Kevin McAllister

I'm not sure that I understand how those things figure into this equation. They should not get in the way of an efficient working environment. If the programming is such that they do, it should be re-written in a modern way. People are interacting with their 3D models on iPads and mobile phones, computing power shouldn't be the issue. I've only scratched the surface of FormZ so I can't tell you its full capabilities (I've noted its shortcoming in presentation above). It does have layers, attributes, accurate size, location, components (symbols), scenes (save views), and an animation timeline. It also has a history of how an object is created. It seems to me in some ways its actually tracking more information about its objects. I also discovered many of these features are available in its little brother Bonzai, which is under $500. It couldn't replace Vectorworks in my workflow but has caused me to want more for my money. FormZ is certainly not alone (Spaceclaim and others have already been mentioned). Compare something like Cinema 4D. The information and parameters it tracks about objects are many, yet modelling is fast and efficient there (though its polygon modelling, not solids modelling like FormZ). My guess is the parasolid engine is capable but much of the legacy code between it and the end user is holding things back. This is a great discussion to have. Ultimately the wish is for Vectorworks to catch up and become competitive. Architecture is only one of many industries that Vectorworks is used in. The base program needs to be competitive in a more broad based way. Kevin

Ultimately my point is Nemetzchek needs to be fearless in jettisoning what doesn't work, fixing the user interface and getting current. I too have been using the beta of FormZ and its so easy to figure out and quite powerful. Its not quite ready for prime time and as far as I can tell it lacks many of the presentation/workflow management tools needed to use it for a full project end to end. If you look at the price point difference, Vectorworks should be all that at the basic level plus so much more. The parasolid engine must be at least as powerful as the 3D engine in FormZ, mustn't it? The challenge in my business is that every project has different needs. I need to model architectural stuff (venues and realistic set pieces), 12m high draped cloth mountains that I can unfold, and the head of a sphinx that I can produce contours for. But I also need the sheet and presentation tools to create detailed drawing sets. Kevin

Bruce, This is exactly why I keep reverting back to working in Screen Plane only. I wish the \ toggle toggled Automatic / Layer / Screen instead of just turning Automatic on and off. It totally is a mess. The screen mode snaps are so much more useful than the 3D snaps which are really only half functional. And of course anyone who worked in 3D before the screen/layer plane addition is totally dependent on these snaps as part of a workflow... Kevin

Some more examples in this second video - http://www.vectorworking.com/video/discover-formz-7-part-2-visualization-rendering-fabrication-and including unfolding, dynamic sections, etc. As a long time Vectorworks user (since Minicad 5) I am starting to feel like we are being left behind as all these other products leap frog ahead in usability. Ironically I found these FormZ videos posted on the Vectorworking page. From them it looks as though it actually could become a Vectorworks competitor at a $1200 price point.... Kevin

Sam, I couldn't agree more. I was fighting with both stair tools earlier today trying to get the result I wanted. Even in the new FormZ beta there is a parametric stair that seems to update instantaneously - It really is time Vectorworks caught up with the crowd.... Kevin

There are some amazing things in this video of the beta version of FormZ 7. I love that they were fearless enough to redesign their interface, clearly something Nemetzchek could learn from. All of the parametrics seem so easily adjustable in real time and in 3D. Imagine a workflow where modelling was this simple and paired with Vectorworks sheet layers and presentation capabilities. Kevin http://www.vectorworking.com/video/discover-formz-7-part-1-parametric-modeling-in-a-modern-interface

A good wish. I was recently able to create a EAP containing multiple object and was surprised that it worked. This may be a new thing in VW 2012. Kevin

I experimented a bit with your file. The problem is when you select everything and convert to NURBS, its creating NURBS curves from the 3D polygons not NURBS surfaces (not sure why that is, seems like a bug to me to convert a poly "surface" to a NURBS curve). Try this - - select each individual strip of your object, one at a time, and choose Model>Add Solids. It will work for all of the strips but one which seems to have a hidden geometry issue of some sort. - Select each individual strip and choose Modify>Convert>Convert to NURBS. Each strip will convert to a group of NURBS surfaces which will now unfold. - As for the one strip that won't Add together, you can convert them individually (Modify>Convert>Convert to NURBS as a group, then select each NURBS curve and choose Model>Create Surface from Curves). After that, they can be unfolded like the others. Unfortunately they don't unfold into a beautiful connected pattern, but rather a scattered group of shapes. From experience unwrapping complicated crystal shapes involves a lot of manual alignment to get a foldable flat pattern. You might have better luck with something like Rhino or Touchcad if you need to do a lot of these. Kevin

There's an amazing amount of wasted space in that dialog box (yes, I know the second pane is actually the longer one). Generally there is a lot of wasted space in the Vectorworks interface. When you see what can fit into the Cinema 4D interface as an example, its clear Vectorworks needs an overhaul. Kevin

