Chief Architect Features: Floor Plans, 3D Views and CAD Details

Build 3D presentation views and 2D technical views using camera controls for live representations of your designs. Rely on layers to turn off or on different elements, like framing. Camera views can be named, edited, saved, and copied. Rely on 3D Settings Controls to fine-tune the visibility settings and configuration options.

Generate 3D views and navigate, spin, rotate, pan, orbit, tilt, and move forward or backward. Rely on the View Direction Tools to rapidly configure the view to top down, left side, right side or bottom angles.

Show views being cut from the top, bottom, front, back, left and right side. Fine-tune the amount cut away from the model. Turn to the Cross Section Slider in orthographic and vector views, along with other rendering techniques and view types. Modeless Cross Section Slider dialog makes it possible to interact with the Cross Section Slider in real time to efficiently update 3D Views.

Produce thorough walkthrough recordings along paths that you can save and share in standard video formats. Include key frames at any point on the spline to manage view direction and speed; walk up or down stairs and to span walkthrough between floors. Each walkthrough contains lighting, rendering, and camera configuration options. Set up individual paths, each with their own look, including sunlight intensity and direction.

Build an automatic walkthrough path that orbits the exterior of your design.

Set up daylight and seasonal light animations using a stationary walkthrough and a sequence of dates and times to illustrate how sunlight and shadows impact your designs. Include a timestamp for sequential frames to generate a time reference for sun studies.

Manage parameters for the sun, moon, horizon, and their impact on a scene’s lighting from within the camera’s specification dialog

Assign 360° spherical images as backdrops. Manage offsets, orientation, and Eye Level for spherical backdrops.

Save out images suitable for post-processing in HDR format.

Apply Grass Region options to generate areas that simulate 3D grass; specify the length, density, color, and other parameters to achieve more natural-looking grass in your scenes.

Choose to Draw Lines on Top option in Standard, Duotone, Watercolor, Physically Based, and Clay styles to include the sketched line drawing technique. Apply an edit control to show line drawing over top rendering techniques.

Rely on the Denoise feature in the Physically Based Rendering Technique configuration options and with the menu command to clarify Ray Traced views during the sampling process or when sampling is complete for the scene.

Set up camera defaults to leverage Default Sets in your Template plans and for projects; for example, manage the Dimensions Defaults used for Wall Elevations vs. Cross-Sections.

Manage the darkness of shadows in Vector Views and Technical Illustration views using an intensity slider.

Turn to orthographic cameras to generate elevation or cross section views. Back-Clipped Cross Section views manage the cut distance generated for a cross section. Cross Sections can also be clipped at the sides to manage the width of view.

Wall Elevations for rooms with vaulted and sloped ceilings include the full wall height; the elevation can be configure to crop at the top of the wall plate using the “Ignore Walls Above” setting.

Configure camera defaults and specifications to show foundation and items below grade as hidden lines or other line styles.

Turn to the Center Objects option in Elevation Views to manage the location of CAD objects.

Easily set up view callouts directly from the camera object. Show Elevation, Section, and Cross-Section cameras as Callouts in Plan Views. Include callout labels and descriptions; callouts remain when sent to layout.

Generate schedule callouts and labels for windows, doors, cabinets, and other items in camera views.

Start projects from pre-defined Plan Templates or generate your own. Apply the Save as Template feature to convert an existing project to a new template.

Drag-and-drop room bubbles and arrange them before converting them to walls. Rely on the polyline-based Room Boxes of the Space Planner controls to customize room shapes and junctions. Controls for snapping and room overlap help make spatial design easier. Provides a quick way to lay out rooms that adjoin the project to illustrate how the completed project would look.

Turn to Flip Plan to set up a mirrored version of your design. Turn to Rotate Plan to change the orientation of the floor plan on your screen.

Share your Chief Architect design files with clients using the free Chief Architect Viewer software.

Manage and navigate Layout pages, project files, floors, elevations, cross sections, 3D views, cameras, schedules and CAD details. Rename cameras, view multiple projects at once and easily access their details. Multi Select Views to edit, activate, duplicate or delete views from the Project Browser. Organize projects and views by creating folders and sub-folders. Easily navigate your saved views by displaying a preview window in the Project Browser that displays a thumbnail image of the selected view.

