Joist & Rafter tools

The Joist tool is an area tool built into DimSum: draw the area (cutouts included), click the edge the joists run along — or press J and draw the first joist — and every joist is laid out at its O.C. spacing, doubled if you ask, clipped to the area, and counted into a Joist part that can't be deleted. every joist is its own item with a rounded Joist Length and a label, and a single joist can have its own values. joists read the beams on their page, for hangers, cutting and bearing, and a joist area can be copied and pasted with its joists' own values. rim board on the edges you pick, with the joists stopping at it, and sheathing in as many layers as you want, or none. joists attach to a beam on their own at 100% overlap and take the Attach Offset from the Joist tool, a joist end can have a hanger with no beam, and an area can hide its outline or its joists. Later builds add rafters, blocking and moving a single joist.

Overview

• Fast: no regeneration lag.
• Editable after placement: every setting and the area itself can be changed later.

Where this differs from the older design

This page was first written before the direction. Where they disagree, the direction wins:

The older page said
The materials are your parts, list-matched like any other	The Joist is a fixed part of the tool. Your own parts (blocking, labor) still sit beside it. rim board is a fixed part too, Rim Material, and sheathing is a list of layers
Three placement methods: Auto, Pick Line (perpendicular to the picked line) and Parallel Side	Click an edge (joists run parallel to it) or Draw first joist (J). Auto and Pick Line are later
Tab flips the direction	Right-click → Joist direction ▸, or Properties → Direction. No Tab
A Layout Presets table holds the start offset and the edge members	The preset fields are properties on the tool (Layout Start, Layout From, Member at Start Edge, Member at Far Edge), which can be linked to any table. A Layout Presets table is later
Base Elevation is the top of the joist: {Level > Elevation} − {Subfloor Thickness}	Elevation is the bottom of the joist: the level's elevation plus an Elevation Offset, with a Level dropdown
Members can be added, deleted, moved, doubled or cut one at a time	doubled by the Double setting only. : one joist can be removed, doubled or single, or have its own values. Adding, moving and cutting one are later
Rim, blocking, hangers, bearing length, cantilever, opening framing	Later, except hangers and the joints at a beam (Butt, Lap, Sister, Cantilever), which are. Rim is. Blocking, bearing length and opening framing stay later
In the Framing example library	In DimSum Defaults → Framing, built in

Decks: there's no separate deck tool. A deck is a Joist section plus Beam(s), with a treated material picked for the Joist Material list or the Joist part's filter.

Pitched Joist Tool (Rafter) (later): the same engine with pitch, for rafters and sloped ceiling joists. The picked line becomes the eave/plate line, and rafters run uphill to the ridge. Not

Where to find it

• Tools panel → DimSum Defaults → Defaults → Framing → Joist Tool, tagged JOIST where an Area tool says SF. Your copies sit in your own folders ("Floor Joist 2x10 @ 16" O.C.", "Ceiling Joist 2x6 @ 16"").
• Tool Designer → DimSum Defaults → Defaults → Framing → Joist Tool, read-only, with Copy to a folder of my own… on the banner.
• After the area closes: the status strip asks for the edge, with a Draw first joist button.
• Right-click a joist section: three entries, Joist direction ▸ Pick an edge…, Joist direction ▸ Draw first joist and Joist direction ▸ Longest edge. a fourth, Rim edges… (Rim board). Hanger edges… after it, then Hide the area (or Show the area) and Hide the joists (or Show the joists). Enter or Esc ends a Rim edges or Hanger edges pick. The area's row in the Project Tree has the Hide and Show entries too (A hanger with no beam, Show area and Show joists).
• Right-click a selected joist: Remove joist, Double joist or Single joist (whichever isn't the case now), and Joist settings… (which takes you to its Properties). Each is one Undo.
• Project Tree and Takeoff list: Joist Tool ▸ Area 1 · 19 joists ▸ J1 … J19. A joist reads like 14' · 2x10 14' (its Joist Length and its match). Click one and the plan pans to it and selects it. A removed joist is listed under its area as Removed — was J5 (with Restore), and values whose joist is gone as No joist — was J5 · 2 own values. the area row reads Area 1 · 19 joists · 2 rim boards, and its rim members R1 … Rn follow the joists, each reading like 24' · 2 @ 12' · LSL 12" 12'. a hidden area's row adds · area hidden or · joists hidden, with a muted eye-off icon, and its joists are listed muted.
• Right-click a selected joist that meets a beam: one entry for each end that meets a beam, Hanger at B3: Auto, Hanger at B3: Hanger or Hanger at B3: No hanger (the current one ticked). Each is one Undo.
• Right-click a selected rim member: No rim on this edge.
• Properties panel of a joist item: the Joist and Framing groups, the Direction row, and Elevation Offset with its Level ▾, then Elevation. a Rim group, an Edges block Coming and a Sheathing block (Rim board, Sheathing layers). Joist Depth and Auto Attach in the Joist group, Hanger Overlap % in place of Hanger Overlap, a Hangers tick beside each edge's rim tick in the Edges block, and an Areas block with a Show area and a Show joists tick for each area.
• Properties panel of one joist: select a joist on the plan or in the tree. The header reads J3 — Area 1 of {Item}. It shows Joist #, Area #, Actual Length and Elevation, then rows you can edit (Joist Length, Joist Material, Joist Length Rounding and Doubled), each with a chip (Own value, or From the area) and a ↺ Use the area's value. Under them is one line for the Joist part with its quantity and matched material. The other settings are the item's: the panel says Other settings are {Item}'s — change them there and has a Select {Item} button.
• Needs attention: on the Estimating tab, a row about a beam and a joist area has a button when there is a fix, Attach to beam, Detach or Follow the tool. It runs the command for that beam and that area. a fourth button, Use the tool's offset, for a beam that still has its own attach offset (below).
• Changing the built-in tool itself: Behind the scenes 🔒.

How to use it

Place a joist section

1. Copy the Joist Tool into a folder of your own (or into the job), and link its Joist part to your lumber table: for example the table Lumber3, filter Call Size equals 2x10 and Stock Length at least {Item > Longest Joist}, sorted by Stock Length, smallest first. See The Joist part.)*
2. Click your copy in the Tools panel. It's armed like any Area tool.
3. Draw the area: click its corners and close it (Enter, or click the first point). Add cutouts for stairs and chases as on any area.
4. When the area closes, the status strip says Click the edge the joists run off — or press J to draw the first joist. Esc keeps the longest edge. The edge nearest your cursor (within 8 pixels) lights up, with a preview of the joists.
5. Click the edge the joists run along. The first joist sits on it, and the rest are laid out across the area at the O.C. spacing. That's one Undo: Set joist direction — Floor Joist 2x10.
6. Draw the next area for the next section of the same item, or pick another tool.

