PeterT

10.3.4 Update is now released for the Mac. Has this been tested against Vectorworks 10.5.1?

One more question on this thread. If I enter a group during a script using "DoMenuTextByName('Group Navigation Chunk', 1);", once inside the group, would any additional calls affect only the objects within the group or would they affect objects outside of the group? For example, would "SelectAll;" select only objects within the group, or when the group is exited, would all the other objects on the layer(s) be selected? As I do when drafting in VectorWorks, I intend to group certain objects to isolate them, then enter the group so that I can perform operations on just those objects. I would then exit the group and ungroup the objects. Thanks, Peter

If I draw a rectangle on top of a vertical line such that the line extends past the rectangle at both the top and the bottom, and with the rectangle selected and the line deselected, choose the "Trim" command, the rectangle cuts the line where it crosses it at both the top and the bottom of the rectangle. If you do the exact same thing with a wall drawn vertically instead of a line, when you trim with the rectangle it only cuts the wall at the top of the rectangle and fails to cut it at the bottom. This is not consistant with a wall drawn horizontally. If you trim a horizontal wall with a rectangle, it cuts at both the right and left where it crosses the wall. This seems to be true in both versions 9.5.3 and 10.5.1 Is this a bug? Regards, PeterT

Hi Jeff, Thank you very much. Now I know what the word "Selector" means. It is not easy getting started in VectorScript. The function reference says the procedure uses the "VectorWorks internal menu Item name" when referring the menu command, then says to refer to the Vectorworks Appendix for a table listing DoMenuTextByName "Values". I guess I am to take it that "Selector", "Value", and "Internal menu item name" are all synonymous. I probably should have figured this out when I went to the Appendix, but I didn't get it. Some consistency in nomenclature between the function reference and the appendix could go a long way for a beginner like me. It is nice to have a message board like this to get answers to the gaps in my limited knowledge of VectorScript. Thanks Again, Peter

Can I enter a group (Edit Group) in a VectorScript? I tried this, passing 0,1,2,3 or 4 as the Menu Chunk Index but I get a VectorScript Error "Can't find Menu". What am I doing wrong? There is no description anywhere in any documentation regarding what index to use for what type of chunk. It could take me a while to test every number between 1 and n. Is there an easy way to figure the correct index value so I could at least determine if that is the problem or if the problem lies elsewhere? Thanks, Peter (Novice VectorScripter)

Sam, I don't think you can change the Administrator's name, but what you can do is create a new user, and give the new user Administrator access too. Then, if you log on as the new user, you can delete the old user (Administrator). I believe this will delete the user, but you will still see the Home folder for the deleted user. The only way to truely get that user's name off the computer is to log on as "Root" There is a way to do this, but I have only seen it done, and not done it myself. What you need to do is enable the "Root" user, then log off the computer, then log back on as "Root". Once logged on as the "Root user" you can change ANYTHING on you Mac. The danger in this, however, is that that you can seriously mess up your mac if you alter or delete the wrong file. Maybe Apple's web site would have more information on loggin on as Root, but I would not try it unless you felt comfortable with that sort of thing. Good Luck, Peter

No, I don't really want to import it back into VectorWorks, but since I do not own Illustrator, the only way I can get an idea of what I have exported is to import it back in and assume if it is bad, the export was bad. But now I have read the "Screen Tips" which say that the EPS import will come in as a single non-editable object, so I guess there is no way to really verify what will come out at the other end of an export without seeing it in Illustrator. Back to the original problem. Oh well, I guess I have to assume that my consultant is doing something wrong, as they are the only ones saying they can not edit the EPS I give them. Thanks, Peter

The last time I tried, I used 8 Bit with Pict Resource. What is the diference between using the Pict or the Tiff resource? And are you saying that when I import it back into VectorWorks it should still be a Vector drawing? Thanks, Peter

Thanks for the info Petri, but now I am totally unclear on the whole eps thing. This is part of the problem with sending files to someone else, you never know what they are doing at the other end. I am trying not to have to buy Illustrator just to find out how to send files to my consultants. Maybe Nemetschek can reply: What is the intended output of the epsf export, and if the intention is for it to keep the Vector information, why does come in as a single object EPS "picture" when imported back into VectorWorks? Are there specific export settings I need to use to keep the export editable? The VectorWorks User Guide says the export is of "high resolution" and "full accuracy" but this implies nothing as to whether it is an image file or a vector drawing, or how to get the desired result.

