Jim_Allen

I guess so !! since the instrument was on another layer and the instruments on the layer I was working on were not selected. Thanks - it was driving me crazy. Is there a reason Katie or anyone else in tech support didn't respond to my emails???

Nope just one. I will emailit today Jim

Ok got that. But how do I set the scale for a whole drawing when I start a new one?? I open a new spotlight drawing and everyting is in 1/2" scale. It seems I have to edit each layer's scale individually???

I agree. After using VW since Mini-Cad I am having to try to figure out where everything is. Have you been able to find the scale drawing window that used to be in VW 11 ??? I still can't find it!!! I find it amazing that businesses feel that the users of their products are less important to them than potential new ones. I have been spending money with Diehl-Graph since 1990 and where is their consideration for me as a customer? - pay more $$ to be constantly confused so a new user won't what?? have to learn what we had to!!

OK Kevin, Here is what is happening. I have inserted three instruments into my plot. I right click one insrtument and select "edit". In edit window i select "Lighting information". I place a gobo into the instrument. When I rerpeat with another instrument I will see the same gogo selected in that, and every other instrument. If I change it then it changes in all instrument. Thsi will repaet for color, focus, channel etc. when I right click the insturment and select properties the information that shoew in the edit window will not show in the properties window???? Does this make more sense?? Jim Want the file emailed?? Where to? Jim

VW 1 -2 Windows XP I have sent 3 Emails to Tech support ove thge last 2 months about this problem and have gotten no response. Any one else have these problems??? this came up as I was trying to do some gobo projections on a plot. 1st Email to Katie: It seems that if you duplicate instruments, then edit lighting device information, IE: channel, color, gobo focus, etc. the information will change for all the duplicated instruments every time you change the info of one of them??? but not in the instrument properties window. 2nd email to Katie: I just inserted 2 new instruments from the resource palette and am getting the same information change issue with them in the Edit Lighting Device window, with no cross over change in info to instrument properties window??? Actually the new instruments that are inserted have information in the edit window ( CH, Color, Gobo pattern) that is the same as the instruments already on the plot, without any info being entered for that newly inserted instrument in the edit window, again there is no corresponding info in the instrument properties window. New problem: I addition to the problems listed above I also cannot seem to get instruments to change focus. correctly. If I set a focus point for a unit, then change it's focus point it won't change focus!!! Does this make sense to anyone??? I would love to get a solution as I cannot do any gobo projection, etc with this problem!!!!!

I just worked on a machine with V10 and my problem seems to be gone in that version !!! :-)

Has 11 fixed the problem in 9.5 that once you insert two-fers you cannot move the instrument without the two-fers going wiggy?? I have plots with two-fers and if you try to copy and paste or move the two units the two-fer lines drag all over the plot and you have to close without saving to get rid of them, or go through the plot and delete them.

Steve, You were right. Here is the last email I just got from John Jim Lightwright 3 accepted "1.A" and translated it to "1a", so if you exported things from VectorWorks to LW then the unit numbers were modified that way. When exporting back to VectorWorks, they went back as "1a", although you might not have noticed it if VW wasn't importing the unit numbers. Because LW4 uses decimals to mean attributes on multichannel lights, it doesn't understand what to do with a number such as 1.A, so it says "OK, that's unit 1, with an attribute I don't understand, so I'll just take it as unit 1". So far, out of all the users of Lw4, you're apparently the only one who numbers their striplights this way, or at least the only one who's asked me about it. I just wish that Kevin Linzey (the Spotlight product manager - and a Lightwright 4 beta tester) had mentioned it during last summer's beta testing...

Kevin, Would you guys be willing talk to John and see why the NUM/APLHA 1.A, 1.B, 1.C numbering of strips is causing a problem all of a sudden with LW?? And see if it can be fixed?? Not sure it is your problem, but you have always been able to get things fixed with John. Thanks Jim

Steve, It does work like that in LW4, you can drag units around. John's suggestion is: "I'd suggest you use 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 etc for the three circuits in your striplights if VW won't export things in proper order." I haven't tried it yet. Jim

Steve, Sorry about the long day. Money isn't the issue, except when it costs me extra time with a 14 man IA crew on my clock. What is bugging me it that this seems to be a new problem that I haven't seen before. I have been using these programs - LW since 1990 and VW or back then Mini-Cad since 1993 so I am pretty conversant with what the programs are supposed to do and how to use them. I started working with Frank Brault in 1994 to help create the lighting design component of Mini-CAD. I have been an LD for over 20 years and a couple hundred productions, so I know how to hang a show. My ME does use the plot as the hanging cards for the electric. Now he is out doing some work on another show and an Assistant ME is at the design table with the paperwork using the Instrument Schedule to record circuits as the electricians are going down the pipes calling out citcuits..... want to guess what happened the after the patch was entered??? It took them over an hour to straighten it all out!! X 14 men X $22.00/hour The whole point of making VW & LW interface is to make the plot and paperwork match. If they don't it is like going back to the days of manually transfering info from the plot to paperwork and all the old accuracy problems. Now that we had been burned we will adjust. I can certainly adjust how I generate MY plots to accomdate this problem, but I get plots from every LD that sends a show into one of my theatres and the bulk of them use LW & VW so now I have to police their work and correct it. We have 4 theatres and do around 30 productions a season. We don't need the extra work. All I want is that however the position is numbered in VW, it will be in the same order in the LW intrument schedule - not a huge request. I know we are only talking about Striplight electrics, but the show in question had 5 and at least an additional 8 lekos,etc on each pipe!!!

