ChiefArchitect

Congratulations to LaVor Haynie for winning the Design Contest – Tiny House Design! He received over 280 votes! The prize package includes a Chief Architect water bottle, 8 GB USB drive, t-shirt, and one free hour of online training with a certified Chief Architect trainer. Thank you to all who entered and shared your great designs! View all the amazing entries: http://bit.ly/1HB7hMR

Kat is correct in her post above. The non-editable sample plans were removed in Home Designer 2016 - because the plans were quite old, they were non-editable (which frustrated people) and you can find sample plans online quite easily. We have added more editable sample plans on the website.

Hi! If you're installing Pro 2016 on the same computer as HDA 2014 then during the installation process you'll be asked by Pro 2016 whether you want to associate existing files it has found with the new version. No problem deleting remnants of previous installs, just make sure not to delete plans or other files you want to associate with Pro 2016.

Thanks Alan for sharing your comment!!

It does not currently run on that OS.

Home Designer 2016 Now Available! We are excited to announce the release of our Home Designer 2016 for Mac & PC! If you purchased one of our Home Designer products within the past 30 days, we offer a Current Version Guarantee. Learn More: www.homedesignersoftware.com/shop/guarantee.html

We are excited to announce the release of our Home Designer 2016 for Mac & PC! Here are a few of the New Features: Object Painter™ / Eyedropper Multiple Faced Cabinets HD Interface Graphics and Icons Learn more on our website homedesignersoftware.com/whats-new/ or call us at 208-292-3400 M-F 6am-5pm PT. If you purchased one of our Home Designer products within the past 30 days, we offer a Current Version Guarantee.

Design Contest – Tiny House Design! Enter the Chief Architect Software Design Contest and win an hour of one-on-one online training with a certified Chief Architect Trainer ($125 value), and Chief Gear including a water bottle, mouse pad, 8 GB USB key, and a t-shirt ($59.95 value)! What is this contest? We’re finding inspiring design ideas! We want your creative submission for any Tiny Living Space Design such as a tiny apartment, house or accessory dwelling unit (~700 sq ft). Use any Chief Architect software product to create your own design or submit a photo of a project you have completed. Have fun with it! How do I enter? Send in your rendering or photo to submissions@chiefarchitect.com. Only one image per person. Please include your name, company information, the software you used and a brief description about the design. How do I win? Entries will be posted in a photo album on Chief Architect’s Facebook page. Fans of Chief Architect will be asked to “Like” their favorite entry. The entry with the most “Likes” will be declared the winner. facebook.com/ChiefArchitect What will I win? You will win an hour of one-on-one online training with a certified Chief Architect Trainer ($125 value), and Chief Gear including a water bottle, mouse pad, 8 GB USB key, and a t-shirt ($59.95 value). Your design may also be featured in our newsletter and other social media outlets. Are there any other guidelines? One submission/image per person Submissions must be entered by the deadline – April 20, 2015 Your free hour of training must be redeemed within 60 days. Questions? Send inquiries to submissions@chiefarchitect.com

1. draw your basement (foundation) on floor Zero 2. you define the wall (room) height when you build the foundation (see image) 3. in the menu: Edit > Default Settings > Dimension - turn off Auto Refresh Exterior Dimensions

Hi jordanoja, Thanks for using Suite. Once the roof is in place, then un-check "Auto Rebuild Roofs" on the "Build>Roof>Build Roof..." menu. Select the Material Painter tool (looks like a spray-paint can) and choose your new roofing material from the library. Then just click on the roof plane to apply the chosen material.

You're close. When you build your roof, choose the option "ignore 2nd floor". This basically forces the condition you are looking for. You may need to move some of your 2nd floor walls in since there is little head room on the edge. Here's a support article: Automatically Building a One and a Half Story Roof

Hello, Yes, you can open your Home Designer Architectural files in Home Designer Pro. The Home Designer Pro would need to be the same version or newer than the Home Designer Architectural for this to work. Thank you for the question. Chief Architect Sales

Hello, It appears that you have reached the maximum number of installs for that product. Please contact Customer Service at customerservice@chiefarchitect.com Please include the title of your product along with the serial number or product key. Kind regards, Derek Chief Architect Sales

Hi Linda! Here is an article that will show you exactly how to import those bonus/manufacturer catalogs: http://www.homedesignersoftware.com/support/article/KB-00048/ Give us a call at 1-800-482-4433 if you need further assistance. We'd be happy to help! Chief Architect Sales Jenna

Hi Brad! Glad you are considering upgrading to Chief Architect Premier. It offers a lot of powerful features that can make creating construction drawings much easier. Below is a link to a comparison chart showing direct differences between Premier and Pro. It may help to see the features of both programs right next to each other. http://cloud.homedesignersoftware.com/1/pdf/sales/x7-feature-matrix-hdpro2015.pdf Please give us a call at 1-800-482-4433 if you have any questions about the upgrade! Chief Architect Sales Jenna

