verdancedesign

WOW, @STR and @Robert Anderson -- this is so far beyond my pay grade I never would have found it (and still may not attempt it) — but it is exactly what I was looking for. (And, BTW, did not find when searching the Forum for "tool" and "image" … guess "toolset" and "picture" was necessary.) Thank you!!

Thank you both, @Pat Stanford and @efa! The icons inside Applications/VW/VWHelp/HTML5/VW2020_Guide are low-res (I presume these are used for the online help manual), so the app can't use them for tool palette images. The images inside the application package are within the Vectorworks.vwr file, which cannot be selected when trying to select an image from the Workspace Editor, so back in the Finder I selected Vectorworks.vwr and did another right-click to Show Package Contents, and voila! there is the /Images folder that contains subfolders of not only the images used in the Basic toolset but also images used in the OIP, worksheet editor, and almost everything else in the app -- excluding, interestingly, the images used in other toolsets e.g. Dims/Notes. I have no idea where those images are hiding, but that's my next mission! Note that the Tools images are the correct dimensions; but most others will need to be resized to 52x40 (at 72 ppi) to be used by the tool palettes. I duplicated the /Images/Tools folder and moved it to my desktop, and from there I can select an image from the Workspace Editor for my new custom palettes. I'll post updates here as I learn more. Thanks again for getting me going in the right direction.

Customizing my tool palettes, and although I know it's possible to create new icons/images and apply them to tool sets, I would like to repurpose some of the existing icons (e.g. the house icon for "Building Shell" or the light bulb for "Visualization"). Where in the MacOS do they live?

Thanks, @Matt Overton! It was hidden in plain sight. Specifically, for anyone wondering the same: go to Tools>Organization>References (or Navigation>References palette); select the referenced source file to change; click Edit…; click Browse… to select and Open the new source file. As Matt notes, all viewports referencing the old source will change to reference the new one (viewport attributes such as crop and layer/class visibilities will not change).

Not to hijack the thread, but a related question: is it possible to change the source of a referenced viewport to a different file (not a different layer/class in the same file), or must a new viewport be created?

I'm looking for best practices and would love your perspective… I'm creating a single "master" file of preferred plants (planning to organize them by type similar to @J. Wallace's system). The 2D symbols will be simple circles. In my workflow I use separate classes for Trees, Shrubs, Perennials, etc. — primarily differentiated by line weight (trees = thick line, perennials = thin line, etc.). In your opinion/experience, should I create the 2D geometry using these classes and their default attributes (e.g. the circle representing Acer palmatum would be class Tree with thick line, the circle for Rudbeckia fulgida would be class Perennial with thin line) so that the class attributes always "follow" the symbol? Or, should I make the geometry generic (e.g. class 0), and assign classes to the symbols when I place them in the plan? The former method looks like a lot more upfront work, but if it has long-term benefits I'll spend the time… I just don't want to do this again. Thanks for your opinions!

I've figured out why the center dots disappear -- now I need a fix. The problem seems to be that the center dot is, by VW default, a color other than Black. Therefore, when I set either the Document Preferences or the viewport properties to "black and white only," the (non-black) center dot disappears. The only workaround I have found is to turn off all the "black and white only" options, then set the pen color of every class in the viewport to black, which overrides the default dot color. If anyone has a true solution -- i.e. actually editing the center dot settings -- I would love to know about it. Thanks.

FWIW, this happens only using the drop-down Plant ID list; I can get around it by selecting the plant using the Plant Preferences button.

Evolving the thread a bit: in VW2011 I find that when I've used 3 or more different plant symbols, selecting one of the "used" symbol names from the top of the 'Plant ID' drop-down list actually gives me the symbol listed above the one I selected. Anyone else having this issue? Anyone at VW aware of it?

I am being driven mad by a couple of problems with plant symbols and would really appreciate any insights. I've created a plant symbol, and placed an array of it on a Design Layer, which is referenced by a Sheet Layer viewport. When the symbol's "Tick Style" is set to "Cross," the center tick shows up both in the Design Layer and the viewport. But when "Tick Style" is set to "Dot," the center ticks show up as expected in the Design Layer, but not at all in the viewport. Furthermore, I have the symbol's "Tag Center" set to "Continuation Line", but don't see that line in either Design Layer or viewport, no matter how the tag is oriented. All my classes and lines are visible, and the Properties of the plant group are consistent with the properties of the symbol definition. The problem persists with other plant symbols (e.g. VW defaults), not just my own creation. I've also tried editing the symbol graphic to center on 0,0 but that creates the additional problem of symbols and ticks/tags being displaced from each other, without solving the visibility problems. Snapshots of the symbols in Design Layer (good) and Sheet Layer (bad) are attached. Thanks in advance for your help.

Yes, with 2D Plan projection.

I'm having a similar problem: I've created a new 2D plant symbol by duplicating one of the VW defaults (Evergreen Tree) in either the Resource Browser or Place Plant Preferences. The lines comprising the symbol are visible when I select Edit, but the symbol does not show up in either the Resource Browser or in plan view. All my classes are set to "None". The tag shows up and counts the symbols correctly. Thanks for any insights.

Okay! Fixed my PDF import crash by installing the "new" SP1 - downloadable as of last weekend at http://www.nemetschek.net/downloads/ServicePack.php?major=2010&servicepack=1 Thanks, Juan!

Thanks, all. I had searched these forums for 'PDF crash 2010' but hadn't seen michaelk's thread. I've emailed Juan and will report back. (BTW Ray, I'm running Acrobat 9 Pro ? any known conflicts there?)

Is anyone else experiencing a crash upon selecting File>Import>Import PDF... ? Upon selection there's a few seconds of delay, the infamous spinning beach ball (no dialog box or anything else), then VW quits. I have repaired permissions and reset application settings (per the Mac OS prompt). Crash seems to happen in all workspaces, and seems to only affect PDF imports, not other file types. Thanks in advance for any insights.