General Panel

The General panel contains settings that affect file management and program updates.

To use Auto Save, select the Enable check box and enter a value greater than zero to specify the frequency in minutes that auto save files are created. Auto save files are stored in the archive folder.

Note: Even with auto save active, you should frequently save your work to the hard drive by selecting File> Save .

In the event that your computer shuts down unexpectedly, you can recover your most recent work by opening the auto save file created by the program. See "Auto Save Files".

File Locking - Choose whether or not to lock files when they are open. Only .plan and .layout files are locked. Locking a file prevents another program or copy of Chief Architect from opening and modifying the same file at the same time, which is important when more than one computer has access to the same set of files at the same time.

Select Use File Locking to lock files by default.

Select Disable File Locking to disable the feature. You should not disable the feature unless you have conflicts with file locking.

Recent File List - Specify the maximum number of files to list at the bottom of the File menu and in the Startup Options dialog. Additional files are included if you increase the value. You can open any of the files in this list by selecting them, making the list a quick way to access your most recent work.

Undo - Click in the Enable check box to enable Undos and Redos.

Maximum Undos - Specify how many levels of Undo and Redo you want available, from 1 to 100. Undo files are saved in the Undo Directory.

Record undo state only if idle longer than - Use this setting to control how often undo states are recorded. If set to 0 milliseconds, an undo state is recorded every time a change is made to a plan.

If set to a number larger than 0, an undo state is recorded if the specified amount of time has elapsed since the last change was made. Depending on the time specified and the speed work is being done, multiple changes might be reversed with one undo.

This setting can have a significant effect on the performance of the undo feature when working with large plans.

Check For Program Updates- Check Enable and specify a frequency in days to check for program updates. By default Chief Architect will check for program updates once a day, whenever the program is launched.

Check the box to Enable Thumbnail Images. This only applies to automatically created thumbnails. Even if this option is disabled, you can still create a thumbnail manually.

Select a radio button for Small or Large thumbnails. Large thumbnails provide a higher quality image.

Auto Archive Files - Select an archive option. Every time a model is saved by clicking the Save button, selecting File> Save from the menu, or pressing Ctrl + S on the keyboard the current archive file is overwritten. See "Archive Files".

Select Hourly to save and append archive files based on an hourly format.

Select Daily to save and append archive files based on a daily format.

Select Previous Save to archive only the most recently saved file, unappended.

Auto Archive Warning - Enter the number of files that must be in the Archive directory for the Manage Archives warning to display. Enter 0 to disable the warning. See "Manage Archives".

Startup Options- Check Show Options at Startup to open the Startup Options dialog when Chief Architect is launched. See "Startup Options".