Asking the right question get the right answer. Always post the software version. Put important information in your signature. Ask a good detailed question. Ask one question per thread. Don't hijack threads by changing the subject. Attach a screen shot of any error messages. Post information about your operating system, video card, memory, and CPU. Try a different plan. If it only happens in one plan post the plan. If you don't get an answer add more information. If all else fails, you can also visit the tech support area of our web site: www.homedesignersoftware.com/support/ Please do not use this forum to try and report bugs to us. Although we have moderators that monitor this forum who occasionally will answer questions, they do not look for reports of bugs. You should always contact our Technical Support department directly if you think that you have found a bug in one of our products.

Home Designer FAQs 1. I have a laptop and a desktop; can I install this program on both? Home Designer 2015 can be installed on as many computers as you would like, though it can only run on one at a time. To move the license back and forth between computers you must “deactivate” the license first before switching to the other computer. This is extremely simple to do and takes just a few seconds to accomplish. An internet connection is required when switching between computers. Here’s an article on our website that explains how this process works: www.homedesignersoftware.com/support/displayfaq.php?faqNumber=1028. User License Agreement: cloud.homedesignersoftware.com/1/pdf/documentation/chief-architect-license.pdf 2. How long will it take me to learn the software? Just like with everything, this largely depends upon the person, their experience with home design and with computers. Our software is known for being extremely intuitive and has a very low learning curve compared to many of our competitors. Some people are up and running in a matter of hours, while others take a bit longer. We do have many hours’ worth of training videos available on our website as well as hundreds of articles written in-house to help with the learning curve and answer any questions you might have. Here are some resources you might find helpful: www.homedesignersoftware.com/support/database.html video.homedesigner.chiefarchitect.com hometalk.chiefarchitect.com 3. Should I order a download or a DVD? You have the option of purchasing a download only, DVD only, or Download plus DVD. When you go to order the product as a download, we will automatically place a back-up DVD in your Shopping Cart. This is a back-up copy of the installation, along with a short Getting Started Guide. If you order a download, we set up an online account on our website where you can access the download. If you order a DVD product, it is an additional $14.95 which includes the disk and shipping. 4. Do I need a DVD? If you order the product as a download you will have access to your online account for at least a year. After that time, you will need to install from a backup you created or the DVD we offer. Also, if you have poor Internet service it might be easier for you to install via a DVD instead of via the Internet. 5. What if I start with one program and later figure out that I need more options or a feature in another version? We have instant discounts for upgrading, so if you discover you need a program with additional features, you can upgrade to a higher version. See the link below for available offers. Upgrades & Discounts Information: www.homedesignersoftware.com/discounts 6. If I upgrade, will my plans open in the new version. Yes, the PLAN files are forward compatible, so you can open and edit them in newer or higher end programs. 7. Will I need to relearn a new software package if I upgrade to a higher end product? No, all Chief Architect Software is based on the same program, so you will just need to learn the new features available in the new product. 8. I see when I go to check out that you have a place for a promotion code; do you have any promotions going on right now? We will put any and all sales on our website here: www.homedesignersoftware.com/discounts 9. When I check out, there is nothing in my shopping cart. What do I do? You can call our sales department at 208-292-3400 to place your order directly or you can change your internet security setting to allow handling of internal cookies. Feel free to change these setting back to the original settings after you purchase. 10. Can I use metric in this software? Our software has been designed to work with imperial or metric units. When you start a new plan it will ask you if you would like to work in imperial or metric units. Once you specify metric, the dimensioning tools and dialog boxes will switch to metric. Help Article: www.homedesignersoftware.com/support/displayfaq.php?faqNumber=154 11. Can I use a picture of my house in my design? You can import a photo and set it on the edge of the terrain. Then you can use the tools to build a deck or landscaping in front of the picture. However, you will not be able to edit anything in the photo. To remodel the siding of the exterior or the design of the interior, you’ll need to recreate the structure using the tools within the software. Help Articles: www.homedesignersoftware.com/support/displayfaq.php?faqNumber=779 www.homedesignersoftware.com/support/displayfaq.php?faqNumber=150 12. What is the difference between Home Designer Pro and Chief Architect software? We offer the full product comparison char here: www.homedesignersoftware.com/chief-architect. Also, here’s a link to download a trial version of Home Designer Pro: www.homedesignersoftware.com/resources/demorequest.php, and Chief Architect X6 Premier: www.chiefarchitect.com/resources/demorequest.php?product=premier&src=web. This is a great way to experience the differences. 13. Can I return the software if it’s not the right fit for me? We have a 2-week money-back guarantee on our software. You can find the details here: www.homedesignersoftware.com/shop/guarantee.html