[Blackout line paint pattern]

Now there's a word

[Sheet layer viewports from external sources]

External data can be copy and pasted or imported directly into a Sheet Layer - no need for viewports at all! (pdf jpg etc)

If you un-check 'Save referenced cache to disk' the SL will update with the latest version of the source each time the file is opened.

You can even drop symbols directly onto the sheet layer but you lose the power of Viewports to scale them at will - to render - class overrides etc.

I don't see the Design Layer - > Sheet Layer -> Print/Export as cumbersome.

[Lumber cut-list, aka materials needs list...]

I think Kool Aid's proposal is interesting - but doesn't account for the angle cuts. You could class each item by section type and find the max length.

Probably by comparing max and min lengths you could infer the angle cuts on both ends.

[Obscured dimension witness line]

File>Document Settings>Document Preferences

Dimension Standard - Custom to create a new standard

Edit the custom standard.

I believe herein you will find the settings you need and select this custom from the OI palette.

Manually you can just click and drag the dimension value into place

[Is there a way to pinpoint troublesome Blocks]

Hi,

I'm exporting a VW 2010 drawing to dwg 2004 - it contains 22435 blocks and VW heroically converts the first 22009 of them quite quickly ( a couple of minutes) but the remaining 426 are taking ?forever.

This drawing has done the loop around several times with various inputs from differing systems.

Is there a way to pinpoint which blocks are the nuisance ones, a few delete's and maybe there will be time for that ice-cream.

[Blackout line paint pattern]

Fit walls to roof will take care of the penetration problem.

Or you could create a 2-tone texture and apply it to the interior of the wall and move it into position using the Attribute Mapping tool

[Lumber cut-list, aka materials needs list...]

I'd like an icecream

[PDF Export not WYSIWYG]

I get this message when I try to open it.

"An error exists on this page. Acrobat may not display the page correctly. Please contact the person who created the PDF document to correct the problem."

Have you tried PDF batch export?

[Out of my depth: what to show in a demo?]

It seems to me the Getting Started booklet is a very useful adjunct to your presentation. I wouldn't dismiss it quite so readily. It does have a section dedicated to Spotlight and if as you say your client is a VW novice then this gives them a reliable bottom up reference guide.

Of course charm, experience and a sample project set will do the rest.

[Structural steel - portal frame rafters]

Nice work.

You can also try this in VW:

Draw a cross-section of the frame using the polygon tool

From the Detailing tool set select the structural section reqd.

Rotate the section 90?

Modify>Ungroup

Select both

Model>Extrude along path

Modify>Rotate 3d 90? about the x azis

Front view

Use L to split & trim the frame into components / trim, create cleats etc.

Top view select all Modify>Align Centers

Group.

Edit Duplicate Array to taste.

etc. for purlins...

[Renderworks]

Check the Render tab of the Object Info Palette.

The components Overall Top Sides Bottom Fascia Soffit etc. can all have different textures. Make sure Top has your required shingle texture.

[Renderworks]

Is the roof a roof object: does the roof have a fill in the Attributes Palette?

Is the roof a roof face? : does the roof face have a fill in the Attributes Palette And does if you double click on it does it's source polygon have a fill?

Also - be sure in the Object Info palette the Part>Top has the correct texture attached either directly or by setting the class texture in the Organization window.

[Help!: Warping 3D Text (True Type Polyline extrusion)]

There must be a way. It's simply an unfold in reverse. If only the Projection tool had a radial option.

[VW2010 crashing on Import PDF]

HI John,

I had this issue. There is a fix if you email Juan for assistance.

Juan Almansa

[Import jpeg image]

... then when you have your texture you will need an object (floor) to apply it to.

You can create a polygon & extrude it a little then from the Resource Browser drag and drop the texture onto it.

Be sure your polygon has a fill otherwise the texture won't be visible when you render the model.

[snapping tangent to arcs]

I feel like I'm either missing something completely here or really over-thinking it. But can someone please explain how I can move a line to be tangent to a circle, without generating a normal?

Thanks

Edit - found it.

This time the Align Edge Snap needs to be on (not the tangent snap)

And the Object Snap Center.

Move the line to the center point - pick up center point as smart point.

Then move along the normal to Align edge & place on Object/Align Edge snap point)

[Snapping to an angle]

HI GWS,

You're right. It doesn't lock as expected. The length does but not the angle.

While in this mode the Shift Key - constrain angle is also disabled.

[snapping tangent to arcs]

Thanks again Mike. I know how they work. I'm saying something was glitched in that it wouldn't work until I performed the 'reset' above. Now it works as expected; beautifully (but only with the Angle Snap On with or without preset Snap Angles)

If others are experiencing the disappearance of their 'perpendicular' Smart Cue try this reset: it worked for me.

thanks for your persistence - solved.

With regard to the OP and snap settings - wouldn't it be nice if the Tangent snap mode acquired the tangent snap point of two arcs rather than the tangent point the first arc and the final generation line of the second arc?

[snapping tangent to arcs]

Yes, this is exactly what I expect. Except I get the Perpendicular Smart Cursor Cue is missing.

Wait. I finally got the expected result - bizarrely by:

Turning the Snap to Angle constraint on and off and

Deleting all the prescribed angles.

Now with the angles re-entered it still works. (in my above exercise NPON was turned on)

[snapping tangent to arcs]

Sometimes you have to know how to set out the geometry so you can draw correctly. Sometimes Vectorworks doesn't to it all for you.

Yes, I'm not suggesting I need geometry lessons, rather what you would imagine to be an easy construct for VW turns out to be a process where you do have to 'set out the geometry', Fair?

[snapping tangent to arcs]

Yes. But what a rigamarole !

[snapping tangent to arcs]

But it should be easy. I cannot draw two circles tangentially to each other without first defining their collinear radii. (shouldn't the Smart Cursor >Object Snap Settings>Nearest Point on edge acquire this point for us?)

Even the Tangent Constraint will not find the tangent point for two arcs but finds the tangent point of one arc and the generating radius of the 2nd arc ; useful sometimes but not what's being asked.

(try this:

Draw a circle 1m radius.

4m away center and draw a second circle such that it is tangent to the first.

Why is this so hard in VW?)

[Need some help with complex curves...]

One way:

Draw cross-section using Polyline tool - Make sure it is closed.

Convert to Nurbs

Move 3d to correct elevation

Repeat for the full height.

Select all

Loft with no rail

[Extrude Along Path failure]

I may have found the problem.

The curved wings are not tangental to the center straight section. I redrew one half of it using tangent arc mode for the transition and got a result.

[2010 - Fillet - display problem]

Ah - fantastic. thanks Guy. Confidence restored!