ionw

One solution to the autosave interuption, is to set it to a number of operations. In my experience it doesn't interupt you, and the other nice thing is that during those moments of clarity where you are doing a lot of commands quickly to get your idea down, it picks all those saves up. Just set it in the autosave popdown. Based on my experience only, other users mileage may vary.

Archken, to do a French door, set the Astragal Flange and Thickness to zero. It is in the PIO Settings in the General Settings section. I second your call for the ability to rename the styles. HTH

Kevin a.k.a. Henry? no idea where that came from... sorry. I think I remember reading somewhere that OSX has put more and more responsibility on the video card for screen redraws and the like. that would include changes to windows, any window not just the document window. One of the things i am going to do in our office is test the base Nvidea card, the ATI 9600 and the 9800 that is in the machine currently. I will let you know how it turns out.

Henry, the only part of vectorworks that hasn't responded to the Video card that I can find (after a week) is the headings in the Door and window OIP. once the topic has expanded, the updates I make in the various fields take place almost immediately. our reeference notes that are symbols with associated text fields update as fast as I can select them, using tools that I get ahead of like the offset tool where I lose one or more of the numbers that I enter because the computer is lagging behind doesn't happen. So far the VC has made VW a responsive program. If anything new pops up I will let you know

I think I found a semi-solution to this problem. It seems it is the video card. a year ago our office bought the high-end 2.0 Ghz G5 for some FormZ work. It came with the 9600 XT ATI Video Card, I don't recall all the specs, but suffice it to say there was a faster card out there, the 9800. So here was a dual 2.0 Ghz G5 1.5 Gb RAM and a 128 Mb Video Card. Fast forward a year, I just took possession of a current base model 1.8 Ghz G5. This is the "constrained" model, only expandable to 4 GB RAM, no PCI-X cards etc. Why is this exciting you may ask? the answer is this, I took the $500-$1000 I saved, spent $350 on 2 Gb Addt'l RAM, and $330 on a top of the line ATI 9800 XT Special edition video card, that has a much faster processor on it and 256 Mb RAM. In VW 11 this machine is more than four times faster than the other G5. they are running the exact same OS, and are similar in Applications etc. Things that took 20 seconds on my old computer (not the other G5 a dual 533 G4) are nearly instantaneous, and operations that were minutes long only take a few seconds. We have a set of civil improvement drawings that repeated zooms on the 2.0 Ghz machine took 30-45 seconds take 5-10 on this machine. I think it has everything to do with the Video card. I don't feel like swelling ATI's pockets, but getting the fastest card for your current mac may make a bigger difference than a new computer. worth a try especially if you have a try before you buy place... just a thought.

if you have a combination of arcs and lines intersecting (even one) I have found that is there is the most microscopic space in a junction of an arc and a line you will get this behavior. two options, delete and replace the arc, or using the maximum zoom on each arc/line junction make sure there is no space. HTH

Merge Text: Select individual lines of text to combine into one text block for easier editing. Contributor: Paolo Marcuccetti VectorDepot

If I may ask a slightly basic question, why are you using paste in place to go from a import to an existing drawing? If you just want to be close, wouldn't you just zoom to approximately where you wanted your items from the importm, and use the standard paste which would land in your window? at least on the mac, if I click with the cursor that will be a part of the pasted item (I think center) if you are zoomed out. Maybe this isn't what you are trying to achieve, but if t helps....

make sure your caps lock is not on. We have been asking for a long time for a fix for this on the mac. I believe 9.x broke it, and here we are three versions later we still can't right-click on a mac while caps lock is enabled.

Hi Katie, A definitive yes and no! No this symptom isn't happening after a DWG import, but it does occasionally happen in a file that has a base from an import. i.e. import the civil into a blank file, clean it to our specifications, make it a symbol, import that symbol into a existing drawing with our title block and layer scheme, and then use that file as a template to create many lot plans. other people in my office have this switch when working on files created wholly by them. Don't know if this helps... [ 07-06-2004, 06:08 PM: Message edited by: ionw ]

Hi Katie, Now that's and answer! Ok, let's see if we can clear this up, I do mean Versions 9.x, 10.x & 11.x have had this issue with preferences changing. I have several preference toggles (vectorscripts) that alter both the Document and Application preferences (B&W, layer colors, Show others in group, zoom line thickness & Black background) absolutely it is probable that I would use that toggle and then undo something. I notice on my machine anyway, that it often turns offset duplicates back on as well as turning Autosave off. The line weight issue is this, as an office we set our lineweights according to mm's. What happens is that randomly the attribute pallate (and the Set Line Thickness menu) will switch to mils. The lineweights don't change, they maintain the relative thickness, just measured in mils. I've talked to someone from another office who used points as their measue, and that sometimes switched to mm's. This is a minor annoyance, as all it takes to switch back is choose set line thickness and click the mm radio button. I understand about the school thing, I went back to school three years ago too, some idea of getting my license.... crazy I know. at the moment I am working, going to school, working on my own remodel, and trying to be a husband and a father, it certainly gets confusing after a while. thanks for the info! It really helps