The joists are drawn at their true width, in the tool's colour, over the area's fill. They can't be snapped to. they couldn't be clicked either. click a joist and you select that joist (it gets the selection halo and its own Properties); click between the joists, or on the area's edge, and you select the item.

Draw the first joist

When no edge is right (an angled bay, or joists that start in the middle of a room):

1. Press J, or click Draw first joist on the status strip, after the area closes. J also works later, with a joist section selected.
2. The strip says Draw the first joist: click its two ends. Click the two ends of the first joist; snap and ortho work as usual.
3. That line is joist #1. The others are laid out on both sides of it at the O.C. spacing, out to the edges of the area. Layout Start and Layout From aren't used in this mode (Q5 below). One Undo: Draw first joist — Floor Joist 2x10.

Change the direction later

• Right-click the section → Joist direction ▸ Pick an edge… (then click an edge), Joist direction ▸ Draw first joist (two clicks), or Joist direction ▸ Longest edge (back to the default, one Undo: Joist direction from the longest edge — Floor Joist 2x10).
• Or select the item and use the Direction row in Properties: it reads Edge 3 of 4 (the edges counted from 1, out of how many the area has), Drawn first joist or Longest edge, with Pick edge, Draw first joist and Longest edge buttons. Longest edge is greyed when the joists already run that way. An item with more than one section has a line for each, Section 1, Section 2 ….
• Pick edge and Draw first joist hand over to the plan, so the plan the area is on has to be open; if it isn't, the panel says Open the plan this joist area is on — the direction is picked on the canvas. A locked or hidden item says so instead.

The direction is kept per section. If you drag the area's corners, a picked edge follows the edge: the joists stay parallel to it. it follows the edge by where it sits, the one nearest the line you clicked. it was found again by its number and by being parallel, so after you changed the outline (dragged a corner, or added points) the layout could jump to the opposite edge. Every edit to the area now moves the stored edge with it, in the same Undo.

Double joists

• None (the default);
• Every: every joist is doubled;
• Every other: the 1st, 3rd, 5th … joist, counted from the start of the layout;
• Every third: the 1st, 4th, 7th ….

The second ply goes beside the first, towards the far side of the area, or back the other way when there's no room at the edge. Joist Count counts both plies.

The Joist part

• It's at the top of the item's parts, with a lock badge: Fixed — part of the Joist tool.
• Its Qty is {Item > Joist Count} in ea. Change the formula if you count differently, or set it to 0.
• Link it to any table and filter it, exactly like an Advanced Part. {Joist Length} is**, and {Joist Material} can be too: the part is matched for each joist, so a 9' joist and a 14' joist in one area order different boards. Estimating and reports show one line per matched material, such as Joist — 2x10 14' — 9 ea (Area 1 J1–J9), and the item-level line for the part goes away, so nothing is counted twice. A joist with no match is flagged: {n} of {N} joists in {Item} have no Joist match — {why}.
• Joist Width reads {Joist > Width}, so the joists are drawn as wide as the material you matched. The shipped part is 1 1/2" wide and 9 1/4" deep until you link it.
• Rename it if you like. The tool finds it by what it is, never by its name.
• Delete, Move into another part and Make Linear / Area / Point are greyed, with the reason. A command that tries is refused with Joist is part of the Joist tool, so it can't be deleted — set its Qty to 0 instead (or … so it stays at the top of the parts, or … so it stays a Part), and the app shows just that sentence. Reordering it among the top-level parts is fine.
• Duplicate it, or save it as a saved part, and the copy is an ordinary Advanced Part: only the tool's own part is fixed.
• Deleting the whole item, or the whole tool, is allowed.

Your own parts sit beside it as on any tool: blocking, glue, labor.

Set the elevation and the level

• Elevation is measured to the bottom of the joist.
• Elevation is worked out: the level's elevation plus the offset. It's read-only, with a hint under it.
• The level is the page's level, unless you pick another with the Level ▾, which moves to the Elevation Offset row. The Level dropdown stays: it lists Page's level (Main) and each storey with its elevation. Picking a level never changes the offset. The chosen level is still the item's {Level} (Q8 below); its reports group by page.
• If the level has no elevation, the offset stands alone: Elevation is just the offset. The hint says so: {Level} has no elevation, so the offset stands alone (or No level, so the offset stands alone).
• A number you typed becomes an offset that gives the same Elevation (the number minus the level's elevation). The formula {Level > Elevation} becomes an offset of 0. Any other formula stays as the offset's formula.
• Every joist in an area shares the area's Elevation Offset; a joist can't have its own

Hangers where a joist meets a beam

• The rule. A joist end gets a Joist Hanger when two things are true: the end meets a beam on the plan, and the joist and the beam overlap up and down by at least the Hanger Overlap percent of the smaller of the two depths. The default is 50%.
• Meets a beam on the plan means the end touches the beam's drawn width (the same band the plan and print draw), or stops within 1" of it. A beam that runs nearly along the joists (within 30° of their direction) never meets them.
• Up and down. A member's bottom is its Elevation (the level's elevation plus its Elevation Offset). Its top is the bottom plus its depth. Bottoms within 1/8" count as lined up, which is the same elevation.
• Which percent. The joist's own Hanger Overlap, else the beam's own, else the stricter (larger) of the Joist Tool item's and the Beam Tool item's. Both tools' values start at the job's ({Job > Hanger Overlap}).
• One hanger per connection. A connection is one joist piece's end at one beam. A doubled joist is two joist items, so it gets two hangers, one per ply. A joist's Hanger Count is 0, 1 or 2, the item's is the sum over its joists, and the Joist Hanger part's Qty is {Item > Hanger Count}.
• Turn them off. Three places: Joist Hangers (on by default) on the Joist Tool or one item; the beam's own Joist Hangers, which turns off every hanger at that beam; and one connection, from the joist's right-click or its Properties (Auto, Hanger or No hanger). Hanger forces one where the rule says no, even at an end that stops short of the beam.
• Cut to the beam's face. A joist end that meets a beam at the joists' height is cut to the beam's face: trimmed if it runs into the beam, extended if it stops within 1" of it. An end that stops 1" to 6" short of a beam at the joists' height gets no hanger, and Needs attention says 19 joists in Joist Tool Area 1 stop 2" short of B1, so they get no hanger (for one joist: 1 joist in Joist Tool Area 1 stops 2" short of B1, so it gets no hanger). A near miss at a beam that is lower or higher than the joists isn't flagged.
• How a joist and a beam sit. The words the panel and Needs attention use:

They sit	When	What happens
Flush	the bottoms line up, or they overlap by at least the Hanger Overlap %	the joist end gets a hanger; a beam that crosses can be attached
Bearing	the beam's top is at or below the joists' bottom by no more than the Bearing Window	the joists sit on it (joints); no hanger
Conflict	they overlap, but by less than the Hanger Overlap %	no hanger; Needs attention says B1 cuts into the joists of Joist Tool Area 1 — raise or lower one of them
Above or Below	the beam is higher than the joists, or lower than the window	nothing happens
Unknown	a depth is missing and the bottoms don't line up	no hanger, unless you forced one

• Why an end has no hanger is on the joist's panel, one line for each end: At B1 — hanger (75% overlap), At B1 — bears on it, At B1 — no hanger: 10% overlap, under 50%, At B1 — 2" short or At B1 — depth unknown. An end whose hanger was switched off reads At B1 — no hanger (turned off for this joist), (turned off at the beam) or (turned off for the area). Needs attention groups the ends: 19 joists in Joist Tool Area 1 meet B1 but overlap it by only 10% — under 50%, so they get no hanger (for one joist: 1 joist in Joist Tool Area 1 meets B1 but overlaps it by only 10% — under 50%, so it gets no hanger).

• On the plan. Each hung end shows a short dark tick, 2" long, a little wider than the joist. They print once each. While the joist item, one of its joists or the beam is selected, a small red ring marks an end that has a problem (a low overlap, a short end, an unknown depth) and the middle of a beam that runs through or cuts into the joists. The rings never print.

• Estimating. The Joist Hanger part is a fixed part you link to your own table, so a hanger line reads like Joist Hanger — HUS210 — 38 ea (Area 1 J1–J38), or Joist Hanger — No match — 19 ea (Area 1 J1–J19) until you link it.

• The setting is called Hanger Overlap %, on the tools, on one joist or beam, and in the job (Project Settings → Framing and System Settings → Framing). {Hanger Overlap} and {Job > Hanger Overlap} still work, and so do {Hanger Overlap %} and {Job > Hanger Overlap %}. Its sentence reads Hanger Overlap % must be from 0 to 100.

• The beam's band is its Member Width, so a 3-ply beam meets the joists at its real faces.

• A joist end that meets no beam can have a hanger too (A hanger with no beam).

Attach to beam

• When it is offered. A beam crosses a joist area at the joists' height: it runs through the joists, at least 30° off their direction, and its bottom lines up with theirs (or they overlap enough). Until you attach, the joists run through the beam and Needs attention says B1 runs through Joist Tool Area 1 at the joists' height — attach the joists to it, or change an elevation, with an Attach to beam button.
• Attach it: right-click the beam → Attach to beam, or press the button in Needs attention, or use the beam's Properties (Joist areas). It is one Undo (Attach joists to B1).
• What happens. It applies to that beam only, and only to the joist areas it crosses:
• every crossing joist is cut at the beam's two faces, so each joist becomes two pieces (and Joist Count counts both);
• the hanger rule then gives each cut end a hanger;
• the joists past the beam shift sideways by the Attach Offset;
• the beam's Joist areas block then reads Attached to Joist Tool Area 1 — 38 joists, 38 hangers: it counts the cut pieces that meet the beam, not the joist lines.
• The Attach Offset is a setting on the Joist Tool (and on one attachment), 0 to start, so the joists stay in line and butt across the beam. Type 8" and the far joists shift 8". A second beam attached with an offset brings the joists past it back to where they started. The area's two edge joists never shift.
• Kept. An attachment is stored for the pair (this area, this beam), so it is kept when the joists are laid out again. Move the beam so it no longer crosses the area and Needs attention says so (B1 is attached to Joist Tool Area 1 but doesn't cross it now — detach it, or move it back), with a Detach button.
• Detach: right-click the beam → Detach from joists (Detach joists from B1).
• Refused, with a sentence: a beam that isn't at the joists' height in that area (B1 isn't at the joists' height in Joist Tool Area 1), a beam that doesn't cross it, or an offset under 0.

Joints at a beam below the joists

• The window. A beam whose top is at or below the joists' bottom by no more than the Bearing Window (4" to start, a job setting) is a bearing beam: the joists sit on it. No hanger, no attention.
• Pick the joint for each beam: right-click the beam → Joists at this beam ▸ Bypass · Butt · Lap · Sister · Cantilever · Follow the tool (the choice in force is ticked), or in its Properties. Follow the tool uses the Joist Tool's Joint at Bearing Beams, which is Bypass to start.

Joint	What the joists do at the beam
Bypass (the default)	the joist stays whole and runs over the beam
Butt	the joist is cut at the beam's centre, and the two pieces meet end to end
Lap	the two pieces overlap by the Lap Length (12"), side by side
Sister	butt, plus a sister piece the Sister Length (48") long, centred on the beam and beside the joist. It counts as a joist
Cantilever	the near piece runs the Cantilever Length (24") past the beam's far face, and the far piece starts at the beam, beside it

• Side by side means the pieces sit one joist width apart. The joists past a lap or a cantilever shift by that width, and a second lap or cantilever brings them back. The two edge joists shift inward, so the pieces still sit side by side.
• A beam under the ends of the joists (the joists stop at it): only Cantilever changes anything, and the joists run 24" past the beam's outer face. The others are refused there (B1 is at the ends of the joists in Joist Tool Area 1 — only Bypass or Cantilever work there).
• Choose per beam, or per tool. The three lengths are settings on the Joist Tool and can be set for one beam. A beam that is attached takes no joint (B1 is attached to the joists — detach it first).
• Very short pieces are dropped: a joint never leaves a piece too short to be a joist.

