LarryO

I believe the answer is yes. for imperial find the data file Angle-Inch.txt open with a basic text editor (not MS_Word the file must remain a txt file without hidden formatting characters) add the specifics of the shape following the order presented in the file. (Make sure you save a copy of the original file elsewhere in case you accidentally delete something) I've forgotten if the entries are delimited with a space or a tab between each. A normal carriage return is used for terminating each line. open the plugin editor and select the angle tool. While you cannot see or edit the script you can view and add to the parameters' data. So go to the parameters and find the list that is used for selecting the size and enter the size of the angle in the same format as presented, spaces are as critical as the other characters. There maybe more than one parameter data set to edit in some of these structural tools. I've forgotten if they are utilizing the parameter strings or not. Of course this will have to be redone with every major upgrade as the tools are not checked if they have been customized.

You'll need 5 or 6 levels. Draw a sample in Vectorworks from which you can take measures is the simplest approach. If you make each level a different colour it is easier to visualize while creating a hatch. These numbers will give you a chevron pattern but maybe not to the spacing you desire. LVL 1 / 0,0° / 50.8,45° / 0.5 / 50.8,-45° LVL 2 / 0,0° / 50.8,-45° / 0.5 / 50.8,45° LVL 3 / 35.9,0° / 50.8,45° / 0.5 / 50.8,-45° LVL 4 / 35.9,0° / 50.8,-45° / 0.5 / 50.8,45° LVL 5 / 0,0° / 50.8,0° / 1.0 / 50.8,-45° LVL 6 / 25.4,45° / 50.8,0° / 1.0 / 50.8,-45°

Dimension class and None class are default classes that must exist in every file; therefore they cannot be deleted from a drawing file. While you can rename the Dimension class it still retains an identifier that prevents it from being deleted.

What I came across was that all the tabs were already separate menus, "detached" and it is not apparent how to return them to the 2019 style tabbed arrangement that is familiar. This being compounded by them all being blank with the title of Vectortworks across the top. The latter I found that by opening them one by one from the window palette menu I could refresh each menu to identify which one is which.

I've noticed that the data now has its own palette from the object information but they both are opening and closing using crtl I. Similarly the navigation palettes are all opening and closing with the same keyboard shortcut. Is there a new setting somewhere to enable the former tab functionality or a means to stop palettes that do not have a shortcut specifically assigned to them from opening. Do I possibly have to rebuild my workspace menu instead of using the migrated one?

Are you postscript printing? or in a mixed environment and using PCL to your Cannon? We have been the latter for some time.

fresh install of 2021. migrated company menu from VW2019 via install. Switched to company menu and closed most of the now non-tabbed Navigation and Object Info windows. Switched to Architect and back to company menu. Look at what I found hiding near the right edge of the monitor. If I open, lets say the data palette, and close it then one of them will become the data palette and it will close when triggered to do so.

no difference in the output. Not a small file but here it is, plus the sysinfo of my workstation. Prefer that files are removed after your have them. One never knows these days what those dark webbers' find in this info to scam us with. 8569 Glen Lake Town Centre v2021.vwx

This is what I see on the monitor in VW2021 using OpenGL. In the pdf are scans of the pages that VWs prints. What is causing those stray lines to appear? This is something that has been frustrating when attempting to use the 3d aspects of Vectorworks since VW2012. Both Minolta and Sharp printer/copiers communicating via PCL. Our MinoltaC368 series printer copier is only three years old and has been upgraded with 2019 firmware/software. This has been happening from both Win and Mac platforms. It will also occur when printing pdfs generated from VWs. Bluebeam will display the pages as expected but the output to a printer is corrupted with stray lines. Any thoughts on how this can be resolved? If we have to resort to 2d only drawing techniques the industry may as well revert back to MiniCad 7. Think of all the inexpensive hardware we could save from the landfill! Secondary problem, I have noticed that the different shades of grey applied to these objects (solid fill attribute colour) are not being acknowledged in VW2021. SKM_C25820092414200.pdf

If you still have the previous version installed you can copy that version's stair tool over to the new version's function library. It may or may not function due to changes in the underlying commands but it is worth a try. You would have to add it to your menu for new use but that's not necessary if you only want the existing instances to function.

It is fun to experience the success of drawing something via a script (I've gotten caught up in that aspect many a time). From a practical point your symbol library already exists and it is a great launching point for your plugin. I assume that you already have these 300 plus profiles drawn as a polyline, each in their own symbol, and pre-indexed by name from those catalogues in a Vectorwork's file. This makes an excellent a library resource file that your plugin can search through based upon an index name typed into the OIP, or emulate the technique used in the wide flange steel beam tool (long lists of predetermined sizes sorted by applicable standards organization, add an option to branch to a script for non-standard entries). It is also easy to add non-standard variations to the library file by simply duplicating a similar existing symbol making the edit and giving it a unique name to add to your list. The bulk of your profiles remain in the library file stored on your drive while the plugin only imports the profiles that are utilized into your project file. At this point if these symbols cluttering your resource palette you can convert the imported instance to a group and ungroup leaving only the outline that was originally in the symbol. follow it by deleting the named symbol from the symbol library. Alternatively your script can create a folder (if it doesn't already exist) to contain these symbol definitions then repeated use of a particular profile will not significantly add to the project's file size. Ok, I had nothing better to do tonight to distract myself from thinking about dental surgery tomorrow.

Personally, I leave the setting off because unless you are only using basic entities throughout they fail to associate. This I find to be true for 3d objects, entities which have been grouped, PIO objects, solids that have been edited (add, subtract, section, etc.)

Just guessing here, It might be one of the tools that require calling via the custom tool call function in the same manner that one would call a PIO.

