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P Retondo

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Posts posted by P Retondo

  1. welshpe, you can give a roof plane any shape you want if you ungroup the roof (this breaks it into a series of roof planes, an operation which cannot be undone). Then, you edit the individual plane like you would an extrude. The only drawback is that if you want to change some configuration in your roof, you have to make the change to every plane individually. My projects always involve pretty complex roofs, so I almost always end up ungrouping my roofs after generating them from a polygon.

    [ 03-13-2003, 12:14 AM: Message edited by: P Retondo ]

  2. Katie,

    After making my original post I did the same test you did, and came up with the same results that you did. Two columns, one in the layer and the other via link, both converted to lines properly.

    There is something else strange going on in the file I'm working on. In my layer, I can put in a column and it renders without unnecessary lines, where the columns in the layer link render with lots of unnecessary lines. The layer link, by the way, is a link to a model layer containing multiple links. (I tested the "second generation link" theory, too, and it also rendered a single column correctly). Maybe the problem has to do with the number of objects to be rendered, maybe some other odd circumstance. I can email you the file if you want, but be forwarned that it's around 6MB.

    BTW, I didn't make it totally clear, but I am using the "Convert copy to lines (hidden rendering)" command.

    [ 03-11-2003, 07:05 PM: Message edited by: P Retondo ]

  3. Smoothing angle setting to reduce the number of facets or extraneous lines when rendering, for example, a column in elevation, does not appear to work with objects via a layer link. I can get the correct results with a column that is a member of the layer, but the same column via a layer link has all of its lines when rendered. Is this a known bug?

    By the way, I notice that my windows and doors no longer have 45 degree lines at the corners of sash and trim when rendered in elevation. Bravo!! We are inching our way to automatically updated elevation drawings . . .

    VWA 10.1

    WinXP

    [ 03-11-2003, 02:59 PM: Message edited by: P Retondo ]

  4. What you are saying is exactly why people get confused. If the container class is set to visible, but all member objects are members of an invisible class, you will see nothing on screen. You will be looking at a visible container that is full of invisible objects. It is very easy for this situation to occur, especially when our PIOs are assigning member objects to a variety of classes created by the PIO.

    I agree that we need simplicity, but when simplicity causes confusion and contradiction, we need to have a different solution. My solution would actually simplify the interface. We would no longer assign classes or other attributes to groups or symbols, so the user would be unaware that there was ever such an option in the program, that led us into confusing situations.

    [ 03-11-2003, 02:49 PM: Message edited by: P Retondo ]

  5. Mbuck, I think you are right that there is a difficulty with classes, and I think you put your finger on it by saying that people experience unexpected "disappearance" of objects. But I have a different take on the fix that is needed.

    In my view, the problem has to do with the contradiction that can arise between the class (and other attributes, as well) of a "container object," and the class(es) of the container's member objects. Container objects include groups, symbols, and perhaps PIOs. To solve this contradiction, require that all container objects be members of a class that cannot be made invisible (or alternatively, make them classless), and do not allow container objects to have graphic attributes.

    Let class and other attributes be assigned to the member objects individually, and allow the user to choose to assign any attribute en masse when the container object is selected.

    [ 03-11-2003, 01:43 PM: Message edited by: P Retondo ]

  6. The old resources palette used to give us access to all the standard resources. Now, to get to hatches, I have to open the hatches file. Supposedly I can add that to my "favorites" using the "add current to favorites" command under the "favorites menu," but I can find neither the command nor the menu in the Workspace Editor. Take us back to the old browser!

    VWA 10.1

  7. Because of a small inconsistency in the way in which doors and windows are sized, it is tricky to get door heads and window heads to align correctly using the VW PIO insertion tools. Basically, a window's overall size usually includes the thickness of the frame, where a door's does not.

    So, when you ask the PIO to align a window to a 6'8" head height so that it will line up with your doors, the window ends up being low by the thickness of the frame (i.e., the trim and jambs are not aligned). For example, with windows having a 3/4" frame thickness, I need to set my head alignment height to 6'8 3/4" instead.

    Does anyone see a problem with asking the PIO to be fixed so that we can set a window head alignment height = door height, and have it work? One problem I can see is that if current files have been "fixed" to work around this problem, they might become misaligned if they are converted into a new version of the software.

