Dept of Sneaky Tricks

[WendyWelton]

Something that I just discovered: If you routinely use the hot key (3) to activate the break tool, you can also type it twice (33) to force it into the complete break mode.

Excellent find! Thanks

[dshall]

Have your ever wondered how to find the 0.0 elevation in a section view. This trick is courtesy of Louis.

Take a section of your house, draw a horizontal line,select the line and now hit the TRANSFORM REPLICATE tool, in the move section check ABSOLUTE LOCATION, now copy whatever is in the Y POSITION box, including the negative sign if it is there, now paste that number into the Z DELTA box, AND THEN CHANGE THE SIGN FROM A NEGATIVE NUMBER TO A POSITIVE NUMBER OR VIS-VERSA, CHANGE THE SIGN FROM A POSITIVE NUMBER TO A NEGATIVE NUMBER. Now check okay and that horizontal line will be at the true 0.0 elevation in the "z" axis.

Thanks again to Louis, this trick has served me well.

[Allen Brown]

So...You say; "Neat trick, what does it do for me?"

I use callouts to specify heights of relative objects in elevation views. This make is easy to place the 0 ht at the finish floor, then you can just measure everything else.

Thanks Scott/Louis.

[sherpa_jones]

You don't need the transform/replicate tool to do this. Just open the dbx for the cad line, and under the line tab, lock the length/angle, and set the y value for start and end to 0. Same results, fewer steps, no figuring out the +/-

[Allen42acj]

I do what Rod does with locking the line.
Same works for floor 2, check the floor height in the DBX and use that on the line.
Open a ceiling joist to get the ceiling height.

[dshall]

You don't need the transform/replicate tool to do this. Just open the dbx for the cad line, and under the line tab, lock the length/angle, and set the y value for start and end to 0. Same results, fewer steps, no figuring out the +/-

NICE! There are two ways to skin a cat, but your way is faster. Thanks.

[Allen42acj]

People who do kitchens more than me probably know this already.
I was designing my kitchen and every time I moved the range, had to move the hood and wall cabinet separate.

blocked the 3 together so they move as one object. Much faster and easier.

Not my kitchen, just threw them into a plan and the wall paper so they could be seen better.

[sherpa_jones]

Read posts 10 to 14 in this thread:


http://www.chieftalk.com/showthread.php?t=46982

[Allen42acj]

Have admit that I had never heard the word Opaque before using Chief.

Looked it up=Not transparent or translucent.

It's a sneaky trick putting in words I don't know..

[dshall]

I have a detail sheet with all my details on it. This sheet is separate from my model, I save a copy of this file for PLAN A and call it DETAILS FOR PLAN A. The problem with this is I have a lot of details on this sheet which tends to slow down the scrolling. I have discovered if you put the FOUNDATION DETAILS on level 0, the FLOOR DETAILS on level 1 and the ROOF DETAILS on level 2, the scrolling is much quicker since there is not as much info on each layer.

The more details that I add to this sheet the more levels I will add.

[SDS Chris]

HOW TO CREATE A RAMP:
1. DRAW A RECTANGULAR POLINE, 48" X 16'. THE TOTAL RUN WILL BE 8' WITH A 4' LANDING ON EACH END.
2. CONVERT TO TERRAIN PERIMITER. SET THE SKIRT TO FOLLOW TERRAIN AND SET THE THICKNESS TO REPRESENT YOUR JOISTS AND SHEATHING. I WILL USE 8" FOR 2x8 JOISTS AND 3/4" SUBFLOOR.
3. CHANGE THE MATERIALS TO SHOW FINISH FLOOR. YOU MAY NEED TO ROTATE THE TEXTURE/PATTERN.
4. ADD TERRAIN ELEVATION LINES TO DEFINE THE 4'x4' LANDINGS ON EACH END. ADJUST THE HEIGHT OF THE HIGH END TO 36". NOTICE I PLACED ELEVATION LINES (RED) ON THE ENDS AS WELL.
5. TO MAKE THE LANDINGS FLAT, ADD A FLAT REGION (CUT/FILL) TO EACH LANDING.
6. TO MAKE THE RAMP FLAT, ADD TERRAIN BREAK LINES AT WHERE THE LANDINGS MEET THE RAMP. ALSO ADD TERRAIN ELEVATION LINES ALONG THE RAMP, EQUALLY SPACED AND SET THEIR PROPER ELEVATIONS. THIS SOMEHOW GIVES A BETTER RESULT. SOME ADJUSTMENTS STILL MAY NEED TO BE MADE TO OBTAIN THE DESIRED RESULTS.
7. ADD A RAILING TO EACH EDGE AND DESIGNATE 'FOLLOW TERRAIN' IN THE DBX. USE THE BREAK WALL TOOL TO BREAK THE RAILING AT EACH LANDING. NOTE THAT THE RAILING IS NOW ON THE 'FENCE' LAYER.
8. MAKE ANY AND ALL ADJUSTMENTS YOU NEED TO THE RAILINGS NOW. THE NEXT STEP IS TO EXPORT TO 3DS. THEN YOU CAN IMPORT BACK INTO YOUR MODEL AND YOU ARE DONE.

Disclaimer: I have never done any code research for ramps, so please do not depend on my specifications to be code compliant.

It works great...I've done this similar idea for a sloped floor in a large sanctuary....

Thanks!


In fact, I just did a ramp like this for another church, today....

[sherpa_jones]

It works great...I've done this similar idea for a sloped floor in a large sanctuary....

Thanks!


In fact, I just did a ramp like this for another church, today....

Looks like you got it down. Very nice looking ramp.

[sherpa_jones]

This is a bit of a workaround i have been doing lately to get a better stair graphic in plan:

Begin by setting up an extra stair layer, and label it "OFF IN 3D." Make the line style solid, and change the default stair layer's line style to dashed. Turn this new layer off in all your camera views.

Draw your stairs, and get everything looking right. Probably best to save the next steps until you are laying out your CD's.

Using multiple copy, drag a copy of the stairs at a 1" interval, (1" being the depth of your nosing,) dragging towards the bottom of the flight. Do this for each section of stairs. Then open the dbx for the new stair, assign it to the new layer, and make the fill transparent.

The attached picture shows the result:

[jimmypader]

I just discovered an easy way to get all your layouts looking nice especially for remodels. draw to lines on page 0 at the centers. if you click on the layout button the "mover" is in the center and will snap the intersection of the lines.

[sherpa_jones]

If you want to edit a molding poline from the library, draw a molding with it, take a cross section, and trace the profile with cad lines.

Then save the cad profile in a plan so you don't have to trace it next time.