PeterT

PLC, Thanks for the tip. That is a great work around. I would still like to see the ability added right into the dialog window though. I will probably use your suggestion until my wish is answered... Thanks, Peter

Mathew, Thanks for the response. Good to know you are working on it. Using the Window menu does not always cure the problem though. I have two files open right now that are not working, and choosing either file in the Window menu swithches to that file, but does not restore the tools operation. I had another file earlier, that after docking, would not accept the active check mark in the window menu no matter how many times I chose it. For me, this issue is not a major problem just a minor nuisance. I t would seem there are other items on this list that are much more worthy of the "high prioity" designation. Thanks, Peter

I am having an inconsistant problem with files that have been reduced into the OSX Dock. Sometimes when you retreive the files back out of the dock, the tools and menu commands do not function at all. You can activate tools on the palettes, but the tools do not work on the drawing. It is as if the workspace is operational, but the file is dead. When this happens, the only way out seems to be to close the file, then reopen it, and everything is back to normal. But that defeats the purpose of putting the file in the dock in the first place. Has anyone else had this problem? G4 400 Mhz, OS 10.1.5, VW 9.5.2

I would like to have a "select saved sheet" pull down menu within the Edit Save Sheet dialog so that when editing more than one sheet on the same drawing, you do not have to click O.K. for each sheet, exit the dialog back to the drawing, then choose edit sheet and select a sheet all over again to get back into the dialog. I t would be great if you could edit any sheet from within the dialog by picking the sheet name from a list and then click O.K. just once to accept all the changes rather than the exhaustive process of opening and closing the dialog eight times to edit eight sheets.

This crash only happens when the file is resides on a remote server and and is opened across the network ( in our case, server is on OS9 and Workstation ison OSX. If you copy the file to your local desktop, you will find that you can revert to saved just fine. I think Nemetsheck is aware of this issue, see previous post "Purge/Revert" from 7-11-02

I hope I am understanding what you intend, but have you tried checking the box for "Multiple Objects" in the offset dialog box? When this box is checked, you can offset more than one selected object at the same time. The results can be a bit unpredictable though if you are offsetting the objects in different directions.

"More settings were not retained in 8.5.2." Titanium, I am not sure what settings you are talking about, but for us, in Version 8.5.2, after the first export is saved, all the following settings are retained for subsequent exports in the same VectorWorks session: File Format, Version, Map Lineweights to Color,and all Layer/Class Conversion settings. We always leave the 2D/3D Conversions on the default, so I can not speak for that one. If you quit VectorWorks, everything goes back to the default, but within the same session all settings are the same for each export. In VectorWorks 9.5.2, it seems the only thing different is that the Map Lineweights to Color setting is not held and must be checked each time. However, as I said before, I too feel that the export feature is much better in 9.5.2 in all other regards.

Please add the ability to join round walls using the join command. I realize you can join them using the wall tool's join mode, but 99% of the time that I join walls, I use command "J", which works fine for straight walls, but not for round walls. Thanks, PeterT

In the Export DWG Dialog, it would be great to have the ability to "Save Settings", so that I could save different setups for exports to different consultants. When sending exports to the same consultant, I always use the same setup, but when going to a different consultant, I may use a different setup. If I could just select a particular saved setup from a pulldown menu, it would really streamline things. Thanks, PeterT

In VW 9.5, when you export to DWG more than one file in the same VectorWorks session with the box for "Map Lineweights to color" checked, after each export, you have to re-check the box before the next export. This behavior has changed from version 8.5, where all export settings were retained for each export within the same VectorWorks session. When I am sending 10 DWG's to the same consultant, why would I want to Map to Colors on the first file but not on the others? I should not have to check this box each time I export a file. Of course, it would be even better if you added the ability to "Save Settings", so that I could save different setups for exports to different consultants. Overall, the DWG export is much improved in 9.5, but it still takes a lot of time to prep and export files, and it could be greatly streamlined if you didn't have to adjust the settings so often.

Yes, the entire display bar is blank including the layer and class pull-downs. I have discovered though, if you use the selected tool anyway, even though you may be on the wrong layer, the data display bar magically comes back, and you can then delete what you just did, switch to the correct layer, and do it again. Knowing what causes a problem is half the battle, so you you can avoid the problem, or find a work around. It took me a month to figure ot that it was these tools that caused the blank display. Before that, I just thought it was randomly going blank from time to time.

Dimension slash thickness is a drawing preference, so within the same file you cannot have two different slash thicknesses. You could however set up different files with different slash thicknesses. It would be great if Nemetschek could put the slash thickness inside the dimension standards like all the other dimension settings, then you could set up a custom standard with a different slash thickness and use the two different standards in the same file.

In VectorWorks 9.5, why does the Data Display Bar go blank when you select any of the following tools: Protractor, Tape Measure, Eyedropper, Trim Tool, or Offset? This has got to be a bug as this was not the case in VectorWorks 8. It is rather bothersome as you cannot change layers or classes when you have one of these tools chosen.

