Teresa Hull

Removing the 2D portion of the symbol does not help. Things still get funky.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean. Is there such thing as a "scale dependent" symbol vs a "not scale dependent" symbol? I am not familiar with this concept. What I was trying to do is take a symbol whose bounding box is 10'x10'x20', and scale it to be 10'x10'x10' (for example). I suppose it makes sense that the nested symbols get confused about insertion points, etc. Having never tried this before, I was kind of hoping that it would just WORK ... But it didn't.

For the first time ever, I'm trying to use the new "Scaling" option for symbols. Everything seems pretty good when scaling symmetrically, but I haven't yet cracked the code on asymmetrical scaling. I have some 3D trees in my drawing that I am trying to get to somewhat represent what the actual trees on the site look like. Mostly, I need to be able to adjust the Z' scale independent from the X' and Y' to give the different trees different looks. I got the 3D tree models by importing 3ds files that I scavenged from the internet. I have mostly stripped out nested symbols, but not completely. So the symbol is organized like this: A. Hybrid Tree Symbol 1. 2D elements group a. polygon of outline of leaves b. circle where trunk meets ground 2. 3D trunk group a. 3D symbol of main part of trunk b. 3D symbol of branch 1 (several instances) c. 3D symbol of branch 2 (several instances) d. 3D symbol of branch 3 (several instances) 3. 3D leaves group a. 3D symbol of leaves cluster containing a dozen simple 3D polygons (many many instances) I can scale the tree with no problem as long as the scaling is symmetrical. If I make the X' and Y' different than the Z', then the Z' appears to effectively become "1" no matter what I enter. It seems the X' and Y' are doing what they should. Perhaps I am "doing this wrong" by asking VW to asymmetrically scale a symbol that has nested symbols ... Or maybe it is something else? Does anyone have any experience (good or bad) with Asymmetrically scaling symbols?

I know of several Wiki sites for software and consoles that I have found to be very useful. Some are propagated by users, and some by the company. It does start to get hard to know where to go for resources when the resources are scattered in many locations ... But when you NEED an answer or some guidance, it is a blessing. Indeed. I am sure that this idea is not lost on the folks at Vectorworks. I trust that a better plan is in the works.

Let me preface this post with this: I love Vectorworks. I use it a lot. A lot of my work DEPENDS on Vectorworks. I don't think there is a better program out there for me, for what I do. The fancy bells and whistles are nice, but if the software can't deliver my final product BECAUSE the bells and whistles make the software choke, then I want the software without the bells and whistles. Before I was Mac, I was intimate with how to boot my Dell into XP safe mode -- it's nice that now I don't even remember how to do that in XP, nor do I remember why I ever had to so often. Where's the "safe mode" for Vectorworks? I keep VW 2009, VW 2010 and VW 2011 loaded on my machine, so that I can always go back to one of the versions that "worked". In Vectorworks' defense, there is ALWAYS a learning curve for new features and new ways to do something. Users will almost always resist changing old patterns or workflows to accommodate the "new way." I'd like to think that I am particularly open-minded, and experienced when it comes to Vectorworks. And if I was doing the really easy stuff, I probably wouldn't run into nearly the number of "oddities" that I do. If I need to "get drawings / renderings out the door", I stick with an older version. I have one drawing where I do 2D stuff, and I sometimes have a completely different file where I work in 3D and do renderings. When I have time to "play", I use the current version, and I try the newer [buggy] features. Perhaps this already exists, and I just don't know about it ... BUT: While this Community Board is helpful, and it is sometimes commented on by our friends at Vectorworks, I think it would be nice if our friends at Vectorworks would publish (and keep updated) a document that outlines the status of features. It would be nice to know what is a "known bug", what is "legacy" (and prone to going away), what is "beta", and what is "stable." While I understand that the above-mentioned document could be very lengthy and hard to organize, I think it would be worth it. Extra-super-bonus-points if it lines up with the HELP file, and links to tutorials and workarounds. It would be nice for the user to be able to KNOW that "it won't work" before trying a million ways to do something. A very frustrating part about being an end user is not knowing if the software isn't working because I'm doing it wrong, or if the software isn't working because the software has an issue.

