


You can exchange for the ownership of an existing license from its owner after paying a "license transfer fee" to Chief Architect Inc. So you can buy a new license from Chief Inc (details on their website) or To buy a licensed seat, you do just that. The problem you are facing is not just technological though:Īny version of Chief Architect is a "seat" or "License" because Chief Inc owns the software completely and only licenses it to others for their use. I support and run Versions 9-14 on Windows XP x32 and Windows 7 圆4 as well as Home Designer versions 7-2012 on the same PC. Versions 4-8 were designed/developed to run within Windows 95-2000 and will not reliably run on modern PC's and operating systems. Is there a market out there where the older software is available for purchase? My question is, if an older version of CA 6.0 or newer is out there, what would be a fair market price? Would I be better off buying a newer BH&G version, keeping in mind I want the features mentioned above (export/build estimates by area)? Is the $500 +/- version similar enough to the 4.0 as alluded to in another post with the primary differnece being the price tag? (Unless you spring for the software going for around $500, which is a bit steep) With that being said, I've looked at the various DIY offerings available under the BH&G, and each seemed to have stripped out some of the features 4.0 had, such as exporting to DXF and partial building spreadsheet estimating. Having access to various CAD packages including AutoCAD and Solid Works, I have found I would rather not do any architectural design there for obvious reasons, but both 3.0 and 4.0 3DHA have the ability to export to DXF so I can do detailing in either of these alternate CAD platforms.

I have since traced the roots of this software I've grown to love from Broderbund, back to CA after working with a builder years ago that I believe was using CA 6.0. I upgraded to 4.0 and then to 5.0 when I discovered this last version was based on something other than the familiar interface I had found so intuitive. My first exposure to CA was through 3D Home Architect 3.0 years ago.