In regards to the original question: I don't work in 3D much, but as far as measuring between two points in 3D space, couldn't you just draw a 3D object between the two points, such as a "Sphere by Diameter", then read the radius or diameter of the sphere on the info palette and then delete it? It would seem faster than changing the working plane and view each time. Just an Idea.

Petri, What version of Illustrator are you using, and and when you say "fully editable", do you mean it comes in as a Vector drawing with objects that can be moved about individually, deleted or modified? I do not have Illustrator, so I have never been able to test this. I am only going on what consultants have told me. Also, what EPS preview options did you use? When I export an EPS from VectorWorks to my desktop and then import it back into VectorWorks from my desktop, it comes into VectortWorks as an EPS "Picture" with only four handles and no editing capabilities other than distortion or deletion.

Hi Donald, I don't think the VectorWorks EPSF export is very useful at all. From what I can tell, it exports a low resolution image file that cannot be manipulated once saved. In OS Version 9, we always made our EPS files by Saving to EPS using the LaserWriter driver. This creates high resolution files, embeds the fonts, and a graphic drawing comes in as a fully editable vector drawing if opened in Adobe Illustrator. Unfortunatly, in OS X Apple has not included the ability to save as EPS a in the PrintCenter, the only chioices are PDF, or PS. I am still looking for a good way to make an EPS in OS X. We have several consultants who use Illustrator to do sales brochures from the floor plans we export to them. They all say the VectorWorks EPS export is worthless to them. We have to relaunch VectorWorks in Classic so we can use the LaserWriter Driver to make the EPS. I have never understood why the VectorWorks EPS export is so different than Adobe's. Any comments from Nemetschek?

If you are on OS X why don't you just use the PrintCenter to make your PostScript files? Just choose "Print", and in the print dialog, go to output options, and check the "save as file" checkbox. Choose "PostScript" in the "Format" pulldown and save the file. In my experience, this does not crash VectorWorks. Regards, Peter

Also, it would be great to have a custom selection for text "Font Size". The current choices are all text or no text. Why couldn't this be just like the custom selection for "Line Weight" or "Fill Color", you could just select from a pull down menu of your font sizes.

Can anyone comment on whether using Plug-ins versus Symbols will significantly affect file size and system performance? We have been using symbols that we created back about MiniCad version 5 in our 2D working drawings, and although I am aware of the advantages of plug-in objects, we have never taken the time to switch over to using them instead of our tried and true symbols. My question is mainly in regards to Floor Plan working drawings in top plan view. We use 2D symbols for all our windows, doors, fixtures and appliances, and each plan might have from 50 to 100 symbol instances in them. There are great things we could take advantage of if we started using plug-ins instead, but as the plug-ins store a lot of parametric data, as well as some fairly detailed 3D data, I am wondering what penalty we will pay in the size of our files and the speed of VectorWorks in working with these files. As production Architects, we strive to keep our file sizes and system performance lean and speedy. Any input on this subject would be greatly appreciated. Peter Thayer, Architect Mac G4, 1 GHz OS 10.2.8, VW 10.5.1

I wish I could open an older VectorWorks file from a CD to view it, without having to copy it to my local disk, and then open it from there, and then trash it after viewing. I am well aware that I cannot write to a CD, but I should be able to open a file to view it, or to make changes and save it to a different location. Every other application I work with allows this, but VectorWorks gives you the "No Write permission, Attempt to Open File-FSOPEN" message, the same message you get if you try to open a file that is already open by another user. I know VectorWorks does this with older version files because it tries to create a "new file with a new name" and cannot write the new file to the CD, but there has to be some way around this. Why should the file be trying to write to the CD before you even save the file? If VectorWorks needs to create a temporary file in the new version in order to view it, it ought to at least give you the option of creating the file on the local disk so you can close it with or without saving any changes. We archive all our files to CD eventually, and have to deal with this annoyance every time we want to look at one of these older files.

Andrew, Could you also please submit the need for supporting the Join and Trim commands with round walls? Round walls should have all the same capabilities as straight walls. Thanks, PeterT

When working in a worksheet, it would be nice to have a way to zoom in and out. If the worksheet is formatted with a small font size, such as 8 or 9 point, it is really hard to read the text while you are working on it. It is not practical to keep closing the worksheet so it appears on the drawing where you can zoom in to find your errors, then re-open it to revise, etc. The only two ways I have found to make the text larger while the worksheet is open are to go to a larger font, which is no good since it re-paginates everything, or to change your monitors resolution to a lower number which makes everything larger but more garbled. How about a set of zoom page buttons on the worksheet header like Acrobat Reader has?

