To download and install Home Designer Pro 2020, begin by logging into your online Home Designer Pro account at HomeDesignerSoftware.com. If it doesn't, right-click the disk icon on the desktop and select Open from the menu.
Advanced Options
Choose Installation Location
Choose Items to Install
Install
Setup Wizard Complete
Starting Home Designer Pro
Product Activation
Migrating Settings and Content
Migrate Settings Dialog
Migrate settings from - The program version from which settings will be migrated is listed at the end of this heading. When the migration is complete, a message will indicate if there were any errors during the migration process and allow you to review the migration settings log.
Program Updates
If you prefer the program not to check for program updates every time it starts, you can.
Creating a Chief Architect Account
Installing on Multiple Computers
Uninstalling Home Designer Pro
House Design Tutorial
Before You Begin
Getting Started
Home Designer Pro includes a selection of Home Style template plans, each with different default settings that allow you to quickly start working in a specific plan style.
Setting Defaults
Floor/Ceiling Platform Defaults
Floor Defaults
Framing Defaults
Wall Defaults
Dimension Defaults
Other Defaults
Drawing Walls
The wall's length is displayed in two places: above the wall and in the Status Bar at the bottom of the screen. Continue drawing walls and create a rough outline of the building's exterior, as shown in the following image.
Creating Dimension Lines
If you can't see all the exterior dimension lines at once, choose Window > Fill Window Building Only to center your plan on the screen. Note that interior dimension lines locate the interior side of exterior walls, while other types of dimension lines locate the exterior side.
Adjusting Wall Positions
Check Manual Dimensions to delete manually drawn dimension lines, such as those drawn by the Interior Dimension tool;. Check Automatic Dimensions to delete automatically generated dimension lines, such as those created by the Auto Exterior Dimensions tool;.
Creating Rooms
Click the Select Objects button, then select the top wall section created by the breaks and delete it. Select a wall with the wrong wall type and click the Open Object Edit button.
Using Room Dividers
Using the Select Objects tool, select one of the Room Dividers, and click the Open Object editing tool. On the GENERAL panel of the Wall Specification dialog, notice that Invisible and No Detect are checked.
Room Types
Double-clicking inside a room when the Select Objects tool is active also opens. Open each of the rooms and assign room types as shown in the following image.
Creating a 3D View
Select 3D > Move Camera with Mouse > Mouse-Orbit Camera (which should be selected by default) then click and drag the mouse on the screen to change the camera perspective. You can press the I (in) and the O (out) keys on the keyboard to zoom in and out of the plan.
Adding Floors
Select 3D > Create Perspective View > Perspective Full View to create an external 3D view of the entire plan so far. If they are not already displayed, select Tools > Reference Floors > Reference Floor View or press the F9 key to display the positions of the first floor walls on floor 2.
Adding Stairs
Use the Select Objects tool to select one of the rails, then click the Open Object edit button. Then click on a stair section within the stairwell and click the Select Next Object Edit button as many times as necessary until the room is selected instead of the stairwell.
Placing Doors and Windows
Move the cursor to the entry and click on the wall, right of center, to place a window. Click the Select Objects tool and then click the door to select it in the 3D view.
Roof Tutorial
Getting Started with Automatic Roof Styles
Roof Style Directives in Walls
In the Reset to Defaults dialog, set the Reset extent to All Floors, check Roof Directions in Walls, and click OK.
Attic Walls
Deleting Roofs
Auto Rebuild Roofs
In the ROOF panel of the Build Roof dialog box, select or clear the Automatically Rebuild Roofs check box and click OK.
Hip Roofs
Gable Roofs
Open the Wall Specification dialog and select Full Gable Wall on the ROOF panel and click OK. Choose Build > Roof > Build Roof to open the Build Roof dialog box, select Build Roof Plans, and click OK.
Dutch Gable Roofs
Click the Select Objects tool, select the vertical wall on the left, hold down the Shift key, and select the vertical wall on the right. To remove the Full Gable Wall attribute from a selected wall, click the Change to Hip Wall(s) button.
Shed Roofs
Offset Gable Roofs
Gambrel Roofs
Gull Wing Roofs
Click the Build Roof tool, specify a Slope of 3 in 12, check Build Roof Levels, and click OK in the Build Roof dialog. Experiment with the height at which the second slope begins to see the effect it has on the gullwing roof design.
Half Hip Roofs
Mansard Roofs
Finding the Start of an Upper Pitch
Open the Build Roof dialog, check Build Roof Planes and click OK to rebuild the roof.
Roof Style Quick Reference
Roof Returns
Adding Gables over Doors and Windows
Click the Build Roof tool, check Build Roof Planes, and then click OK in the Build Roof dialog box. Click the Build Roof tool, check Build Roof Faces and click OK in the Build Roof dialog box to create a facade over the selected wall openings.
