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yes, you are right again and it's my miserable excel skills, sorry. unfortunately there's no field format assignment in the user-defined parameters' dialog options for the space object. thanks a lot, rob

hi guys, i have troubles with data retrieval from a spaces' report. in order to calculate the cost of the space areas i've utilized one of the user defined fields in the space object ('additional data' tab). the original field is called 'additional info 01', i've renamed it to 'cost per sq m' and hard coded a monetary value as its data. then i've created a spaces' report where i included this additional field. so far so good, the hand-inserted values appear in the worksheet (attachment). now i want to calculate the multiplication of the space area and the sq m cost in the additional column i've added to the listing (column 'e'). the simple multiplication doesn't work, the monetary values (it's not dollars ) seem to have a different cell value, although i set it to number (here: decimal) and they sum to the spaces' count (41). another thing is the overall sum i wanted to have down the column 'e'. how can i retrieve these values to handle them properly? can anybody help? thanks, rob

michael, can you post a v2012 version, please? thx, rob

@brian i've eventually found some time to play a bit with this functionality (i've seen it in one of jon pickup's videos on bim theme), but i don't think it's a proper tool for my issue. it doesn't enable a selection of a particular space occupation entry (no argument list) so i couldn't handle their visibilities. it would require two criteria: one for the space type selection and the other one for its visual handling. rob

there are websites listing the compatibility issues of known mac applications in various releases, as this here: roaringapps you can even check in real time. rob

people are upgrading their os because it costs peanuts to null, before they even think of applications that could not be working anymore. i've upgraded my both mbpros from leo and snow leo to have them in unison on mountain lion, but i could easily let them rest on older os versions, especially as safari with many open tabs devours now my disk space down to null. there's always a compromise... rob

i think it's a signal that they want to cooperate with one another. nemetschek is a giant, covering all areas of bim environment. a good move. rob

neil, thanks for your insight. initially i thought that the separate classing would allow me to retrieve any space differences according to the possible attributes' settings (and they are a lot). then i've examined closely the space object itself and the criteria for the space object data fields retrieval. it turned out everything was accessible from the 'field value' attribute in the 'paste criteria' option from the record menu. in fact, it's a powerful feature the only thing i couldn't find is the graphic representation of a particular space object display (e.g. transparency i've mentioned in the initial post). all i can do is to set the transparency value manually (as i have done it with the colours), which makes it a non-intelligent property, dumb for any database or worksheet operation, and additionally requiring time for its manipulation. for this alone i'm not so keen on complicating the project file with additional classing. on the other hand i wouldn't like to block any functionality already in the starting phase of the project. can anybody comment on this? for illustration i enclose such a project of mine (a medical centre), which is in the concept stage. thx, rob

hi guys, how do you usually handle the spaces of various functionality? do you put them into different classes or are all spaces of the same class? i have seen models where particular spaces (e.g. communication ones, either horizontal or vertical) were displayed opaque whereas other spaces were semi- or transparent and i wonder if it could be achieved only via separate classing? what are your thoughts on this? thx, rob

bill, i don't know if it would help, but get a free onyx application (http://www.titanium.free.fr) and run the full 'automation' process suite in the first place. it clears caches, memory, repairs permissions, runs maintenance scripts and more. then you can check further. rob edit: sorry, false addressee

You know what's annoying the 2 IFC BIM projects that I am dealing with this week...The client has already informed the Subcontractor-Architect that he's going to pay...LOL, I tell him to take the happy pills. it seems you are unable to handle this task. you should reconsider your nick, then. bim is about cooperation, not how to niggle. rob

Yes, absolutely! +1 ifc and open bim must be independent of the proprietary rat race. rob

actually i haven't mentioned the existing roads in the first place, my fault. peter, the texture bed works well with me, thanks. rob

tamsin, thanks a lot for your explanation. you're great as ever so as i understand it correctly the roads are to be modelled manually, no matter if they exist or are proposed. i thought for the existing ones it's enough to adjust them to the terrain slope. ok, i'll get it right, then. rob

i'm having troubles with sending a roadway piece onto a sloped terrain (up the hill, so to say). i tried with sending the roadway object to the surface, but to no avail, the whole element remains flat, level with the gutter at its beginning (-1.00). there is also a junction in the middle of the road, and it displays at the right height (-0.05). all three elements are in the site-paving class, both junctions have been sent to surface as well. do i have to use site-modifiers in some way for the straight piece? can anybody help? thanks in advance. rob

now i remember these videos! i have watched the whole bunch but then i've lost them somehow. i usually store the educational films under thematically tabbed folders on my external drive so it'd be not a bad idea to store there the links to the unretrievable ones, too. thanks again. rob

michael, you're my hero. thanks very much the trouble was multiple: 1. i didn't know there was possible to have many database queries in one worksheet. 2. i have tried to set a function with criteria in a blank cell in the area column that should have displayed the spaces areas sum for a particular story. 3. i've missed the (obvious) possibility to manipulate the original database query criteria. what i still don't get are the cells: e22 through e25: where do the criteria come from and how did it get set? thx again. rob

hi, first of all: i know my excel knowledge is a miserable one, but some things seem to be different in excel and in vw. 1. the first thing is the sum of objects in a database spreadsheet: there is no possibility to select a few of the, say, 40 cells in a column, because they have a 2.n name, so the excel sum like this (c1:c40) doesn't work. all 40 objects get selected. is this a normal behaviour? 2. i've got a worksheet with all spaces (having a record format) in the 3-storey building with their gross areas. the record fields are the data fields from the space object record, space number, space name and gross area. now i want to retrieve the space areas from only one of the floors. what is the formula for this? i tried the sum of the space areas on, say, ground floor, but how to add a layer (story) criteria? i do the sum in the 'gross areas' column down there. thanks in advance for any hint. rob

actually i don't know if it's a bug or a feature. somehow the data must be populated in the ifc export file in order for the estimation and simulation softwares to retrieve it. and somehow the automated vectorworks ifc export seems to miss it. so is my impression for today. rob edit: and how about the ifc data exchange with ies virtual environment?

digitalmechanics, i understand less than before. your ifc data dialog has material data checked and populated (have you inserted the word 'concrete' manually ??), but the dimensions in the solibri model viewer are set at 'zero', and you don't have any record data fields populated in the object info dialog (tab data) in the vw file. as i see the only issue of your ifc data that is richer than in mine is the material tab in the ifc data and the material description. to see the results i will have to wait for the material data entry check in the external estimation software. it will last a while. what's going on here? i'm confused... rob

thanks for the file. as a non-us-customer without a vss account i must rely on other help sources. and my local vw-provider isn't using bim at all i'll check the overall settings more closely. rob

can you save vwx as a vw2012, please? rob

i have an ifc test model here. although the solibri model viewer displays are different: one wall displays ok, the other one is spoiled (divided into 2 components with zero thickness), there's still no data in the ifc entities (see above). the division may have something in common with the various wall heights: the spoiled one has been cut with the construction ribbon at the edge of the upper slab. i'm not sure, this may have been fixed in the next vw versions, i post it for a vw 2012 status quo inventory. rob

i'm getting lost here. apparently i can't get my ifc-material tab populated with data (i suppose it doesn't matter if it's vw 2012 or 2014). an independent estimation company working with a self-made application can't see any material for takeoffs when importing my ifc model. i've checked the ifc entities at random: no material data. i must have missed something very obvious... thanks for any hint. rob

thanks for these valuable tips. please keep up. rob