Andrew Bell@NV

quote: Originally posted by mickey: Why can I only rotate hybrid objects on the "Z" axis? A hybrid object in VectorWorks is an object aligned with the ground plane with a 2-D image for plan views and a 3-D model for all other views. A 2-D image can be rotated around the Z axis and would still correspond with the rotated 3-D geometry, but this doesn't hold if you do a generic rotation. If you have a hybrid object whose 3-D geometry you want to rotate arbitrarily, ungroup it and delete the 2-D image part or convert it to 3-D polygons or nurbs.

Have you tried extracting layers from it by workgroup referencing it from another file?

A simple request for any future version of VW. Can it be made possible to move and rotate reference files. Create a layer link to the referenced layer, and move and rotate that.

quote: Originally posted by P Retondo: Biplap & Kaare, where do I find the command to import an IGES file? I can find "Export IGES" under File->Import/Export . . . oops, I found it in my Workspace editor and added it to the menu! But the object I get, although it is identified as a NURBS surface, is "kinky," not smooth the way it looks in Rhino. The nurbs curves that aligned with the surface in Rhino are no longer aligned, and are composed of a series of chords. Is there some kind of limitation involved here? Degree, number of nodes, something else? What is your 3-D conversion resolution preference set to? Select the File->Preferences->VectorWorks Preferences... menu item and check what it's set to under the 3-D tab. If it's low or medium, raise it.

The system for determining what program runs when you click on a file (in Explorer, Finder, etc.) is different for each operating system. In Mac OS X, Do a Get Info on one of the files, modify the "Open With" setting to use the full VW program, and select the Change All option so it applies to all VW documents. In Windows, Explorer has the Tools->Folder Options menu command, select the file type tab, and change the .MCD file type to open the full VW program.

What kind of single object are you using for the back of the truck? You could probably convert it to 3-D polygons and texture each side separately.

Typically, layers are for physically separate objects, classes are for objects of specific type. In a building model, for example, each floor might be a layer. Classes might separate HVAC, walls, electrical, plumbing, etc. Objects are only visible if *both* their layer and class are visible.

If your other layers are in a different scale than the active layer, or the layers are not all in top/plan view, you cannot snap to objects on other layers. Classes are not "on" particular layers. Each object in the drawing has an associated class. From your phrasing, it sounds like you have a misunderstanding of how classes work.

How does it look if you convert the solids to nurbs?

To clarify, VectorWorks has a document-wide stacking order for layers. Viewports do not have their own ordering. If you want to stack layers in a viewport in a different order than the document-wide order, you'll have to do the multiple viewport technique you suggest. If you create one viewport, then copy and paste in place twice, you can then just edit the visible layers for each viewport and they should stay aligned.

It only shows the position and dimensions in plan view. This has been the case for a number of VectorWorks versions.

If you have lots of complicated, identical lighting trusses, make symbols of them. An instance of a symbol takes much less room than a complex object. Generic solids are really only smaller than non-generic solids, they don't do much for reducing other object types. Do you have much image data in your file?

What Version/Variant (ARCHITECT, SPOTLIGHT, etc.) of VectorWorks do you have? In VW ARCHITECT, I think you find "Floor..." under the AEC menu. If you can't find it, try using the workspace editor, where it should be available under AEC in the menus tab.

Us NNA peons don't get to announce upcoming versions or hint as to when they're coming out.

quote: Originally posted by Adam E: I have a small sample... how can I send to you? Send it to me at the e-mail address below. Is the problem with two instances of the same symbol, with the front one not hiding the rear? Just after I sent my initial response, I remembered that there's also that issue. Again, it'll be fixed in our next update, and my apologies for the inconvenience. (If that's the case with your sample file, it's probably fixed, but you can send it to me and I'll verify that it will be fixed.)

quote: Originally posted by grantvz: I've noticed that my hidden line renderings are not complete in VW11, either in viewport mode or on design layers. If you have smallish examples you can send my way, I'd like to take a look at them. The only known issue I have (and have fixed for our next release) is an issue with viewing certain objects in perspective views, so if your renderings are orthogonal, I'd like to see them.

Have you checked if the command is available in the workspace editor, and just isn't in your workspace?

Alternatively, you can ungroup the roof and you will get the component roof faces, which can be used in solid operations.

VectorWorks does not maintain a temporary file of this nature.

What kind(s) of renderings are you doing, Tasfire? OpenGL, RenderWorks, hidden line, polygon?

It might be possible to rig up a script that does a similar operation. If the subtracting object is turned into a symbol, editing that symbol would then affect all the solids. Ungroup the symbol and edit if you want to change only the active instance. The fast way to do this currently would be to convert the hole profile to a symbol with the leave instance in place checkbox checked, cut it, and then paste it in place repeatedly as you select and subtract or section the various objects you want the hole in. Certainly it's less efficient than having it built in, but it's not too bad if you're not doing this very often.

If the multiple objects you want cut all have the same properties, and you don't care about making distinct objects, you can use Section Solids. If the sectioning object is a closed surface, it works like the Subtract Solids command, except that multiple objects have a single object subtracted from them instead of vice-versa.

What you could do is create a thick enough wall that it will completely contain your wavy wall. Insert doors and walls in the appropriate locations. Then draw a 2D profile outline of your wavy wall, extrude it, and 3-D solid intersect the thick wall with it. The holes in the wall from the windows and doors will remain. You can then edit the solid to edit the thick wall if you need to reposition the walls or doors.

Hidden line rendering is often slower than raster rendering like OpenGL/RenderWorks because essentially, it must clip every line in the drawing with every polygon in the drawing. In those raster rendering modes, each polygon gets compared to a depth buffer to see if it's visible. So performance for raster modes is x * n + y, where x and y are constants and n is the number of polygons. In contrast, line rendering is z * n * n + w, where z and w are different constants. As n gets large, these become approximately x * n and z * n * n. So even if x is much larger than z, the (n squared) term overwhelms it for large values of n (large numbers of polygons.) Radiosity has similar performance characteristics to line rendering, as light may reflect from any polygon to any other polygon. So it also has n * n performance. Now, there are optimizations we do that reduce the number of comparisons in the line rendering somewhat. In VW 11, we also do some backface culling, and the facet line removal (started in 9.5) is even more optimized, so there are some significant speed-ups. But you may want to check if you are using a higher 3-D conversion resolution than you need, and also you might want to replace small cylindrical columns with polygonal ones to optimize things.

You can insert "peaks" into walls along the top and bottom edges. Select the wall and the 3-D reshape tool. Click on the + icon in the mode bar, and then drag from either end of the bottom of the wall or from an existing peak to add a new one.