Kevin McAllister
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Posts posted by Kevin McAllister
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I'm going to get my renewal soon. My biggest concern is nothing else opens Vectorworks files, so once you're on subscription you can't stop as there is no other option for opening your existing native Vectorworks files. I have a lot of time invested in native assets.
Honestly, the subscription model is also a little ominous given the state of the world. If you're in a country someone doesn't like they might just turn off all your subscriptions. Obviously not directed at NV specifically but subscription for everything gives over a lot of control (subscription cars? subscription printers?).
Sigh, I can remember how excited I was out of theatre school when I bought my $1000 Minicad package.
Kevin
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1 hour ago, Andy Broomell said:
I have no official knowledge of what those bullet points relate to, but in regards to trimming complex polylines, I submitted a specific bug fairly recently that was addressed in Update 3, and I wonder if perhaps the fix that solved the issue is what that bullet point alludes to. So probably not a "rebuild" of the tool but some finessing of the code so that complex polylines with arcs get trimmed correctly.
Here's the image I submitted for my specific bug, and the problem is indeed solved in Update 3:
That's a good fix. I've seen that issue. I wonder if they fixed where one side of a symmetrical object always ends up with a seam point and one does not. I'll have to try....
KM
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Do others struggle with unwanted cropping of Shaded render mode edges in Sheet Layer Viewports? It's an issue that comes and goes with various updates. The default (no crop) crop box always crops off a few pixels of the draw edges mode. I often have to add a crop that's bigger than the default crop to get them back, which is not ideal.
I have bug submitted this in various versions but it often returns after the next update. I would think this would automatically be on someone's radar. @Dave Donley?
These examples are in VW2026 Update 3.
Kevin
Using the default (no crop)... the top of the curve is missing.
Adding a bigger crop, the top curve is restored.
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This improvement in Update 3 caught my attention. It is very specific and sounds like a rebuild of the Polygon tools. Does anyone know more? Does it carry across to the 2D Polyline tool? I use that almost exclusively since it's more flexible than the 2D polygon tool (other than the paint bucket mode, which actually makes polylines most of the time 😊).
Kevin
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Bumping this again. Other programs are leaving Vectorworks' navigation in the dust. I've been playing with Blender on a Mac and it easily has the best implementation of navigation I've ever used. Flyover by finger scrolling on a Magic Mouse. It is so good. So good.
Ironically, I don't think Blender has navigation "tools" like Vectorworks. Its just inherently integrated into the program.
So good....
One can only wish that Vectorworks catches up.
Kevin
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On 12/4/2025 at 11:49 AM, Tom W. said:
Another way to get what you've shown is to leave the Offset unchanged + set Insert to Wall - Left Edge.
That's an easy solution too.
Thanks,
Kevin
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48 minutes ago, cberg said:
If it's an unstyled wall you can offset it in the OIP. Otherwise, you need to go to the Resource Browser and select the door style plug in options and adjust the offset.
Awesome, thank you! I love learning new things.
Kevin
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Often in theatre I want to give a door depth even though a standard theatre flat wall is only 4" thick. Is there a way to offset the door in the thickness of the wall? See image. I feel like I've done this in the past but I can't find it as an option now.
Kevin
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I suspect the reason it has never happened is because NV has been slowly modernizing the code to VW and the snapping module still hasn't been updated ( @JuanP ?). There's probably a long list of snapping improvements that are waiting for that update to happen. But it's still weird not to be able to snap to the origin in views other than Top/Plan ten years after the original wish.
Kevin
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Bumping this long ago wish. I still don't understand why the origin is only snappable in top/plan view. The drawing origin should work like the origin in a symbol, where it is snappable in all views.
Not being able to snap to the origin in 3d views sort of makes it useless.
Kevin
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22 hours ago, rDesign said:
According to the Vw2026 Help file, both Flip Horizontal and Flip Vertical should both flip on its center.
I've never used this keyboard shortcut before but I'm curious as to how the same short cut flips both horizontally and vertically 🤣. I think maybe the Help also needs updating.
Kevin
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19 hours ago, Dave Donley said:
Seamless patterns are something that can be improved, we are looking into it for the AI Visualizer right now, but for very regular patterns like this you might want to use a purpose-built pattern generator. I know you do not want half-height or broken bricks at random in your walls normally.
Hi Dave,
Just looking at the options you selected and wondering why you didn't select the checkbox "Enable seamless tiling"? If it's not used for this, what is it used for?
I have tried making seamless textures in the visualizer before without much success. Ironically, seamless tiling textures are one of the few uses I can see for AI in regular use.
Kevin
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Edit the polyline using Command [. Select the interior void polylines and either copy or cut them depending upon the desired outcome. Exit the polyline edit mode. Paste in place. Change the colour of the polylines.
