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P Retondo

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Everything posted by P Retondo

  1. Robert, question: does the Model View tool do anything other than automatically create a layer link with a certain orientation? I.e., can you do the same things "manually" without using that tool? (Trying to understand what is going on)
  2. I've had no problem snapping to objects within a layer link. It helps if you check the link's "show 2D objects" option and if your layer is in Top/Plan view (i.e., 2D mode). VWA 10.1 WinXP/2000
  3. My experience is academic (mechatronic control and integrated manufacturing). We worked with a variety of milling machines and general control devices. I know about the way these systems (hardware-software interfaces) work because we had to design and implement them as part of our academic work, but I couldn't help you with any detailed information about CNC routers per se.
  4. Stefan, the path planning part of the CNC software takes curves as input, but converts them to straight line segments when it outputs to the machine. All CNC devices work this way, and the faster and better their computing systems, the shorter the length of these line segments.
  5. If by "other direction" you mean at 90 degrees, use the rectangular array option to get everything in one step.
  6. When I click on the wrong spot using the offset tool, I get an error message. Then, the object I had selected is deselected. This last part slows down the user, especially because the way the tool works, one is then required to activate the selection tool, select an object, then reactivate the offset tool. It should work so that if an error message is generated, hitting "esc" would close the error window, with the offset tool and object still selected. Then we can continue with the operation. Similarly, if an object is not selected when using the offset tool, an error message is generated. The program should then allow us to select the object to be offset without having to activate the selection tool. Fixing these behaviors would speed up 2D drafting. [ 05-12-2003, 08:35 PM: Message edited by: P Retondo ]
  7. 9: I convert the PIO to a symbol, and edit the 3D portion of that symbol to add window sticking. The advantage of this method is that every location which has that window symbol gets the muntin system, and it goes wherever the window is moved. PIO's per se don't have the ability to create this kind of feature, as far as I know, except that you can create a transom - not the same thing.
  8. Actually, I spoke too soon. When you use the shift modifier, the window/door is not selected. Instead, the wall is selected. So we still do not have a reliable way to select an embedded wall or door for editing without the potential that it would be inadvertantly moved. To select any other object and avoid the possibility of moving it, we can use either the shift modifier or a marquee. I would suggest changing the code so that when snapping to a window or door, the shift modifier will select it but disallow shifting its position.
  9. I have a French Door 2 object in a wall. When I attempt to reposition this door by 1", instead of moving it stays in place. I get a corrupted wall in which an embedded window to the left appears like a disconnected symbol, a bit of wall remains to its left, and a bit of wall one inch wide remains to the left of the door I tried to move. If I paste this wall into a fresh document, the repositioning works correctly. Any clues? VWA 10.1 Win2000
  10. I'm completing a project which was done entirely in 3D on VectorWorks, with passable progress drawings in VW, then translated into AutoCAD by two drafters in about 1.5 weeks - 15 sheets of the permit set, will need another 5-10 sheets of details and boilerplate. The ACAD drawings, an office requirement, were created from .dwg exports of plans, elevation, sections, and detail sketches. I know the position of every element in the building in 3D space to the nearest .001", I've looked at it from every possible angle inside and out using the realtime walkthrough tool, reworked all awkward collisions and design variations that didn't work, etc. The software could be better, but works for me. Client, consultants and contractor love the 3D renderings that were basically a free side benefit of the design process. They wanted to know what the building looked like from an entry gate 1000' down the hill, and I was able to show them in less than a minute.
  11. Stefan, have you tried using the set of small lines as output to your router? It might be worth a try, since your CNC software is going to convert the arc to little small lines anyway to create a set of target points for your router's path. That's how all CNC control software works. The only problem might be if your control program converts to much smaller segments.
  12. "It should always create a polygon object" Katie, when you say "should" I think you are talking about the designed behavior of the offset tool. We aren't disagreeing that this is how it works. Actually, we are complaining about how it works! Using "should" in a different sense, it would be better and more useful if the offset tool created another polyline with a parallel geometry. I.e., if the polyline originally consisted of two straight segments with an arc in between, the offset polyline "should" also consist of two straight segments with an arc of a different radius in between. To be technically succinct, the problem I see is that the result of offsetting a polyline object is always a polygon object. We would need to extend the scope of the offset tool so that the result could be a polyline in order for it to do what is desired. If we could start by making this work at least for arc elements, that would be fairly easy and very helpful. Bezier and cubic curves would require more math.
  13. David, I think the inherent simplicity of allowing symbols to be global, and therefore globally editable, is a compelling construct. One of the advantages of VW compared to AutoCAD is that it is far more transparent, and less encumbered by features that were tacked on to the original concept. If you want to scale something like a detail bubble, you are now able to do it by using a Plug-in-object (editable in the OIP, object information palette). You may have to own a copy of VW Architect to have this feature available. I support the idea that symbols are globally uniform, and that the scaling tool does what it would logically seem to do, change the actual dimensions of an object. Since scaling an instance of a symbol would not change it globally nor change its definition, this application of the scaling tool would be inconsistent with the concept that currently underlies it - and likely would require a complete overhaul of the code as well. I think the answer to your question and to your legitimate request is in these plug-ins that create drawing symbols which can be inserted in a layer of any scale and result in a uniform plotted size.
