P Retondo
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Posts posted by P Retondo
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The "Move by Points" tool is the latest addition to the array of tools for copying and moving. It was an attempt to provide something equivalent to the AutoCAD method of copying or moving an object, but it does have its annoying aspects. In addition to this tool, there are 5 other methods:
- Duplicate (either in place or offset, a preference you can set)
- Copy and paste
- Click and drag using "ctrl" modifier to duplicate the object being dragged
- Move command (moves any object by user input distances)
- Duplicate array (copies and distributes copies along x, y, and z axes according to user input)
Each one of these has its place, but I tend to use "Move by Points" most often because it is more efficient, and you can click on any two points anywhere to determine the move vector. To me the annoying things have been mentioned. I leave the settings to one copy, move without duplication. I use the "ctrl" key modifier which, when pressed while moving, toggles to move + duplication (technically, it saves the original object). Multiple duplicates and the distribution modes are powerful and helpful, but we need to disagregate those functions so it is easier to control which method we want. To me, having a modifier key that always gives you move the object without duplication regardless of settings, and another modifier key that always gives you move the object with 1 duplication, would be a good improvement. Too many times I have inadvertently created 10 copies of an object because I forgot to change settings back.
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Thanks, Pat! I figured out is was the design layer viewports, but I didn't know how to fix it other than deleting them. Good to know! What I don't know is why the schedule object was ever designed this way . . .
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Suddenly, all my doors appear 4 times in the schedule. They are not in the drawings 4 times - if I change a door to uncheck "On Schedule," all 4 instances disappear, and vice versa. Anyone have a clue why and how to fix?
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I know this has been discussed in the past, but it's a daily hassle. We need to be able to have dimensions on our sheets stay in form even if we have to switch the units preferences. For example, when we have surveyor information in decimal feet, in order to work with that I switch my units to decimal feet. Then, all my sheet dimensions change from feet and inches to decimal feet. Similarly, when we want to work in inches, sheet dimensions again change on us. If we're not careful, this can result in embarrassing and erroneous output. So, 1) there should be separate settings for units in the IOP and in the various tool inputs, and another preference for dimensions. AND, 2) once a dimension has been placed, it should stick with the unit format and not change with a change in preference - or have an option to update all dimensions, yes or no.
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I use InfoEditor, a 3rd party program. It's still working with v2016. Look up Info Editor for Vectorworks on the web. It costs $20, saves a lot of time.
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Jimbo, there is a legacy tool called "Cut 2D Section." It will automatically create lines along any section take through a 3d object. Make sure if the objects are on separate layers that your layer mode is "Show, snap, modify others". If you don't see that tool in your workspace, you can add it via the workspace editor.
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Ditto LW and rDesign. For what it's worth, I haven't found any method more expedient than masking. But it has gotten to the point where I usually use the old 2d Section tool to extract geometry, then compose everything in 2d for sections and for elevations alike. Unlike Top/Plan view, the idea about having these boilerplate drawings automatically generate from the 3d model has failed. Due to a lack of resolution of many little details, it all adds up to an unacceptable presentation. I do find that the background generated from a Section viewport is useful, and can be cleaned up with a few masks.
It strikes me that part of the problem is the lack of an equivalent to the Top/Plan view, where wall components can be properly joined to make for a proper 2d presentation. We don't have the same graphical interface when it comes to looking at the model from a side or in section.
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David, did that answer your question? The first step to take is to create a 1:1 viewport of your design. So if you have a 1" square, it will scale as a 1" square on the sheet. Then, you have the problem addressed above, which is whether the printer is going to process the scaling properly. Usually I have to slightly tweak things if the printer's x and y axes are not properly calibrated, even after getting the page settings and printer settings to be correct.
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Just guessing, but it sounds like your original pdf is secured. Secured pdfs don't allow any changes or conversions. Testing a couple of variations on importing a secured pdf, I don't encounter any of the problems you speak of, so I'm not sure if that is the issue. At the same time, your post isn't very precise - for example, when you say "it won't let me do anything with the file," exactly what file are you talking about?
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LW, got to love your passion! I tried the camera once a couple of versions back, and didn't think it was doing enough to warrant mastering it. And I do a lot of perspective views and animations. I hope Jim and VW are taking your point about simplifying and making more intuitive not just this item, but everything about the VW user interface. Don't get me wrong, I think VW is superbly intuitive as it is, but the parts that work really well make us want everything to be like that.
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I've been working with a Wacom tablet for years - model PTZ630, which is probably no longer available, but I'm sure there is an equivalent. I configure the lower "click switch" to be left click, the upper to be right click. I find that mapping a tablet of this size to about 50% of the screen is most effective. No problem at all with v2016, or v2017 so far. Faster than a mouse.
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It is not possible to remove the "None" class. You should send your file to tech support if you don't see "None" in your class list, something is broken. If your externally referenced files are red on the list, that means that they can't be found, either because they were moved or were created in a different version of VW.
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Josh, if I'm not mistaken, class overrides can only be applied to a DLVP, not to a SLVP. SLVP's can't reference external files. You must create 3 different externally referenced DLVPs and do a different override for the 2 you want to look different (v2016)
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You can look at all objects from the side, set a locus at (0,0), and align all to "Bottom" to get them all back to zero en masse.
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I have used the Wacom tablet for many years with their stylus, initially for tendon problems (completely resolved after moving from the mouse), and have also tried working with VW on a touchscreen. The Wacom stylus is totally equivalent to a mouse, if not better. The problem with working directly on a touch screen is lack of left and right clicking. If someone knows of a device that will do that, I would love to know about it. Once that technical hurdle is dealt with, I can see touchscreen being totally viable.