michaelk, The symbol does not contain elements that are in different classes. I am using the built-in "Human Figure Tool" by activating it from the Tools Set pallete. None of the 2D elements are on anything but the screen plane. Benson, I, like you, get the same naughty behavior (3D edit mode changing to 2D edit mode upon Save) whether I activate the editing mode via double clicking the symbol in the Design Layer, ctrl-click + "Edit" the symbol in the Design Layer, ctrl-click + "Edit 3D Component" the symbol in the Design Layer, ctrl-click + "Edit..." the symbol from the Resource Browser. Also, the naughty behavior (3D edit mode changing to 2D edit mode upon Save) happens when VW Auto-Saves. That is getting boring.

Word on the street is that modifying origin is still a No-No. I have encountered this problem in VW 2011. If you need the "0,0,0" to be in a different place, move everything else. Don't move the origin. Just wait until the origin spontaneously reverts to where it began ... Now THAT'S fun!! Just leave the origin where it is. They should get ride of the "Move Origin" command and shortcuts.

I'm thinking this is a bug ... but perhaps someone can tell me what I'm doing wrong. I have a hybrid symbol that contains several human figures. I am in a 3D view, editing the 3D component. If I save the file, the screen looks the same, but I cannot select anything in 3D. If I zoom or pan, the 3D stuff disappears, but the 2D appears. I can select the 2D and edit it, but I really want to still be in 3D. The only way to get back to the 3D is to exit the symbol and re-edit the 3D. Any ideas? Thanks!

Good to see this post did get some attention, eventually! Glad I'm not alone.

Funny, but wouldn't it just be easier to have an option like "File > Import > Vectorworks"? Maybe a wish-list thing?

Boy, would I like to see that screenshot!! Sorry, William, I have no idea.

It seems to me that using the "Replace Instrument" command from the Spotlight menu will affect even layers that are not active. Is this true? Am I supposed to go through every layer and deselect everything before running the command? Has this created an issue for anyone else? Should it be a Wish List thing to have a the "Replace Instrument" command have a toggle between "All Layers" and "Active Layers"?

Peter, Converting to Polys worked. Tasmin, The rectangles were created with Duplicate Array, not Duplicate Along Path. Duplicate Array worked fine for the Polys ... it just messed with the rectangles. Thanks for the advice!

The workaround is to draw the rectangles as polygons. Boring.

As I draft, I often use the keyboard shortcut to close the Resource Browser. If I close the Resource Browser while one of the yellow pop-up windows (the ones that tell you about what your mouse is hovering over) is still open, I cannot click in my drawing until the yellow pop-up window goes away, which is at least a few seconds. Has anybody else experienced this? Is there a way to possibly disable the pop-ups (as helpful as they are, they REALLY slow down my workflow!!)? Thanks!

I have created a lighting device (I only care about the 2D for now). In the geometry of the symbol, there are some rectangles that got arrayed in a circle about the center of the symbol. When I insert the symbol as a lighting device, the rectangles un-rotate themselves, and they stretch to the outer dimension of the previously-rotate rectangle. If I insert the symbols as a 2D Symbol, all is right with the world. Anyone got any tips? Bug maybe?

I have to amend my previous post. While you *can* change the files located in the Vectorworks 2011 / Libraries / Defaults folders, I was reminded last week in a user group meeting that any changes you make there may be overwritten with a service pack or update. The better place to add user content is: username / Library / Application Support / Vectorworks / 2011 / Libraries / Defaults. If you add files to the folders, it will show up in the PIO.

Bill, To expand on Jim's advice ... once you have all the objects selected, hold the shift key and click on the stack of objects. This will de-select the top object of the stack that you select, leaving the rest of the stack selected. Then just press the DELETE key, and you will be left with one instance. Be careful though: if not all the objects in the stack are the same, the one that you de-select could not be the one you thought. That's what the UNDO command is for.