Automatic Dormers
Auto Floating Dormer
Auto Dormer
Double-click an automatic dormer to open the Dormer Specification dialog, which looks just like the Dormer Defaults dialog, but only affects the selected dormer. You can also choose the skylight separately; resize it with its editing handles; and open it to specification.
Manually Drawn Dormers
Select Build > Wall > Straight Outer Wall and draw two rectangular boxes on the outside of the lower knee wall, as shown in the following image. In the Build Roof dialog box, select Build Roof Planes and click OK to rebuild the roof.
Crickets and Dormer Vents
Use roof intersection points to find the intersection point for the edge of the roof plane opposi. Drag the short edge of the roof plane outwards until it disappears and the roof plane becomes a triangle.
Skylights
If you draw the wall in the wrong direction and its side layer faces the interior, select it and click the Reverse Layers edit button. On the Tag panel of the Wall Specification dialog box, select the check box next to Tag intersects wall at bottom and click OK.
Using the Break Wall Tool to Modify Roofs
The gable wall on the left provides roof plans that extend too high and engage the roof over the front extension of the house. Open the lower part of the wall for specification, and on the ROOF panel of the Wall Specification dialog box, clear the Full Gable Wall check box and click OK.
Adding a Roof to the Stucco Beach House
Select the vertical wall to the right of the lower gable wall and move it 60 cm to the left, reducing the length of the gable wall from 6 to 5.5 meters. Assign the Full Facade Wall and Extend Slope Down settings to the exterior walls, as shown in the following image.
Troubleshooting Automatic Roof Issues
Select 3D > Create Perspective View > Perspective Full View to create an exterior view of your plan.
Roof Directives in Walls
When you're ready, you can continue working on this plan in the Interior Design Tutorial. If you see hips or valleys in your roof where you don't expect them, revisit the ROOF paneling on the walls that support the affected roof plans.
Roof Heights
This roof will become significantly more complex if one room within is given a reduced ceiling height (in this case. If you generate a roof and it looks like it is more complicated and has more roof levels than it should, look at the ceiling heights of the rooms in the plan.
Controlling Roof Ridges
Use the roof guideline Extend the slope downward to allow the roof to extend outward over a bump, lower than the ceiling height in that area.
Interior Design Tutorial
Controlling the Display of Objects
Choose Tools > Display Options or press the ~ key to open the Layer Display Options dialog. Press the letter R, find the "Roof Planes" layer and remove the check from the Display Column.
Working with Library Objects
Click the Select Material button to open the Select Material dialog where you can search or browse the library to find and use a new material on the bedspread. You can replace a library object in your design with another item from the library using the Replace from Library edit button.
Applying Room Moldings
Repeat this process for any other materials on the bed that you may want to adjust, then click OK to apply the changes that will be visible when you create the camera view. Click the Select Items button or press the space bar, then click on an empty space on the floor of the room to select it.
Applying Wall Coverings
Basic lists are already applied by default in most room types, but can also be adjusted, deleted or added here. If you wish, you can continue adding interior design elements from the Library Browser before continuing with this plan in the Kitchen and Bath Design Tutorial.
Kitchen and Bath Design Tutorial
Adding Cabinets
When a cabinet is selected, you can also click the Open Object button to open the specification dialog and make a wide variety of changes to the cabinet. In the MOLDINGS panel, click the Add New button to add crown molding to the cabinet.
Placing Appliances
Select Build>Cabinet>Plinth, then click above the wall cabinets to place the plinth. In Basic Catalogs> Architecture> Appliances> Dishwashers, select the dishwasher to place and click on the cabinet to the right of the sink.
Editing Cabinets and Appliances
Find an electric stove in the Appliances catalog and place it in the empty space on the right side of the kitchen. In the core catalogs, go to Architectural > Fixtures > Sinks, find a sink and select it for placement.
Creating a Cabinet Island
A new custom polyline is created for the worktop, replacing the cabinet worktop, and is selected. Once the new custom worktop is selected, use the editing handles to reshape it so that it covers all the island cabinets.
Creating Architectural Blocks
One way to group the objects is to hold down the Shift key and select additional objects to add them to the selection set. Click the Add to Library Edit button to add the architectural block to the User Catalog in the Library Browser.
Working in Cross Section/Elevation Views
On Floor 2, select 3D > Create Orthographic View > Wall Elevation, then in the Master Bath, click and drag a view towards the cabinet containing the sink. Still in the Wall Elevation view, select Tools > Layer Options > Display Options to open the Layer Display Options dialog box.
Finishing Touches
Find the Cross Section Lines layer, uncheck the Disp column and click OK. If you want, you can turn off the display of the background in the "Camera specification" dialog.
Materials Tutorial
Setting Materials Defaults
Select an item in the tree list and click the Edit button to open the default dialog for that type of object. Here you can set material defaults for many different objects, including some that don't.
