Top Tips for X1

[WendyWelton]

To find out where a given project, or imported dwg is, relative to 0,0, select and open any line. The attached jpeg shows one that's far enough from 0,0 to confuse the crap out of Chief.

Chief, (and other 3D programs - this is not unique to Chief), don't particularly like getting too far from 0,0. It makes it harder and harder for the math parts to figure the 3D images out. Here's a 3D view of a project that was way far from 0,0, and the dbx of a line. See how those numbers are fairly big?

If you're starting a plan from scratch, Chief will start you in an appropriate place. Locating your building with a corner at 0,0 - as Louis teaches, is a good idea if you do dimensions relative to one side. If you do simple strings as I do, you'll never miss it if you don't.

The situation I'm talking about is where you import a surveyor's dwg before you begin your house. This is pretty common practice. Well, if this is one lot in a large development, or worse yet - pulled out of a county-wide survey, your lot can be a long long ways from 0,0 in that larger drawing.

I first ran into it with the images I'm posting here, but have caught several similar ones since - and able to avoid the problem. I was puzzled as all get-out - couldn't figure out why my windows were all warped, trim half buried in the house - spooky lookin' stuff. The client thought I was incompetent and/or using mickey mouse software (I actually lost the client). Tech support showed me the way pretty quickly, but I'd already made a fool of myself.

I usually open surveyors' plans in autocad first to check. But, you don't need any software other than Chief:

Simply import into a blank file first. It will drop it according to it's x,y coordinates, even if they're in Pakistan. Grab what you want (Edit Area in Chief 10, Copy in X1). Then, in a new plan, right where Chief places you when you start it, Paste without using any Hold Position. It will put your site close to the middle of your world and you won't have any problems.

If you're bringing terrain in to a project you've already started, if you drop it in, zoom all and have to really hunt - big clue, you're site is too far from the center of your little world. Undo. Bring that site into a blank file. Zoom so you can find your stuff. Copy to your main file - drop, block, move as you wish, unblock, then work on your contours.