Drew, Create the layout using a symbol from the standard library (that will have chairs on both sides of the tables). Once you have things the way you want them, edit the symbol that has chairs on both sides, deleting the chairs on one side of the table. The PIO will update the seat counts accordingly. The file that determines your choices for the tool can be modified to change the defaults available to you. The file is located at: Vectorworks 2011 / Libraries / Defaults / Event Planning / Seating / Seating.vwx WARNING: Before you make any changes to any "Default" document, you should make a backup copy of the file and save it somewhere special. Good Luck!

Weston, I probably have some of the jargon wrong here, but my understanding of what you are trying to do will have the following result: If you have a symbol that you would like inserted into the drawing as a Spotlight symbol, any attached data records will be stripped from the symbol during the conversion insertion. The only way to have a Spotlight symbol that has an additional data record is to have the symbol be a "Plug-In" (RED) symbol. In your resource browser, you would then end up with an instance of the symbol, in addition to the instance of the Plug-In symbol. I find this to be very boring .... but if you don't mind having a cluttered (and redundant) and cluttered ((sorry, I couldn't resist)) Resource Browser, knock yourself out! If anyone has any other ideas as to how to get additional information about a lighting instrument to transfer into a drawing, I'd love to hear it!

I am also having this issue.

If moving the lights changes their orientation, don't worry about it (for now). Get the light where you want it, then rotate it (via the OIP) after the light is where you want it. If it helps, select the lights when you are in a view where you can see the lights. Then change the view, and the lights will still be selected. Zoom in to the selection to see where you lights went. It looks to me that the lights on the legs are in the front view, but they are all stacked on top of each other. Perhaps going to an Isometric view, or a view with perspective will clue you in to their whereabouts. Don't worry about rendering until you get things where you want them... Then look at things in wireframe to make sure they are where you want them. Once all that looks good, give a render a try. In response to your issue: are you rendering in the Design Layer, or are you going to a viewport or a Sheet Layer? If you are in a DL, make sure "Unified View" is turned on, otherwise only the currently active layer will change views. If you are in a standard workspace, the "Unified View" button is the icon along the top of the window, to the left of the pull-down for the rendering views (the "teacup"). If you are going to a VP or SL, check the Class and Layer settings for the VP. It may be easier to just create a new VP. FYI, in addition to the training that you and I spoke about a few weeks ago, there are also training books, DVDs and YouTube videos. Some of them are free, and some of them are not... Good luck!

Thanks for the tip on illuminating lenses, Cris (and mk). I wish the Spotlight symbols had that built in ... Any ideas on FOG?? How do I control the density of the fog for Spotlight instruments?

1. Once I link a camera to a viewport, the camera no longer shows up in design layers nor in the Visualization Palate. The only way to access that camera seems to be via the viewport. I like to have a plan view that shows all my camera views, but it seems this is not possible. 2. Once the camera is linked to a viewport, there isn't a way to duplicate the camera (since it isn't available in the Visualization Palate, nor in a design layer). 3. If I duplicate the Viewport, the link to the RW Camera is apparently broken. Yet, in the Object Info Window, for "RW Camera:" it says "Yes". If I try to edit the camera, NOTHING HAPPENS. There is no way to change the view of the newly created Viewport. Can anyone offer insight? What am I missing here?

I am working on renderings for an event. When a light is turned on, I want the front of the light (the lens) to be illuminated -- like it would be in real life. Is that possible? Is there a check-box somewhere for that? It seems that the "Lit Fog" Renderworks background does not work with Spotlight instruments. But I can "Edit Light..." on a Spotlight instrument and check "Lit Fog". But what if I want to control the amount of fog for Spotlight instruments? It seems like the Spotlight instruments should behave like other lighting objects and respond to the RW background. Does anyone have any insight to these issues?