Kevin McAllister

If you hold down the Option (ALT) key while Mirroring or while Rotating it should create a duplicate, just like if you Option drag an object. It would do away with the Mirror Duplicate and Mirror Rotate modes in the mode bar and make the interface more consistent within Vectorworks and with other programs. Kevin

Actually it was the sense of nostalgia created when I looked at the image :-) Kevin

Tamsin, I think this is an April Fools post..... Kevin

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

Please fix the second class status of regular viewports when it comes to drawing numbering. The drawing numbering should be accessible in the OIP like it is for section viewports. KM

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

How about detail views like this - http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/limage?siteID=123112&imageID=18963810&id=13779315 Or viewport creation like this - http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/limage?siteID=123112&imageID=18223105&id=18222832 KM

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

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

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

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

Christian, I noticed in another post some of your work is contained within symbols. I'm curious if the walls you're having trouble with were in symbols? I have recently had no end of problems with wall and column heights in symbols. There is some sort of bug related to stories I think. Kevin

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

Is that Service Pack 2? I only ask because many of us have had trouble with Vectorworks 2012 not seeing when an update is available. I have downloaded both Service Packs manually from the website. Kevin

Not references. The DLVP's are pre-cut sections of a venue model. (This is where dynamic live clipping planes are needed again.... things that are always up-to-date instead of constantly needing attention.) KM

I've noticed that if I include layer that contains a Design Layer Viewport in a Sheet Layer Viewport it doesn't automatically update if I update the Sheet Layer Viewport. Is there a specific type of workflow that need to be follow when including one type of Viewport in another? Specifically I've noticed it when printing a batch PDF which includes an option to update all Viewports. It feels like there should be menu commands to update Design Layer Viewports and Sheet Layer Viewports separately, or that Vectorworks should have a smart update which updates Design Layer Viewports first. Does anyone else have experience with this? Am I missing something here? Thanks, Kevin

Something changed with the addition of Stories in VW2012. Things seem to behave ok when Stories are defined, but if they're not they behave differently than they used to..... I often find things at unexpected heights. Kevin

I use the B&W option in the Advanced tab of my Sheet Layer Viewports all the time. I wish choosing that option did not affect the Viewport's Annotations. Often I want to homogenize (ie. make B&W) someone else's crazy colourful Autocad layers and then flag things in colour in my annotations.... Kevin (Yes, I know I can do it in class overrides to some degree (other people's symbols are often a problem) but I'm not looking for a work-around.)

So I've been trying a 3D Connexion Space Navigator out. I actually bought it to use with Cinema 4D. It integrates very naturally, much like your holding the model and turning it in your hand. Because you use it with your left hand (or non-mouse hand) and because of the way the Cinema 4D interface is set up, you can essentially model with one hand on the Navigator and the other hand on a stylus or mouse. Pretty great workflow. Anyway, I tried the Space Navigator in Vectorworks. It works, but in a very non-intuitive way. It would be great if some of the finesse of its use in Cinema 4D was available as an option in Vectorworks. This may actually speak to the general way you navigate and model in Vectorworks as well. Kevin

Based on my own experiences I would say Vectorworks isn't really optimized for anything yet. There have been some small steps forward in recent versions but probably not as fast as many users would like. It doesn't take much detail in a 3D model to start to bog things down on any machine (try a full stadium and scenery and it chokes). Take a Vectorworks model into Cinema 4D and see how much better it is at dealing with it. No slowdowns or hiccups. Faster rendering. Cinema 4D is built for use in production pipelines where seconds add up. That industry expects it. I'm sure that Vectorworks has a lot of legacy code. Apple is probably the company most likely to push things forward. It has no problem jettisoning old processing models in favour of the future and does so with each new release of its operating system. At some point Nemetzchek will likely have to choose either the power of the future or backwards compatibility of all the old PIO etc. I'm sure that Autocad for Mac has a great advantage in the area of optimization since it was build clean from the ground up. KM

Now that we have sheet layers & camera viewports please fix perspective view so it no longer uses the adjustable "crop" box that was previously used for presentation. The perspective view should fill the entire drawing window all the time, so the drawing window is the viewport. This would make perspective view so much more useful in everyday 3d modelling. Kevin

I'm curious to know how other people are working in 3D. Are you - - working in a true 3D view most of the time or a projected view (top/front/side etc.)? - do you work in Vectorworks standard 3D (what Cinema 4D calls parallel) or in perspective (the cropped perspective "viewport" Vectorworks creates)? - do you class or group so you can easily isolate components? I've been working on a 3d model for a project that involves modular scaffolding running diagonally across the stepped audience risers of a stadium. I've found that its essentially to get right "into" the model to check interactions between the stadium structure and the scaffold. If Vectorworks had dynamic clipping planes this would be easy (see my wish in the Wishlist Forum) but unfortunately its more of an adventure than I'd like. Today I discovered that I could somewhat do what I needed by working in the perspective viewport and using the translate tool to move in and out of the model. Perhaps there is a better way but I haven't found it yet.... Kevin

Ha, I was wondering the same thing. Glad to hear it may be sometime soon.... KM http://techboard.vectorworks.net/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=167415#Post167415

Use the Visibility tool. It looks like an eye next to a small pointer. It can be set to turn off either layers or classes. KM

Its coming but you start to wonder when. Clearly two different marketing strategies.... A week ago an invite was sent out and today a new iPad was released.... A teaser on January 10th, a trailer of sorts on January 31st and then silence for over a month, the Vectorworks "Cloud" seems MIA...... KM