P Retondo

It is possible to edit sheets from the resources palette by right-clicking on each saved sheet. This makes the process a little less tedious, since you don't have to open a dialog box for each sheet. However, the whole business of managing sheets when adding layers and classes could be handled a lot more intelligently by the program. Several people have, including myself, have made numerous suggestions in the past to make this a better interface. Also included in the list are: 1) ability to import saved sheets, 2) making it possible to save print setups as part of a saved sheet, 3) making layer 3D orientation for each visible layer part of a saved sheet.

The objects may be disappearing because of class visibility issues (i.e., the window and door PIOs often create classes you didn't have before, and which will be invisible in all of your sheet setups). Objects that are members of non-visible classes are often visible when first inserted into a drawing, but become invisible the moment you try to do something.

The roof creation tool has gotten significantly dumber in the 10.5 version. We can no longer enter a slope in x:12 format, but have to do some trig to calculate an angle. Architects almost never think about roofing in terms other than x:12. More significantly, the object info palette does not allow us to change the slope or overhang of a roof (unless we ungroup the object and change each plane one at a time). Instead, we have to create a new one; whereas, insignificant info like the proportion of vertical to horizontal on a double-cut eave can be edited in the OIP. Is this tool a work in progress?

Jim, I think you meant DXF, not DWF. Here's an interesting fact about AutoCAD that shows it handles "1:1" differently from VW. If you draw a 25.4mm x 25.4 mm square in VW, then change your units to inches, you will find it measures 1" x 1". Do the same thing in AutoCAD, and you will find that your square now measures 25.4" x 25.4". I just reviewed a set of AutoCAD shop drawings drawn primarily in millimeters. Off to the side in model space there was a little dense square of information. That turned out to be the "inches" version of the same drawing, which was a copy scaled down by a factor of 1/25.4. So much for 1:1 reality in ACAD. In my experience, if both the VW and ACAD users are using Architectural units, the translations back and forth will work well. If they are using different units, respectively, the translations will need to be scaled. [ 11-12-2003, 12:53 PM: Message edited by: P Retondo ]

Could this be caused by a memory leak?

Malin, don't export to AutoCAD using .dxf, use .dwg. AutoCAD doesn't keep track of "reality" the way VW does, so for the ACAD user the setting for units makes a difference in how the program interprets the "size" of an object. I often encounter the need to scale a drawing by a factor of 12 or 1/12 because ACAD is interpreting inches as feet, or vice versa. This is particularly an issue between Architects and Civil Engineers. Keep trying and you and your AutoCAD colleague will get the hang of it. And have patience with the AutoCAD lack of clarity about scale and units and the notion of 1:1. 1:1 means something technically different in AutoCAD than it does in ordinary parlance; setting the various "scales" in AutoCAD is a big issue, while it is not such a big deal in VW. If you are working to please the AutoCAD user, set up your layering scheme the way he or she does. VW can work perfectly well using those organizational conventions. It probably won't make much sense, but much of the AutoCAD way of doing things has evolved through a very tortured process. [ 11-12-2003, 01:02 AM: Message edited by: P Retondo ]

Lyndsey, thank you, likewise, for sticking with this and keeping us informed of your efforts. It is effort like this that makes all the difference.

I haven't noticed this problem. Can you be more specific about particular circumstances or examples that might be helpful? VWA 10.5 WinXP/2000

Ilan, once you have the 3d polys you still have to create the model using the appropriate command ("Site model" in version 10). The model is automatically generated as a symbol and inserted into an automatically-created layer. Look in your resource palette to see if a symbol for a DTM has been created. You can re-insert it into the drawing anywhere you want, just like any other symbol. To edit it (change its color, etc.), you would need to convert an instance to to a group or edit it as a symbol. If you follow the manual's instructions carefully, you will have success. The process is a bit non-intuitive.

Lyndsey, I have confirmed that the "user" using my serial number and causing the program to crash is myself, via the "virtual" PPPoE adapter associated with my DSL modem. Perhaps this is unanticipated behavior on the part of your SN lockout module? Since my "System Info" utility, as well as the ipconfig program, can correctly identify all the adapters and IP addresses that belong to my computer, it would seem possible to construct your serial number scan module in such a way as to avoid this error. [ 11-09-2003, 12:42 AM: Message edited by: P Retondo ]

Could the door PIO's add an option for center pivot hinges? By the way, the current "double-acting" door, which is a type of center-pivot hinge, doesn't display correctly. The door panels should be symmetrical about the door jamb, and one is closer to the center than the other.

christian, you can export an image that can be printed. As Kaare says, the number of pixels (size of file) determines how much aliasing you will see in the printed image. Printing a 4200x6000 pixel image at 600 dpi (letter size) will give you a very smooth-looking picture. Your computer screen is probably 72dpi, so no matter how much information is available you will see aliasing at the monitor because of that physical limitation - unless the image is displayed using anti-aliasing interpolation, which blends pixels on either side of a hard line, softening both the line and the "jumps" that occur from one band of pixels to the next. Some video cards and drivers support anti-aliasing for OpenGL, some apparently don't. [ 10-31-2003, 12:17 AM: Message edited by: P Retondo ]

Rodger, create some 2D lines that follow the geometry you want. Reshape snapping works best when you are snapping to the endpoint of a line. Once you are finished, delete the lines you created.

christian, please clarify whether you are talking about screen images or printed images. Some OpenGL cards and drivers do support various types of anti-aliasing. You need to research them individually. This comment applies to screen images, since the video display is an entirely different issue from printfile output.

