Plan Defaults

Plan defaults control basic features of the Chief Architect environment. To open the Plan Defaults dialog, select Edit> Default Settings... , select Plan Defaults, and click the Edit... button, or double-click the Select Objects button.

Plan Defaults Dialog

Warn Before Delete Selected Item - Check this box if you want the program to require confirmation before an item is deleted.

Ignore Casing for Opening Resize - Check this box to allow openings such as doors to be moved right up to an intersecting wall. Clear the box to place openings within the specified trim width of an intersecting wall.

Fixture/Furniture Resize Enable - Check this box to allow the resizing of library symbols in floor plan or any 3D view. When enabled, fixture and furniture objects can be resized from 1 to 2000 inches.

Show Pitch as Degrees - Check this box to display the roof pitch in degrees.

Show "Living Area" - Chief Architect automatically calculates the square footage of each floor in the plan and shows this number as the living area in floor plan view. Remove the check from this box to disable the total Living Area label.

Enter the number of Inches Scrolled by Arrow Key in floor plan view.

Specify the Allowed Angles used when Angle Snaps are enabled. See "Angle Snaps".

You can also enter up to eight Additional Angles in the fields provided. Click the Number Style button to specify the format used to enter angles. See "Number Style/Angle Style Dialog".

The Snap Grid allows you to snap objects to specific points on-screen as they are moved or resized. To enable grid snapping, check Use Snap Grid/Units. Specify the Snap Unit you prefer.

It may be helpful to change the Snap Unit temporarily when working with certain objects such as stairs or terrain.

You can snap to an invisible grid or you can Show Snap Grid, a visual indicator of where the snap points are. You can also choose the Snap Grid Color, and whether the snap grid should Display as Dots rather than lines.

Choose whether to Show Reference Grid, choose the Reference Grid Size, and choose the Grid Color. You can also choose whether the reference grid should Display as Dots, or as lines.

You can also click Grid Snaps toggle button to turn on/off grid snapping or click the Display Reference Grid toggle button to turn on/off the grid display. See "Grid Snaps".