Turn off auto interior dimensions

[DaveJo]

I'm a new user to Chief Architect and am using 2017 Architectural.  I was trying to dimension rooms using specific numbers rather than drawing and ran into difficulty finding any sort of dialogue box popping up once the room was selected.  I went down finally and selected "Auto Interior Dimensions" for that room and got a  whole bunch of different dimensions that just fill the room space.  I now want to turn those off but clicking back on the Auto Interior Dimensions icon does not do that.  I am running into a fair number of these kinds of things that seem like they should be intuitively simple, yet run into problems and spend a lot of time trying to decipher the software and how to use it.

[DavidJPotter]

The Auto Interior Dimension objects are automatically on a "Layer in Display Options" called "Auto Dimensions". This layer and any other named layer can be turned on (visible) or turned off (not visible in plan view) at your choice. Or you can manually edit or delete each dimension string to suit your purposes.

 

DJP

[DaveJo]

Thanks for this.  I looked for  "Layer in Display Options" called "Auto Dimension" under both defaults and preferences and could not find them.  I just don't know where what you are referring to is located.

 

Dave

[DaveJo]

Ok, I found it.  It's under Tools>Display Options>Dimensions, Automatic.  I unchecked the box and that did it.  

[MikeBaldus]

I'm working my way through the House Design Tutorial and like DaveJo, once I turned on Automatic Interior Dimensions I can't turn them off.  After enough reading, I did go to the Layer Display Options dialog - but there's a problem: turning off Dimensions, Automatic turns off the Automatic Exterior Dimensions simultaneously!

 

So it would appear that once you have clicked the Auto Interior Dimensions button you can't make them go away without also turning off Auto Exterior Dimensions or manually deleting them one by one. Is this true?

 

Also, Solver Eric you state that you don't use Auto Dimensions because they just cause a mess.  Is that because it will also cause the drawing to "auto-adjust" a wall other than the one you are working on?  I'm guessing it's some other function in the software that causes it.

 

Besides working through the House Design Tutorial I'm also trying to create a floor plan of an existing 130 year old house with a complex footprint.  I started by freehanding a reasonably close outline of the house, then began to adjust walls to their true measurements by editing dimensions.  I noticed that when I adjust a wall length on the west end of the house, Home Designer will automatically adjust a wall on the east end to compensate.

 

Does anyone know how I can lock the length of a wall once I'm satisfied with it?

 

P.S. I realize the second question is a different topic.  I only asked because of what Eric said.  If I should take it to a new thread just say so.

 

Thank you,

Mike

[solver]

1 hour ago, MikeBaldus said:

So it would appear that once you have clicked the Auto Interior Dimensions button you can't make them go away without also turning off Auto Exterior Dimensions or manually deleting them one by one. Is this true?

 

 

Edit>Delete Objects

 

Select all Floors, and Dimensions. This will delete them and turn off the auto rebuilding of them.

 

1 hour ago, MikeBaldus said:

Also, Solver Eric you state that you don't use Auto Dimensions because they just cause a mess.  Is that because it will also cause the drawing to "auto-adjust" a wall other than the one you are working on?  I'm guessing it's some other function in the software that causes it.

 

By "mess", I was referring to the visual. Sometimes you cannot see the plan itself because of all the auto generated dimensions.

 

The program does not "auto-adjust" walls -- that's user error.

 

2 hours ago, MikeBaldus said:

I started by freehanding a reasonably close outline of the house, then began to adjust walls to their true measurements by editing dimensions. 

 

Just use Temporary Dimensions. Don't use any automatic dimensions, and only place your own dimensions as needed, then delete them when no longer needed.

 

Use the Interior Dimension tool, for example, but then delete that dimension.

 

Temporary Dimensions only show when other dimensions are not available

 

Pro has good enough dimension tools. Read up on them, practice a bit to see what they do, then use as needed.

 

Make sure you setup your dimension defaults. I set mine to Wall Surface, for example, because that's normally how an existing house is measured, and when working on new construction, I want to know the surface to surface dimension, not framing to framing.

 

[MikeBaldus]

Thanks for all that Eric.

 

7 minutes ago, solver said:

Edit>Delete Objects

 

Select all Floors, and Dimensions. This will delete them and turn off the auto rebuilding of them

 

If you wanted to turn the auto rebuilding back on you would then use the Layer Display Options dialog?

 

14 minutes ago, solver said:

Make sure you setup your dimension defaults. I set mine to Wall Surface, for example, because that's normally how an existing house is measured, and when working on new construction, I want to know the surface to surface dimension, not framing to framing

 

Good advice. I did read about that and have visited the dialog box a number of times to get familiar.

 

16 minutes ago, solver said:

Temporary Dimensions only show when other dimensions are not available

 

 Good to know!  I hadn't read that.

 

17 minutes ago, solver said:

Just use Temporary Dimensions. Don't use any automatic dimensions, and only place your own dimensions as needed, then delete them when no longer needed.

 

I wanted to use Exterior Auto Dimensions to make it easier to see that I had the beginning footprint right.  And per your advice they are easy enough to delete, right?  ANd I think maybe it's good that I did or I might not have noticed the program changing other walls.

