Controlling the Display of the Crosshairs


Reference Number: KB-00610
Last Modified: July 16, 2021

The information in this article applies to:

Chief Architect Premier or Chief Architect Interiors



QUESTION

When drawing in Chief Architect, I am used to my mouse pointer being a precision crosshair. It is instead displaying as a regular pointer or a text cursor.

What do I need to do to get the crosshairs back? 


ANSWER

The crosshairs are controlled by program preferences for all plans. 


To control the display of the Crosshairs

  1. First, launch Chief Architect and choose the New Plan option; or you can start a new plan by going to File> New Plan .


  2. Select Edit> Preferences  if you're on a Windows PC or Chief Architect> Preferences  if you're on a Mac.


  3. In the Preferences dialog, select the Edit panel.

    Toggling crosshairs on the Edit panel of the Preferences dialog

    • Check Enable in Plan and Cross Section/Elevation Views to use a crosshair cursor in floor plan, cross section and elevation views. This option is checked by default.

    • Check Enable in Perspective Views to use a crosshair cursor in perspective camera views and overviews.

    • When Synchronize with Cursor is checked, the mouse pointer and crosshairs always move together on screen. If you feel that they do not keep up with your mouse movements, try unchecking this option.

    • Click the color bar to open the Color Chooser dialog and specify the color of the crosshairs.

    • Crosshair size is specified as a percentage of the width of the view window. Specify the Size (%) of Window Width as 100% to extend the cross hairs across the entire screen.

    • Set the Aperture Size, measured in pixels. The aperture is the space where the crosshairs meet. A value of 0 makes the cross hairs meet at a point. Larger numbers leave a gap in the center.


  4. Once you have made any desired changes to the display of the crosshairs, click OK to apply and close the Preferences dialog.