Generate and save multiple plan views (similar to saved cameras). Each view retains Layer Configure, Default Configure and Active Defaults. Open multiple Plan Views in Windows or Tabs, and manage saved views in the Project Browser. Edit the configuration options in your Plan Views from the Project Browser through a specification dialog; choose to save or ignore Zoom Size and Floor Level with saved plans. Bring in and output between plans

Pre-configure sets and optimize defaults for creating kitchen plans, framing plans, electrical plans, etc.

Rely on the Floor Above/Below control to insert and exchange floors. Insert new Floors or levels between existing floors.

Choose to define the show, color, and style of object fill based on layer assignment. Configure different fill properties for different layer sets to differentiate between views.

Measure working time per project, per client, or per task. Start and stop the Time Tracker. View, edit, and output a time log, and include notes for each project. Sort the Time Tracker by column; for example, click the column header to sort logs by date. Include total hours when printing and exporting hours from your time tracker logs. Time Tracker on its own re-starts with you as you work in a design.

Set up a plan database to organize your plan portfolio.

Store Designer's professional details, along with Client information, to be referenced using macros for print documents and notes. Include custom fields and categories for Clients and Designers, and load Client and Designer Information.

Like other Polyline based items, include breaks and curved edges to Layout viewports to manage cropping of their show on a layout page. Apply panning and zooming to refocus the contents in a Layout Box. Rotate layout boxes that contain Elevation and Camera Views.

Open multiple layout files simultaneously allowing you to edit, compare or copy elements between the files.

Generate multi-sheet documents within a single layout file to organize entire professional designs.

Revisions can be noted for changes to any layout page and displayed in a Revision Table with information such as revision number, authors’ info, date, description, and label. Current (or last) revision can be displayed using macros.

Build macros for page label, automatic page numbering, title, description, and comments for individual layout pages. Macros move with pages as they are edited and re-ordered.

Share Chief Architect® plans with the consumer / DIY Home Designer® software of the same release version. Your clients can rely on this for floor/space planning and change colors, materials and textures.

Manage initial behavior by specifying default values like ceiling height, style, moldings, wall covering, floor materials. Define room attributes by room type. Preview of room construction in the dialog.

Specify which rooms should be included or excluded in the living area calculation.

Automatically generate a molding polyline derived from the room's perimeter. Reshape the polyline as desired and attach multiple molding profiles. Designate sizes for each profile and specify its height off the floor. 3D Molding Polylines generate horizontal and vertical moldings that can be edited in 3D Views..

3D model includes Finished Floor and Finished Ceiling layers. Turn to these layers to include dimension details and define floor coverings, finishes, and sub-layers.

Specify raised floor platforms that are automatically framed.

Select multiple rooms to change their attributes simultaneously; change room type, convert from flat to a vaulted ceiling, configure ceiling and floor heights, and change the platform structure.

Define the display of the dimensions supplied with a room label. Edit units, fraction or decimal display and other configuration options much like standard dimension formats.

Draw and edit walls in 2D and 3D. Wall Styles include interior, exterior, railing, pony, half wall, curved, angled, raked, stepped. All styles are customizable with unique layers. Wall Types include structural wood, stucco, ICF, SIPS, glass, railings, partitions.

Specify interior and exterior railing styles with unique attributes like newels, balusters, panels, materials, handrails, and heights. Manage the size and shape of panels, balusters, railings, and shoe. Apply offset values to inset or overhang the railing from the platform edge.

Manage heights of walls, include breaks and change in Cross Section and Elevation views. Define stepped foundations with vertical footing manage.

Apply the Select Same Load Same option to rapidly apply properties from one wall to another wall in your design.

Create recesses in walls like a shower niche or wall display. Define the niche depth, casing, arch, and other attributes similar to windows.

Place New, Existing, Demolition and Remodeling Walls on unique layers.

Include custom wall definitions to the Library for reuse.

Design wall areas specifying different materials and assemblies.

Manually manage wall intersections by dragging the intersecting wall to snap to a specific layer of another wall.

Build any style of Cabinet using the smart parametric options including Framed, Frameless, Curved, Angled and Bow. Fine-tune drawers, face frames, doors, styles, shapes, shelves, moldings, backsplashes, appliances, countertops and more. Rely on a specification dialog to define and customize your cabinets.