A joist with its own values

Select a joist (click it on the plan, or click its J number in the tree). Properties shows its numbers and these values, each From the area until you change it:

Value	What it does on that joist
Joist Material	Any word, as the property (the area's list)
Joist Length Rounding	One of the seven rounding choices
Joist Length	Replaces the rounded length for this joist; its rounding is then ignored. More than 0
Doubled	On adds the second ply at this joist's mark; off takes it away, whatever Double says
Removed	The joist isn't drawn, labelled, counted or matched. The next joists keep their numbers' order (J numbers count the joists that remain). Set it with right-click → Remove joist; Restore (in the tree or on the joist's panel) undoes it

• Each shows a chip: Own value, with a ↺ Use the area's value that puts it back, or From the area, muted. A value is typed or picked, never a formula.
• Not per joist: O.C. Spacing, Joist Width, the layout settings and Elevation Offset stay on the tool item or the area. Ungroup still gives an area its own tool item.
• A new direction (another edge, or Draw first joist) orphans every joist's values in that area, so they are never moved onto a different joist.
• Never dropped silently. Values whose joist is gone wait under the area in the tree as No joist — was J5 · 2 own values, and Needs attention says: {k} joist settings in {Item} Area {n} have no joist now — the area changed. Attach them to a joist or delete them. Attach to the selected joist moves them onto the joist you picked, Delete removes them. They re-attach by themselves if a matching joist comes back (O.C. 16 → 24 → 16).
• Removed joists are listed under the area as Removed — was J5, with Restore. The number is the one the joist takes again when restored (one more than the joists before it), so it can differ from the number it had if others were removed too. A removed joist can't be clicked on the plan.
• Each change is one Undo: Set Joist Material on J5, Joist Material on J5 follows {Item} (the ↺ button), Remove J5, Restore J5, Double J5, Single J5, Attach J5's settings to J7, Delete joist settings.
• Right-click a selected joist on the plan for Remove joist, Double joist or Single joist, and Joist settings…. Doubled on the panel is a Single | Doubled switch.
• Duplicating the item copies its joist values; Ungroup carries them with the moved areas; deleting an area keeps them for Undo. Paste didn't copy them; it does (Copy and paste).

A joist a beam has cut keeps its own values

When a beam splits a joist (an attached beam, or a Butt, Lap, Sister or Cantilever joint), the pieces are separate joist items. Their own values work like this:

• The whole joist keeps its values. Values you gave the joist before the beam split it hang on the whole joist, and every piece inherits them. A piece shows the chip From the whole joist, and its ↺ reads Use the area's value for the whole joist.
• One piece can have its own. A value you set on one piece of a split joist is that piece's own, laid over the whole joist's. Removed and Hangers are the usual ones. Doubled always applies to the whole joist.
• Clearing a value that came from the whole joist, from one piece, clears it for every piece of that joist (the panel says so).
• Changing the joint never loses them. A joist is found by its unshifted place, so changing the Attach Offset, the joint or a length keeps every value where it was.
• Detach the beam and a piece's own values wait as No joist — was J10 · 1 own value until the beam is attached again, like any other orphan (above).
• A sister piece is a joist of its own (J41 · sister). Its header reads J41 — sister at B3, Area 1 of {Item}, and it can be removed, but not doubled (A sister piece can't be doubled).

Copy and paste a joist area

• Copy: select shapes (or an item, for every shape of it on this sheet) and press Ctrl+C, or right-click → Copy.
• Paste: point where you want them and press Ctrl+V, or right-click → Paste. The copies go into the same items, on the sheet you're looking at, centred on the cursor (with the cursor off the plan, a little down and to the right). A joist area's cutouts and joist direction come with it. The whole paste is one Undo.
• Own values come too. A pasted joist area brings its joists' own values, and a pasted beam its own values (its Plies, Beam or Header …).
• Attachments and joints are not copied: a pasted area isn't attached to any beam until you attach it.
• New item like this still makes an empty item.
• A locked or deleted item stops the paste, with a sentence, and nothing is pasted. In a text field or a grid, Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V are the field's own.

Rim board

Rim Board is a switch on the Joist tool, in a new group, Rim.

Which edges get rim.

• By default, every edge the joists run into: every outside edge at least 30° off the joists' direction. The two sides the joists run along get none, and cutout edges never get rim (Q2).
• Click the edges on the plan. Right-click the area → Rim edges…. The status strip says Click the edges that get rim board — click again to take it off. Enter or Esc when you're done. The edge nearest your cursor lights up. Each click turns that edge's rim on or off, and is one Undo (Rim on an edge of Joist Tool Area 1, or No rim on an edge of Joist Tool Area 1). The pick stays open until you press Enter or Esc. A click on no edge says Click an edge of {Item} — Enter or Esc when you're done. A locked or hidden item refuses, as Joist direction does.
• Or tick them in Properties. The Edges block Coming has a heading for each area, Area 1 — rim on 2 of 4 edges, hangers on 0, with Pick on the plan, Pick hanger edges and Default edges, and under it a rim tick for each edge: Edge 1 · 24' · the joists run into it (or · the joists run along it), with a Hangers tick beside it (A hanger with no beam). An edge you set by hand shows a picked chip. With Rim Board off the block reads Rim Board is off — turn it on to add rim, and the rim ticks and Pick on the plan are greyed; the Hangers ticks still work.
• Back to the default. Clicking an edge back to how it started puts it back on the default, so it follows the joists if you change their direction (Q11). Default edges puts every edge of the area back (one Undo: Default rim edges for Joist Tool Area 1).
• Only the edges you set by hand are kept. Each is found again by where it sits, and moves with the area when you drag a corner or add a point, in the same Undo, the way the clicked joist edge does. A new joist direction works the defaults out again and keeps every edge you set.
• Right-click a selected rim member → No rim on this edge does the same from the plan.

The joists stop at the rim (Q3). A joist that runs into a rim edge is shortened by Rim Thickness, measured square to that edge. Rim Thickness is {Rim Material > Width}, 1 1/2" until you link the part, the way Joist Width is {Joist > Width}. So a 14' area with rim on both ends has joists of 13'-9". Ends at a cutout, at a side edge, or on a stretch a beam took aren't cut back. With Rim Board off, nothing is cut. The joists' own values, hangers and joints work on the shortened joists as before.

Runs and corners (Q4). Each edge with rim is one run, less:

• the stretches where a cutout crosses the edge;
• the stretches where a beam at the joists' height lies along it (see Rim and beams below).

Runs on edges that line up and meet become one run. At an outside corner where two runs meet, the one more nearly along the joists butts into the other and is shortened by Rim Thickness. Inside corners aren't adjusted. A run shorter than 1/2" is dropped.