Kevin
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10 hours ago, Luxedavid said:
I'm trying to use a rounded rectangle to crop a viewport in one of my sheets, but every time I drag out the size, the corners change from rounded to straight as shown in the picture attached, even though its still showing in the basic tools that I do still have the rounded rectangle selected.
It worked fine when I did a test. What's the corner diameter? For a viewport crop, the corner diameter will need to be big enough to show in the scale of the viewport. I suspect that making the corner diameter much bigger will solve the issue.
Kevin
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7 hours ago, line-weight said:My next renewal is a little while off but this is what I have just been sent by my UK retailer:
It's fairly clear that the final off-ramp for the option to own perpetual licences is now being built.
I received this email from Vectorworks today too. I would guess eventually their pricing will align with Autodesk.
At the rate they're going they will price themselves out of the entertainment market I work in. Fees aren't big enough to cover a Vectorworks subscription and pay yourself.
It's funny to me they still use the Buy Now button on their website. It should really say Rent Now.
Kevin
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17 hours ago, cberg said:
Doesn't the view VW2025 Onscreen View Control Cube address this issue?
I'm pretty used to using VW on a laptop trackpad when I need to. The View Control Cube helps facilitate projection views and simple rotations. You can always assign the flyover tool to a key that's easy to reach on the laptop keyboard.
All workarounds. If you don't have a middle mouse button there is no temporary way to invoke the Flyover tool. In your example you're still activating the Flyover tool and disrupting your workflow. The View Control Cube is good but still means an extra mouse move to access it. And how about translating in and out? Basic tool-less navigation is not baked in like any other 3d program.
Kevin
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Bumping this wish again. Today I downloaded a trial version of Blender. I've only just started playing with it but it has the best navigation I've ever tried on a Mac for a 3d program. Orbit via finger scrolling on a Magic Mouse is the default. Simple single modifier keys to switch to pan/translate and zoom. So simple, no tools involved.
Kevin
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It hasn't always been like this. It used to duplicate a sheet as is with the numbering intact. I submitted the new behaviour as a bug a few times, but the change goes back to when JimW was still on the forums. If you duplicate sheets a lot like I do in my workflow, it can cause a fair amount of extra work.
Kevin
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4 hours ago, alex_staging said:
4) attempt to take dimensions - I was able to get radial dimensions, surprisingly, but I could not pull arc dimensions.
It's interesting that you can't find a radial dimension on that planar object located in 3d space in the Front Viewport. I would consider that a bug. I don't normally put any 2d objects in the Design Layers so that's not a situation I've encountered.
Kevin
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1 hour ago, alex_staging said:
I use a variety of viewport styles - hidden line, dashed hidden line, shaded, wireframe. Almost never Renderworks. Even something as simple as a caster plate (a rectangular extrusion with cylindrical extrusions subtracted from it) won't allow me to take dimensions related to the circle. I make a lot of curved scenic pieces with arcs, and I always have to redraw the arc in every viewport.
Are you able to post a simple example file?
Kevin
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On 6/12/2025 at 6:56 AM, alex_staging said:
That's interesting - I never get that highlighting. If I attempt to make a radial, diametrical, or arc-length dimension on any circle or curve that is not 2D linework in the viewport, I get a red error saying "Diametrical dimensions can only be on circles," etc. My coworkers have the same experience.
What version of Vectorworks are you running (normally users add a signature to their profile with this info)? What rendering mode are you using for your viewports? I've had mixed results myself, depending upon the complexity of the 3d geometry and how deep the solids operations go. The sensitivity to nested curves has gotten better over time but its definitely not perfect. I often have to add helper geometry in the annotations to dimension curves.
Kevin
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36 minutes ago, line-weight said:
I've realised that Vectorworks is the reason my Time Machine backups have been repeatedly failing with a "not enough space on disk" error.
Vectorworks and Time Machine definitely don't play well together. If Vectorworks starts behaving weirdly you can often check and find that Time Machine is backing up.
Kevin
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On 2/16/2017 at 9:51 AM, Kevin McAllister said:
Apparently JimW heard.....
I would wish for at least basic word processing features - tabs (left, right, centre, and decimal), lists (bullet, number), indents, ability to include images in text flow, etc.
KM
Bumping this. I'm surprised that proper text editing and formatting has still not seen any upgrades..... today I really needed a right tab in the General Notes tool.
Kevin
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Bumping this. The unnecessary scrolling is still an issue in 2025.
Kevin
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To-do list when converting to Vectorworks 2026
in General Discussion
Posted
I just started using VW2026 on a project this week. A client provided a VW2026 file so it made sense. So far it's going ok though I find 2026 a bit sluggish (slight pauses after each action) so it may be time to upgrade my machine. I've been running a iMac Pro so it is a bit dated, but I'm not sure what the step forward should be. Anyone have good experiences with VW2026 on a specific Mac system? I work entirely in 3d, mostly modelling from scratch, with some use of the theatre resources. I'm mostly producing drawing sets and not finished renderings.
Kevin