Kevin McAllister

The new gallery has a nice modern feel. I wish that the interface was a little better. The navigation buttons shouldn't move with the resize for each image.... you should be able to leave the mouse pointer in one spot and just click to move forward....clunky... KM

It sounds like this is what you are trying to achieve. The easiest way to model the fabric is to draw the shape in plan and extrude it. I would recommend offsetting it slightly from the truss (I used 1/16") otherwise the truss/fabric overlap will show when rendering. Alternately you could give the fabric a slight thickness. Kevin

I have found some tools can be finicky at times. I tried again with my own example and found that I had to use the third mode for the Split Tool (Trim by Line, where you select the side to keep with the third click). The second mode (Split by Line) gave me the same results as you. I you post an example file, I am happy to give it a go and see if I can trim the shape. Kevin

The operation fails because the profile curve used to create the spiral is large enough to overlap onto itself. In my example, I was able to subtract a rectangular solid from the thinner spiral on the right. I was not from the overlapping spiral on the left. You can, however, use the Split tool (it looks like an X-acto knife) to trim the overlapping spiral (that's how I flattened the top). Hope this helps. Kevin

Is what you're referring to as "jitters" the disconnected nature of the lines in my screen grab (see file link below)? I have had this happen before. It was a result of accidentally scaling a group of selected objects but not noticing at the time. I was able to duplicate a similar result using the Resize tool. Unfortunately the Autocad-type workflow of using individual lines makes a drawing more susceptible to this type of error than an using an object based approach. Perhaps when you were shifting the whole drawing, you grabbed a scale handle accidentally. It looks as though it may have only been the SectionCutScale class that was editable at the time. My two cents, Kevin

Has anyone successfully used Vectorworks to generate/export 3d models for 3d printing? I am curious about the process and the specifics of the model itself (ie. does it need to be surfaces, generic solids, nurbs etc.). I am also curious about getting the scaling right for the final output. It seems most 3d printers accept 3DS, STL, VRML files (some of which Vectorworks can export). Kevin

The non-snapping nature of extrude along path is something that needs to be improved. KM

Just a guess, but are you trying to do something like the attached? If you change your view to look at the side of your ramp, you can draw the correct polygon there. Without changing views, choose Extrude from the Model menu. You will probably need to adjust the position of the new object in Plan view, as it extrudes on the working plane. Funny I've never even tried the Ramp tool. Its clearly designed for architecture and not very intuitive for scenery design. I would want to choose the start height/end height (or alternately ramp height), length and width. Kevin

This is a great suggestion. KM

Are you using a Sheet layer for each drawing in a set? If you are, you can batch select a group of them and edit the Page Setup (right click on the selected sheets in the Navigation Palette and choose Edit). Kevin

I am curious to hear how others are using Vectorworks for 3D modelling in non-architectural applications. I have been following the various threads here about Vectorworks vs. Revit, the quality of Vectorworks as a freeform modeller, BIM and Vectorworks etc. for a while now and have some concerns about the perceived future of Vectorworks. I have been using Vectorworks since Minicad 5. At the time, I chose it for various reasons, not the least of which was its design intuitiveness. I would say its design based approach has gotten lost in the complexity (clutter) of the last few versions, though Vectorworks 2010 does get marks for pushing back in that direction. I work in the Entertainment Industry where every project is unique and different. The things I design live within architecture but are not architecture. I have experimented with most of the tools in Vectorworks (I am running Designer w/Renderworks) and more recently completed a project where I pushed the limits of the 3D modelling in terms of tools and shapes. I would say there are a few key things that I would like the future of Vectorworks to hold: Interoperability - On my most recent project, I interacted daily with a technical department using Autocad, visualization being done with 3D Studio Max. Photoshop and Maya, and projection and lighting departments using various versions of Vectorworks. I interacted with Rhino for some more difficult modelling challenges that Vectorworks couldn't handle. Many of our subcontractor were using other products including Solidworks and Cinema 4D. Object Consistency - Treat all objects equally. Unified view is a step in the right direction, but it needs to be seamless, not just another layer of record keeping. All objects (lines, shapes, images, dimensions, text, gradients, hatches) need to be either screen plane or 3D. Powerful modelling - look at the likes of other 3D modellers that are appearing. The Parasolid core needs to be fully implemented and leveraged, even at the demise of legacy tools. I have been experimenting with Cinema 4D. Imagine Vectorworks with Cinema 4D quality freeform modelling tools while keeping its own 2D drafting/detailing toolset and graphic presentation capabilities. Unified interface - No more tools or menu commands. So many things are duplicated. Design the interface for efficiency. Combine tools and functions so they are accessed with Control/Option/Command/Shift modifiers, not new tools. Other packages have boiled down to the basics - Move, Scale, Rotate - and the many variations there of. Work on the core first as it will benefit all of the Industry series. I suspect this may be a unique view of the Vectorworks future because non-architectural users are the minority, but I thought I would at least start the discussion. Kevin

