Chief Architect® X6 Reference Manual - Source

1343 Pages·2014·30.29 MB·English

chief-architect-x6-reference-manual.book Page 1 Sunday, August 3, 2014 10:10 AM
Chief Architect® X6
Reference Manual
Professional Design & Drafting Software
Chief Architect, Inc.
6500 N. Mineral Dr.
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho 83815
chiefarchitect.com
chief-architect-x6-reference-manual.book Page 2 Sunday, August 3, 2014 10:10 AM
© 1990–2014 by Chief Architect, Inc. All rights reserved.
No part of this book or the accompanying software may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Chief Architect,
Inc.
Chief Architect® is a registered trademark of Chief Architect, Inc.
The Sentry Spelling-Checker Engine This software uses the Ruby open source
© 1994–2003 Wintertree Software Inc. library. See http://www.ruby-lang.org/ for
details.
The City Blueprint and Country Blueprint
fonts are © 1992–1999 Payne Loving Trust. This application incorporates Teigha®
All rights reserved. software pursuant to a license agreement
with Open Design Alliance.
This software uses the FreeImage open
Teigha® Copyright © 2003-2013 by Open
source image library. See
Design Alliance. All rights reserved.
http://freeimage.sourceforge.net for details.
FreeImage is used under the FIPL license,
version 1.0.
All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of Chief Architect, Inc. or their respective
owners.
Created in the United States of America.
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Contents
Chapter 1: Program Overview
Chief Architect Premier vs Interiors vs Lite...................................27
Startup Options.................................................................................28
The Chief Architect Environment...................................................29
Using the Mouse.................................................................................31
View and Side Windows....................................................................33
Toolbars and Hotkeys.......................................................................34
Menus..................................................................................................35
Dialogs................................................................................................36
The Status Bar...................................................................................39
Message Boxes....................................................................................40
Preferences and Default Settings.....................................................41
Drawing a Plan..................................................................................42
Viewing Your Plan............................................................................44
Sharing Your Files with Clients.......................................................45
Getting Help.......................................................................................46
About Chief Architect.......................................................................47
Chief Architect Trial Software.........................................................47
Chapter 2: File Management
Compatibility with Previous Versions.............................................50
Organizing Your Files.......................................................................51
Chief Architect Data..........................................................................51
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Chief Architect X6 Reference Manual
Creating a New Plan or Layout........................................................52
Saving, Exporting, and Backing Up Files........................................53
Thumbnail Images.............................................................................57
Auto Archive......................................................................................57
Undo Files...........................................................................................59
Opening and Importing Files...........................................................59
Plan Databases...................................................................................61
Searching for Plans...........................................................................64
Backup Entire Plan...........................................................................67
Closing Views and Files....................................................................68
Exiting Chief Architect.....................................................................69
Chapter 3: Preferences and Default Settings
Default Settings vs Preferences........................................................72
Dynamic Defaults..............................................................................74
Set as Default.....................................................................................74
Multiple Saved Defaults....................................................................75
Annotation Sets..................................................................................78
Exporting and Importing Annotation Sets.....................................81
Template Files....................................................................................82
Importing Default Settings...............................................................84
Reset to Defaults................................................................................85
General Plan Defaults Dialog...........................................................86
Preferences Dialog.............................................................................88
Dialog Number/Angle Style Dialog................................................126
Chapter 4: Toolbars and Hotkeys
Toolbar Arrangement.....................................................................129
Customizing Toolbars.....................................................................131
Creating Custom Toolbar Configurations....................................134
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Toolbar Customization Dialog.......................................................135
Hotkeys.............................................................................................138
Exporting and Importing Hotkeys.................................................141
Chapter 5: Layers
Displaying Objects...........................................................................144
Layer Sets.........................................................................................145
Layer Set Management...................................................................147
Active Layer Set Control................................................................148
Layer Display Options Dialog........................................................148
Select Layer Dialog..........................................................................151
Layer Panel......................................................................................152
Object Layer Properties..................................................................152
Layer Painter, Eyedropper and Hider..........................................153
Layout Layer Sets............................................................................154
Exporting and Importing Layer Sets.............................................155
Layer Set Defaults Dialog...............................................................156
Chapter 6: Creating Objects
Architectural vs CAD Objects........................................................158
Defaults and Preferences................................................................158
Snap Behaviors................................................................................160
Object Snaps....................................................................................160
Angle Snaps......................................................................................162
Grid Snaps........................................................................................164
Creating Objects..............................................................................165
Copying and Pasting Objects.........................................................168
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Chief Architect X6 Reference Manual
Chapter 7: Editing Objects
Defaults and Preferences................................................................176
Edit Behaviors..................................................................................176
Selecting Objects..............................................................................180
Editing Line Based Objects............................................................184
Editing Arc Based Objects..............................................................188
Editing Open Polyline Based Objects............................................193
Editing Closed-Polyline Based Objects.........................................198
Editing Box-Based Objects.............................................................203
Editing Spline Based Objects.........................................................206
Editing Circles, Ovals and Ellipses................................................211
Displaying Objects...........................................................................214
Moving Objects................................................................................217
Aligning Objects..............................................................................220
Resizing Objects..............................................................................226
Reshaping Objects...........................................................................227
Rotating Objects..............................................................................231
Reflecting Objects............................................................................234
Converting Objects..........................................................................235
Transform/Replicate Object Dialog...............................................238
Trim and Extend.............................................................................240
Union, Intersection, and Subtract..................................................242
Select Same / Load Same................................................................245
Edit Area Tools................................................................................246
Deleting Objects...............................................................................249
Undo and Redo................................................................................251