I have posted this on the wish list before. You should be able to uncheck "Restore View", set up a new view, the re-check "Restore View", and it should now restore to the new view when the sheet is selected. But unfortunately, when you do this, it restores the view to the one you had when you originally saved the sheet. This holds true even if you never checked the "Save View" checkbox when you originally saved the sheet! If you subsequently check the "Restore View" check box, it will return to a veiw you never saved in the first place. The restore view checkbox really ought to restore to the view you are in when you check the box, not to the view you were in when you originally saved the sheet. Or if some users like the current operation, you could have two checkboxes or radio buttons, one for "Restore to Original View", and one for "Restore to Current View". Right now, the only way to save a new view, is to save a new sheet.

If you are on a Mac, "Get Info" in the finder will tell you what version the file is. On Windows, I am not sure.

Absolutely. Go to File / Import / Import Image File... Select your PDF, click open, and select the Bit Depth. Done.

Katie, I am opening the jpeg in OS 10 "Preview", and the text is pixelated. If I print the jpeg from Preview, it looks the same, pixelated. If I open the jpeg in "GraphicConverter" and get info on the jpeg it tells me it is 72 dpi x 72 dpi. If I print it from GraphicConverter I get the same thing, pixelated text. You can reduce image quality in an application, but you can not increase it, but just for fun, in Graphic Converter, I bumped the resolution up to 300 dpi. As expected, there was no change to the quality of the text image either on screen or when printed. Try this: Type some text in MS Word. In Word, copy the text to the clipboard, then in VectorWorks, Paste as Picture. In VectorWorks, zoom in on the text to 1000% or so. The text will still be at high resolution and have crisp edges. Next, Export the VectorWorks file as DWG with the "Export Hatch Pattern Files" box checked. Now go to the new folder with the dwg and the jpeg in it, and open the jpeg in any application. Zoom in or print the jpeg and you will see that it is at 72dpi. Finally, Imoprt the DWG back into a VectorWorks file. Zoom in on the text to the same 1000% or so, and the text image will look and print at 72 dpi. I don't have AutoCad to see what it would look like after the import, but from BaRa's post, it looks like the image quality is reduced at the other end. I also tried different layer scales on export and import, and it doesn't seem to change anything. Regards, Peter

Actually, I was only printing the Jpeg to see what it looked like. What I really want to know, is what does it look like in the AutoCad document? If I re-import my DWG back into VectorWorks, the note strip is there, but it is at a much lower resolution than it is in the original VectorWorks document. Is this the same way it will appear to the AutoCad user? It would seem that AutoCad would use the image file at whatever resolution it is already at when it is saved to the folder. Is there any way to tell VectorWorks to save the image at a higher resolution?

Ah, I see what you were saying. We use the "Leader" and "Trailer" fields all the time, and find them quite useful. But these fields have been in the info palette since MC version 6. I was cheering the "Length" field which is new to VW version 10. It is nice to be able to see the dimension length on the Info Palette, even when you are zoomed in to the end of a dimension and the actual dimension value is off screen. It is also nice to be able to change the physical dimension length if you have mis-snapped, but know the correct length. The Info palette is getting better all the time. Regards, Peter

Thanks, I missed that one in the documentation. What the manual does not say though is that VectorWorks will export picture files to this folder as well. We bring note strips into our drawings from MS Word as picture files. If I export to DWG with one of these drawings that has embedded picture files, and check the "Export Hatch Pattern Fills" check box, the Word note strips appear in this extra folder as Jpegs. I think this could be useful for us, but why is it not mentioned in the manual - oops, found it on page 1-21 of the 10.5 Documentation Update. Wow, I think we are going to like this, now all we need to do is change the name of the checkbox in the dialog to: "Export Hatches and Images". Is there any way to dial in the resolution of exported image files? I opened the jpeg files from one of my exports, and the preview looks O.K., but prints at low resolution. I tried changing the document preference for Raster Render/ Export Resolution from 72 dpi to 300 dpi, but it had no effect on the jpegs, they still seem to be 72 dpi.