Help Database

Chief Architect offers a number of options for sharing views of a plan with clients or colleagues who do not use the program.  Including the Chief Architect Viewer,  Two of the most user-friendly and popular methods are exporting a picture and printing to pdf.

Both picture and .pdf files can be burned onto CD/DVD's, saved onto flash drives, or e-mailed. 

Recipients can open these files with programs found on nearly every computer, as pictures can be viewed in a variety of programs, including Microsoft Paint, and .pdf files can be opened using Adobe Reader.

To export a picture:

1. Open the Chief Architect plan that you would like to share and either go to the view you wish to share or create it using the 3D or CAD tools.
   
   
   
2. Select File> Export> Picture (.bmp, .jpg, .png)  from the menu.
   
   
   
3. In the Export Picture dialog:
   
   
   
   
   • Click the Save in drop-down list and select a location on your computer where you would like to save your picture.
     
     
   • If you plan to share a number of files with a client or colleague, you may want to create a new folder to save these files in.
     
     
   • In the File name field, type a short, descriptive name for your picture.
     
     
   • In the Save as type dialog, click the drop down menu and choose JPEG Files (*.jpg).
     
     
     

     Note: In most cases, it is not a good idea to use the .bmp file format, since this format is uncompressed and will result in a very large file size in comparison to the other available formats.

     If you plan to e-mail your pictures, it's possible that the recipient will be unable to receive the attachment if you use the .bmp format due to size limits for e-mail attachments that many e-mail services have.

     
     
     
4. Repeat steps one through six for each view you wish to save, giving each a unique name.
   
   
   
5. Once you have all of the files saved, you are ready to either e-mail them as attachments, copy them to a usb flash drive device, or burn them to CD/DVD, whatever your preferred method for exchanging files may be.
   
   
   

To print to pdf:

1. Open the Chief Architect plan that you would like to share and either go to the view you wish to share or create it using the 3D or CAD tools.
   
   
   
2. Select File> Print> Print  from the menu.
   
   
   
3. In the Print dialog:
   
   
   • Click the Printer Name drop-down list and select your pdf driver.
     
     If you do not have a pdf print driver installed, please see Article Number 483 entitled "What software do I need to create a PDF file?" at: http://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/displayfaq.php?faqNumber=483
     
     
   • Click the Properties button and make sure the correct page size and orientation are selected.
     
     
   • Click OK to close the Print dialog and open the Save As dialog.
     
     
     
4. In the Save As dialog:
   
   
   • Click the Save in drop-down list and select a location on your computer where you would like to save your picture.
     
     
   • If you plan to share a number of files with a client or colleague, you may want to create a new folder to save these files in.
     
     
   • In the File name field, type a short, descriptive name for your picture.
     
     
   • When you click the Save button, your .pdf file will be saved to the location that you specified.
     
     
     
5. Repeat steps one through six for each view you wish to save, giving each a unique name.