Chief Architect Premier is the best software product for full residential, light commercial, remodeling, kitchen, bath and interior design—everything inside and outside the house.
Below is an interactive detailed listing of features.
Also see our Overview video.
Perspective and Orthographic 3D Camera tools
3D Navigation Tools & Virtual Tours
Navigation ALT Mode
Auto-Hide Exterior Walls While Navigating
Cross Section Slider™
Walkthrough Tools
Walkthrough Editing
Walkthrough Preview Panel
360 Exterior Walkthrough
Cloud Share Walkthroughs
Export 360° Spherical Views
Update and Replace Cloud Files
Custom Backdrops
Spherical Backdrops
Artistic Rendering Techniques
Line Drawing Option for Rendering Techniques
Physically Based Rendering with GPU Ray Tracing
Photo Realistic Ray Trace Rendering
Camera Default Sets
Isometric View Tools
Control Shadow Intensity
Cross Sections, Back-Clipped Cross Sections & Elevations
Convert Wall Elevations to Section Views
Show Vaulted Ceilings in Wall Elevation Views
Dimension, Annotate and Detail Cross Sections & Elevation Views
Center CAD in Elevation Views
Copy Section and Elevation Cameras
Show Cameras as Callouts
Automatically Populate Camera Callouts with Layout Page Information
Automatic Labels in Elevations
Auto-generate Exterior & Interior Room Elevations
Stepped Cutting Plane Cross-Section
Plan Templates
Space Planning Assistant
Plan Check tool
Rotate and Flip Plan tools
Fill Screen to Selected Objects
Chief Architect Viewer file compatibility
Design Structures with multiple Floors
30 Floors
Insert & Exchange Floors
Advanced Layer Controls
Default Sets
Saved Plan Views
Project Browser
Project Browser Previews
Time Tracker™ tool
Plan Database tool
R-Value Controls
Layout Plan Sets
Reshape Views Sent to Layout
Rotate Views Sent to Layout
Pan and Zoom Layout Box Contents
Layout Box Specification
Open Multiple Layouts
Advanced Layout Editing
Set up multiple Pages per Layout File
1000 Pages
Control Layout Template Pages
Document Revisions for Layouts
Layout Page Table
Layout Page Macros
Delete Objects for Layouts
Home Designer® Plan Share
Room Defaults
Custom Room Definitions
Living Area Calculation
Room Polygon tool
Room Molding Polyline & 3D Molding Polylines tool
Room Polyline
Accurately Layered Floor & Ceiling Platforms
Floor Material Region Tool
Raised Floor Platforms
Define Conditioned or Unconditioned Spaces
Multi-Select and Edit Rooms
Room Label Dimension Format Defaults
Wall Tools
Pony Walls
Railing Tools
Railing Over Solid Wall
Create Raked & Stepped Walls
Custom Wall Types
Match Properties on Walls
Support for ICF and SIP Wall Connections
Wall Niches
Partition Walls
Remodeling Plans
Wall Hatching
Store Walls in Library Browser
Wall Corner Boards & Quoins
Wall Material Region Tool
Double Walls for Marriage Walls and Multi-Family Units
Control Wall Connection Layer Intersections
Continuous Wall Draw mode
Smart Cabinet Tools
Define Cabinet Defaults
Architectural Blocks
Insert Items inside Cabinets
Cabinet Shelves
Waterfall Counters
Custom Countertop Tool
Custom Backsplash Tool
Cabinet Fillers
Blind Corner Cabinet Controls
Edit Configuration of Sides, Back, and Front of Cabinets Independently
Cabinet Door Size
Cabinet Box Construction
Extended Cabinet Stiles
Cabinet Door Overlay Each Edge
Frameless Cabinet Reveal Controls
Show Cabinet Doors Open
Hide Cabinet Doors
Separate Material for Cabinet Components
Rounded Cabinet and Countertop Corners
Clipped Cabinet Overhang
Show Clipped Cabinet Corners in Plan View
Cabinet Millwork & End Panels
Cabinet Hardware
Resize Cabinet Hardware
Stacked Moldings
Flush Cabinet Moldings
National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) Standardized
Cabinet Brand Catalogs
Custom Door & Window tools
