Chief Architect® X4 User’s Guide Professional Design & Drafting Software Chief Architect, Inc. 6500 N. Mineral Dr. Coeur d’Alene, Idaho 83815 www.chiefarchitect.com Copyright © 2011 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 FreeImage open Copyright © 1994-2003 Wintertree Software source image library. See Inc. http://freeimage.sourceforge.net for details. FreeImage is used under the FIPL license, The City Blueprint and Country Blueprint version 1.0. fonts are © 1992-1999 Payne Loving Trust. All rights reserved. This software uses the Ruby open source library. See http://www.ruby-lang.org/ for details. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of Chief Architect, Inc. or their respective owners. Created in the United States of America. Contents Chapter 1: Installation System Requirements..........................................................................7 Downloading Chief Architect.............................................................8 Installing Chief Architect..................................................................10 Installing Your Optional Hardware Lock.......................................16 Starting Chief Architect....................................................................16 Program Updates...............................................................................21 Deactivating Chief Architect Licenses.............................................22 Uninstalling Chief Architect.............................................................22 Chapter 2: House Design Tutorial Before You Begin...............................................................................26 Getting Started...................................................................................26 Creating a Plan Template - Setting Defaults..................................28 Drawing Walls...................................................................................31 Creating Dimension Lines................................................................34 Adjusting Wall Positions...................................................................37 Creating Rooms.................................................................................39 Creating a 3D View...........................................................................46 Adding Floors.....................................................................................49 Adding Stairs.....................................................................................55 Placing Doors and Windows.............................................................59 3 Chief Architect X4 User’s Guide Chapter 3: Roof Tutorial Getting Started with Roofs...............................................................70 Auto Rebuild Roofs...........................................................................70 Deleting Roofs....................................................................................71 Hip Roofs............................................................................................71 Gable Roofs........................................................................................73 Shed Roofs..........................................................................................75 Saltbox Roofs.....................................................................................76 Gambrel Roofs...................................................................................76 Gull Wing Roofs................................................................................78 Half Hip Roofs...................................................................................79 Mansard Roofs...................................................................................80 Finding the Start of an Upper Pitch................................................82 Roof Type Quick Reference..............................................................83 Roof Returns......................................................................................84 Adding Gables over Doors and Windows.......................................85 Automatic Dormers...........................................................................86 Manually Drawn Dormers................................................................87 Crickets and Dormer Vents..............................................................95 Skylights...........................................................................................102 Using the Break Wall Tool to Modify Roofs.................................103 Adding a Roof..................................................................................106 Troubleshooting Automatic Roof Issues.......................................112 Chapter 4: Interior Design Tutorial Controlling the Display of Objects.................................................117 Working with Library Objects......................................................118 Applying Room Moldings...............................................................123 Applying Wall Coverings................................................................126 4 Creating a Tray Ceiling..................................................................127 Chapter 5: Kitchen and Bath Design Tutorial Adding Cabinets..............................................................................135 Placing Appliances...........................................................................140 Editing Cabinets and Appliances...................................................141 Creating a Custom Countertop......................................................144 Creating Architectural Blocks........................................................148 Working in Cross Section/Elevation Views...................................149 Chapter 6: Materials Tutorial Setting Materials Defaults..............................................................153 Using the Materials Tab..................................................................155 Using the Material Painter.............................................................158 Blending Colors with Materials.....................................................161 Using the Material Eyedropper......................................................162 Using the Color Chooser.................................................................164 Custom Materials, Images, and Backdrops..................................166 Generating a Materials List............................................................172 Chapter 7: Landscaping