Small rant warning, but it gets better as you go along. I'm trying the counting to 10 before pressing send so please finish before getting out the flamethrower With all due respect Katie, these (Line Weight) are settings that change on my computer in addition to the preferences that are referenced in this topic. Maybe I am some doltish amateur in the CAD/Computer arena, but line weight settings are simply another preference. Yes set in a different place, but it is my preference whether I want my line weights in mils or in mm or in points. If it changes on its own, it is the same as Offset Duplicates turning on when I have set it to be off, or the Autosave function turning off when I have turned it on. Maybe these are completely separate places in the code that makes up VW, in the end that doesn't matter to me, the end user, it is still a setting that VW is changing without my interaction. So in that way, wrong or not, I see it as the same thing. Katie, I don't assume it is YOUR responsibility to find and fix every problem, however I do believe it is NNA's responsibility. In the end that is what we are paying for when we buy these tools. I have worked in and studied software development, so I know that these aren't simple things that can be fixed on a whim. While you are one the most prolific of the NNA team especially on the general discussion board, you are not the only one. I responded to you because you dropped in. If that was perceived as a personal attack and a diminishing of your very positive influence on the board I humbly apologize. I appreciate your usually informative and candid answers. I have always enjoyed the times when the boards fail and I call tech support. Maybe I didn't take the best approach in getting attention, but in the end this problem, and the caps lock problem have been around for three versions. I have experienced it, my coworkers have experienced it, other people on the board have experienced it. That being said, that is why I felt the board is an excellent place for this problem, it is an annoyance. there are workarounds. It isn't a work stoppage. It isn't a bad thing that one has to remember to go check your preferences, so one is aware of one's working environment. We know this doesn't work, so while we are pissed when we lose work to a file corruption and we don't have a current backup due to VW changing the setting on its own, in the end we know that we are at fault because we didn't check the setting. Kind of like having an oil leak in your car and not checking the level before you drive, you know it is an issue, so check it. On the other hand if the mechanic would fix it, our life gets simpler, and that is a good thing. All I was trying to illustrate with the topic links was that this problem has been around for a while. I can't help it if those complainants didn't respond. I tried to point out in my original post for this topic, that I have done what was suggested and more and the problem still exists. The two reports I've heard of this problem (on the message board) are VW 11 only and the only two I've heard of. I am in discussions with the testing and engineering team regarding this issues. I believe that in my original post I gave you both version 10.5 and Version 11. The topic link I included, responded to or not, describes the problem in version 10.5. and the other a similar seeming probem in Windows. I also have never understood why it is only my VW preferences gets consistently corrupted. I have had others but it is a one time fix. Or once in a blue moon anyway. Katie, I really don't have a bone to pick with you, as I said before you are a wonderful asset to NNA, and they need to pay you more to make sure you don't go back to school and onward like Matt G. did. Sometimes all that is required is a simple hey you know that is a stupid little thing that happens, and we haven't locked down the cause yet. We are all adults here (whether we act like it or not...) we can handle an answer like that. We've all been there. We have clients calling too, maybe we haven't figured how to make their space accessible, or whatever, sometimes we have to tell them. Again a I apologize for the way I asked for attention on the board. In the end it was disrespectful of the job you and others at NNA do. My reasoning, however flawed the execution, was simply that I have noticed that once a post drops 10 or fifteen spots it doesn't get picked up. I have almost always gotten good responses on the board, from users and from those of NNA that patrol the boards, and felt that this was a problem that was best suited for the boards, as you pointed out it is random in nature, so it is impossible to call you and say, "well it's been 2 minutes it hasn't changed yet," ad infinitum. What was I going to say about the Caps lock problem? "well I've got it enabled, I can't bring up a contextual menu, I disabled it and now contextual menus work." You guys already know about it, again this has been something you and I have talked about on the phone when I've called about other issues. I am appreciative of your commitment Katie, and it disturbs me that I raised you ire to such a level. Can we still be friends?