Chapter 8: Walls, Railings, and Fencing
Wall, Railing, and Fencing Defaults..............................................254
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Wall Tools.........................................................................................259
Railing and Deck Tools...................................................................261
Fencing Tools...................................................................................263
Exterior and Interior Walls............................................................263
Foundation Walls.............................................................................264
Pony Walls........................................................................................266
Room Dividers and Invisible Walls................................................267
Polygon Shaped Rooms and Decks................................................268
Hatch Wall.......................................................................................269
Break Wall.......................................................................................270
Drawing Walls.................................................................................270
Connecting Walls.............................................................................273
Displaying Walls..............................................................................274
Measuring Walls..............................................................................277
Editing Walls....................................................................................278
Edit Handles for Walls....................................................................282
Editing Straight/Curved Wall Combinations...............................284
Aligning Walls..................................................................................285
Roof Directives in Walls..................................................................288
Attic Walls........................................................................................290
Stepped and Raked Walls...............................................................291
Double Walls....................................................................................292
CAD to Walls...................................................................................293
Wall Type Definitions......................................................................295
Wall Type Definitions Dialog.........................................................298
Exporting and Importing Wall Types...........................................301
Wall Specification Dialog................................................................301
Railing and Fencing Specification Dialogs....................................315
Wall Hatch Specification Dialog....................................................321
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Chief Architect X6 Reference Manual
Chapter 9: Rooms
Floor and Room Defaults................................................................324
Room Definition...............................................................................325
Selecting Rooms...............................................................................325
Displaying Rooms............................................................................327
Editing Rooms..................................................................................327
Room Types......................................................................................329
Room Labels....................................................................................331
Decks.................................................................................................334
Floor and Ceiling Heights...............................................................335
Floor and Ceiling Platforms...........................................................337
Floor/Ceiling Structure Definition Dialogs...................................339
Special Ceilings................................................................................342
Room Polylines................................................................................345
Room Specification Dialog..............................................................346
Room Finish Schedules...................................................................354
Chapter 10: Doors
Door Defaults...................................................................................355
The Door Tools................................................................................356
Displaying Doors..............................................................................359
Editing Doors...................................................................................360
Changing Door Swings....................................................................363
Special Doors....................................................................................366
Door Specification Dialog...............................................................368
Door Schedules................................................................................382
Chapter 11: Windows
Window Defaults.............................................................................384
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The Window Tools...........................................................................384
Special Windows..............................................................................386
Grouped Windows...........................................................................388
Make Mulled Unit............................................................................389
Window Levels.................................................................................391
Displaying Windows........................................................................393
Editing Windows.............................................................................395
Custom Muntins..............................................................................396
Window Specification Dialog..........................................................398
Bay, Box, and Bow Windows..........................................................416
Bay, Box, Bow Windows and Roofs...............................................418
Bay/Box and Bow Window SpecificationDialogs.........................420
Window Schedules...........................................................................424
Chapter 12: Multiple Floors
Floor Defaults Dialog......................................................................426
Floor Tools.......................................................................................426
Adding Floors...................................................................................427
Displaying Floors.............................................................................429
Exchanging Floors...........................................................................430
Copying Floors.................................................................................430
Deleting Floors.................................................................................431
Rebuilding Walls, Floors and Ceilings..........................................431
Split Levels.......................................................................................432
The Current Floor...........................................................................433
The Attic Floor.................................................................................433
The Reference Floor........................................................................434
Chapter 13: Foundations
Foundation Defaults........................................................................438
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Chief Architect X6 Reference Manual
Building a Foundation.....................................................................442
Displaying Foundations..................................................................444
Editing Foundations........................................................................445
Aligning Foundation Walls.............................................................448
Deleting Foundations......................................................................448
Foundations and Rooms.................................................................449
Foundations and the Terrain..........................................................450
The Slab Tools.................................................................................452
Editing Slabs....................................................................................452
Editing Piers and Pads....................................................................453
Slab Specification Dialog................................................................453
Fireplaces.........................................................................................455
Fireplace Specification Dialog........................................................456
Library Fireplaces...........................................................................459
Chimneys..........................................................................................459
Chapter 14: Roofs
Automatic vs. Manual Roofs..........................................................462
Roof Defaults....................................................................................463
The Roof Tools.................................................................................464
Automatic Roofs..............................................................................465
Build Roof Dialog............................................................................468
Roof Planes.......................................................................................477
Displaying Roofs..............................................................................479
Editing Roof and Ceiling Planes....................................................480
Roof Plane Specification Dialog.....................................................486
Roof Baseline Polylines...................................................................492
Roof Baseline Specification Dialog................................................493
Roof and Ceiling Framing..............................................................495
Curved Roof Planes.........................................................................495
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