Using the Materials Panel
When finished, click OK to close the Default Settings dialog box, then click Done to close the Default Settings dialog box. Select the master bedroom and click Open Item to open the Room Specification dialog box.
Using the Material Painter
With the Material Painter, you can apply a material to almost any surface, including many that cannot be selected individually, such as a base profile on a wall or a window frame. Click the Material Painter button to open the Select Material dialog and select an image, photo, or print from the Artwork library.
Blending Colors with Materials
Select 3D > Material Painter and make sure there is a check mark next to Material Painter Component Mode. If you see the spray can icon instead, select 3D > Material Painter > Mix Colors With Materials or click the Mix Colors With Materials edit button to enable this feature.
Using the Material Eyedropper
In the Select Material dialog box, select a solid color for the carpet from the Generic Colors library, and then click OK. Choose 3D > Material Painter > Material Eyedropper and notice that the mouse pointer shows an eyedropper icon.
Custom Materials, Images, and Backdrops
Creating Materials
On the TEXTURE panel, click the Browse button to open the Select Texture File dialog box, where you can select an image file stored on your computer as the new material's texture. Specify the scale of the texture, which controls how large the image appears on the surfaces it is applied to.
Creating Images
In the IMAGE panel, click the Browse button and locate the image file stored on your computer. Click OK to close the Image Specifications dialog box and add the new image to the My Images category in the Image Library.
Importing Backdrops
A value of 24 inches works well in this case since we want to place the image on a piece of furniture. Images can be placed in a plan just like plants, fixtures and fittings are: by selecting the image and clicking on any floor plan, camera view or overview.
Generating a Materials List
Landscaping Tutorial
Creating a Terrain Perimeter
You can then use the new editing handles to adjust the size and shape of the terrain outline. Changes in the shape of the terrain outline can be seen in both 3D views and the map view.
Displaying Lot Line Information
While you can work with two tiled views, you may see slower performance when doing so. To avoid this, simply close a 3D view when you're done viewing or working on it.
Creating a Walkout Basement
In this example, a height of 12 inches is used to lower the site 12 inches below the first floor. Click the Open Object edit button and on the ELEVATION panel of the Elevation Line Specification dialog, enter an Elevation value.
Creating a Retaining Wall
Select Terrain > Build Terrain and notice the contour lines that are created in the plan view between the elevation lines you drew. Draw two elevation lines just inside the retaining wall to determine the elevation of this area when the terrain is created.
Adding a Driveway
Click the Break Line Edit button, then click along any edge of the driveway to place a new corner edit handle at that location. With the Select Objects tool active, click and drag one of the editing handles that appear along the edges of the driveway to adjust its shape and size as needed.
Adding Terrain Features
Select the terrain feature and click the Open Object Editor button to open the Terrain Properties Specification dialog box. On the GENERAL panel of the Terrain Feature Specification dialog box, raise the height to 1 inch.
Adding Library Objects to Your Plan
Click the View Item button to open the Plant Information dialog, where you can read the size and growing information for the selected plant. Click on the floor plan view or a 3D view to place the selected plant in that location.
Deck Tutorial
Decks and Porches
Drawing Decks
Note that when a room is created using Deck rail, the room is automatically specified as a Deck and given a room label. Create a full camera view showing the first floor deck and notice that the program has automatically generated boards, posts and beams.
Drawing Stairs
If an opening is not created, choose Build>Door>Door in the plan or 3D view, then click on the deck railing to create an opening in front of the staircase.
Changing Planking Orientation
Adding Exterior Furniture
Creating a Plot Plan
Click the plot plane polyline to select it, then click the Open Object Edit button. Select the interior polyline and click the Open Object Edit button to open the Polyline Specification dialog.
Layout Tutorial
Creating a Layout Template
Click the Save In drop-down menu and navigate to the folder where the plan that you intend to send views to the layout is saved.
Creating a Border and Title Block
Choose View > Drawing Sheet to turn the drawing sheet view back on. Choose CAD > Boxes > Rectangular Polyline , then click and drag a rectangle starting at one corner of the drawing sheet and ending at the opposite corner.
Sending Floor Plan Views to Layout
Select File > Print > Drawing Sheet Setup and make sure your drawing scale is correct in the Drawing Sheet Setup dialog box. Confirm that the view is sent to the layout at the same scale as in the Setup Drawing Sheet dialog box.
Sending Elevation Views to Layout
Choose File > Print > Drawing Sheet Setup and specify a Drawing Scale for the elevation view in the Drawing Sheet Setup dialog. If you made changes in the elevation view, clicking OK will update those changes to the layout view.
Sending Perspective Views to Layout
In the camera view, use the Move, Orbit, and Tilt camera tools available in the 3D menu to customize the view. Note that it is described in the status bar as an image file box instead of a layout box.
Printing to PDF
Click and drag a resizing corner handle to resize the image box while maintaining its aspect ratio. Click and drag a side handle to Reshape to crop the extent of the image in the box.