    Can this be done without creating a situation where the cure is worse than the disease? I think so, but wonder if anyone else has a comment on this idea.

  8. Having similar problems with text sizes in a file with different layer scales. I had interpreted the problem to be a bug that affected the default text size setting. When I enter text in a layer set to 1 1/2" scale, the text is way small. When I reset my text default (10 pt in my case), the text enters correctly. I have to do this resetting of the text default size every time I work on the document.

    VWA 10.1

    Win 2K/XP

    P4 2G

    [ 03-08-2003, 05:31 PM: Message edited by: P Retondo ]

  9. I think that version 10 contains some important 2D drafting improvements in the areas of the representation of doors and windows (wish these improvements could be perfected, however!), and others including the refinement of some things that were introduced with version 9. As for working with 3D vs 2D - to each his/her own! I prefer to start with a full 3D model of the building, and find that a more efficient process. What VW has that other 2D/3D programs don't is a more thoughtful integration of the two environments.

  10. When using the "Door" insertion tool, if the wall has assymmetrical cavities it is not possible to line up the cavity lines in all door configurations with a simple swing door. In fact, it works for only half of the possible door swing configurations.

  11. If I have a roof that has a "double miter" eave condition, and edit a roof plane to "vertical" eave, the roof surface moves upward instead of staying at a constant height. Changing the eaves should not change the height of the roof. The program is (apparently) currently set to maintain the bottom elevation of the element when it should be set to maintain the top elevation (at the ridge).

    VWA 10.1

    [ 03-06-2003, 03:39 PM: Message edited by: P Retondo ]

  12. I just caused a crash of VW 10.1 that required me to force-quit using Task Manager. After restarting the program, all of my palettes were undocked. Restarting the computer did not cure the situation, I had to reconstruct all docking.

    The program froze while attempting to render a model (OpenGL mode), to which I had just added an "extrude along path" object. There were no warnings or advisories, the hourglass just persisted for several minutes in a model view that had been taking less than 5 seconds to render before adding this one object. If I render this object with no fill, I do not get a problem. If it is filled, the program hangs (apparently interminably). If I convert this object to 3D polys, rendering causes no problem with the polys filled or not.

    Any comments or suggestions? Seems like a bug to me. BTW, with version 10.1 docking palettes under each other is a breeze. Thanks for that fix!

    VWA 10.1

    WinXP

    P4 G2.2

    768 MB RAM

    [ 03-02-2003, 05:33 PM: Message edited by: P Retondo ]

  13. Currently the "Extrude along path" tool extrudes the profile in such a way that the axis of the path passes through a program-selected point - looks like the centroid of the profile. That's okay for a default, but I would like to have the option to force the axis to pass through any point I choose - like a corner, or the center of a side, or whatever. I suggest this be done by allowing the user to place a 2D locus at that point. This would be parallel to the way the sweep tool works.

    [ 03-02-2003, 03:55 PM: Message edited by: P Retondo ]

  14. Garry,

    Sorry, I didn't read your post thoroughly. To produce a JPEG that can be printed or enlarged on screen without the jagged lines, save at a resolution greater than the default 72 dpi. This requires you to also CHANGE THE IMAGE SIZE. Otherwise, you will get a tiny image at 600 dpi, not what you want. I usually save at 300 dpi (3000 pixels wide for a landscape letter-size output), or 600 dpi / 6000 pixels for something that can be printed in "best" mode, or that you can zoom in on without a great deal of jaggedness.

    I assume you are aware that you save an image using the "File -> Import/Export -> Export Image File" menu tool. VW 10 has a great new feature which allows you to drag a marquee around what part of the drawing or screen you want to save.

    [ 03-01-2003, 02:30 PM: Message edited by: P Retondo ]

  15. I've lost track - are we still talking about having a way to mask a layer link? If so, I still think that's a great idea. It adds a feature to existing VW technology, and addresses the one and only one issue I've heard that separates VW capabilities from ACAD. I take that back, I have heard that scaling of lineweights and text would be a desirable thing, but I'm not sure it is worth the complexity. One of the worst things about AutoCAD is the entirely-rational-but-almost-beyond-comprehension complexity of setting text size, lineweight, and linestyle. If there is a "MiniCad way" of doing that, great.

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