Save any Cabinet, group of Cabinets, or an entire room of Cabinets as an Architectural Block and store in the Library for future apply. Unblock the cabinet grouping and change as needed. For example, store kitchen islands or an entire kitchen in your library for future designs.

Specify the default spacing between cabinet shelves. Specify the type of shelving inside the cabinet and tweak the spacing manually per cabinet opening.

Draw and edit countertops manually. Include countertop holes, edge profiles, change the thickness and height off the floor. Dialog preview gives you the ability to visualize a custom counter as you manipulate its properties.

Set up cabinet fillers automatically between cabinets, or include them manually. Choose whether auto-fillers are generated for the entire plan, while also selecting individual cabinets to exclude.

Choose to match the sides and back of a cabinet’s configuration to its front, or individually customize the layout of panels, doors, drawers and appliances for any side of a cabinet. Define the thickness of cabinet Sides and Backs.

Turn to layers and controls in the cabinet dialog to draw doors and drawers open in 2D and 3D views. Configure percent open for cabinet doors and drawers individually. Configure door swing angle up to 180°. Turn to edit toggle to rapidly return all cabinets to closed or open in a view.

Specify left and right extended stiles for cabinets; extended stiles automatically clip when near walls and other cabinets, and can be represented in schedules and materials lists.

Specify the reveal amount for a cabinet’s front, side, and back; configure reveal individually for cabinet separations.

Specify rounded or chamfered corners on a cabinet box and Automatic Countertops.

Define cabinet hardware for doors and drawers, apply unique hardware to individual face items. Hardware on its own rotates to match face item orientation and can be rotated manually through the specification dialog. Turn to controls to locate hardware at cabinet doors' vertical and horizontal centers, and to resize hardware.

Specify that moldings should automatically be flush with the cabinet box or the cabinet doors, drawers, and panels.

Cabinet catalogs include door and drawer styles, colors, wood species, and accessories that can be attached to parametric cabinet controls.

Produce any style of Door, Doorway, and Window including Arched, Shaped and Mulled. Rely on the Smart Parametric options. Doors styles include interior, exterior, sliding, barn, pocket, bi-fold, atrium, fixed, double-swing, shower, and garage. Hardware Library - Hinges, Handles and Locks. Window styles include interior, exterior, pass-through, single/double hung, sliding, casement, corner, recessed, louvered, bay, and box.

Independently configure the top, bottom, left, and right sides for panel and glass panel doors. Set up garage and entry doors with asymmetric windows. Choose to configure all garage door panels to rely on glass.

Specify retractable walls (also known as stackers and Nanawall) using the panel configuration options for Sliding and Pocket Doors. Produce bifold doors with multiple panel sections to set up accordion door types.

Break parametric bump-out windows into their wall and window sub-components to be edited fully.

Produce custom Mulled door and window blocks. Move, dimension, and label them as single units and include them to the Library. Mulled Units that contain Doors are automatically recognized as Door objects for Schedules and Schedule Labels.

Assign custom CAD Blocks to symbol windows, like Garden Windows, to manage their show in Plan View.

Fine-tune curtains by the height off floor and height above casing. Blinds fit inside casing when attached to Windows.

Specify sills, lintels, and aprons for openings and configure the height, width, and overhang. Attach custom symbols to Window or Door casing and configure the height and width.

Set up gable, hip, shed, Dutch gable, gambrel, mansard, and other roof styles automatically. Rely on the Auto-Rebuild Roofs feature to automatically update the roof as your design changes. Define roof attributes per eave wall including multiple roof pitches, overhangs, and roof returns.

Specify pitch, overhang, raise off plate for energy heels, curved roof information, framing details, fascias, gutters, exposed rafters and roof returns and many other options. Includes roof and ceiling framing and trusses. See the Framing section for details.

Design with both the 2D and 3D views up at the same time to visualize the changes in design.

Specify rafter spacing values for individual roof planes in a design.

Automatic ceilings are created once a roof is generated. Manual Ceilings can be drawn and modified to reflect non-standard ceiling designs; build cathedral, tray, coffered, and barrel ceilings.

Set up roof assemblies with multiple layers, much like floor and ceiling platforms; great for specifying SIP roofs.