Kevin, Where I am having a problem is I think I have always done my strips NUM.Alpha and had them import into LW without any problems. Now with 9.5.2 & LW4 all of a sudden they come in as 1,1,1,2,2,2,3,3,3 even though they are 1.A,1.B,1.C on the plot. I guess I should just throw in the towel and change how I number strips. The problem is if I go to A1, A2, A3 for strips and I have single units on the position they will number 1,2,3 and import into LW out of order in the position paperwork, where as with 1A,1B, the units will number and import in correct order on the position. Jim

I just got done talking to John and he says the problem is Spotlight, when auto numbering positions NUM/ALPHA, is putting a period between the number and the letter. That is what appears to be screwing up LW when you import.

Not true. If you add a unit to the pipe, all you have to do is use the VW renumber function Num/Alpha to renumber the pipe and it keeps the strips 1a,1b,1c and adds the new unit in as a solo number IE #2.Remember you have to have created the strips as multicircuited units. No one should get confused on the paperwork,as it lists them as strips. Also it keeps them in order in the paperwork something you won't get if they are set up as you describe. The units show up in LW not in order as they are on the position. I just had that problem with a show that came into our space. The LD labeled the strip electrics that had lekos on them - strips A1,A2,A3, and lekos 1,2,3 my ME went crazy as the order of the paperwork didn't agree with the order of the pipe. They didn't sort the color correctly and the circuiting wasn't correct. I can'e see any advantage to doing it A1 instead of 1A

since each strip is a unit unto itself, an instrument inserted between strip 2&3 would become 3 and the strip #3 would become #4a,b,c, your numbering would look like - 1a 1b 1c, 2a 2b 2c, 3, 4a 4b 4c, In VW once you create a strip from pieces and convert it to a multicircuit unit VW will number an electric automatically like I described above if you have selected the Num/Alpha option for numbering

When I numbered them I used the VW "NUM/Aplha" auto numbering function and did the numbering in VW not LW, so I didn't actually do it myself. I knew I had always done them 1A, etc so I am wondering if it is a VW problem in how they do the numbering. According to John 1A or 1a or A1 shouldn't make any difference. When imported into LW it will read them and should be able to handle them like you experienced. Will let you know when I hear back from John. For me it doesn't make sense to number all the other instruments 1,2,3 and strip lights A1,A2. If they are combined on a position it is a mess and the instruments won't be in order when imported into LW. Just the old pre-computer drafting habits of labeling all instruments the same way, I guess.

According to John LW should read the strips when set up 1A,1B,1C. - He is looking at my file to see what is going on

But I have always done my strips 1a,1b and don't remember this as being a problem before LW4. I will give John a holler and see what's up

VW 9.5.2 LW 4.0.3 I have created 3 section striplights and have the position set to auto number - num/alpha - so they show on the plot as 1.A,1.B,1.C,2.A, etc. When I import them into LW4 what I get is 1,1,1,2,2,2,3,3,3 etc - so I have to assume they are in order. Seems to me that in LW3 I got 1A,1B,1C. Have I been smoking too much funny stuff or is this a new problem since LW4? Does anyone have this problem with VW10 to LW4 ??? Any ideas? Jim

I use 9.5 on windows XP and have not had any problems. I wonder if VW got corrupted and you need to re-install it??

I am pretty sure the answer to question #1 is no. The number will always go into the same field. You can however set up multiple versions of the same symbols with different label legends, placing the number field in a different location, if that is what you are looking for. Then you can assign the different legends to instruments as you want to. Can't answer #2

If you want email me I will send you the import mapping file that will automatically match everything for importing into VW from LW4. Then all you have to do is browse to the export file from LW , hit the Load button in the import window of VW, find the import mapping file, and you are set. I keep all these back and forth files from VW to LW and LW to VW in one folder so they are easy to find. Jim Allen wcprod@msu.edu

Try going to the VW web page and downloading the 10.5 update. You do not have the most current version. See if that solves the problem.

I was on John's page this AM and he does not have the 4.0.3 posted yet. But I agree that it sounds like a problem with LW. John is very responsive to bugs so I am sure it won't be long before he has a fix.