I have noticed that often when I describe something where I am using building options, I will get quite a few responses where users haven't taken the time to learn how to use them. I thought I would offer up what finally made it click for me when it comes to using building options in lieu of just putting the object on a layer. Building Options are a very powerful tool, but the biggest difference is visibility in the plan. For instance, you might have a layer named "Layer 1". It is possible to have "Layer 1" visible on one drawing and turned off (not visible) on another drawing. Also, if you turn off visibility for "Layer 1", it is still there; you just can't see it. When you turn off a building option, anything on that option will disappear on all drawings in the entire plan. In addition, if you are a "Softlist" user, anything on that option will also be removed from the material list. Now having said all that, I will confess that I have never been able to make the transition to using live "floor system" or "roof" for my construction drawings. I have just not been able to get the level of detail that I want doing it that way, so I still do my framing plans on 'line' drawings. So, if I have an optional door or window, when I turn that particular option off, I have it set up to also turn off the header for that opening on the floor or roof framing page. Probably another reason building options work so good for me is that I rarely do a "1 off" house design. I typically am reusing my plans over and over again. I should also say that I also use building options in my specification notes. Some of the building options I have set up are joist sizes, floor & roof loads, building codes, as well as customer information. So that when I check the appropriate option for that particular plan, it is turned on or off everywhere in the entire plan without having to retype any of the notes. Sorry for this to be so long but I hope it helps someone along the way. I have benefited so much from users on this forum; (Randy Cohn, Bill Wimberly, Mark Petri, & Keith Almond just to name a few), that I felt I should try to contribute something as well. I would be interested to see how others are using these features.