Apply Shadow Boards to the fascia of roof planes on its own. Specify molding profiles and stack moldings to produce the desired molding build-up.

Specify tread width, length, tread number, overhang, and thickness. Configure riser height, top and bottom height. Specify details about stringers, open underneath, runners, railing details, baluster and newel styles and shapes, brackets, handrails on walls next to stairs, around corners, and hand rail profile. Specify riser heights, tread width, start height, and bottom height.

Customize curved sections, flared treads, starter treads, winders, definable walk line, maintainable tread width, and landings.

Easily generate staircases with different tread widths. Perfect for creating a stair that has exposed railing on the bottom, and is encased in walls at the top.

Split landings into multiple segments using dialog box controls for U-shape and L-shape stairs.

Creates stairwell and the platform to match the staircase.

Set up Custom Landings to auto-connect Stair sections or Ramp sections together. Auto-connect multiple landings together to update their height values to suit the staircase. Rely on Landings to generate custom winder stairs and starter treads. Choose auto tweak features for the height and thickness based on stair or ramp connection. Turn railings on or off per Landing edge.

Choose from newels and balusters in the Library Catalog or bring in your own.

Save preconfigured stair and ramp sections to the library browser. Click to place a copy into your design. Click and drag to draw a new variation using the style and parameters from the library version.

Specify returns at each of a stair’s handrails and specify horizontal extension lengths to meet code requirements for stair handrails.

Set up a default foundation type, controlling stem-wall height, footing size and material, slab or pier information. Edit foundation parameters after it has been built.

Select Round Piers or Square Pads and manage their size and position in the dialog. Toggle between round and square with a single click.

Generate automatic footings and supports under Bearing Walls, manage footings for slabs, and define stepped footings with vertical pours. Manage the pattern fill, layer, and line types for Wall Footings within the specification dialog.

Floors, walls, ceilings, roofs, openings, headers can be framed and updated automatically as the structure evolves. Define Trimmers and Headers based on opening sizes.

Draw a Joist Direction line to indicate how framing is on its own generated for a platform. Choose whether it runs parallel or perpendicular to the joists, and edit the width and framing defaults, along with several other parameters, directly from the Joist Direction Line's specification dialog.

Draw individual framing members or select and edit on its own generated members. Access the Object Information Panel for Framing Objects and include details to be reflected in Schedules and Materials Take-Offs.

Choose from a wide selection of framing types when designing your structure; from lumber, to steel, to engineered materials like LVL, PSL, and VSL. Framing labels reflect the type of material specified.

Optimize framing designs for panelized construction and turn to with automated sawing machines. Output to .EZF format.

Set up your defaults and turn to parametric features to automatically include floor and roof trusses to your design when you build framing.

Quickly rebuild a truss’s automatic configuration using the Truss Rebuild edit option when it is selected.

Report the truss chords and webbing for each individual truss to the materials list.

Apply decorative or shaped end profiles to general framing members, similar to rafter tails.

Specify ply count for beams, posts, and girder trusses to set up built-up framing members.

Configure automatic framing controls to generate true balloon framing and offer flexible parameters for specifying where to include or exclude this framing technique.

Set up wall types with multiple framing layers and on its own generate framing for both layers; ideal for furred basement walls. Specify the number of top and bottom wall plates in the wall type and whether treated lumber is used.

Specify that window and door openings apply custom or default configuration options for Headers, Trimmers, Sills, and other framing related components on the Framing tab of the specification dialog. Generate Box Headers and Built-Up Headers with up to 10 members and 5 trimmers for each opening. Set up defaults so openings frame as desired on its own.

Label controls for posts, beams, and other framing objects. Set up custom labels and assign them to layers.

Choose to generate floor framing for a selected room or those included in a framing group; for example, generate framing for an addition or remodeled space.

Choose to generate framing for a single object without re-creating the framing for the entire plan.

Apply polyline controls to generate holes for the floor or ceiling and automatically generate framing around them.

Define Plank overhang, width, gap, direction, border planks, beams and joists. Define widths, spacing, direction and type of planks. Automatically re-build framing as the design changes. Include or exclude beams, posts, and footings. Automatic framing includes blocking under border planks.