All we ever do in our office is import text as EPS, and we have no trouble with file size. For example, we do our general notes sheet as an EPS import. It is a full 24"x 36" six column page of text at 10 point text size and the VW 9 file size is 192 K. If your EPS import is ballooning your file size it may be because you have "Include Fonts" set to "All" when you create the EPS. Since we do all our plotting in-house we set the font inclusion to "None". The font inclusion setting in the print dialog makes a huge difference in the file size.

Try saving the document from Word to an EPS. We use our PostScript Printer Driver and "save as file". You can then import the text block into VectorWorks via "Import EPSF". Text blocks imported this way retain all formatting including tabs, justification etc. In our office we bring in a 8" wide by 22" long double justified key note strip into every drawing.We also do a full 24" x 36" General Notes sheet in a six column format the same way. The only down side is that to edit the document, you have to trash the EPS, make your changes in Word, and re-import. Regards, PeterT

Matt, To create an EPS of a VectorWorks file for our consultant to open in Illustrator, we ignore the Vectorworks Export EPSF and instead, use our PostScript printer driver to create the EPS. The VectorWorks export is low resolution, but when done with the PostScript driver the output is high resolution. On Mac OS9, we just send the file to our LaserWriter using either the LaserWriter 8 driver or the AdobePS driver, and in the print dialog, choose the destination as "file" rather than "printer". We set up the "Save as File" options (LaserWriter 8) or "Postscript Settings" (Adobe PS) for "EPS Enhanced Preview","PostScript Level 1", "ASCI Data format", and "Font Inclusion: None". Then just click the "Save" button and it's done. I have never done this in OSX or on a Windows machine, but I imagine it is similar. Hope this helps, PeterT

Here's a method for adjusting text tracking, not too glamorous though. Create your text block in VW 8.5.2 file, copy it, and paste it into your VW 9.5.2 file. Each character will now be a separate text block, to be distributed as you wish. O.K,. not too practical, but it could be used in a pinch.

Matthew, In that "overhaul", how about making it such that the eyedropper tool can pick up and put down text attributes. (i.e. Font, Size, Style) That would be most useful, but as that would qualify as a "capability change", I guess it will not make this next cut.

Katie, I am keenly aware of the snapping issues when Snap to Grid is active. But that is why we typically work with the Snap Grid and Reference Grid both set to 24" symmetrical, and never have snap to grid turned on in the constraints palette(We only turn on snap to grid when dimensioning, to get evenly spaced dimension strings.) But are you telling me there is also a way to turn on snapping to the reference grid? It is my understranding that snap to grid snaps only to the Snap Grid and that the Reference grid is only for visual reference. What does the reference grid have to do with snapping? My snapping problems seem to be more general in nature. It just seems that in comparing VW 9.5.2 to VW 8.5.2, something has changed, and snapping is not as "second nature" as it was, and more care and effort have to be applied when snapping in 9.5.2.

The new revision cloud tool works great after you get the size and billow height set right. But if you work in different scales allot, or draw clouds around some large objects and some small objects, You spend an awful lot of time changing the settings of the tool. And the settings are not too intuitive, I could only set them through trial and error. If you could add a feature to save different setting configurations, the tool would be much more functional.

On my system, in top/plan view, when the color of the wall is other than white, blue for example, the wall shows no fill on the screen, and correctly shows blue fill on the attributes palette. Switching the walls color to some other color then back to blue re-renders the wall correctly. I'll agree though, that it's a bug. Regards, PeterT [ 07-18-2002: Message edited by: PeterT ]

As an addendum to my previous post, after extensive testing today, The MicroSpot driver plots O.K. only from VW 8.5.2 to our HP 800PS. From VW 9.5.2, files spool about six times slower to the plotter than the same file spooled from VW 8.5.2, and that is from either classic mode or native mode with a file that is less than 200k in size. I also downloaded the MicroSpot 5.1.2 Demo thinking that might be the issue, but the same thing there, files plot much faster from VW 8.5.2. Why would the VectorWorks version affect how fast a file spools after it has rasterized? I don't get it. [ 07-17-2002: Message edited by: PeterT ]

As far as I know the trim command has never worked with polygons, but the trim tool does. Draw a cutting line across your polygon activate the trim tool and touch the edge of the polygon on the side you want removed.

I don't know if this has been reported, but if I draw a round wall in VW 8.5.2, give the wall solid fill, close and save the file, then open this same file in VW 9.5.2, the round wall has lost the solid fill. This only happens to walls drawn with the round wall tool, and not the regular wall tool.

I have noticed that snapping in VW 9.5.2 is more difficult than in 8.5.2 as well. Unless I take allot more time, zoom way in, and very carefully snap to an object, it will not always snap to the object, and may be off a few pixels. This was not the case in VW 8.5.2. I have fooled around with the snap radius setting too, and this does not seem to help. Is this due to the increased accuracy of VectorWorks 9? And also, why does snapping not work for selecting objects? When I approach an object with the cursor and the SmartCursor Cues say "Point", if I press the mouse, shouldn't I be selecting that object?I realize the SmartCursor has never worked for selection, but why not?