Door Defaults by Door Type
Customize Door Glass
Opening Indicators
Multi-Panel and Accordion Doors
Bay, Box, Bow Windows
Explode Bay, Box, Bow Windows
Corner Windows
Mulled Door and Windows
Windows and Doors for Double Walls
Control Plan Display of Symbol Windows
Custom Muntins
Window Treatments
Shutters
Door & Window Lintels & Sills
Window Glazing Area and U-Factor for Doors and Windows
Automatic Roofs
Auto Dormer™ tool
Build Roof Options
Roof Pivot Controls
Draw and Edit Roofs in 2D and 3D
Ridge Caps
Control Rafter Spacing per Roof Plane
Skylights
Automatic Ceilings & Ceiling Tools
Automatic Tray Ceilings
Roof Assembly Controls
Gutters & Frieze Moldings
Shadow Boards
Convert Planes to Polylines
Stair Tool
One-Click™ Stairs & Ramps
Advanced Stair tools
Wrap Around Stairs
Connect Stairs of Different Widths
Refined Stair Controls
Control Landings for Automatic Stairs
Customize Stair Components
Auto Stairwell™
Ramp Tool
Landing Tool
Stair Railings
Custom Newels & Balusters
Stair Defaults for Interior & Exterior Stairs
Detailed Plan Display
Stair Handrail Returns and Extensions
Foundation Tools for Slab, Pier, Crawlspace, Full Basement, Stem Walls, Footings, Post & Beam, Grade Beam
Auto Rebuild Foundations
Pier/Pad Specification
Monolithic Slabs
Foundation Footings
Automatic Framing
Framing Reference Markers
Build All Framing
Manual Framing Tools
Export EasyFrame Wall Panelization
Multiple Framing Types
Roof Framing Options
Shoe Plates for Roof Overbuild
Auto-Fit Trusses
Regenerate Truss Edit Tool
Truss Details
Horizontal Roof Framing
Structural Purlins
Framing End Profiles
Post & Beam Framing Tools
Wall Framing Options
Balloon Framing
Header Framing Controls
Framing per Wall Type
Horizontal Wall Framing
Wall Framing per Opening
Wall Framing Details per Wall
Framing Labels
Framing Member Role
Build Framing per Room
Wall Corner and Intersection Framing
Rebuild Framing per Wall or Roof Plane
Specify Walls as ‘Bearing’
Floor Joists Flush with Stem Wall Top
Automatic Platform Holes and Foundation Holes
Tray Ceiling Framing
Deck Framing Options
CAD Tools
Arc Creation Modes
Visual CAD Snaps™
Paste Hold Position tool
Point-to-Point Move tool
CAD Detailing
Convert 2D CAD to Smart Object
Multiple Copy tool
3D Solids, Advanced Polyline, and Face Tools
3D Solid Tools
Boolean Editing of Solids and Shapes
Polygon CAD Tool
Fillet All and Chamfer All
CAD-to-Walls™
Architectural CAD Details
Align / Distribute Objects tool
Create and manage CAD Details & Blocks
CAD Detail From View
Manage Line Styles
Layer Sets
Layer Management
Layer Eyedropper & Layer Painter tool
Layer Hider tool
Object Layer Properties edit tool
Reference Layer Sets
Reference Display Between Plans
3D Reference Display Rendering Techniques
Dimensioning tools
Precisely Position Objects with Dimensions
Auto Exterior Dimensions
Wall Editing with Dimensions
Dimension Snapping
Snap to Dimension Lines
Column Bubble Grid Lines
Specify Dimension Units, Accuracy, & Display
Dimension Dialog Preview
Stacked Fraction Dimension Format
Dimension Centerline Markers
Dimension Unit Display Threshold
Display Secondary Dimensions
Custom Dimension Text
Rotate Dimension Text
Input Accurate Dimensions using a DISTO™ or other Laser Distance Meter
Automatic Elevation Dimensions
Dimension Framing in Elevation Views
Dimension to Cabinet Faces
Multiple Dimension Defaults
Locate Defaults per Dimension Tool
Multiple Automatic Dimension Defaults
Inner and Outer Dimension Controls
National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) Automatic Dimensions
Angled Dimensions
Wall Width Dimension Controls
Automatic Story Pole Dimensions
Dimension to Foundation Steps
Electrical & HVAC Tools
Auto Place Outlets
Electrical Lighting & Lighting Sources
Custom Lighting Controls