Lengths (Q5). The rim has its own Rim Shortest Length (8'), Rim Longest Length (20'), Rim Length Step (2') and Rim Length Rules (the Beam tool's rule table, with the same Edit rules… editor). A run longer than the longest length is cut into equal pieces, as few as fit, and every piece of a run orders one stock length:

• a 24' edge in 8'–20' stock is 2 @ 12';
• a 30' edge in 8'–20' stock is 2 @ 16';
• the 12" LSL that only comes in 12' (Shortest = Longest = 12') orders a 30' edge as 3 @ 12'.

There's no LF line past the longest length, and no reuse of offcuts between runs.

Rim members (Q6). Each run is its own item, R1, R2 … in each area, listed under the area after its joists. Click inside a rim band on the plan to select that run. Its panel reads R2 — Area 1 of {Item}, with Rim #, Area #, Rim Length, Pieces (2 @ 12'), how it was ordered (Rule 2 or Default), why it's shorter than its edge (Shortened at a corner, Cut by a cutout or A beam takes part of this edge), its Rim Material line, No rim on this edge, and Other settings are {Item}'s — change them there with Select {Item}. A rim member has no own values: to take rim off one stretch, turn its edge off.

The Rim Material part. A new fixed part, linked and filtered like the Joist part, that can't be deleted (Rim Material is part of the Joist tool, so it can't be deleted — set its Qty to 0 instead). Its Qty is {Item > Rim Qty}, in ea (pieces); if you buy rim by the foot, write {Item > Rim LF} instead. It's matched for each rim member on its own Rim Ordered Length, so Estimating reads like Rim Material — LSL 12" 12' — 6 ea (Area 1 R1, R2). The Joist and Joist Hanger parts read 0 on a rim member, and Rim Material reads 0 on a joist, so nothing is counted twice. In the parts tree it shows Matched per rim board: 2 materials.

Rim and beams (Q7):

• A beam at the joists' height (flush, or cutting into them) whose band lies along a rim edge takes the rim's place there. The joists hang from it exactly as and aren't cut back.
• A beam below the joists (bearing) keeps the rim on top of it, and the joists are cut back as usual.
• Rim never gets a hanger.
• A Cantilever at an edge moves the joist ends past the beam as and the rim stays counted on the drawn edge.

Rim on a side edge (Q8). Rim you add on an edge the joists run along sits beside that side's edge joist, never in its place. Needs attention says Joist Tool Area 1 has rim along the joists beside an edge joist — turn off Member at Start Edge or Member at Far Edge if the rim takes its place.

On the plan and in print. Each run is drawn as a band inside its edge, Rim Thickness wide, in the item's colour. It hides with the item and with Hide the joists, follows Markup ▾ → Show like the joists, and prints once. There's no rim label but {Rim Qty}, {Rim LF} and {Rim Ordered Length} can go in the area label like any property.

Sheathing layers

• A layer is a part. Each sheathing layer is an Advanced Part on the Joist tool, linked to a library and filtered like any other. Unlike a fixed part, it can be removed.
• The Sheathing block in Properties lists the layers in order, each like Layer 1: Subfloor — 12 ea — 3/4 OSB 4x8, with ↑ / ↓ to reorder and Remove (one Undo: Remove Subfloor). Add layer adds one (one Undo: Add sheathing layer), named Sheathing 2, Sheathing 3 …. The same block is in the Tool Designer, on a Joist tool of your own.
• Layer order is part order. Layer 1 sits on the joists. In the parts tree a layer shows a Layer 1 badge where a fixed part shows its lock, and Delete works on it. A layer stays at the top of the parts (Subfloor is a sheathing layer, so it stays at the top of the parts) and stays a Part (… so it stays a Part). Duplicate a layer and the copy is a new layer, after the last one. Save it as a saved part and the copy is an ordinary part.
• A layer counts sheets (Q9): ROUNDUP({Item > Area} * (1 + {Waste %}) / ({Width} * {Length}), 0) ea. The Area is the item's net area, less its cutouts. It's an ordinary Qty formula: change it if you count differently.
• No orientation setting. Sheets run across the joists, and that only turns the hatch.
• On the plan and in print, sheathing is a light hatch: thin lines (2 px on screen) across the joists, one sheet width apart (the first switched-on layer's Width), under the joists, in the item's colour at 35%. It shows while the item has at least one layer switched on, and prints. Hide the area hides it.
• Estimating shows one ordinary part line per layer: Subfloor — 3/4 OSB 4x8 — 12 ea. A layer switched off, or with a Qty of 0, has no line.
• The DimSum Defaults Joist Tool ships with one layer, Subfloor (Q10). Existing jobs and your own copies of the tool get none.

Auto-attach

• The rule. A joist area attaches to a beam that crosses it on its own when all of these hold:
• It is on by default, in every Joist tool, your existing jobs and your own copies included, so a beam that already runs through joists with the bottoms lined up attaches when the job opens (Q13);
• the bottoms line up, within 1/8";
• both depths are known;
• they overlap by 100% of the smaller depth (with the bottoms lined up, they always do);
• you haven't detached that beam from that area.
• Anything less stays manual. A beam a little higher or lower than the joists, or one whose depth DimSum doesn't know, runs through the joists as and Attach to beam still attaches it. A deeper beam whose top lines up with the joists' top, but whose bottom is lower, isn't attached on its own (Q14).
• It acts exactly like Attach to beam: the joists are cut at the beam's faces, each cut end gets a hanger, and the joists past it shift by the Attach Offset.
• Nothing is stored for it. It's worked out every time the joists are, so moving the beam, changing an elevation or a depth, or turning Auto Attach off changes it at once. Undoing that edit undoes it.
• Detach is remembered. Right-click the beam → Detach from joists: it stays detached, and Needs attention says nothing, because you chose it. Attach to beam attaches it again. Each is one Undo (Detach joists from B1, Attach joists to B1).
• Copies. Paste and duplicating an item copy no detach, so a pasted area and beam that qualify attach on their own. Ungroup keeps it.
• Why it didn't attach. The Needs attention row for a beam that runs through the joists now says why, with an Attach to beam button:
• B1 runs through Joist Tool Area 1, but its bottom is 3/16" above the joists', so they aren't attached on their own — attach them, or change an elevation (or below);
• B1 runs through Joist Tool Area 1, but Joist Tool's depth is unknown, so they aren't attached on their own — attach them, or change an elevation (or B1's depth is unknown);
• On the beam. Its Joist areas block reads Attached on its own to Joist Tool Area 1 — 38 joists, 38 hangers, with Detach. A detached one reads Detached from Joist Tool Area 1 — 19 joists, with Attach to beam.