Define spacing, offsets, and generation of on its own generated deck beams through the Deck Specification and Framing dialogs. Choose whether beams are placed under or in line with joists.

Comprehensive CAD objects and editing options: Points, Lines, Polylines, Splines, Arcs, Circles, Ovals, Boxes, Arrows, Fence, Trim Extend, Parallel, Perpendicular, Reflect, Replicate, Transform, Fillet, Chamfer, and several others.

Snap indicators – center, end point, tangent, and several others. Snap to objects or a grid. Snap to Reference Floor layer (a floor above or below the current floor).

Accurately move or copy objects. See visual indicators of starting and ending locations while using the Point-to-Point Move and Point-to-Point Resize controls.

Quickly convert CAD to 3D Solids, Molding Polylines, Countertops, Slabs, Landings, Distributed Regions and Paths, Holes in Roofs and Platforms. Convert Arcs and Circles to Polylines. Convert polylines to Revision Clouds and Material List Areas. Convert to Elevation and Terrain data, Sprinklers, Garden Beds, Terrain Walls and Curbs, Roads, Road Markings, and Sidewalks.

Set up custom solids with a variety of shapes. Edit polylines using Polyline Subtract, Polyline Union, and Polyline Intersection. Set up solid faces, extrude and revolve them to generate custom objects. View and rotate a 3D preview while adjusting the attributes of 3D shape objects. Edit any edge or face of a solid object in any direction. Edit solid objects in plan views and 3D Views, regardless of the view in which it was originally created.

Perform Union, Intersection, and Subtraction editing on combinations of 3D Solids and perform these edits on objects created in different planes (plan view vs. elevation). Apply the fillet and chamfer options on any edge of a 3D Solid object.

Quickly edit polyline corners, like custom counters, with fillets or chamfers with the click of a button.

Details for residential structural elements. Detailed assemblies for floors, roofs, decks, walls and foundations. Over 500 details are included in the available catalogs.

Draw customized details and diagrams, print them to scale, and save for reuse in the Library. Specify insertion points to manage how details are added to a design.

Duplicate CAD Details from one project and include them to another using Copy/Paste options in the Project Browser. Set up templates to include your favorite CAD Details.

Set up unique layer groupings for viewing and printing. Generate separate Layer sets for Electrical Plans, Framing Views, or Space Planning. Edit, copy, and rename existing layer sets; turn to the layer-set toolbar to rapidly swap active Layer Sets or swap Layer Sets using Default Sets.

Select a layer assigned to an object using the Layer Eyedropper control, then apply that layer to a different object with Layer Painter.

Quickly and conveniently change the layer properties for any object from the Edit Toolbar.

Rely on the Reference Show controls to show layer sets from other plan files. Show remodeling changes and construction options by showing layers from one design overlaid in a different file in both 2D and 3D views. Build ‘ghosted’ camera views that include As-Built and Addition designs together.

Baseline, Running, Centerline, Angular, End-to-End, Interior, Point-to-Point, and Temporary dimensions. Turn to One-Click Auto Dimensions™ for exteriors.

Select any object, and enter a corresponding dimension number to move the object a configure distance. Apply simple arithmetic formulas while editing dimensions to easily move objects in a design.

Fine-tune wall lengths by selecting dimensions or temporary dimensions that run parallel to the wall. Show Wall length as you draw; press TAB to input an exact dimension.

Generate a construction line grid with callouts for referencing between floor levels and across elevation views to mark key planes in your project. Dimension and snap to lines, change callout show, and apply layers to manage printing. Rely on automatic ordering to set up sequential labeling for construction line callouts. Define different rules for individual sets of construction lines.

Manage dimension extension configuration options and manage multiple elements at once with table interface. See interactive previews of dimension configuration options.

Configure a threshold where dimensions show in inches when the value is less than the specified amount; for example, show dimension as 18” instead of 1’ 6”.

Replace dimension value with text or insert additional text before or after the dimension value for any dimension string.

Apply a Bluetooth or Wireless compatible device to on its own measure a space then input the distances directly into dimension strings.

Define multiple dimension styles and attributes for your specific needs, such as defaults for floor plans, cabinet elevations and site plans. For each Default, define the attributes for number height, unit of measure, arrow, fonts and including the behavior of each dimension option, including Temporary Dimensions.

