Kevin McAllister

Is there a way to prevent Vectorworks Adobe Air Help from resetting to the start page every time you choose it in the dock to switch back to it? Switching between the help viewer and Vectorworks can't be an uncommon task.... Adobe Air has to be one of the most aggravating pieces of software I've ever used. It is constantly resetting itself and seems to update itself almost every time its run. Not very user friendly at all. Kevin

Make sure you are importing the PDF using Import PDF not Import Image File. In some instances Import PDF may need to be added to your workspace. While the PDF will import both ways, Import Image File places a raster image, not a snap-able vector based PDF. Kevin

I find VW 2011 really lags in some instances, even in brand new files. I'm not sure what's up but something is definitely not right. Kevin

There was a bit of discussion about the units issue here - http://techboard.nemetschek.net/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=29777&Number=145580#Post145580 Kevin

Thanks to all for their advice. In the end I took what it generated and re-ordered it myself. Petri, its true I could have easily created a report but it would have been missing the visuals. I tend to use the key more for identifying symbols and turned the counting part of it off. I'm surprised there is not an option for combining a visual for a symbol with a worksheet. Knowing that it probably sorts based on symbol insertion order helps for new documents. This is what I suspected the order was. In the end, I suspect a wish list item might be a field in the lighting instrument record that numbers a instrument type's position in the key (and also in the Lightwright instrument maintenance sort order). I think each designer's key order may be personal preference. I tend to order by manufacturer and then type. As an example - Altman 6" Fresnel Altman 6x9 Altman 6x12 Strand 3380 Fresnel Strand 6x9 Strand 6x12 ETC Parnel ETC Source 4-40? Thanks again, Kevin

Is there a way to organize the order of the key / inventory count? Thanks, Kevin

Peter, Instead of pasting into Vectorworks without anything selected, choose the text tool, click into the document as if you were going to create text and then paste. Things should behave a lot better. Kevin

This would be awesome. KM

Hi Nathan, One trick when creating new layers and classes is to duplicate an existing one and rename it. If you use the duplicate method, the layer/class will be turned on in any viewport that contained the layer/class you duplicated. HTH, Kevin

This is an imperial/metric conversion problem you're seeing. I did some experimenting and it looks like the units need to be MM in Cinema 4D for the import to work. I suspect Cinema 4D files do not carry unit information. I could get everything to go across at the proper size as long as the document units in Vectorworks were metric and the unit preference in Cinema 4D was MM. It didn't seem to matter which metric unit was chosen in Vectorworks. I would support a wish that cleared up the scaling issue during export. Kevin

Horst, Do you have Save Viewport Cache turned on in the Document Preferences? Although it means you don't have to re-render viewports after loading a file, it certainly does increase your file size. It also looks like you may be using the Human Figure tool to generate your figures. If you are, I would class them so you can turn them off in the section viewport. I have had files slow down considerably whenever they are used. If you're only interested in the geometry along the section line, you could limit your section under Advanced Properties in the Object Info Palette. You can also change your 3D Conversion Resolution there as well, which could help your memory issues. Kevin

In my experience, the page outline is just another object on the sheet layer. The sheet layer origin itself cannot be changed, but the relationship of objects to it can. The easiest way to set the page back to its original 0,0 location is to double click on the Page Move icon in the tool palette. The page will just back to the origin. Kevin

Here is my observation about the new 2D/3D implementation so far - - think of it as 2D objects in 3D space because that's how they're being treated. The objects remain 2D and edit as 2D only they are oriented on a 3D plane other than the layer plane. - because of the above, the 2D objects behave as 2D objects in rendered views. This is even more so in viewports. Starling75's example shows that (ie. the text box not just the text renders in many render modes). Text is also heavily affected by your viewport resolution in modes other than wireframe. - Dimensions don't necessarily behave as you would expect in rendered views. Some of this is a function of the dimension tool itself, which I think needs to be rebuilt by Nemetzchek from scratch so the dimension line actually breaks at the text instead of just being masked by the text fill. Generally it feels a bit like Vectorworks has 3 modes - 2D, 2 1/2D and 3D. Interesting 2D planar objects are exported as a texture on a plane to Cinema 4D. Bear in mind I've only played for a few hours. Lots of other stuff to discover. Overall the upgrade feels pretty good.... Kevin

