Troubleshooting Small or Blank Camera Overviews

QUESTION

When I create a Full Overview, the image that is generated is much smaller than it used to be, or the view appears blank. Why is this occurring?

ANSWER

When generating a 3D Full Overview or Floor Overview camera view, the program will look at all of the objects that are set to display in that view. So if you have an object in the distance that may be significantly smaller in regards to the relationship to the actual structure in the plan, the program will generate the view to include that object, but it may be difficult to see.

If you delete the stray object, or move it closer to the structure, and then recreate the camera view, it will display normally.

To locate the stray object(s)

1. Launch Chief Architect and Open  the plan that is exhibiting this behavior. 
   
   
   
2. If it's not already open, navigate to View> Active Layer Display Options  to turn on the display of this side window, then select the All Layers ON option using the Layer Sets drop-down.
   
   
   Note: If the Layer Sets drop-down is not visible, select the cog wheel icon at the bottom of the Active Layer Display Options side window, then click on the Layer Set Control option from the contextual menu.
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. On the floor you are taking an Overview view of, select Window> Fill Window  or press the F6 key to view everything on screen that is visible. If you are zoomed in so close that only a portion of the view displays on screen, selecting Fill Window zooms out so that the entire view fits on the screen, which will include the stray object(s), allowing you to more easily locate them.
   
   If you do not initially find the object(s), follow the same procedure on the Foundation and any other floors of your plan.
   
   We can see in the image below that the stray object is located in the upper right corner of the plan.
   
   
   
   
   
4. Zoom in on the area to locate the object(s) using either the scroll wheel on your mouse or the Zoom  tool.
   
   
   
5. Next, use the Select Objects  tool to select the stray object(s).
   
   If multiple rogue objects exist, left-click and drag using the left mouse button to create a selection marquee.
   
   
   Note: Alternately, you could navigate to Edit> Edit Area and drag a selection marquee around the area where the objects exist.
   
   
   
   
   
   
6. Once selected, use either the Delete  edit button or the Delete key on your keyboard to remove the object(s).
   
   
   
7. Click on the Fill Window option again to ensure that the structure now appears as expected.
   
   
   
   
   
8. Switch back to the original layer set that was used for this plan view using the Active Layer Display Options .
   
   

If you are unable to locate the stray object(s), please contact Technical Support using the Technical Support Center.