Set up Automatic Exterior Dimension behaviors based on your active dimension defaults. Easily produce exterior dimensions for different views, different scales, and different snap locations.

Automatically dimension interior rooms and elevations to the National Kitchen and Bath Association dimensioning standards using pre-defined default sets.

Apply the Story Pole Dimension option to automatically generate labeled markers for key locations and dimensions between them. A new story pole label is generated for each dimension mark added. Configure "Reach" values to manage the distance points are located.

Build Electrical, Plumbing and Heating / Ventilation plans. Electrical – place lights, switches, outlets, low voltage, and wiring. Circuit Connection controls draw the connections and circuits for your electrical layout. Connect components together to build circuits. Fine-tune the lines and arcs of the circuit design. Connections will automatically change switches for 3-way and 4-way. Specify Electrical, Fixture, and Furniture items to attach to ceilings and roofs and auto-rotate to match the pitch of roofs or vaulted ceilings.

Turn to Light Sources in addition to light fixture symbols to enhance the lighting in a scene. Light Fixtures have light sources for Render and Ray Trace Views.

Define custom lighting with shadows and intensity; turn lighting on or off per fixture to manage whether a light is used for a 3D scene. Apply dimming controls to customize the intensity of lights for individual scenes.

Define lighting in Kelvins to accurately depict illumination in rendered scenes.

Define a North Pointer and Sun Angle. Specify latitude, longitude, date and time; generate shadows in 2D and 3D. Sun Angles are listed by date and time stamps in dialogs for easy identification.

Show angles as Azimuth Bearings, Quadrant Bearings, Degrees, Minutes, or Minutes + Seconds.

Input accurate length, bearing and setback information.

Input elevations data for Terrain by drawing splines, lines, and points. Attach elevation value to each object, then automatically generate the terrain contours. Define the terrain's elevation relative to the subfloor using a marker. A Clear Terrain control is available to remove contouring and tweak elevation data.

Hills, Valleys, Elevated Regions, Flat Regions.

Stepping Stones, Streams, Garden Curbing, Pre-defined Garden Beds, Blocked garden beds.

Include the volume of Roads, Driveways, Sidewalks, and Terrain Walls and Curbs in materials lists.

Design Straight and Curved Decks. Define roof and ceiling attributes for a covered deck. Manage the orientation and size of deck planking, gap, width, overhang, direction, border planks, beams and joists. Full Deck framing – see framing section for more details. Polygon Deck control, specify the number of sides and the size of a deck.

Place sprinkler heads and connect them to generate irrigation runs and zones.

Bring in photos of plants and include them to the Library Browser to rely on in your designs. Include plant growth information and tweak transparency attributes.

Detailed plant information – common and scientific name, type, sub-type, characteristics, height range, zones, sun and water needs, bloom time, and leaf and flower color.

Turn to sliding scale and grow the plants up to 20 years from the current maturity.

Place and edit objects directly in 3D and 2D Plan View or Elevation View. Design simultaneously in 2D and 3D for any of the views.

Apply colors, materials and textures to objects or components of the object. Apply colors as solid or stain. Apply the Default Painter control restore items to their default material.

When editing a material in a 3D view using the Change Materials control, choose the scope of impact to tweak the material throughout your project, or build a copy on-the-fly for a subset of objects using the material. After editing a material’s properties, rapidly save the change with the Include to Library control.

Change the sizing and offset for the Herringbone and Grid pattern types to accurately match your final installation pattern.

Define material properties for water and liquids that show animation in 3D Views and capture the movement in Walkthroughs. Preset Animated water materials are available in the Library Browser.

Attach Ambient Occlusion Maps, Roughness Maps, Metal Maps, Emissive Maps, and Anisotropic Maps and parameters, along with Normal and Bump Maps, to include realism to your material properties.

Load Substance Player files directly into the Material Builder feature to generate custom materials with associated maps and save them to the library browser. Produce custom tile materials and change the grout color. Store parameters used in Material Builder with material, and access later to make changes.

Enhance material definitions using custom maps, like Normal, Ambient Occlusion, Metal, Roughness, and Gloss, Transparency, and Opacity maps. Rely on the Invert option for Roughness maps to represent Gloss. Mix combinations of maps to manage various effects like metallic, translucent, and transparent on a single material.

