Kevin McAllister
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Posts posted by Kevin McAllister
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I agree. Better sorting in of both Viewports and Sheet Layers would be great.
And fix the double naming of Viewports that has been created by the drawing co-ordination feature added in 2010. It should of been implemented with a check box allowing the use of the Viewport name as the drawing name, not by introducing a whole other name field, especially when the PDF bookmark option uses the Viewport name. Too many things to name in big files.... especially when its double entry.
Kevin
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Donald,
I think you'll find the boxes are created because the Draw Edges option is turned on for OpenGL rendering. If you are looking for objects with outlines in a Sheet Layer Viewport, try using OpenGL with Draw Edges turned off for your Background Render and Hidden Line for your Foreground Render.
I've attached an image as an example.
The Draw Edges option can be turned off for a Viewport by clicking the Background Render Settings button in the Object Info Palette while a Viewport is selected. If you are working in a design layer, it can be turned off in the menus under View>Rendering>OpenGL Options
Hope this helps,
Kevin
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After a long time of being a Vectorworks champion (since Minicad 5), I am finding myself starting to agree. I have just completed an entire project based on a 3D workflow and using Sheet Layers to detail it. I've used many architectural tools (ie. walls) that I've never spent much time with in the past. While I think the workflow has great merit, the number of frustrations I've encountered have been greater than ever before. With tools that feel ill thought out or incomplete, a disorganized interface, a few bugs, and too many workarounds now part of the workflow, I'm beginning to look around to see what else is out there. It's very disheartening and frankly it should just work.
My two cents....
Kevin
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Gregory,
You can do something like you describe using the Split Tool (it looks like an Exacto knife) using the third mode, Trim by Line. It will cut through various types of objects, including 3D.
Kevin
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With the line selected choose Modify>Drafting Aids>Line into Segments
KM
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Ok, so here's a discovery that was new to me, so I thought I would share it. If you give the Pen of a 3D object a pattern, it will appear as though the line is dashed or dotted. The result can vary somewhat depending on your render mode.
I've posted an image and a sample file as well. I am rendering in Hidden Line
Kevin
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Thanks Pat. I will submit it.
Cheers,
Kevin
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I agree that its all a bit confusing. I must admit I've never used the Join menu command. I use Compose and Decompose all the time. It is especially useful for joining Nurbs curves in 3d. I also use the surface (add, intersect, subtract) constantly.
It feels like there could be some house cleaning to streamline things (ie. add surface and add solids could (and should) be the same command by adding 2d/3d awareness). In the vain of this thread, I found:
Trim (Menu command)
Join (Menu command)
Compose
Decompose
Trim (Tool)
Connect/Combine (Tool)
Split (Tool)
which all perform related functions to lines. As I said before, Vectorworks has unfortunately become the Microsoft Excel of the CAD world. Powerful features hidden by an out of control interface.
Kevin
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Is there a way to set the default width of the Sheet Name column in the Navigation Palette? I have to drag it wider every time I reopen Vectorworks. I've attached an image of how the column starts.
Thanks,
Kevin
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Hello,
Does anyone know what can cause the options to Export to earlier versions of Vectorworks to be greyed out in the File>Export menu? It seems to be specific to one file.
Thanks,
Kevin
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Hi there,
Try this -
1) Set the layer scale you want to work at first by right clicking and choosing Active Layer Scale.
2) Import the PDF using File>Import>Import PDF.
3) Select the PDF and choose Modify>Scale Objects
4) Choose Symetric by Distance. Choose the Current Distance by clicking on the dimension icon. Click two points on the PDF where you know the dimension. Enter the known dimension in the New Distance box. Make sure the Entire Drawing checkbox is NOT checked. Hit OK.
Your PDF should now be at the same scale as the working layer.
You may want to add a signature to your profile that details your computer setup and Vectorworks version.
Kevin
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Ok, so I discovered part of the problem seems to be having the doors open in 3D.