I see that Surface will "right click" with a prolonged touch, but I don't think that cuts it.
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I agree that extrudes are the fundamental VW 3d object, and it would be great if one could assign a fill to extrude surfaces, especially so they can be seen in Top/Plan like many other objects.
While we are wishing, I would like the 2d "primitives" of extrudes to be more context-sensitive so that they can be edited more powerfully. Specifically, when entering an extrude edit space the 2d object should present itself in "screen orientation" instead of, sometimes, from the sides, regardless of the current view orientation. Also, if the viewpoint is aligned to the extrude's original working plane orientation, the 2d primitive should be presented in exact relation to the objects around it, instead of some arbitrary location that is no longer relevant if the extrude has been moved, mirrored, etc. This would allow us to edit the primitive accurately in relation to surrounding objects. Say a contiguous object has been reshaped, and we want to edit the extrude to still be contiguous.
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I'll vote for this, but it's not too time consuming to do this in line mode and then compose the lines into 2 polygons and clip with the inner one.
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The XML or .txt file might be in the same area as your Workspace folder:
username/AppData/Roaming/Nemetschek/Vectorworks/2016 (or version #)/Libraries/Defaults/Notes
Or it might be the default file, which is in the same relative place under the C:/Program Files directory.
You can customize the filename and the place it saves to when you set up your Keynotes preferences and/or in the User Folders tab in VW preferences dialog.
If you are not using a database, I'm not sure how that works - there might be something created or loaded automatically, I've never looked into that.
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Tom, have you looked in the XML file that contains the keynotes? (It might be a .txt file in versions beyond 2015, not sure about that)
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MH, the one circumstance I know of that causes this problem is editing the crop in a sheet layer viewport. Every time I do that, I go into document preferences and change the plane mode back to "screen plane only". Verified for version 2016 and earlier, I haven't installed my 2017 version yet.
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5 hours ago, JimW said:
@P Retondomind if I move this over to wishlist so we can get some votes going? This is a big complex one but I think it belongs there.
Sure, Jim, by all means.
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Tom, it sounds like you're a Revit person stuck in a VW world! That parametric utility in Revit sounds great. I've never used Revit, got out of AutoCAD before they bought the company, and I've always wondered. Before Revit AutoCAD 3d was a bad dream.
PS: Pat, surely the SDK contains modules for things like dialog boxes, no?
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Pat, not to be argumentative, but I've written a great deal of C++ code for machine control. Only a portion is done from scratch, objects and great chunks of code (modules) are already written and invoked in a single line. I don't belittle the complexities of the task, just saying that for a CAD program that has been around for 25 years or so, it would not seem too high a bar to take a fresh and possibly innovative stab at how basic parametric objects work. We have no idea, or at least I don't, how VW sourcecode is put together. The handles we have through the scripting utilities are probably just toys compared to the resources the core programmers have access to. But it would be a big job, no doubt. Debugging and testing probably 75% of it!
I like zoomer's idea of working into an object bit by bit. That's kind of what I'm driving at, a process more aligned with how creative design is done.
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OK, RJ, here is my algorithm for a graphical interface for stairs parametric object. Once the object is created, the parameters are stored and available for editing in a dialog box.
- User creates a series of 2d closed shapes that represent the treads and landings
- Click on each tread in sequence starting with the lowest tread to create an ordered list - we can't expect VW to know the sequence of the treads for every conceivable stairs configuration. Option for whether top tread is at upper floor level or no.
- Define the floor-to-floor height. After this step, everything else is automated except for dialog box user interventions.
- Extrude each shape an initial amount, then based on the ordered list define their Z values to create an evenly spaced set of treads. Label each shape internally as a "tread"
- If the user edits the tread thickness parameter, adjust
- Prompt to create a profile for the tread nosing, which creates the tread overhang & nosing shape. Extrude and add to each tread based on the known front face. If the tread face is non-linear, extract a curve from the edge and extrude along path. Note that once the sequence of treads is formed into a list, the location of the appropriate edge is also known.
- From the same extracted curve or line, offset and close to form a plan-view riser shape, and extrude each. Parameter for riser/no riser, and riser thickness is created. Label each shape internally as a "riser" for application of class and/or texture.
- Automatically create 2 or 3 stringers that fit to the underside of treads and backs of risers. Option to edit thickness, depth, number, and whether the stringers are outside the treads. Based on geometry of tread and riser edges.
- Based on geometry of tread nose corners, create a NURBS curve and offset to code railing height. Prompt for user to supply a shape for the handrail, and extrude along path. Label shape as "handrail" and create parameters for number, height, and relationship to edge of stair.
- Dialog box has option to create another tread or treads and add to the sequence, or to delete a tread or treads.
This will not cover every conceivable stairs, but it will be a start for more options than we now have, and note that once ungrouped it is a set of extrudes that can be edited.
It would be nifty if the sequence of treads could be created just by dragging the mouse over the shapes and allowing snapping to order the list.
HDD OR SSD?
in General Discussion
Posted
Jim is correct. I installed an SSD on my tower computer over a year ago, and boot time for 2017 VW Designer with Renderworks is now 32 seconds - authentication is the one thing that remains slow. But SSD is just a disk storage device, it doesn't improve the speed with which the computer handles operations. That depends on the speed of your processor, and the amount and speed of your RAM - the dynamic memory into which the disk storage loads your program. I have an Intel Xeon processor at 3.47 Ghz, with 6 parallel processors, 6 GB RAM, and (also important) an nvidia Quaddro 4000 graphics card. I highly recommend this set of hardware for speed.