Not to be snarky (honest), but how long have you or NNA been looking into it? I have mentioned it to you (katie) directly during tech support conversations regarding other issues. I did a quick search of the boards and found three versions of VW having this problem. This is kind of like the Caps lock button locking out ctrl(right)-click on the mac, a problem NNA has been aware of but done nothing about. Oddly enough Architects have been know to write in all caps, you know occasionally... thanks for the interest I keep losing VW preferences during a session 10.5 Preferences keep changing VW loses its preferences

yeah the annoying part is that it has come up before with no answer. Thanks Peter, I am the "official" VW technology guy here at Pults, so my workspace is a barely modified Architect Workspace exactly for that reason. Not only was the workspace creted wholly in V11, but the file too was created wholly in V11. thanks for the interest

Is this a boring question no one wants to answer?

Has anyone ever figured out why VW preferences randomly change (at least on the Mac) Just now I was just working along, I went into the preferences to briefly turn off adjust flipped text, while I was there verified that the rest of my settings (Offset Duplicates [off] & Autosave [on] ) , went back into prefs and unchecked adjust flipped text, worked for about 15 minutes, duplicated something and it offest my duplicate, went back to preferences and lo and behold Offset duplicates was on and Autosave was off. I am a good little CAD monkey, I repair permissions often, I run DiskWarrior 3 often, in the past have reformatted the drive and did a clean install of OS and VW yet it still happens. Is this a known issue, is it possible to fix, What in the heck is going on? currently G4 dual 533/1.5 Gb RAM/10.3.4 VW 11.0 Has happened VW10.5.1 PB 17" 1 Ghz/512 Mb RAM other flavors of VW but don't remember all the specifics so won't bore you with it.

If there is I haven't found it, I have had problems with Smart Cursor cues, Offset Duplicates and Autosave toggling off independently in VW9, VW10 & VW11, in OS 10.2 and 10.3. I have trashed prefs, repaired permissions, ran diskwarrior, dealt with the cron tasks, made new user accounts, complete format and reinstall, and that gremlin comes back. I haven't had changes happen in my drawing that I have noticed, but the prefs definitely toggle off on their own. Drives me out of my mind.

A crude workaround we have used, is to duplicate the object you want hatched and place it on another layer. That way you have a hollow outline on your working layers and a hatched version on the presentation layers. When you work you turn the layers with the hatching off, and when you print turn them on. crude, but it works. HTH

Once I get to the office, ah the Pacific time zone....

thanks for the reply Dan. I really shouldn't have used a concrete example for this. I am fully calibrated and have a little bit of knowledge of color. In general, importing various image files, .tif .jpeg .pict, or opening a VW 10 file with a embedded image, I am finding that it is over saturating the colors. Makes them sexy but unrealistic. anyone else seeing this?

Has anyone noticed that images imported (PNG compression) seem overly saturated? I was importing a Flattened photoshop file and the colors are bordering on being too rich. any thoughts?

Thanks Andrew, I have been using workgroup referencing for solving most of our corrupted file problems, at least the ones that wouldn't open up otherwise. In hindsight this would have been an excellent method of troubleshooting this file.

Thanks Bruce. It is nice to have a solution.

It seems that NNA is having a few bugs that are only being fixed by a paid upgrade. So far this topic & minimizing issues. I am willing to accept the fact that importing ACAD 2004 is a feature that is in VW11 and won't be added to VW10. I don't believe that not fixing known bugs in VW10 just because VW11 is out. We are almost all professionals who are earning a living with our skills, knowledge and imagination. You provide us with ?in my opinion? an excellent tool to convey our concepts to our clients, building officials, and contractors. As good a release as VW11 is, it is a unacceptable risk to upgrade to an unproven version. I am not a Cassandra, nor am I going proclaim that VW is now useless and I am going to go to a competing product if NNA chooses not to fix some of these outstanding issues. I will be disappointed, as I have used this package for years, I have enjoyed talking with the support staff. I still maintain that NNA has one of the best support staffs of all the products I use. They are knowledgeable and best of all if they don't know why something is happening they tell you. I don't know why this decision was made. I don't know if the only way to fix these problems was to change the underlying architecture of the program so the fix would be impossible to apply to VW10. In the end, if you notice I, nor Fred, even asked for this to be fixed, we simply asked how to avoid it. So please, will you please tell us how to, or if it is possible to, avoid this in VW10?

I am going to go with Fred here, if NNA won't patch VW10 for a known bug?if we go with historical precedent, they won't?we at least should be told how to minimize our exposure. If it is a known bug, and NNA figured out how to fix it in VW11, then we should be able to get information on how to avoid it. thanks, P.S. and no I am not going to post this and forget about it, I will continute to post here until I get an answer one way or another.