The Attach Offset comes from the Joist tool

• One place. The Attach Offset is a Joist tool setting. Every attached beam uses it, whether you attached it or it attached on its own. A beam has no offset of its own any more, and no Offset box (Q16).
• The beam shows it. The beam's Joist areas block reads Offset 8" — from Joist Tool, read-only, with Change on Joist Tool, which selects the Joist item and puts you in its Attach Offset. An area that isn't attached shows no offset.
• Offsets you set on one beam move onto the Joist tool when the job opens, where they all agree and the tool's offset isn't a formula. Nothing moves on the plan.
• Where they don't agree, each beam keeps its own, so nothing moves either, and it's flagged: B1 keeps its own attach offset of 8" from an older DimSum — Joist Tool's Attach Offset (0") is used everywhere else, with Use the tool's offset. The beam's block reads Offset 8" — its own, from an older DimSum, with Use Joist Tool's offset. Either is one Undo (Use Joist Tool's attach offset at B1).

A hanger with no beam

• On one joist end. Right-click a joist → Hanger at the bottom end: Auto,: Hanger or**: No hanger**, one entry for each end that meets no beam. The end is named top, bottom, left or right by the way it points on the page. The joist's panel has the same in its Hangers section: Bottom end — hanger (on this edge), Bottom end — hanger (set here) or Bottom end — no hanger, with Auto / Hanger / No hanger. One Undo: Hanger on J5 at the bottom end, No hanger on J5 at the top end, or J5's bottom end follows the area.
• On an area edge (Q17). Right-click the area → Hanger edges…, then click the edges the joists hang from, such as a ledger. The status strip says Click the edges where the joists hang — click again to take it off. Enter or Esc when you're done. Each click is one Undo (Hangers on an edge of Joist Tool Area 1, or No hangers on an edge of Joist Tool Area 1). Enter or Esc ends the pick. Or tick Hangers beside an edge in the Edges block, or press Pick hanger edges on its heading. The heading reads Area 1 — rim on 2 of 4 edges, hangers on 1. Every joist end on that edge gets a hanger: on the 24' × 14' area, a hanger edge along the top adds 19.
• Which wins: the end's own choice; then the Joist tool's Joist Hangers (off is off); then the edge. An end on no hanger edge gets none.
• An end at a beam is still decided by the beam. A hanger edge never adds a second hanger there, and setting it per end is refused: J5's bottom end meets B1 — set its hanger at B1.
• Rim: an end trimmed back by the rim still counts as on its edge.
• Cutout edges never get hangers.
• Counted in Hanger Count, so the Joist Hanger part's Qty follows. Each is drawn and printed with the same short tick as a hanger at a beam.
• Hanger edges move with the area, like rim edges: drag a corner or add a point and they follow, in the same Undo. Paste keeps them.

Show area and Show joists

• Two switches on each joist area (Q18). Right-click the area, or its row in the tree → Hide the area / Show the area, and Hide the joists / Show the joists. Or tick Show area and Show joists in the item's Areas block. Each is one Undo (Hide the area of Joist Tool Area 1; with several areas selected, Hide the area of 3 joist areas), and saved in the job.
• The area is its fill, its outline, the sheathing hatch and the area label. The joists are the joist pieces (sister pieces too), the rim, the hanger marks, the joist labels and the problem rings.
• Only the drawing changes. Quantities, Estimating and reports never do. Beams and their break lines stay.
• Print follows the switches.
• Clicking. A click inside a hidden area that hits no joist selects nothing, a box selection doesn't pick a hidden area, and a hidden area's outline doesn't snap. The joists of a hidden area can still be clicked. Hidden joists can't. An area with both hidden isn't on the plan at all.
• The tree and Properties keep it. The area's row reads like Area 1 · 19 joists · area hidden (or · joists hidden) with a muted eye-off icon, and hidden joists are still listed under it, muted. A hidden area selected from the tree draws only its selection outline, so you can still drag its points. A hidden joist's panel reads J5 — hidden with the joists of Area 1.
• The item's eye still hides everything, as before.
• Paste keeps them.

Later: the older design

Each of these is designed but not built yet.

A typical day: floor, ceiling, rafters (later: Auto, Tab, rafters and Cuts Joists)

1. Main floor (2x10 @ 16"): open the main level page, arm "Floor Joist 2x10 @ 16"", choose Auto, click inside the first bay. Joists span the short way; Tab flips it if needed. Enter. Next bay, click, Enter.
2. Ceilings (2x6 @ 16"): on the same page (or the ceiling framing page), arm "Ceiling Joist 2x6 @ 16"" and repeat.
3. Rafters (2x6 @ 16", 6/12): on the roof page, arm "Rafter 2x6", draw the roof section, click the eave edge. Pitch comes from the tool (6/12).
4. Fix-ups, any time later: add a joist under a bearing wall, double the joists under a tub (right-click → Double), drop a flush beam and watch the joists split with hangers.
5. Check the Estimating tab: each section's joists, grouped by ordered length.

Auto (later): click inside an area bounded by walls, beams or PDF lines; DimSum detects the region (Pick Region) and spans the shortest direction between bearing lines. Tab flips it.

Pick Line (later): click a line (a beam, wall, or PDF/CAD line) the joists should run perpendicular to (the bearing line).

Layout Presets Coming

Nothing about the layout is hard-coded. Estimators lay out differently, and DimSum takes a side on none of it. the preset's fields are properties on the tool, which you can link to a table of your own:

Field	property	Default
Start Offset	Layout Start	{O.C. Spacing} + 0.25 on the Joist Tool — 16 1/4" at 16" O.C., the layout ("starting a quarter-inch long is what makes the extra member land where you want it")
Member at start edge	Member at Start Edge	On
Member at far edge	Member at Far Edge	On
Layout From	Layout From	Start (or End, Center)
Partial spaces		Later
Notes		Later

A Layout Presets table — shipped rows you copy and change — is later. The older design's rows:

Preset	Start Offset	Start edge	Far edge	Who uses it
Standard O.C. + far edge	16" (= O.C.)	On	On	Most estimators
Start 16 1/4", + far edge	16 1/4"	On	On	the layout, and what's Joist Tool does
Standard O.C., no far edge	16" (= O.C.)	On	Off	Estimators who don't want the extra piece
Centered		—	On	Layout mirrored from the region's centre line

Override individual members Coming

Adding, moving, tripling and cutting one are later.