  14. For some reason, when a polyline (the result of the compose command) is offset, it becomes a geometric approximation in the form of a polyline comprised of straight segments. Mathematically, there is no reason a simpler and more accurate result could not be calculated, so I have always been puzzled as to why this shortcoming of the offset tool persists. I work around it by decomposing, then offsetting the separate elements, and composing again.
  15. Katie, I think you're right, based on what was said about the object being visible after being unselected. Actually, it's an odd thing, but when I first paste or insert an object that belongs to an invisible class, it can remain editable until it is deselected, and can remain visible until some combination of things is done. But, though visible, it can't be re-selected. I haven't tried to figure out exactly what is going on with this. [ 05-05-2003, 03:40 PM: Message edited by: P Retondo ]
  16. Look at your classes. You will find a class named something like "appliances" that is set to invisible. Set this to visible, and you will be able to see and select the object. You will have to edit all of your saved sheets to make this class visible, or change the symbol and all of the objects in it to some visible class like "none." A pain.
  17. There is definitely something wrong going on. I created a drawing consisting of a roof with gable end walls, copied that roof in the original drawing and ungrouped it. Then I pasted both into a new document. The original roof object came in with the gable end walls, but the wall thickness was completely different. The ungrouped version was copied to the new document correctly. I would say there is some bug involved in copying the roof object to a new drawing. You might ungrouping the roof before copying, which breaks it into a set of roof planes and triangular walls. You lose some of your editing options, though. I suspect this bug has something to do with the default setting for wall thickness in the new drawing. If I repeat the experiment, but make sure first that the new drawing has the same wall tool thickness default setting, I can copy the roof object in correctly. Try this also. VWA 10.1 Win2000 [ 05-02-2003, 01:32 AM: Message edited by: P Retondo ]
  18. Interacting with Archicad is just plain difficult. You will have to be creative and work with your Archicad partner to work around these problems. Converting groups and symbols to ordinary entities may help some. [ 05-01-2003, 12:58 PM: Message edited by: P Retondo ]
  19. Bruce: My eyedropper preferences are set to select everything except "Record" and "Pick up sets defaults." I tried this in a new document, and found that the problem does not occur until I use the "Wall type" tool. Create a few walls with the regular wall tool, try the eyedropper, and you will not see the problem. Create another wall with the Wall Type tool, and use the eyedropper to transfer its attributes to one of the walls you created previously. Then you will see the problem. VWA 10.1 Win2000 [ 04-30-2003, 01:34 AM: Message edited by: P Retondo ]
  20. "try switch the click-drag drawing preference off in vectorworks peferences" This was my first thought on reading this post. But, in click-click mode VectorWorks still uses a drag to move objects - i.e., to drag an object, click on it, move the mouse, then release to stop the move. This is unlike creating a line, for example, where to create a line in click-click mode I invoke the line-creation tool, click the start point, release the mouse, then click the end point. If moving an object were not a click-and-drag operation, we'd go crazy because every time an object was selected the next click on the drawing would move the selection (if we hadn't first unselected it). Like many of the suggestions in this discussion area, the person posting this item desires an AutoCAD behavior. The request is not a mouse-behavior request. It is really asking for a different mode for the move command - again, similar to AutoCAD where two clicks create a vector according to which the object is moved. Click-click moving requires first invoking a command to avoid the problem described above. [ 04-30-2003, 01:19 AM: Message edited by: P Retondo ]
  21. I have noticed that using the eyedropper tool to apply attributes to walls causes the wall to lose its cavity lines. If I pick up the attributes from a wall, and put them down on the very same wall, its cavities are deleted. Same for any other eyedropper operation with any wall. I haven't noticed this in the past with versions 8 and 9 - is this a new bug?
  22. Could we make the "L" parameter on the data entry bar be the radius of an arc in "Arc by tangent" mode?
  23. I have found it impossible to select a door or window in a wall with the cursor set to selection, as opposed to resize. It is thus impossible to avoid inadvertantly moving a window or a door when I only want to change its attributes. Could this be fixed? Well, after posting the above I thought, maybe there is a modification key that does what I want and found that using "shift + click" disables resizing, although the cursor remains the double arrow. I wonder if this is generally known, and whether it makes sense to change the cursor icon to a cross when using the shift modifier? [ 04-25-2003, 07:27 PM: Message edited by: P Retondo ]
  24. quote: Originally posted by Robert Anderson: To edit an existing callout, click on the callout with the callout tool. Thanks, Robert. Often those who have used the program for years don't put as much time in with updated manuals as they should! This tip made it worth my time to check into the tech board today.
  25. Thanks, Katie. Does anyone at NNA have an answer to the question about server involvement in the printing process over a network?
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