[HP 1220PS VS Epson 1520]

I use an HP1220C with VectorWorks 8.5 (tried 9.0, shelved it). Both print okay, but the lack of a scaling utility in VW is a sore point. HP's "Smart Zoom" utility doesn't work with VW because VW automatically tiles a document according to the paper size selected in the printer driver. So, for example, if you want to print out a 24x36 document at half size, you're out of luck. The 1220C driver doesn't offer a 24x36 paper size, so VW tiles the document into at least 4 sheets. When you try to print out at 50%, you get four 50% size sections of the drawing. The work around is to change layer scales - a real pain, but doable. The printer itself is fast, quiet, and gives great output. It can also take a 13x19 sheet.

VW programmers take note! You need to provide printer output scaling!

[Migration]

Dear scubohntr,

I share your frustration with VectorWorks documentation. It is far too sketchy. Here is a pobable solution, though, to your problem: you are working an a map at a "large" scale, where the symbol you are trying to use is at a "small" scale, like 1/4" = 1'. Put the symbol on a layer with a small scale, and it will show up in properly sized. This is a problem one wouldn't encounter in AutoCAD, which uses a completely different system for these things. VW responds to scaling a symbol, as opposed to an ordinary object, as an illegal command and just does nothing in response. If you convert the symbol to a group, however, it can then be scaled using the scaling tool.

[Pulling plug on VW 9 : too slow]

After two days of trying VW 9, encountered many bugs - you will no doubt work through them. Sluggish performance is not a bug - it's a basic design issue. 3D solid operations, doors and windows, simply changing the width of a wall object, all take unacceptably long periods of time. If you have a strategy to get back at least to the user performance of v 8.5, let me know. Otherwise, can't use VectorWorks in the future.