My understanding is Vectorworks doesn't see triangles as triangles but rather as polygons. The centre you snap to is actually the centre of the bounding box for the "polygon". Try rotating the triangle and you'll see the "centre" moves. I would agree that the true centre is found using the bisectors as you've shown in your second example. I have also used Model>Engineering Properties to place a locus at the centre of objects. It seems to work in the case of your triangle. Kevin

It would actually be better if it weren't a new tool, but rather a keyboard modifier such as Shift incorporated into an existing tool (Clip in this case) to activate the Add function..... KM

As Michael says, you need to switch on Unified View (called Stacked Layers in versions earlier than VW2010). It can be found under the View menu or in the first row of the mode bar at the top of the screen. I have attached an image of the icon. For it to work properly, all of the layers you want to see need to be in the same scale and you need to select Show others, Show/Snap Others or Show/Snap/Modify Others from the Layer Options menu (Also under View or at the top of the Navigation Palette). Please consider adding a signature to your Community Board profile (above under My Stuff->Edit Profile which includes your system setup and version of Vectorworks. Kevin

I believe there is a checkbox to turn this on and off under Page Setup. (Its there in VW 2009, I don't have VW2010 on the machine I'm sitting at so I can't confirm for 2010.) Choose a Sheet Layer in the Navigation Palette, right click and choose Edit, then click Page Setup. This setting is custom for each individual Sheet Layer. KM

You will find it as a menu command under Modify>Drafting Aids>Line into Segments in the Designer series. Its been there for many versions..... The Arc variations are a little newer. Kevin

Certainly you can hold down Shift to constrain proportions (I use it all the time), but it doesn't give you the accuracy of the Object Info Palette. On the topic of using shift, it would be nice if adding Option always scaled around the centre point of an object (try it, it works with a rectangle as an example, but not an octagon). KM

I would like the ability to lock/unlock an objects proportions in the Object Info Palette much like you can in Illustrator. This option should default on for imported images. Then you could enter an x dimension and have the y change in proportion. It would also be useful for all sorts of geometric objects, both 2D and 3D. This functionality already exists for Image Props with the Lock Aspect Ratio checkbox. KM

It would be great if the normal of a nurbs plane was reversed automatically when you mirrored it. (I realized it may already be doing this. My wish is that the duplicate created when mirroring had the "good" surface out just as the original does.) KM

For simple shapes you can use Unfold Surfaces in the Model menu. For anything more complex you probably need to explore something like http://www.touchcad.com/ which has Vectorworks import/export options. KM

I use the convention of adding a leading 0 below 10 (ie. 01 02 03) so that things in Vectorworks order properly. If you have more than 100 sheets, you would need to add zeros to fill out to 3 digits. KM

This inconsistency between rendering on a sheet layer vs. a design layer is very common and a real weakness in my opinion. Clearly two different rendering engines are being used. Kevin

I have had similar problems with 3D symbols. It often seems to happen when things are "nested" (when I say nested, I am referring to anything that you double click on to edit. I would consider extrudes nested, as are things like solid additions/subtractions and groups). Do the culprit symbols behave the same way if you convert the extrudes to generic solids? Kevin

Have you tried the Stipple tool? It allows you to draw a polygon and fill it with pattern shapes. It is fairly adjustable in terms of patterning. KM

I am guessing the "vertical scale" you are creating is a grouping of 2D objects you have created on the screen plane while working in an elevation view (front, back, left, right) on the design layers. This may not get you what you want. Dimensions, text and other notations are not 3D objects and live in the screen plane. They can be transferred to the new layer plane of VW2010, but they will not display as you expect. When on the sheet layer, make sure that "project screen objects" and "display planar objects" are checked for your viewport. You'll probably find that your 2D "vertical scale" that you drew doesn't display the way you expected. You are better off to mark vertical dimensions and references using annotations for your viewport. Double click (or right click) on the viewport and choose annotations. Anything you draw in the annotations area will be in scale with your viewport. HTH, Kevin