Action	How
Add a member	Click a location inside the region (e.g. under a wall)
Delete a member	Select it → Delete
Move / nudge a member	Drag, or type an offset
Double a member	Right-click → Double (or Triple). Adds a ply beside it.
Double every / every other / every third	as the Double setting
Cut at a specific point	Cut tool: click a member (or drag a cut line across many) → separate pieces with an optional gap
Gap for a beam	: a beam the joists attach to cuts them to length

Overrides are stored as edits on top of the generated layout, survive regeneration where possible and are flagged if they no longer fit.

Place rafters (Pitched Joist) (later)

1. Arm the Pitched Joist tool (or tick Pitched on a Joist tool).
2. Draw the section. The picked edge is the eave/plate line.
3. Rafters run perpendicular to it, uphill to the ridge line (auto-detected as the opposite edge, or picked).
4. Enter Pitch (default 6/12), check Plate (Eave) Elevation and Overhang.

Place a deck

1. Copy your floor joist tool as "Deck Joist 2x8 PT @ 16"", and filter its Joist part to the treated material (e.g. "2x8 #2 SYP PT").
2. Draw the deck area and click the ledger edge.
3. Add the dropped beam(s) with the Beam tool and posts with a Count tool. Decking boards can be an Area tool with a coverage part.

Options & settings

The Joist tool's properties

Every input and output is a that exists only on a Joist tool and its items.

Inputs (group Joist)

Property	Default	Notes
O.C. Spacing	16 in	More than 0
Joist Material	2x10	A list: 2x4 · 2x6 · 2x8 · 2x10 · 2x12 · LVL · I-Joist · Truss. Type any word, change the list, or link it. Used in filters, never by the layout. A joist can have its own
Joist Length Rounding	Up to even foot	None · Up to whole foot · Nearest whole foot · Down to whole foot · Up to even foot · Nearest even foot · Down to even foot. Only from this list. A joist can have its own
Joist Width	{Joist > Width} (1 1/2")	The drawn width of each joist
Double	None	None · Every · Every other · Every third
Layout From	Start	Start · End · Center. Which side the layout is measured from. Not used with Draw first joist
Layout Start	{O.C. Spacing} + 0.25 (16 1/4" at 16")	From the start line to the first laid-out joist's centre. On an item with no row of its own it's 16 1/4"
Member at Start Edge	On	A joist on the start edge itself
Member at Far Edge	On	When the last space comes up short, a joist on the far edge too

Outputs (group Joist)

Property	What it is
Joist Count	The number of joist pieces, both plies counted. A joist cut in two by a stair opening counts 2 (Q11 below)
Joist LF	All the pieces' lengths added up, in ft
Longest Joist	The longest piece, in ft (shown ft-in)
Actual Length	The joist as laid out, in ft. On the item: the longest. On one joist: its own length
Joist Length	The joist after Joist Length Rounding, in ft (shown ft-in). On the item: the longest rounded. On one joist: its own. This is what the material table filters on
Joist #, Area #	The joist's number in its area, and the area's number under the tool. Whole numbers; empty on the item

Framing (shared with the Beam tool)

Property	Default	Notes
Elevation Offset	0	How far above the level the bottom of the joist is, with the Level ▾ beside it. Replaces's typed Elevation
Elevation	Worked out	the level's elevation plus the Elevation Offset (just the offset when the level has no elevation). Read-only. a typed number or {Level > Elevation}, with the Level ▾
Mark #	Worked out	1, 2, 3 … for the joist items in the job, in the order they were made (Q9 below). In a joist's label it reads the joist's Joist #

The fixed part

Part	Qty	Notes
Joist	{Item > Joist Count}, ea	Can't be deleted; Qty can be 0. On one joist, {Item > Joist Count} reads 1, so the quantities add up to the item's. Width 1 1/2", Depth 9 1/4" until it's linked to a table
Joist Hanger	{Item > Hanger Count}, ea	Can't be deleted; Qty can be 0. On one joist it reads that joist's hangers (0, 1 or 2), so a joist with none has no line. Existing jobs and your own copies of the tool gain it when they are opened
Rim Material	{Item > Rim Qty}, ea	Can't be deleted; Qty can be 0. On one rim member it reads that member's pieces, and 0 on a joist. Width 1 1/2", Depth 9 1/4" until it's linked to a table. Existing jobs and your own copies of the tool gain it when they are opened, with Rim Board off

The label

=CONCAT("J", {Mark #}, ": ", {Joist > Description}, " @ ", {O.C. Spacing}, """ O.C.")

It reads J1: 2x10x16 SPF #2 @ 16" O.C. A formula joins numbers without trailing zeros, so the spacing reads 16 or 19.2, never 16.00 in, and """ is how a formula writes the inch mark. A template with only the symbol gives a clean plan.

• Joist label — on by default, one per joist: J{Joist #} {Joist Material} – {Joist Length}, read for each joist, so J3 2x10 – 14'. It is written along the joist, in 6 pt condensed bold, and black (#000000) by default, because the tool's own colour was unreadable on the joist band. Pick another colour in the label designer if you want one. The joist's field list offers Joist #, Area #, Actual Length, Joist Length and Joist Material, then the tool's other properties.
• Turn it on if you want it.
• On the tool's Label tab, a picker above the designer chooses which one you're editing: Area label | Joist label. Each has its own Show row: Follow System Settings, Show or Hide.
• On a joist item, Properties → Appearance has a second row, Joist labels: Follow the tool, Show or Hide (one Undo: Show joist labels, Hide joist labels or Joist labels follow the tool).
• A joist label can't be dragged one at a time If two joist labels would land on top of each other, one is left out. At a tight zoom the labels thin out, and they print with the joists, once each.

On the Designer and the Tools Playground, with nothing drawn, Joist Count, Joist LF and Longest Joist read unavailable, and Mark # reads 1. Measuring on the Playground's sheet isn't

Later settings

The older design's settings that aren't:

Setting	Default	Notes
Cross-section / Orientation	From material, On Edge	1 1/2" on the plan, 9 1/4" tall for a 2x10 (3D)
Layout Preset	"Start 16 1/4", + far edge"	A row in a Layout Presets table. has the properties instead
Double at Edges	Off	Doubles the first/last member
Rim / Band	On	: Rim Board, off unless the tool turns it on (the DimSum Defaults Joist Tool does), with {Rim LF} and {Rim Qty} (Rim board)
Blocking	None	None / Mid-span / every X ft ({Block Count})
Hangers	Auto	: the Joist Hangers switch, the Hanger Overlap % and the per-connection Auto / Hanger / No hanger (above)
Bearing Length	1 1/2"	Added per end
Cantilever	0"	Extension beyond the bearing line. * has a Cantilever joint at a beam (24"); the general setting is later*
Opening framing	On	Doubled trimmers + headers around cutouts
Ignore beam cuts	Off	Not needed: a beam only cuts the joists when you attach it, one beam at a time

Base Elevation is a level dropdown: every takeoff tool's Base Elevation is a dropdown of every Plan Level (plus "Custom…"), defaulting to the page's own level.

