a triangular window in that gable as well. That video posted above has a normal window that follows the roof pitch that can also be edited further to the desired shape. Must be time to turn on the aircon in California. How many Californians does it take to put a window in a gable ? 3, one to put in the window and the rest to share in the experience man !