Lyndsey, I will check the IP address for the license conflict the next time I experience this error. In the meantime, a couple bits of info, one a correction. According to my security software, the IP address from which the portscan originates is actually a third "adapter," a virtual device associated with my DSL modem, not the NIC card that serves the modem. This device is a PPPoE adapter created by my DSL service software. The alert is generated everytime VW boots, while the program is loading. I also get the same alert on other occasions, but I haven't noted the pattern. ipconfig offers the following info: Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 2: Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 64.164.3.40 Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0 Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 64.164.3.40 Again, this IP address is dynamically assigned and is different everytime I connect to the internet.

Lyndsey, I don't know how to open the "in-use serial number dialog display." My security program is set to allow any communication from VectorWorks. I do have two NIC cards on this machine, one interfacing with my LAN and the other with my DSL service. I know that everytime I open VW it reports a "port scan" alert, pointing to an IP address from my own computer - specifically, originating from the address associated with the DSL card. According to the manual, when these alerts are issued the program shuts down all communication to my computer from the "offending" IP address. However, I continue to be able to get information from online after receiving the alert, so that's confusing. I haven't been able to designate my DSL card as a "trusted source" because it has a dynamically-assigned IP address. Pete [ 10-27-2003, 11:05 PM: Message edited by: P Retondo ]

Lyndsey, I am the only user on my home office system, with only one installation of VW and one serial number. I have crashed in the middle of a session at least a half dozen times with a message indicating that someone else is using my number, which is not only erroneous, it is impossible. I use Symantec Internet Security, which may or may not have something to do with the problem. Note that this never occurred with version 10.0. Often, the crash occurs when shifting focus back to VW from another program. I was able once to get out of the crash by clicking the "recheck" button, but soon after crashed again and got a message that I can only "recheck" 3 times. VWA 10.5 Win2K

I keep getting great feedback and positive reaction to the VW walkthrough tool using OpenGL rendering. Clients and other architects are greatly impressed, and it's the one thing that really stays with them when they look at VectorWorks. I just demonstrated this to an architect who was visiting our office yesterday, and he will probably buy the program on the strength of that feature. As far as I know, VW is the only CAD program that offers the realtime walkthrough. With ACAD and FormZ you have to generate an animation, which is not at all the same thing. For the future of this tool, improvements in these directions would be desirable, and would put greater emphasis on an advantage VW currently has over competitors: 1. Faster! Less jumpy with large models. 2. Ability to shift sideways (or, put another and better way, to turn your head sideways while walking forward and back). This is extremely important, since it would make the kinetic experience even more realistic. I would implement this as a left and right arrow key that can be applied while the viewpoint is either in motion or stationary. 3. Ability to save a walkthrough path so that a rendered animation with shadows can be created from the path.

Katie, I get the same bug on a PC (VWA 10.5, Win2K). This is the old trim tool - select a line, trim, it cuts all lines and walls the selected line crosses.

Wow! I never realized the "trim" command would do that. This is a very reasonable request, in fact, I would call this behavior a bug. What other operations work on invisible objects?

Xclip is not a new command, but I seriously doubt there is any way for VW to bring that over from an AutoCAD drawing. The xclip is not retained in an AutoCAD drawing when the block is exploded, so I don't think there is an easy solution to the problem.

Katie, yes I am using Symantec (Norton) Internet Security. Is it possible that this is causing the serial-number-related crash? I know that the program monitors VW queries on my LAN (consisting of my computer and my wife's!) Also, I do want to know whether the NNA tech support site is making any kind of intrusion with my computer when I am logged on.

It seems that sometimes when I post a message on this board, VW crashes, telling me that I don't have enough serial numbers. I have just one serial number and one workstation here in my home office, and this problem never occurred before upgrading to version 10.5. I lose work when this happens. I also get internet security warnings about backdoor Trojan horse inquiries, located as coming from a computer in the Washington area, when I am on this site. Are you attempting to probe my computer about the serial number when I am on this site? Is there some kind of bug that explains why I am crashing with this serial number warning?

Please consider changing the current design whereby wall types are saved in a file in the VectorWorks folder. It is very inconvenient that when more than one person is working on a project, custom wall types are not available except on the workstation of the person who created them. I believe a wall type should be considered a resource that can be incorporated into the .mcd document, like many other VW concepts. Further, the wall tool and the wall type are not integrated. Wall types should be available from a drop-down list to configure the wall tool. I know that this leads to some intriguing program design problems, but no more intriguing than the current system where wall-types are uploaded from a text file. [ 10-21-2003, 08:23 PM: Message edited by: P Retondo ]

I've made this request in the past, hopefully it is moving up on the list!