 

20 minutes ago, solver said:

The program does not "auto-adjust" walls -- that's user error

 

What am I doing to cause a wall on the east face of the house to change length when all I did was change a length of wall on the west face?  I have attached the plan. The top of the drawing is the west face.  Note that at the SE corner there is a wall section facing east that measures 7'-11" and due west of that there is a wall measuring 6' and some inches (*explanation below).  So if I adjust the length of the 6' and some inches wall, the program changes the length of the 7'-11" wall.  What is my error?  How can I lock the 7'-11" wall so the program can't automatically adjust it?

 

*Explanation of why I said "6' and some inches" instead of a precise value: In order to attach a copy of my plan file for you to see, I closed the file like a good boy, then opened the containing folder and drug a copy to this web page. Then I tried to reopen the file to get the exact length of that wall, and get an error stating: "The file appears to be locked. This could be the result of another user or program using the file. This may also result from having insufficient security privileges to access this file".  Now I can't open the file!  Hopefully you can!  BTW I did notice when I opened the program that I had some kind of privilege problem, no idea why.  It asked me if I want to associate plan, library and etc. files with the program, I said yes, it came back with a privilege error.  I let it go for then.

 

One problem at a time...

 

Thank you,

Mike

300 Franklin.plan

[solver]

It would make it easier for us (me) if you would add some text notes to the plan making specifics easy to locate.

 

I believe this image shows what you want to do. I changed the 6' wall to 4', and the 7' wall remained the same.

 

 

You should see how I did it. I made the 6' wall shorter, by selecting and moving the wall connected to it.

 

I believe users often want to directly change the length of a specific wall, instead of using that same dimension to move another wall into its correct location.

 

51 minutes ago, MikeBaldus said:

If you wanted to turn the auto rebuilding back on you would then use the Layer Display Options dialog?

 

No. Display Options is just what it says. It turns the display of layers on and off. It does not turn settings or features on or off.

 

51 minutes ago, MikeBaldus said:

I wanted to use Exterior Auto Dimensions to make it easier to see that I had the beginning footprint right.

 

That's not really needed. Just draw a basic shape, start in one corner and work your way around the house correcting the dimensions as you go.

 

Temporary Dimensions will work like this too, where you directly edit the wall length.

 

 

Here is a video showing a way of entering dimensions as you go. It's for Chief, but I believe Pro has the same tools.

 

 

[solver]

Another suggestion -- looks like you are using the default exterior wall type. Not what I would expect in a 130 year old structure.

 

Consider defining a new wall type, or types, that accurately reflect the construction, and especially the thickness of the existing walls, both inside and out.

 

Much easier to do this now, rather than after all are in place.

[solver]

I forgot to add, you cannot lock a wall. Others have asked the same question.

 

With an understanding and proper use of the dimension tool, it's not needed.

[MikeBaldus]

Thanks much Eric.

 

1 hour ago, solver said:

It would make it easier for us (me) if you would add some text notes to the plan making specifics easy to locate.

 

Duly noted.

 

Immediately after I posted, I rebooted the computer and got the plan file to open. Before you had a chance to post the reply, I went into the drawing, selected the wall in question, edited the length directly again, but this time I used the tool that appeared in the edit window that allows you to choose whether to change the Left, Right or Both ends. I used the Right end button and it moved the adjacent wall just west (upwards in the drawing), giving the same result as when you moved that wall. Interesting!  I haven't figured out yet why not every wall has those buttons available!

 

Thanks for the video also. Yes, I had read a little about that subject and had chosen to use Main Layer Outside for my purposes.

 

23 minutes ago, solver said:

I forgot to add, you cannot lock a wall. Others have asked the same question

 

Thanks for that.  I spent a lot of time trying to answer that question.

 

1 hour ago, solver said:

Another suggestion -- looks like you are using the default exterior wall type. Not what I would expect in a 130 year old structure.

 

Consider defining a new wall type, or types, that accurately reflect the construction, and especially the thickness of the existing walls, both inside and out.

 

Much easier to do this now, rather than after all are in place

 

Another good suggestion, and thanks for noticing the flaw. Funny thing is, I had read about that and so created two new Wall Types: Historic 1910 Exterior and Historic 1910 Interior.  I then set them as the default and began drawing walls - only it didn't "take" for some reason!  After you pointed it out, I first checked the Defaults (Default Settings, Exterior/Interior Wall Defaults) and they were still set to my custom wall types.  Then I examined the walls in the plan and sure enough, they were all Siding 6 - not what I wanted.  I have changed them all now, but I can't see why the program drew them that way. 

 

I just now drew an interior wall and it followed the default setting (my new custom interior wall type).  I'll try to remember to watch out when I begin to draw next time.

 

Many thanks,

Mike

[katalyst777]

For future reference, QUESTIONS should be posted in the Q&A section, NOT here in Tips & Techniques.

[MikeBaldus]

Duly noted and apologies - I got here by seeing an earlier post and didn't even notice what section it was in.

 

I'll pay attention in the future.