K
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Is there a way to properly map a texture onto a door? I have a parametric door object which I have assigned the inner/outer leaf parts to a style class. When I assign a wood texture to the class it maps onto the door as vertical lines. I did a test with the same texture and extruded rectangle which was much more successful.
Thanks,
Kevin
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I don't think its a font problem either. And I wouldn't doubt if it was related to SP3, since I have never had it happen before.
As an aside, you can do Batch PDF (Export) that works if you click the separate files checkbox. A plus I've discovered is that when I combine the files using Acrobat, you get a proper bookmark for each sheet (its the first time I've actually found the bookmarks created by Vectorworks to be useful actually).
Kevin
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Hmmm, I had this exact problem with my current project. Its not a problem I've ever experienced before and I use Export PDF (Batch) all the time. I have also used the same font (Avant Garde Gothic) for years. It was also fixed by exporting them individually.
Kevin
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There is an good editorial about it here (especially page 2) -
http://architosh.com/2010/05/sledgehammer-autocad-for-mac-beta-in-the-wild/
The Youtube video is also interesting. A focus on improving how people interface with CAD could encourage their competitors (read as benefit Vectorworks users) as well.
KM
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I checked this symbol out for curiosity sake and all I can say is wow. As Michael says, I could easily have been made with a few simple solids. I downloaded the DWG file thinking it might be an easy way to explain how to build a symbol on your own. Unfortunately its not any better. All of the curves are made up of facetted line segments.
Its amazing to me that files are posted in this essentially unusable condition. I suspect they don't work in either Vectorworks or Autocad and have only converted files as a "convenience" for the end user.
Kevin
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Perhaps I'm missing something here, but here goes -
- draw the whole face frame as one piece. There are various ways to do this. I drew the individual rectangles and used the Add Surface command under the Modify Menu. I noticed the vertical stile in the middle is set back and separate so I drew it separately from the frame.
- extrude the face frame. extrude the stile.
-fillet the face frame. Fillet the stile.
-cut the face frame back into individual "boards" using the Split Tool in the Split by Line mode.
Kevin
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I wish we could select a Bitmap Object in Vectorworks and convert it to an Image Resource. See various options described in my question below.
Kevin
This may be a very dumb question, but is there a way to convert an bitmap element within Vectorworks (ie. a cut and pasted image, an imported jpg image, or a bitmap created with the Render Bitmap tool) into a useable image resource (useable as a texture, fill image, image prop etc.)?It seems like there should be an easy way... but things aren't always what they seem....
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Thanks Ray. I suspected as much but it never hurts to ask. It seems that you should be able to convert in Vectorworks....
Kevin
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Ok, so today I discovered the Fine Tune Camera dialog. This is one of the most intuitive things I have ever found in Vectorworks. It is awesome.
So the wishes -
(1) to be able to select a Camera as the source view for a Viewport (yes I know there are ways to do this, but I would like the Viewport to be directly linked to the Camera, so when the Camera is updated, so is the Viewport).
(2) to be able to adjust a Viewport view using a dialog similar to the Fine Tune Camera dialog.
Kevin
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This may be a very dumb question, but is there a way to convert an bitmap element within Vectorworks (ie. a cut and pasted image, an imported jpg image, or a bitmap created with the Render Bitmap tool) into a useable image resource (useable as a texture, fill image, image prop etc.)?
It seems like there should be an easy way... but things aren't always what they seem....
Thanks,
Kevin
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Preston,
I think I know what the problem may be. Go into Vectorworks Preferences (Tools>Options>Vectorworks Preferences), click on the Display tab, and then click on the Edit Font Mappings button. If there is a list of Font Mappings, delete them. I suspect you may be mapping some fonts to Arial.... so they don't show up as themselves, but as Arial instead.
Kevin
Can't open an older vectorworks drawing HELP
in General Discussion
Posted
I have always wondered why there isn't an online translation resource. Upload your old file and get emailed a link to your converted file. I can't imagine it would be hard to do and would save all of us long time users from having to have older systems (ie. Classic Mac OS) to translate certain versions).
Kevin