A search bar in the Plan Materials dialog makes finding entries faster than scrolling through the list.

Turn to automatic controls and thresholds to derive vector pattern lines from custom maps, browse to files or choose a map referenced by the material. Easily build matching 2D patterns for custom tiles and other unique material surfaces.

Assemble 2D and 3D moldings for walls and roofs to generate 3D surfaces. Produce realistic views of Board-and-Batten, Lap Siding, Standing Seam, and other architectural surfaces.

Using the Center Object option, choose the Point-to-Point Center button to center an object between two other items. For example, center a cabinet between two windows.

Bring in custom 3D objects from popular brand catalogs or other sharing sites and store them in the Library Browser for rely on in your designs.

Quickly convert one or more 3D elements to a Symbol Object. Assemble cabinets, 3D solids, soffits, moldings or other 3D items into a custom item, and convert only those that are actively selected to a Symbol that can be stored in the Library Browser and reused in designs.

Update, rotate, or otherwise edit molding polylines directly within your User Catalog.

Access thousands of Objects / Items, both Manufacturer and generic. Download, load and generate new objects. Search for objects in the Library or apply the advanced search features to filter the results. Number of Library Items is displayed in the status bar.

Check for updates for catalogs distributed by Chief Architect from the menu, or using the Update Library Catalogs control button. Catalog Downloads on its own restart if Chief Architect is closed then re-launched. Notification dialog lists which catalogs have been updated after the updated catalog process is complete.

Search for Library items by keyword, object type or style. Instant Search bar is integrated into the Library, just start typing in the search bar to find objects in the Library. Apply terms “AND”, “OR”, and “NOT”, and generate search groups using parentheses ‘()’ in library searches to refine results. Customize Library Search Attributes, view or change key words for searching on Library objects. Apply the search options inside Chief Architect’s Library Browser to discover and download content from the online 3D Library.

Rely on the Edit Block control to temporarily open an edit view window for CAD Blocks in your designs and the Library Browser. After modifications are complete, save edits and choose to apply your changes to all the matching blocks in your work.

Save and reuse Notes, Callouts, and Markers by storing them in the Library Browser.

Produce shortcut items to any object in the Library Browser to customize your organization.

Update and replace library items by 'painting' them onto objects; see visual feedback through the cursor and when hovering over objects. Update doors, cabinet doors, and parametric items, or replace entire objects in 2D and 3D views.

Once saved into the Library, open and edit the properties of Cabinets, Windows, Doors, and other parametric items.

Determine whether or not a selected object exists in the library browser using an edit control, or through the Replace from Library dialog.

Automatic Materials List with columns for equipment, unit costs, percent markup, and labor costs. Change order of the columns. Generate a list for the entire plan, single room, or defined area using a polyline. Materials List updates as design changes to reflect product, quantities, prices, and general costs of the goods and services required for your project.

Select items from the materials list and choose to Show in Plan to identify and locate them in your design.

Find the components panel in the specification dialog for objects that are reported to the materials list. Change calculation methods and other details for the object from the Components panel.

Leverage Ruby Scripting to generate custom formulas for calculations in the materials list. Leverage reference codes for elements in the program to write custom text macros and Ruby scripts.

Produce Schedules for Doors, Windows, Cabinets and Materials, Fixtures, Appliances, Furniture, Electrical, HVAC, Notes, Plumbing, Plants, Room Finish, Walls, Molding Polylines, Roof Planes, Ceiling Planes, Skylights, Millwork, Sprinklers, and Shapes. Automatically customize the information contained in the Schedule and label controls for Schedules. Restrict schedules to include items from select rooms, floors, or the entire plan.

Turn to the Object Information Panel in an item’s specification dialog to assign custom fields which can be displayed in Schedules.

Generate schedules that include multiple types of objects, and specify in which schedule grouping individual objects belong; for example, specify Glass Sliding Doors as Window Schedule objects or separate objects into “Existing” and “New” schedules.

Choose to include CAD polylines and polyline based objects like backsplashes, counters, material regions, slabs, and terrain objects in schedules. Report the number of lines and perimeter.

Select a row from a schedule and choose to open the specification for the item(s) represented in the row, edit and update them in your project and your schedules.