Level elevation model: says a level's elevation is the top of the foundation, with the floor system sitting on top of it.

Additional Rafter settings (later)

Setting	Default	Notes
Pitch	6/12	x/12, degrees, or from two heights
Plate (Eave) Elevation	{Level > Elevation} + {Plate Height}	From the level + wall height
Ridge	Auto	From pitch + run, or a picked line/elevation
Overhang	12" (horizontal)	Extends beyond the plate line
Heel / Birdsmouth	Standard	Affects the elevation of the rafter top
Ridge board / beam	Ridge board	Generates a ridge member (Beam behavior)
Ceiling joists / collar ties	Off	Optional companion members

Quantities, later

Each {Member Length}, a cut list by Ordered (stock) Length, {Block Count} and Board Feet are later. Rafters add Rafter Length, Ordered Length, Rise and Ridge Elevation. the stock length is chosen by the Joist Material's own filter (Stock Length at least {Item > Longest Joist}), so one length per item. it's chosen per joist, from each joist's Joist Length.

Your own parts

Beside the fixed parts, a Joist tool can carry any parts you build: blocking, glue, fasteners, labor. They're yours: delete, change or replace any of them.

Examples

The older examples Coming

Ceiling joists, 2x6 @ 16": an area 28'-0" wide × 13'-0": a joist on the start edge, 20 more from 16 1/4" to 320 1/4", and one on the far edge → 22 joists. With a 1 1/2" bearing each end (later) each would be 13'-3", ordered 14'.

I-joists @ 19.2": 24' wide: Layout Start 19.45", 14 joists to 272.25", plus both edges → 16 joists. Joist part filtered to "TJI 230 11 7/8"" in your I-joist table (or set the Joist Material list to I-Joist and filter on it).

Deck: pressure-treated 2x8 @ 12": 12' × 16' deck, joists spanning 12' → 17 joists. Joist part filtered to "2x8 #2 SYP PT".

Light-gauge steel: "600S162-43 steel joist" @ 24" across 20' → 11 joists; stock lengths come from the steel table's filter.

Beam gap: a 3 1/2" flush beam across the middle of a 24' span splits each joist into two pieces of (288" − 3.5") ÷ 2 = 11'-10 1/4", with 2 hangers per joist at the cut ends.

Rafters, 2x8 @ 24", 6/12 (later): plate line 30' long, horizontal run 12', overhang 12", plate elevation 10' + 9' = 19'.

Quantity	Calculation	Result
Rafter count (one side)	360" ÷ 24" = 15 spaces → 15 + 1	16
Rafter Length	(12' ÷ cos 26.57°) + (1' ÷ cos 26.57°) = 13.416 + 1.118	14.534' ≈ 14'-6 7/16"
Ordered Length	Next stock length	16'
Rise	12' × 6/12	6'
Ridge Elevation	19' + 6'	25' (before heel/birdsmouth adjustment)

cos(26.57°) = 0.8944, so ÷ cos = × 1.118, the 6/12 pitch factor.

Tips & shortcuts

• Copy the Joist Tool once per daily combination ("Floor 2x10 @ 16"", "Ceiling 2x6 @ 16"") with the Joist part already filtered, so each is one click in the Tools panel.
• After closing an area, look at the lit edge before you click: the joists run along the edge you click.
• J right after the area closes is the fastest way to set an odd direction.
• Snap area edges to the inside of bearing walls if you want each joist to be the clear span.
• Filter the Joist part's stock length on {Joist Length}, so a longer bay picks a longer board by itself, and each joist its own.
• Leave Joist Length Rounding on Up to even foot if you buy in even lengths. A 9' joist then orders as 10'.
• Join two small sections of joists into one Joist Tool item, then give a single odd joist its own Joist Material instead of making another tool.
• Turn joist labels to "symbol only" on the Label tab for a clean marked-up plan print.

Rules, limits & edge cases

• The Joist part can't be deleted, moved under another part or given another Type, on the item or in the tool. Set its Qty to 0 instead. A copy of it is an ordinary Advanced Part. the same goes for Rim Material. A sheathing layer can be deleted, but it stays at the top of the parts and stays a Part, and a duplicate of it is another layer.
• A tool's behaviour never changes. A Joist tool and its copies stay Joist tools; a new tool, a saved part or Start a new tool from: Area is a plain tool. Save as tool… from a joist item makes a Joist tool.
• An item keeps its joists if its tool is removed from the job: the item carries its own behaviour.
• Copy and paste: Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V copy shapes into the same items, centred on the cursor. A pasted joist area keeps its direction, its cutouts and its joists' own values, and a pasted beam its own values (above). Attachments and joints are never copied. Duplicating an item (New item like this) still copies no shapes.
• More than 5,000 joists in one section is refused as an error, not drawn.
• An older DimSum opening the job sees a joist item as a plain area, and its Joist as an ordinary Advanced Part. A section it draws has no direction (the longest edge), and an item it duplicates is a plain area.
• Changing the spacing, the Double setting, the area's corners or the direction re-lays the joists at once.
• A removed joist isn't drawn, labelled, counted or matched, and the numbers count the joists that remain.
• Joist Length Rounding only takes the seven words in the list; anything else is an error: Joist Length Rounding must be one of None, Up to whole foot, ….
• Joist Material is free text: it's never an error, and the layout never reads it.
• Trusses are not generated. Truss and I-joist layouts from manufacturers are brought in as Engineered Layout Overlays.
• v1.x (future): hip and valley rafters with generated jack rafters, and dormers.

Related features

• Beam tool
• Wall tools & Cut tool
• Area & Pitched Area tools
• The DimSum Defaults tools
• Materials Library (fixed parts)
• Dynamic Lists & the Advanced Part
• Behind the scenes
• Assemblies (Framed members rule)
• 3D settings
• Engineered Layout Overlays
• Marked-up plans (print)
• Project Settings (Framing)
• Settings page (Framing)