Rotating a Structure or Plan View

Reference Number: KB-02917

Last Modified: July 15, 2021

The information in this article applies to:

Chief Architect Premier or Chief Architect Interiors

QUESTION

I've drawn a structure on my plan, but need to rotate it separately from the rest of the drawing.

Alternatively, I drew my plan but need to rotate everything in it.

What is the best way to rotate my structure, or an entire plan view?

ANSWER

Rotating a structure on a plan is vastly different than rotating a Plan View, although each can be done using Chief Architect.

It is recommended that structures be drawn orthogonally, at 0°, 90°, etc., regardless of how it will be sitting on the plot; plot lines can be rotated to fit the structure, and the view of the plan can then be rotated prior to sending the view to layout for a final product.

To rotate a structure

Select Edit> Edit Area> Edit Area All Floors .

If the plan you are rotating has only one floor, Edit Area may be used.
Click and drag an Edit Area box around the structure(s) you wish to rotate. Any modifications to the location or rotation of the Edit Area box will affect everything within this area.
The entire selection can easily be rotated by simply using the selection's rotate handle, or by using the Transform/Replicate Object edit tool.

Note: It is not recommended to rotate a plan to fit an off-angle plot, or to demonstrate a structure built at an angle. Instead, keep the drawing squared for design purposes, rotate the plot and use Rotate Plan View to orient the view of the plan with the plot prior to sending the view to Layout.

If you'd like to rotate everything in a floor plan view, including all objects on all floors, the Snap and Reference Grids, the plan’s Cartesian coordinates, and the drawing sheet, use the Rotate Plan View tool.

To rotate the Plan View

Select Tools> Rotate Plan View from the menu and enter the desired rotation amount in degrees.

It is important to note that when rotating the Plan View, that all of the text on the plan may need to be reoriented. This can be done by modifying the text defaults for the plan.

To modify text defaults

By default, all Text, Label, and Rich Text objects are set to rotate with the plan view, meaning if you rotate the plan view 45°, all text and labels will be angled 45° to match the new plan view.

These different text objects pull defaults from a few different areas, so it's important to know what to modify depending on what text you want rotated with the plan, and what you want level on the page.

Start by selecting Edit> Default Settings , click the arrow to expand the Text, Callouts and Markers section.

For standard Text and Labels:

Select Text Styles and press Edit.
Select the Text Style you want to modify and press Edit.

Note: In the Saved Text Styles dialog, there are a number of Text Styles that you may want to modify. With exception to Default Label Style and Room Label Style, the various text styles are used in different Default/Annotation Sets, so it is important to note what text styles are modified if you decide to change Default sets later.

Primarily 1/4" Text Style, Default Text Style, and Room Label Style will likely need to be modified.

Default Label Style controls other object labels, such as doors and windows, and should likely be left alone.
Uncheck Rotate with Plan and press OK.

For Rich Text boxes:

Select Rich Text and press Edit.
Select the Rich Text Default you want to modify and press Edit.

Note: Like Text Styles, Rich Text Defaults vary depending on the Default/Annotation Set used. For example, if modifications have been made only to 1/4" Scale Rich Text Defaults and the Default/Annotation set is changed to another Default/Annotation Set, these modifications will not be used.
On the Options panel, uncheck Rotate With Plan and press OK.