Build a series of shorter schedules by specifying the starting number for each schedule in the sequence.

Output Materials List with accounting codes, descriptions, quantities, and pricing. Accounting codes conform to the NAHB Standards.

Include pricing data per board when you generate framing linear length and buy lists. Set up separate pricing models for each report type.

Manage font, size, weight, color, position, justification, and more.

Apply the Find and Replace option to revise the selected text only.

Arrows recognize text justification (left, right, center) and on its own orient appropriately. Include tails using flag parametric objects. Apply edit handles to on its own generate new leader lines on text objects.

Place Callouts and Markers in Plan, Elevation, Layout, and Detail views. Fine-tune fill color, line style, line weight, and double-headed Callouts. Callouts and Markers have unique layers. Rely on multiple default styles for Arrows, Markers, and Callouts.

Type your own customized labels for objects; include macros to make them dynamically update with the item. Manage label size, orientation, and on which layer it displays.

Quickly suppress the label of an object in the active view using the “Show/Hide Label in this View” button.

Set up Text Styles and assign them per layer, per default, or per object to manage the appearance of labels, dimensions and other text in your design.

Include 2D text notes and leader line arrows to 3D Views.

See onscreen the highlighted word in its context while using Spell Check.

Insert macros into text objects. Include Contact Info, File Info, Plan Info, Special Characters, and Time and Date macros. Build custom Macros, such as macros for Contractor, Supplier, or Revision Number. Rely on Text Macros in combination with the Ruby Scripting options to dynamically update object labels or other annotation in your design.

Apply the Ruby Scripting Console for writing program scripts - such as determining room volume, custom cabinet labels and several others. Includes an Interactive tutorial on how to build user-defined macros.

Save to a PDF file for outsourcing print jobs.

Displays printable area, paper edges, and line weights.

Load or Save out DXF and DWG files.

Image bring in - specify transparency color and include plant data or image information for materials and backdrops. Show Metafile on plan, elevation, and layout views. Specify fill style to show through and transparency on the image.

Bring in/Output Saved Plan Views, Default Sets, Layer Sets, Hot Keys, Wall Types, Line Styles, Defaults, Macros, and Ruby Scripts. Share with other users or transfer them from plan to plan.

Group bring in texture image files and convert them to materials automatically.

Choose to migrate your configuration options after the initial installation. If you forgot to migrate a file, or want to review Out-of-Box configuration options, you can do so and then migrate your custom configuration options like toolbars and hotkeys later.

Chief Architect can be installed and run natively either on Mac or Windows operating systems with a single license. Includes native ARM support for Mac M1 and newer processors.

Save 3D designs to the Chief Cloud for sharing and viewing in Chief Architect's 3D Viewer application. Multiple cameras can be included and viewed from a single 3D Viewer project, allowing on-the-fly navigation of your designs on the web or mobile devices.

Open and edit plans created using Chief Architect's Home Designer software. Full editing makes it possible to take a DIY design to the professional level.

Smooth and accurate touch controls for pinch zoom, pan, rotate and other controls for Windows computers (not supported by Mac OS).

Set up Preferences for viewing and editing options to customize the interface to your needs. Specify defaults for most architectural elements so that their initial placement suits your project's design and style.

Turn on the Action History window to interact with the list of commands and actions that have occurred. Perform multiple undos/redos at once by navigating the Action History list.

UI graphics and preference controls for displaying dark mode on Windows and Mac.

Configure Auto-Archive Preference to schedule how frequently projects are backed up to an archive file.

Make the crosshair more prominent on-screen by increasing its show size in Preferences.

Change the toolbar to match your work style. Include and remove buttons, generate toolbar groupings, dock and undock toolbars. Build Toolbar Sets. Rely on the search bar to rapidly locate buttons.

Assign and change shortcut key mapping. Set up Sequential Hotkeys. Assign combinations of keystrokes, up to 4, to be used sequentially as shortcuts to controls.

Configure Active Layer Show Options Dialog (ALDO) to be docked and accessible while designing to rapidly and easily manage your layers.

The Help viewer automatically updates to show the Help topic for the highlighted object, option, or dialog. Dynamic help updates can be toggled on or off.

If you are not completely satisfied, Chief Architect, Inc. will gladly refund your purchase price within 2 weeks of purchase.