Jonathan Pickup

Can you be more specific about how you are trying to open or import the files. I copy files from the Mac to PC all the time without any trouble. 1. Make sure that the Mac files have .mcd at the end of the filename. 2. Make sure that you are choosing the correct file. Sometings I see an underscore at the front of my Mac files. These are not the ones to open...

is the attached database available?

if you don?t want to edit the text in the VectorWorks file then: Copy and Paste As A Picture works really well.

i think Mechanix methods of layers and classes is too simplistic. Classes are more like components then just pens, remember we are trying to make Building information models (even for engineering models) not just pens on paper...

are the classes there but just invisible. What state were the classes in the referenced file. You?ll probably find them turned off.

drawing with objects is not an evil plot, its faster than drawing with lines. As for classes, I have a few simple rules: - draw as much as you can on each layer. for a building, draw everything on each floor level of the buiding. - use classes to control visibility,[/b] this means if you have two objects that are different, say text and dimensions, but you turn them on and off at the same time, put them on the same class. - use classes to control grahpic quality, [/b] this means breaking up the design (using lines of you want) into graphic stuff. For example I have a class for floor joists and another for bearers... I have a class for rafters and another for purlins. All these classes are purely to control the grahpic style of the drawings. if you have my VectorWorks Architect Tutorial you will a file with my standard layers and classes on the CD

as well as showning live cavities in 3D it would be nice in 2D plan view to be able to turn off the non-structural wall components. It would make the wall styles more powerful.

Nick how many stories are there to your project? If there is only one storey then you can set the Z of the wall layer to 0 (zero) and the delta Z to the correct wall height. Set the roof layer to z=0 and the delta Z to 0 as well. When you draw your roof, set the bearing height of the roof to the height of the walls at the eaves.

There is a pdf file that will show you through the process to save a corrupt file. If this technique doesn?t work try contacting NNA Technical Support http://archoncad.co.nz/resources/corrupt.pdf

I always assign a Z height to my layers. That way, when I layer link the layers together in my Mod-3D Model layer they come together exactly. There is no need to unlock, there is no need to move the layer links...

the scroll wheel works in the Resource Browser and the Object Info Palette but it doesn?t work in a lot of the places that it should do...

Charles, contact me off-list for some help on the Cost centres, fundtional hardware and how to add costs for hardware... jon@archoncad.co.nz interiorCAD 2.0 wrks with VectorWorks 11.5 and you CAN place functional hardware like hinges, handles connectors and so on. These turn up on the part layout as borings and then can be sent to the CNC machine for boring. There are several choices that you can make when buying CNC machinery and interiorCAD can be adjusted to suit the machines. If you want to down see my manual please refer to: http://www.archoncad.co.nz/manuals/maninfo.php#iCAD

set your Dimension Class as Matt says. Then save your file as a Template. That way you have the same dimension settings in every file...

I have a lot of experience with interiorCAD. I have written a manual of it and I have trained several of my clients to use it effectively. It is able to create very sophisticated kitchens in a great deal of detail. And if you need to send information to a CNC machine it can do that as well. It?s not cheap, but I believe that the time you save is worth much more than the cost of interiorCAD. It will speed up the way you draw a kitchen.

change the classes: DTM-Group DTM-triangle 3d DTM-Mesh set their attributes to what you want...

if you change the attributes of the DTM class then VectorWorks will give the site model the ggraphic attributesthat you want it to have. Let me check to see which classes you need to change

my Architect Tutorial manual has several pages on how to model complex roofs. There are a few ways to make complex roofs and it depends on what information you have to start with... https://plus36.safe-order.net/archoncad/manuals/manuals.php

I don?t think that Leather is a shader. I have checked the list of my shaders and it?s not there. I did find Leather as a bump though... When you create a texture, if you click on the Bump pop-up menu, you will find Leather listed as a Bump.

to import classes from a file that has all the settings that you want, save the file to your Standards folder. From there you can import all the classes that are in that file, regardless of whether or not there are objects with that class assigned. when you create a new class, you can then point to the new standard file and select all the classes that you want. As for importing layers with stuff on them, use WGR as noted above by Travis. If you want to be able to import the layers as names, then save the file to your standards folder, and then when you make a new layer you can point to the new standard file and select all the layer that you want. This topic is covered in my Architect Tutorial Manual...

there are some particular do?s and don?ts when using WGR, and you?ve discoverd a few of them. Layer names have to be unique, so as mike says, you have to name each layer differently. You are not allowed a class called door and an object called door. Change the class name... another thing to watch out for are symbols with the same name. Two file could have the same symbol name, but they could be different things. They have to have different symbol names. In my VectorWorks Architect Tutorial Manual I outlined many of these do?s and don?ts, to help people understand the process before they start drawing.

I can see your point but I have gotten used to the way that it works. For me its good to have access to the information at the real coordinates so that you could check something in relation to the original coordinates. The layer link is similar or making the WGR into a symbol... Later on if you want to break the WGR link, you are left with an editable layer...

Page > Set Attribute Defaults > Patterns...

there is a sphere tool, cold you add a mirror texture to it?

remember to make a partner tool that brings them all back again. I have two tools that will do this email me off list...

it?s easy enough to write one for yourself, if you know how to make a simple script...