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Kevin McAllister

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Posts posted by Kevin McAllister

    Is there a future for VWs?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I think they actually face a fairly steep uphill battle. A lot of areas of the program are lagging behind all at once. Vectorworks diversity was probably once its strength but has now become its weakness. What architects need vs. lighting designers vs. landscape designers vs. furniture designers vs. engineers vs. who knows what else. NNA's resources are split and it can only give a certain amount of attention to each group of users.

    There is a lot of competition in the various markets, but each competitor is better at only one or two aspects of what Vectorworks does. While architects are considering switching to Revit, Bentley, Archicad etc. I look how powerful some of the low end 3D programs have become (Rhino, FormZ, Bonzai3D for modelling / the basic version of Cinema 4D for modelling and rendering). None of those pieces of software can handle drawing sets, which is a big problem, but all of them are more flexible design tools for what I do. And all of them are better value.

    Someone mentioned Fundamentals above. Its not really viable for anything. Crippling high end software and trying to market it as your low end solution just doesn't fly in today's market. Software companies are innovating all over the place. Just look at what you can do on an iPad.

    In a way the "basic version" of Vectorworks should actually be Designer. Batch printing, Sheet Layers, Drawing Co-ordination, Import/Export options, Basic Reports, a basic architectural tools (walls, simple door, simple window, simple stair) etc. are all basic workflow necessities. And many cheaper, completive packages include these options already. BIM,on the other hand, is a pretty specialized market.

    I have no problem spending money on something that makes me more productive. But I am starting to feel like Vectorworks is not good value.

    Is there a future for VWs?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    You may be right, but perhaps only for the architectural market.

    I use the architectural tools in Vectorworks but I don't do architecture. I own a copy of Vectorworks Designer because it gives me flexibility. Frankly I could care a less about BIM but it doesn't mean I don't need good import/export (Autocad, Cinema 4D, Lightwright, 3D printers). I need a flexible tool to do complex 3d modelling and an easy way to create drawing sets from that model. Note I said design drawings, not construction drawings. I suspect there are a lot of individual users like me, though probably not many companies with multiple seats. Revit or Archicad are not in my future as they are not at all suited to my work.

    Vectorworks is being pulled in many directions, you only have to look at the various modules and read the forum posts to see that. The architectural segment may be the largest market for the moment, but I suspect that market is stagnating as people wait to see where BIM is going. The entertainment segment is still relatively small, but growing much faster.

    My two cents.

    Kevin

    Window Boards (Window Stools)

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Its all a bit backwards still. Canada is a metric country but so much stuff is still built using Imperial measurements, mostly because of stock materials. When I worked with an Australian colleague on the Olympics, I joked with him about material sizes and the elusive sheet of metric plywood. 4'x8' is a pretty simple size to do calculations with until you metricize it - 1219MM x 2438mm is not intuitive at all. Now 1200mm x 2400mm, that make way more sense....

    Kevin

    Vectorworks and Fonts

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    So I was experimenting with the Vectorworks cloud and had some font problems (still trying to sort out). It led me to turn off a bunch of fonts on my Mac using Fontbook. The fonts I've turned off have disappeared from the font menu in other applications but are still present in the font menu in Vectorworks. When I first noticed it I restarted my system but the anomaly still persists. Does Vectorworks not respect the OS's control over fonts? It seems very odd.

    Kevin

    Dimension Issues VW 2012 Spotlight

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Michael,

    There are two things I would try -

    - first I would try switching workspaces (Tool>Workspaces). It sounds like perhaps your workspace is corrupted. Is it a custom workspace? You could also try creating a custom workspace where you delete and re-add the dimension tool.

    - I notice you're only updated to Service Pack 1. The current version of Vectorworks 2012 is Service Pack 3.

    There is nothing wrong with your file. I can dimension in it just fine.

    Kevin

    Drawing Label - Insertion Point Aware

    in Wishlist - Feature and Content Requests

    Posted · Edited by Kevin McAllister

    I use the Drawing Label tool constantly to label sheet layer viewports. Problem is I like the Drawing Label centred under my objects. Its easy on initial insertion, but if you revise the drawing name they always expand left to right instead of being insertion point aware. I wish the Drawing Label objects were insertion point aware, like text objects, so when you edited the name of a centred one it would expand outwards from centre, maintaining its alignment with its insertion point.

    KM

    ubbthreads.php?ubb=download&Number=6897&filename=Drawing%20Label.jpg

    Door Hardware

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    It totally looks like the symbol is built wrong! It seems to be centring the symbol insertion point, which is fine for a simple door knob, but not so fine for panic hardware. I would file that as a bug....

    Kevin

    nurb curves.

    in Solids Modeling

    Posted

    Andy,

    If you actually draw your NURBS curve using the NURBS curve tool in the "NURBS curve by interpolation points" mode you will get what you're looking for.

    As far as I know converting a polyline to a NURBS curve will always generate the results you are getting (the equivalent to using the "NURVS curve by control points" mode of the NURBS curve tool).

    Kevin

    Vectorworks Help switches back to welcome page

    in Wishlist - Feature and Content Requests

    Posted

    I emphatically agree. Adobe Air has to be one of the most useless pieces of software ever. Nemetzchek was sold a lemon and isn't willing to admit it. Also annoying is that it wants to update every time you open it.

    (In case you haven't discovered it, if you hit the back button Adobe Air will return to where you were. Yet another Vectorworks workaround and it not even in Vectorworks....)

    The help system needs a definite overhaul and could take some serious cues from Cinema 4D. You can right click on anything in Cinema 4D, choose help and it will open help to the item you right click on.

    Kevin

    Slanted Truss

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    If you are using the Truss Tool in Vectorworks Spotlight you will need to convert your truss to a group and then rotate it in a front elevation. The hybrid nature of the truss created by the Truss Tool prevents it from creating angles truss.

    Kevin

    Lineset from a worksheet

    in Entertainment

    Posted

    It should be. I have done something similar. My line set schedule symbol contains a line set symbol duplicated for each line set. I created a worksheet that counts and sorts based on line set #. When I update the worksheet it updates the linked text in the corresponding line set symbol record.

    As long as your Excel layout matches your Vectorworks worksheet layout cutting and pasting shouldn't be a problem.

    Kevin

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