Kool Aid

How would the internal workings of a new menu command fit or not fit Bruce's workflow? VS functions are not workarounds, but the VS representations of the actual C++ calls behind the standard menu commands, which one cannot modify.

Well, here's some well-deserved Kool Aid for you: Use one of the stupid VS functions.

I want Vectorworks to design a parking garage in the style of Thomas Jefferson. Dear me: the Parking Garage PIO is missing from my workspace!

Dexie, I find it hard to believe that the DTM-module of VW could handle 650000 points? Looking at your data, they seem to be in a 5 m grid, which for such a large area may be redundantly dense. The slowness of import is likely to be accentuated by the fact that the import command creates Stake objects, not simple 3D-loci. I should have an old script somewhere that creates just loci. If not, it's be easy to write one. A script might, depending, also enlarge the grid by skipping lines. (A 10 m grid would have only a quarter of the points.)

Let the record show that, according to brudgers, it is easier to change an entire construction industry than a PIO.

(This is a separate issue in some respects.) Whilst it is certainly true that 3D-modelling of mundane stairs (public housing, separate fire exits of high-rises etc.) is theoretically nonsensical, we have a process issue here. In many legislations, permit application drawings are required to include sections of all fire exit stairs, to establish headrooms, total heights of flights etc. Surely we are entitled to expect that a Section Viewport can, substantially, be used for this? Here outside South Africa, we don't do drafting any more.

Let the record show that similar conditions exist in all civilized countries I know. I don't have any experience with South Africa, though. Is it one? It is in fact curious why our German friends don't know this.

3D-snaps open entirely new possibilities in the real world where you don't have the patience and time to define points in the old way.

I have squandered my resistance For a pocketful of mumbles: such are promises. All lies and jests Still a man hears what he wants to hear And disregards the rest

The new-fangled arty-farty hoity-toity Help is just b-dy awful! Looks absolutely dreadful, almost as bad as other Adobe's recent ?creations?. Goes to Welcome every time, thereby losing the topic one is interested in. Ohh, if one happens to be able to click on the Help window, it is where you left it, but that is not necessarily possible or easy. Only one window of Help can be open. Get rid of this nonsense, Mr. NNA! Give us back the browser-based system!

It does indeed. For the time being I consider it a cosequence of the uncontrolled, rabbit-like, proliferation of redundant resources, due to careless & cavalier implementation of ?integrated products?. Use a tool and you have tens of whatevers. Even if you don't, there are hundreds of those as ?default content?.

Surely you mean the RB? (Resource Browser.) It has, it seems, been getting slower, regardless of the number of resources. Few, if any, favourites and View as List makes it more tolerable. Excluding irrelevant types helps, too.

But here's the rub: it is still called 2009 Function Reference??Methinks there is a serious QM problem at NNA, affecting all aspects of it & its products. Does not smell particularly sweet.

Few of the others have a close commercial relationship with NNA? The new stair tool is good. The rest mainly hype.

I'm sure that design of eg. Public Housing in South Africa is entirely driven by Architecture. Notwithstanding: the fundamental requirement, as expressed by Christiaan, applies also to Architectural solutions: the balustrade/railing/guard (whatever its configuration) needs to go where the Architect wants it to go. In one of my old stock designs, there is a glass panel that follows the structural bottom of the concrete stair run (? 50), is at least 1200 high and has a hand rail at 900.

Carl, I think I know what you are after (having been involved with both heritage buildings per se and, especially, urban design in what is often called context.) Let's be realistic here, shall we? For the time being at least, the commercial demand for such software is limited. Unfortunately, there is almost a movement against this approach. I think they call themselves the Virtual Terrain Project or something like that: academics in their ivory towers are selling images over substance. Your best bet, IMHO, is to get the 3D data created with whatever software and then utilise it in VW. Do not forget the rapidly-evolving laser-beam technology which is relevant especially to interiors. Should I mention Building Archaeology? VW can be made to be very good in that via ASCII/3D/4D database constructs.

At least I can't get it to do this. I have started my own wish list for the stair tool, this being the 3rd or 4th item entered! The next one was a hand rail fixed to wall, as per your image, too? I intend to send the list directly to Computerworks (since I have a direct contact with them) and I'd be more than happy to include other peoples' notions (if I deem them to be relevant?) Overall, I am reasonably happy with the new stair tool, but obviously there's quite a learning curve.

It just isn't there on the DVD. Got it via email from someone, so situation is abnormal (not effed up.)

I scaled the entire drawing by 16 and seemed to get dimensions right. The factory obviously does not draw in real world dimensions. Find a better supplier.

My understanding is that for ?automatic?, VW reads the (optional) unit information of the file. Many applications include this in their DWG/DXF files; the most notable exception is AutoCAD??

The VectorScript Function Reference is a comprehensive command reference available online. It is located in VWHelp/VectorScript Reference/VSFunctionReference.html.? No such file. No access to Internet, if I'm on a train, aeroplane or automobile.

Of course it does! The tiny minority of VW users (McMansion -designers) are heavily subsidised by the vast majority, who pay for this wide array of useless crap.

Use the Criteria Force, bonus, use the Criteria Force! Arbitrary lists of ?just a few good symbols? are theoretically impossible, but with some effort sort of doable in practise. A valid criterion might be layer, class, visibility or selection status. Or my fav, LOCation! (Eg. loose furniture in a room.)

Frank, Thanks for the kind offer, but since this is one of those ?unreproducible results?, an example would hardly do much good. Not even two examples, because ? who knows ? the ?working? PIO might just decide not to work when you test it, so the conclusion would be that widgets cannot be made invisible except when parameters cannot be made invisible. Widget visibility per se works very well when parameter visibility is disabled via CONST kObjXHasCustomWidgetVisibilities = 12; and result := SetObjPropVS(kObjXHasCustomWidgetVisibilities, TRUE); But occasionally one can both have and eat one's parameter cake. Having it is more than the corpus of documentation suggests, so why do I complain! There's no pledge of consistency, is there? OK: I attach a set of files anyway. They are only proof of the documented situation (ie. buttons are not supposed to go into hiding.) (The good folks in Maryland, the Home of the Chicken, are working VERY hard to make communication as difficult as possible: the extension ?txt? means ?zip?. As everyone, except Chickens, would have guessed.) (TIMEOUT!) Meanwhile in another PIO: Now you see it: Now you don't: (TIMEOUT!) No luck with the Attachment. Phew: it took only two hours to get this through! Without the Attachment. EDIT Another hour or so and even the Attachment seems to be there!

I agree with Justin. The missing bit is ?wall-like behaviour? for custom PIOs: ?Accept inserted objects? that could be used to create holes as in walls. Then I could create the sandwich element tool, which is crucial in this part of the world.