Please add the Spotlight Toolset to the Designer Workspace by default in future releases. Obviously I can and do add it myself when I create my custom workspace. It makes sense to create my custom workspace using a copy of the most complete (ie. Designer) workspace as a starting point. Because I am adding the Spotlight Toolset in the workspace editor, instead of having its nice spotlight icon it shows up as the generic wrench. This is not so intuitive..... :-( Kevin

I've only spent a couple of hours with 2011 but there are a bunch of small tweaks that I quite like. So far my favorite is the ability to have toggle buttons at the right side of the mode bar to toggle some of the most used preference like Zoom Line Thickness and Show Other Objects While In Edit Modes. Kevin

I have had this happen before. My understanding was it was a memory issue. As an experiment, I would try reducing the sheet layer resolution and see if it works then. I remember deleting an rebuilding my viewport to fix it when it happened to me. Kevin

Have you tried outputting it as a PDF first and then printing the PDF? (Export PDF is your best option if you are running a design series version of Vectorworks, but Print>Save PDF will also work). To attach at file you need to select full screen Reply instead of Quick Reply. Kevin

What rendering mode are you using? It looks like wireframe mode given that the stairs and truss are also not solid. Try View>Rendering>OpenGL Perhaps add your version of Vectorworks and some details about your computer to your signature. Kevin

Mitchell, I think what you're trying to do is possible in Vectorworks, but there may be a better way to approach it. The work I did on this - http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/2625618.bin?size=620x400 especially its centre crystal, is very much what you're trying to do (the finished shape has a lot of variation in the material surfaces, but the original templates were planar). Adding/Subtracting can do some of the work, but its not the best method. Does your shape always fail at the same place? It may really be an error. I would try a method using Nurbs or 3D polygons. Because your shapes are mostly triangles, it is actually easy to build this way. For each intersection, place a 3D loci and move it up or down in 3D space using 3D move (Modify>Move>Move 3D) depending on how you want the surface to go. Using either the 3D Polygon tool or the Nurbs Curve tool (set your curve degree to 1 in the preference from the mode bar), carefully connect your points making each triangle individually. Be very careful with any surfaces that have more than 3 points as they will probably twist, even if you can't see it. If you make all the surfaces carefully, making sure the points snap, you can combine them into a solid if needed, using Model>3D Powerpack>Stitch and Trim Surfaces. You can also use the work you've already done by selecting your objects and choosing Modify>Convert>Convert to Nurbs. If you don't start fresh, look closely to see if you can discover what is causing your error. Which version of Vectorworks are you using? I would suggest adding a signature that details your computer and Vectorworks info. I did my original work in Vectorworks 2009. It should be much easier to achieve in a newer version. I'll be curious to see how you make out. Kevin

Another teaser about text - I hope we get proper formatting for bulleted lists, where all the lines after the first indent correctly..... Kevin

Looks like a good step forward. I would assume you could select all the circles and push/pull them together. I would love to see some bigger changes to the UI. Things that keep your focus in the drawing/3D model. As an example, how about the mode bar options for a tool showing up below the heads up display, allowing you to cycle through them with a single key..... sorta like I mocked up below for the polyline tool.... I am looking forward to taking VW 2011 for a spin! Kevin

How the fonts behave is defined by the pen attributes settings. From the manual - Current their attributes must be set to "By Class" in the original symbol since they are taking on the setting of the Border element. Kevin

Alan, You can draw 3D lines using the Nurbs Curve tool, with the curve degree set to 1 in the mode bar, and with the 3D polygon tool. The advantage to the Nurbs curves option is you can combine them using Modify>Compose into a single path for use with the Extrude Along Path command. You'll find that 3D lines imported from Autocad come in as one of these forms. Kevin

Angie, I wrote about one way to correct this here - http://techboard.nemetschek.net/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=144140#Post144140 If you set the smoothing angle, it will clean up your hidden line drawing. Kevin

Orso, Thanks for this! It greatly improves the workflow and testing. I am looking forward to learning more about Vectorscript as I work with it. Kevin