Tutorial Editing the Terrain Perimeter........................................................176 Creating a Walkout Basement.......................................................180 Creating a Retaining Wall..............................................................182 Adding a Driveway..........................................................................185 Adding Terrain Features................................................................188 Adding Library Objects to Your Plan...........................................193 5 Chief Architect X4 User’s Guide Chapter 8: Deck Tutorial Decks and Porches...........................................................................197 Drawing Decks.................................................................................198 Drawing Stairs.................................................................................199 Changing Planking Orientation.....................................................200 Adding Exterior Furniture.............................................................202 Chapter 9: CAD Tutorial CAD Details......................................................................................205 Modifying CAD Details...................................................................206 Creating a Plot Plan........................................................................214 Chapter 10: Layout Tutorial Getting Started................................................................................223 Creating a Layout Template..........................................................224 Creating a Border and Title Block................................................228 Sending Floor Plan Views to Layout.............................................230 Sending Elevation Views to Layout...............................................233 Sending Details to Layout...............................................................236 Sending Perspective Views to Layout............................................238 Printing to PDF................................................................................240 Appendix A: End User License Agreement 6 Chapter 1: Installation This chapter will walk you through installing your Chief Architect software. Chapter Contents • Installing Your Optional Hardware Lock • Starting Chief Architect • System Requirements • Program Updates • Downloading Chief Architect • Deactivating Chief Architect Licenses • Installing Chief Architect • Uninstalling Chief Architect System Requirements In order to install and run Chief Architect, your computer system must meet the following minimum requirements: For 64-bit Chief Architect Premier X4 • 64-bit Windows® 7/Vista • Multi-core processor • 4 GB of memory 7 Chief Architect X4 Reference Manual For 32-bit Chief Architect Premier, Lite or Interiors X4 • 32- or 64-bit Windows® 7/Vista; 32-bit Windows® XP • 2.4 GHz processor • 2 GB of memory For all versions • 5 GB of available hard disk space • 256 MB of dedicated on-board video memory, OpenGL 2.1 or higher • High speed Internet for registration, video access, content downloads • DVD drive (if software purchased on DVD) For more information about system recommendations, visit our Web site at www.chiefarchitect.com. Downloading Chief Architect To download and install Chief Architect X4, you will first download the Chief Architect download Manager, and then use it to download the Chief Architect X4 installer. 1. Log in to your online Chief Architect account and browse to the Digital Locker page. 2. Click the button. • If your internet browser asks you to confirm whether to Run or Save the file, select Run. • If you prefer to click Save, the Save As dialog will open. Select an easy to find Save in location on your computer, such as your Documents folder or Windows Desktop, then click Save. 3. The Download Complete dialog may display when the file is finished downloading. If it does, click the Run button to continue. 8 Downloading Chief Architect 4. An Internet Explorer - Security Warning message may display next. If it does, click the Run button to continue. • If the Downloader does not launch, browse to the location where you saved it on your computer and double-click it. 5. The Save To - Chief Architect Downloader dialog will open next. • Click the File button if you would like to select a different location on your computer to save the Chief Architect installer. • Click OK to begin the download. 9 Chief Architect X4 Reference Manual 6. The Chief Architect Downloader progress dialog will open next. The installer is over 100 MB, so may take some time to download, depending on your Internet connection. • The Saving To section of the dialog box states the location on your computer where the installer is being saved and its name. • The Progress section indicates how much of the installer has been downloaded thus far, how fast it is being downloaded and estimates how much more time will be needed. 7. If you wish, click the Options button and choose whether to: • Run This Program When Done downloading. This option is selected by default. Click to uncheck it if you prefer to run the installer at a later time. • Finish Downloading Later. Select this option to stop the download. You can later resume where you left off by double-clicking on either the Download Manager acquired in steps 2 and 3 above or the Finish Downloading Chief Architect X4 shortcut created on your Windows Desktop. This shortcut is created only when this option is chosen and is deleted when the download is completed. • Use Proxy Server Settings. Choose this option only if you use a proxy server. 8. You can click the Pause button to temporarily halt the download. You can then click the Resume button to continue it. 9. You can also click the Cancel button to cancel the download entirely. The downloader will ask you if you would like to finish later: click Yes to Finish Download Later, as described above; click No to cancel the download and start again later. Installing Chief Architect When the file is completely downloaded, the Chief Architect Setup Wizard will launch automatically. If you have an Chief Architect Program DVD, insert it into your DVD drive. The Chief Architect Setup Wizard will launch. If the Setup Wizard does not launch when you insert the disk into your DVD drive, you can open it manually. Click the Windows Start button, then select Computer. Right-click on your DVD drive and select Open from the menu, then double-click on the file with your program’s name and the .msi file extension. 10