Matt, This is totally doable. The secret is that you need to set the viewport's background render setting to "hidden line" and the foreground render setting to "none" then update the viewport. When you edit the annotations the paint bucket option in the Polygon tool will create shapes as you expect. Hold down shift if you want to add to a shape. When you're done creating your shapes you can change the render settings for the viewport back to anything you want. Cheers, Kevin

Ha, thanks Jonathan. Much appreciated. Though I'd scanned all the preference tabs I assumed it would be under Display. Cheers, Kevin

Somehow this preference got toggled on so now when I switch sheet layers the zoom position jumps around. I've searched everywhere and can't seem to locate the preference option to change it back. Does anyone know where it is? Thanks, Kevin

Mike, Thanks for the tip. It would be nice if back slash key toggled Screen and Layer plane modes as well as allowing for Automatic. Kevin

In my opinion this is a bug. I often get caught by this. (I also doesn't set textures by class when you choose "Make all attributes by class" from the pull down in the Attributes Palette.) Kevin

Thanks Dave. I had wondered if that were true but the implementation seems inconsistent. The custom texture I was having trouble with had Object Attribute Color, Metallic Reflectivity, Image Based Transparency and no Bump. Essentially I was creating a texture like a grating. It wouldn't allow for translations, rotations and scaling yet it needed to and should have. Honestly these options should always be available since, as you say, it doesn't matter for some textures. Inadvertently blocking the options in situation where they may be necessary is not ideal. Kevin

Perhaps, though I've found the "automatic" mode weak if you're trying to draw some 2D guidelines. Many smart cursor snaps and cues that you would normally have access to don't show up unless you force it into screen mode. Kevin

Christiaan, See the "Fingerprinting" thread a few below this one. I suspect that's what may have happened. Kevin

I posted this question in a thread about a week ago. My distributor posed the question to Nemetzchek and here is my understanding of what it means - - Vectorworks library files are fingerprinted and have been since Vectorworks 2010. - Vectorworks 2012 is the first version to have a warning dialog when you open a fingerprinted file. - On a Mac, the word FINGERPRINTED appears next to the file name in the title bar of the drawing window when you are working with a fingerprinted file. - Any file created from a library file (ie. open a library file and then choose save as, give it a new name and use it as the basis to create your own drawing) carries the same fingerprint. - Fingerprinting identifies which modules are needed to use the file (ie. I don't think Fundamentals can open a file that is fingerprinted for Spotlight, Architect, Designer etc.). - The fingerprint apparently does not propagate when you import a resource from a Library or other fingerprinted file (ie. importing a symbol through the Resource Browser) unlike the Educational Watermark. - You can cut and paste the elements from a fingerprinted file into a new file and save it to remove the fingerprinting. In my case I had somehow "fingerprinted" one of my working files for a project. I've never started anything from a Library file that I know of so its a bit of a mystery to me how it happened. Kevin

I agree that the interface needs improvement, however that doesn't solve my immediate challenges. The enabling / disabling of the Scale, Rotation, Offset H and Offset V seems to be related to how a texture is built. As an example, if I edit and add a Bump Shader to a texture that previously had these options greyed out suddenly they become active. Is there a list of which texture attributes affect whether an applied texture can be scaled, rotated, offset etc.? All this trial and error is time consuming and wasteful. Kevin

After having worked with Vectorworks 2012 for a few days I suspect that you may be unhappy with only 256mb of video ram. My Macbook Pro has 512mb of video ram and seems fine for most things. However a couple of large imported PDFs and some geometry heavy models have caused some strobing with the redraws. Kevin

Hello, I am a long time Vectorworks user who has struggled off and on with the Rendering Tab in the OIP. Frankly the documentation is terrible and the interface doesn't help. There is all this power in the background that is barely accessible. (Spend a little time with C4D and you'll know what I mean.) My most recent challenge is that the Scale, Rotation, Offset H and Offset V are greyed out and not accessible. What causes this? I've tried different objects, different textures, different mappings and it just seems locked. I am also curious if there is documentation somewhere about how Vectorworks determines the origin point for a texture on an object. It often seems very random though I'm sure there is some logic to it. The manual pretty much glosses over this... Thank you for any help you can provide, Kevin

Hi Barbara, Is an empty layer active in Vectorworks when you do your export? Both File>Send to Cinema 4D and File>Export>Export Cinema 4D command only export the current active layer. Kevin

Today when I opened an old file in Vectorworks 2012 a dialog popped up to say "this document is fingerprinted" and listed specific products it was marked for. What does this mean? I've never seen this before. Kevin

Ok, that's a great option to know about. I can't say that I've ever thought to look at the Wireframe Options..... KM

I think this would be awesome. I use the existing 3D Powerpack tools all the time and while powerful, they certainly could use updating. The comparison to Cinema 4D is a good one. Vectorworks has good solids modelling, but the power of a robust polygon modelling system and a deformer (in the case of VW fillet, chamfer, addition, subtraction) system for solids would be such a great leap forward. Kevin (an interim improvement could be a 2-way file exchange system for models between C4D and Vectorworks)