Why OneDrive Might Be Breaking Chief Architect—and How to Set Things Up the Right Way

Hey Chief Architect users!
If you're setting up a new computer—or just trying to share files with a teammate—and suddenly running into missing textures, broken libraries, or duplicated files… chances are your cloud backup is the problem.

Let’s walk through what’s going on, step by step. No jargon, just real talk.

☁️ What Is “The Cloud,” Really?

When people say “the cloud,” they’re just talking about files stored on the internet instead of your own computer. Services like OneDrive, Dropbox, or Google Drive give you cloud storage, so you can:

• Open your files from anywhere

• Sync files between computers

• Back up important data

Sounds great, right? And for things like photos or Word docs, it is.

But programs like Chief Architect don’t play so nicely with cloud syncing—especially OneDrive, which has a sneaky way of breaking things behind the scenes.

⚠️ What Windows Doesn't Tell You About OneDrive

When you first set up Windows 11, it offers to “back up” your folders to OneDrive. But here's the truth:

“Backing up” really means moving your files to OneDrive’s servers and replacing them with empty shells.

You’ll still see things in your Documents or Pictures folders—but they’re often not real files. They’re shells (just placeholders), and you have to be online to use them.

This is a huge problem for Chief Architect, which expects files like your user libraries, textures, or toolbar setups to be immediately available offline.

🧱 What Happens When Chief Architect Can’t Access a File

Chief Architect constantly reads and writes to its working files. When it tries to open something like a material texture or a toolbar file and that file is just a cloud shell:

• It might wait a few seconds, then give up

• If it doesn’t find the file, it rebuilds a new version from scratch

• That can corrupt your setup or make data like textures go missing

Worse yet, Chief Architect won’t warn you. It just assumes the file doesn’t exist and silently moves on.

This can lead to corruption in your files—meaning internal data structures (called header records) get out of sync, and the program can’t read or use the file anymore.

✅ What Should Stay Local (Offline)

If you're using cloud storage, it’s okay for your project files—your .plan and .layout files—to live in a Dropbox folder or other syncing location.

But certain folders need to stay completely offline and outside of OneDrive or Dropbox. These include:

• user_library.calib

• textures/ folder

• toolbars/ folder

• Any folder where data is frequently updated during a session

Set up a folder like this:

C:\CA_Local\

And point Chief Architect to use that folder in your Preferences for anything that it touches often.

🔄 Do I Need to Back That Folder Up?

Yes! If you’re using a local-only folder, nothing is automatically backed up. You should:

• Manually copy the folder somewhere safe from time to time

• Use an automated backup tool (like Robocopy or backup software)

• Or at the very least, zip it and save it on a USB stick every so often

🤝 Sharing Projects with a Teammate or Colleague

If you’re working in an office environment or sending a file to someone else, you may run into a common problem:

Missing textures or PDF files when someone else opens the plan.

Here’s why that happens—and how to fix it:

🔍 Where Does Chief Look for Files?

When you open a .plan or .layout file, Chief Architect looks for any external assets (like material textures or embedded PDFs) in two places:

1. The Chief Data Folder — This is your default local data directory (which should now be offline if you're following this guide)

2. The Same Folder as the Plan — Chief also checks the folder and subfolders where the .plan or .layout file lives

If the assets (like a texture or image) aren’t found in either of those places, the file won’t load correctly.

✅ How to Share a Project the Right Way

You have two solid options:

Option 1: Export a Plan Material Library

If you've used custom materials or imported textures:

1. Go to the 3D menu > Materials > Create Plan Material Library

2. This creates a custom material library based on that plan file

3. Find that library inside your User Library folder

4. Send it to your colleague and have them import it via the Library Browser
   This will also bring over the associated textures

Option 2: Backup Entire Plan as a Zip

This is the easiest method:

1. Go to File > Backup Entire Plan

2. Choose the option to include all textures and referenced files

3. It creates a .zip file

4. Your colleague just needs to unzip it, and everything will load correctly since all the textures and documents are now in the same folder as the plan

🧠 Final Thoughts

Chief Architect is powerful, but it expects your files to be where they belong—and ready instantly.

The best setup:

• Keep your project files (plans and layouts) in Dropbox or a shared drive

• Keep your live-working files (libraries, textures, toolbars) in a local folder like C:\CA_Local

• Share projects properly by zipping with textures or exporting libraries

• Avoid letting OneDrive “back up” your files unless you know exactly what that means

Need help? Join us in the Rabbitt Design Discord and we’ll help you get your setup dialed in.

Let me know if you'd like this version ready for posting on your website, a downloadable PDF, or an onboarding checklist for clients or staff!