Lighting Management
Lighting Sets
Rope Lighting
North Pointer & Sun Angles for shadows
Copy Sun Angles
Display Line Angle Controls
Terrain tools
Create Plot Plans, Site plans, & Subdivisions
Import Terrain Assistant
Terrain Elevation Splines, Polylines, Regions & Points
Terrain Elevation Labels
Terrain Modifier tools
Retaining Walls, Terrain Break tools
Terrain Accessory tools
Road & Sidewalk tools
Calculate Materials for Roads
Automatic Plan Footprint tool
Deck Designer™ tool
Fence tool
Sprinkler Designer™ tool
Landscaping Plants
Create & Import Plants
Plant Chooser™ with Hardiness Zone Maps
Plant Encyclopedia™
Create Landscaping Plans
Grow Plants tool
3D Plants
3D & 2D Editing of Architectural Objects
Object Painter™ / Eyedropper
Material Painter™ & Default Painter
Material Eyedropper™ & Color Chooser™
Material Properties for More Realistic Scenes
Adjust Material Scoping
Fill Styles
Edit Parametric Patterns
Material Class Definitions
Manage Plan Materials
Search Plan Materials
Generate Pattern from Texture
Screen Capture Tool
Style Palette
Center Between Two Objects
Match Properties / Apply Properties tool
Import Custom Symbols
Smart Symbol Creation
Convert Selected Items to Symbol Object
Create Custom Moldings
Distributed Region and Path
Catalog Library Browser
Catalog Migration
Automatic Catalog Updates
Library Search & Instant Search bar integrated into the Library
Library Browser Filtered Views
Refined Search in Library Browser
Edit CAD Blocks
Store Patterns and Fill Styles in the Library
Add Notes to Library Browser
Store and Edit Text in Library Browser
Library Object Shortcuts
Replace From Library tool
Library Painter
Library Painter Scoping
Edit Parametric Items in Library Browser
Edit Symbol Objects from the Library Browser
Find in Library
Save Objects Using ‘Add to Library As’
Automatically generate Materials Lists
Master Materials List
Find in Plan from the Materials List
Comments and Notes per Object
Object Components
Specify Layers when calculating a Materials List
Ruby Macros in Materials List
Material List Layer Sets
Schedules
Callout Label Shapes
Custom Schedules
Polyline Objects in Schedules
Find in Plan from a Schedule
Open Object Specification from Schedule
Schedule Thumbnails
Schedule Formatting
Custom Columns for Schedules
Specify Schedule Starting Number
Export Schedules
BuilderTREND Support
Cut & Buy Lists
Pricing in Framing Buy Lists
Fully editable Text tools
Advanced Rich Text tools
Find and Replace Selected Text
Text Arrows
Callouts & Markers
Linked Callouts
Callout Tail Flags
Object Labels
Formatting for Labels
Labels for Layout Boxes
Text Styles
Default Sets
Notes
Spell Checker Highlight
Embed Hyperlinks in Text
Text Macros & User Defined Text Macros
Text Macro Management dialog
Ruby Scripting
Revision Clouds
Save Prints in PDF Format
Custom Watermarks
Print Preview
Drawing Sheet Setup
Export Materials List to Microsoft Excel, CSV, TXT, or HTML
Import PDF files
AutoCAD® Compatibility
Import & Export 3D files
Import image files: BMP, JPG, GIF, TIFF, PNG, Metafiles
HD Picture Export
Import and Export Chief Objects
3D Mass Import
Create Materials from Textures
Import Terrain Elevation data
Migrate Settings
Mac & PC compatible
Chief Architect 3D Viewer
Chief Viewer™
Home Designer® Compatibility
Support for Multiple Monitors
Touch Screen Optimization
HD Interface Graphics and Icons
Specify Preferences & Defaults
3D Mouse Support
Virtual Graph Paper™ display
Auto-Save Untitled Projects
Auto-Archive
Create Archival .ZIP Files
Crosshair Display Thickness
Custom Stylized Themes
Customizable Toolbars
Toolbar Sets
Customizable Hotkeys
Virtual Reality
Dockable Layer Display Options
REScheck™ Support
Dynamically-Updating Help
Support & Software Assurance
Activate/Deactivate Options