OK, I dragged my feet, but finally upgraded to X6 (after reading posts, I skipped X5). I've been using Home Designer Pro 7 (HP7) since it came out (2007).
Obviously I've encountered a new behavior at every turn... I totally understand some things are going to be different- and they should be different-"more efficient", not different- "more difficult & time consuming". I'm on my 3rd new project with X6, and I just have to field my thoughts in hope I'm missing something, maybe settings I can tweak on some of this stuff.
#1 - Dimensions behave in odd ways. I have auto-exterior dimensions set to go to wall-centers, which works fine, BUT manual end-to-end measurements should go where you aim the mouse, preferably a wall-edge somewhere- but I can't... they will go to the wall-centers ONLY. So I must manually grab the dimension and put the ends where I intended them the first time.
#2 - When I select a door, the auto-temp dimensions that pop up measure to the wall-centers & exterior wall-surface (veneer). First, I don't think anything should ever measure to the veneer- but rather the main-layer. Second, I don't care what the door to center of the wall measurement is, but rather to the next wall surface.
#3 - Doors, windows, and placed-items like showers & tubs are now adjustable in a 'smooth' fashion, rather than increments, like 1 or 2 inchs. So you have no choice but to open the item dialog and type in the specific dimension you want. This one is huge to me. Something that was so user friendly before is now made 3 times more difficult. I did find the setting to change this behavior (Pref-Edit-Behaviors) and I was thrilled, but then I realized that walls were then behaving in the same way- NOT good! So back to the slow method. HP7 worked where doors & windows re-sized in increments of 2 inches - concentric. Placed items re-sized in increments of 1 inch. If you needed something with a fraction of an inch, THEN you can open the dialog box. The same setting that gives you control over doors/windows shouldn't change the behavior of walls should it? Very strange.
#4 - Something happens after creating the roof that slows down everything. Especially editing the roof itself. After any adjustment at all, must wait a second or two for it to take affect. Again, if this is a setting that can be adjusted I'd love to know about it. Maybe it's constantly internally redrawing the 3D or something- brains bigger than mine should know.
#5 - I've watched every video, some from the users of this board, and can not for the life of me figure out how to create a correct-looking broken-arch window with a brick lintel. I've created the brick 3d library item thing, tried to apply it to the lintel, just as the videos & instructions say, and they still don't look right. Seems like it shouldn't be this difficult- we're talking about an extremely common look. HP7 had the lintel & sill material at 90 deg from the sides, so a simple strip material looked almost right, except for the lintel lines not being fanned out.
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I'm sorry to sound like such a complainer, but I've been successful in drafting full-time for about 12 years, thanks in a HUGE part to the ease of use of this software. I started way back with 3D Home (the original- not the later rip-off), Home Designer Suite 6, then HP7 did plenty- and I found work-arounds for what it didn't do. I thought it was finally time to upgrade, and felt sure I'd be getting a new-improved version that would make my life easier. No doubt, some of the functions and abilities of X6 are astounding, but at this point, I'm kinda kicking myself.