DBDocAddConn Connects a database to the document. I've ever used this aspect myself, so this may not fit your need. There is a ODBC class of database functions in the Vectorscript library.

It would seem to me with the limited info of the purpose that you are simply needing to use your existing PIO twice. Laying the smaller object on top of the larger one. I suppose you could use a tool to lay down the two instances and link them through unique data like a permanent handle concept so one instance can find and evaluate the data of the other. Or a tool that creates a plugin which monitors and evaluates two polygons. While tools can create two iterations of a PIO the result will be two separate instances of that PIO. Also if you deleted one of the data linked objects the other would be orphaned and possibly show wrong data or crash. More coding is required for such occurrences. FYI: Whether this is of use or not is to be seen, but your donut instance can be separated into two polygons by decomposing and then immediately recomposing them. Note the result is unperdictable if one or more of the definition points share the same location, ie the result is rarely two closed polygons.

Has anyone already reported that they cannot select the Note text of an ungrouped linear dimension string? Can only select via bounding or crossing box. Cannot select via single click, nor text edit via single/double click. Pasting a copy of the text onto a sheet or in a viewport, the copy will also exhibit this troublesome characteristic. VW2019 SP6 (64) Win10

For months now I've been annoyed with this behaviour. After being away for only a day a co-worker used my station to publish something and thereafter these little bird droppings appeared whenever I put together a pdf of drawings for review. The wording of that setting is certainly not obvious that it can change such behaviour. Thanks for sharing that info.

If I'm not mistaken the string values associated with a plugin are similar to the storage of default parameter values. They are stored in your application's workspace/ menu environment not the drawing file. This view is reinforced by the fact that there is no means to change the value from within plugin. While they could change from one Vectorworks installation to another that would be unlikely as the person who wrote the script would have to allow for every different variation. Such as having text strings for different language installations. The local VW reseller would be changing them in that instance before selling the regional version of VW to you.

ctrl up and ctrl down for VW for switching thru pages. and if mouse driver is application aware switch it to page forward and backward for browsers and windows file explorer. and similar for Bluebeam or Acrobat Reader. although if there are even more buttons than two thumb buttons, I think I would try forward delete and keypad enter if you are a left-hand typist on a full size keyboard. That way you don't have to release the mouse quite as often.

Thanks Josh, if they decide to update to VW2020 here I might take you up on that offer. [VW2019]

While there is the linear PIO template which displays the 3D origin, z-axis rotation and vector length; It doesn't display a WorkPlane angle. Is there a hidden special parameter name for a second 3D control point or WP angle? Has anyone seen an example of setting up the OIP for this? Are there guidelines for presenting an object in the OIP which has two 3D defining points? It's not flat to the world x-y work plane. Could it be the first or second example, or both or something else entirely? 3Dpoint origin(x1,y1,z1), 3Dpoint2(x2,y2,z2) 3Dpoint origin,rotation (about the z-axis), WP angle (from the world x-y work plane), vector length. Larry

Thanks Pat, I know you are with 99% probability correct. Today with a pre-defined 3D symbol that didn't contain the WF-3D PIO I was easily able to rotate it into the correct position. The concept of the environments inside and outside the PIO I have fairly down pat now. I created a stair and railing design tool about four years ago with the linear PIO template. I had that thing doing the flip and rotate dance all over the screen until I sorted out the relationship between an insertion point in the world origin and a PIO's internal origin. I may have to explore or rule out the possibility of a definition timing issue. When writing out a script for creating pickets in an inclined guardrail I had to separate it into a tool part and a linear object part. I simply couldn't capture the first set of control points inside the linear PIO. They had to be captured before creating the PIO using a creation tool. Aside from the WF-3D PIO, the original 3D symbol I attempted to rotate was defined inside the linear PIO. The PIO also places the instance which might not be created before the script attempts to rotated the instance. I forgot to put in a reset/regen. More testing required. Thanks guys for all the input.

Thanks Pat, I was making sure I fully explored Raymond's suggestions to see if I could find a work around. I have not had any issue yet getting the handle to the Wide Flange - 3D object. The issue has been getting one of the rotation functions to rotate it about the y-axis while it is inside the linear PIO that I've been writing this script for. Or converting devolving it from the Wide Flange - 3D object to the basic extrude for rotation. Failed on that front too. SymbolToGroup and Ungroup don't work on it either inside the linear PIO. I'm beginning to think that it is the linear PIO environment that is interfering the 3D operations. I tried to rotate a 3D symbol instead of the PIO last night and got nothing on the x or y-axis rotations, only on the z-axis. So I will probably have to write my own steel extrusion routine, because lengthening the extrusion in a linear fashion is the way to go with this. The current tool is too clumsy to create 3D structural assemblies.

Well guys, Julian , Ray, The fun continues. I was unable to convert an instance of a Wide Flange - 3D PIO to a group with SymbolToGroup() inside a linear PIO. (I ungrouped my linear parent PIO after it had finished and found the WF-3D PIO still existed.) I was also unable to rotate a 3D symbol about the Y-axis inside a linear PIO. I placed the Wide Flange - 3D inside a symbol, thinking that if I could rotate a symbol instance I could convert the symbol back to a group and ungroup that I could get the steel shape orientated in the direction of the control point. I am 100% sure that using LSActLayer is currently capturing a handle to the parent PIO and not the WF-3D PIO inside, which may rotate something other than the parent PIO once there a more objects in the layer. LNewObj does return the same WF-3D handle as the create custom object function. It's beginning to appear that the approach to tackling this little monster is to extract and import the beam data and create my own beam extrusion where the axial rotations can be set. Let's hope it is still possible to rotate or draw a polyline onto the y-z plane for extruding in the x direction. 🙂