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not correct jim. i know my description was bad. I have 4 classes. A, B, DIM, none. i make symbols out of pairs of A and B classed objects. once i make a symbol, it defaults to none class. then as PAT describes, it acts properly. - i just want a way to double check my classes as i described in my last post....while a symbol.

Pat what you are saying makes perfect sense. to check that i have everything on the right class, i like to cycle through my classes, with active only, and make sure that only certain things are showing up on the right classes. so, this is impossible once i convert everything to a symbol?

if i move my world based symbol from class none to class B, then the B object shows up when on class B. and likewise, if i place the symbol on class A, the A object in the symbol turns on when i activate class A and the B object stays hidden until i switch the class visibilities to all on show/snap/mod others.

that is correct. partially. i did a test. i made 3 pairs of objects. placed 1 of each pair on class A, the other on class B made one pair a symbol with world based settings, one default, the other left as objects only. played with the visibilities. the simple pair that was not a symbol worked fine. the default symbol didn't work at all and when set class visibility to active only, stayed off. the one set as page based symbol, and "layer B" as the active layer when i made it.....i could only see the layer B object (not the layer A) when layer B was the active class. this is messed up! i havent seen these issues.

i have all of my floor plan drawing separated out into various classes. but the problem is that once i turn everything into a symbol, my class visibilities (of the parts in the symbol) no longer work right. i used to be able to turn off/on, grey out, different items as needed. if i convert to group, the visibility functions work right again. i thought that it was working properly and think something may have messed up. i will be importing these symbols in other areas and need to be able to turn off and on, or grey out classes. what gives? thanks

I am working with some simple symbols (we made) that contain text data which are linked to schedules. these are door and window calls. when the file was opened to day, the calls had all defaulted to XXX where the door number goes, and the data within the symbol went completely blank! the weird thing is that the schedules are still populated with the correct data. until i refresh then they all fill with the blank tag data. i understand that the sched. lives separately from the data until refreshed. is there anyway to maybe reverse populate??? maybe somehow direct the schedule to populate the symbols if i re assign the door numbers..or anything? i know this is tough to sort out on your end but has anyone experienced this before? thanks in advance

encountered an issue that I can figure out. it started with my co-workers system a week ago. Now as a test, i opened the same files and began experiencing the same issues. I just open a file (havent pinned down if its a single file yet) and can not save, save as, import, export.....almost every item on the menu lists are greyed out. I cant quit or force quit vector works. even a computer restart is stopped by an error saying that VW is running and canceled restart. normal shut down and restarts have been tried. have not reinstalled VW. COuld it be a corrupt file? ive never experienced this type of issue if so. ANY help would be greatly appreciate the 2 systems are: OSX 10.9.1 (2013 build 208827) and OSX 10.8.5 (169810)

any ideas? could it be a setting in that one computers VWs?

Have rebooted and it doesn't help. - It inverses any placed image (straight into the file, or, within an imported symbol) and only on that one computer. If i open the same file on any other machine, it looks correct.

I have a title block symbol that I import into all of my sheets. In that symbol my seal/stamp is a placed JPG. on one of our computers, that JPG shows up, and prints, with inverted colors. Since this does not happen on all of the computers it leads me to believe that it is a setting specifically on that machine. I should also add that this has not always been the case. up until a couple days ago everything was fine. Any idea? thanks jason

our interior designer will be drawing in 2D tile patterns in the elevations. what is the best way to do this so that the pattern behaves as a hatch or fill? these could be any shape, so what i am hoping for is that as long as we draw a repeatable pattern within an area it should work as a simple fill, or hatch, once we define it as such. adobe illustrator calls it "define pattern" i think. thanks in advance

i am using 2013 fundamentals and i am currently able to import reference files. the problem i am having is that if i move or rotate the ref file, it will reposition itself once the ref file is updated through the organization window. is there a box i need to check that will update the information in the ref file, but leave the move, rotation or position on the page in place.

is it possible to create layers within sheet layers? like a guide layer that would help set up a grid, that could be turned off for printing? thanks!

thanks for all. i agree that we are not using vectorworks to its fullest potential. the idea is that we use it in a way to keep things simple in order to keep things from fouling up. ie: out of control classes, broken links, etc. however, i think my biggest hang up is using classes, and how they can get out of whack. we avoid using BIM, because it seems difficult to detail and control the graphic quality of the drawing. i know it can be done, but in my little experience so far, BIM becomes a hinderance when a window needs to look several different ways depending on the drawing...plan, detail, section, ele.....etc.

currently I am using VW fund 2013. all 2d, no bim or 3d. draw directly on a sheet exactly how i want it to layout and done. what you see is what you get. i am sure it can be streamlined btu everything seems to be working fine. imported symbols and everything organized by simple layer sets. not using classes at all. i might have 5 layers for say, first floor (1-FP, then like 1-ELE, 1-RCP, 1-notes, etc.) then similar for other floors. how could viewports really help me? I am familiar with CAD and how it handles VPs and model/paper space. but since VW does not have model space, and everything is in "paper space", im not quite sure how VPs might work with huge benefits. can someone enlighten me please? thanks

whats the best way to "xref" a VW file into another VW document so that it updates as the xrefed file is revised. ive uploaded the file and target layer from the organization/references tab, but ahve lost my way from there to actually getting it into the file and placing it in the layer. VW2013 thanks in advance.

i get something similar. whenever i zoom in or out i see all sorts of objets around the page. the more dense my drawing becomes, the more ghosting i get. i think its because the video card is not up to speed.

the first few attempts have generated DWGs where some parts have not translated. what is the best way that we can export our VW drawings to DWG that will properly translate symbols and other externally referenced files? thanks in advance. mac OS

when it comes to schedules, right now i have created a door tag symbol with linked data that populates a schedule. its working fine, but i am wondering if anyone has taken it one step further. i am thinking that if i create something that is able to retain dimension information but on a door TYPE. then when i enter the door type in the door symbol tag, then it will finish populating the dimensions specific to the door type. or window type. in the rest of the schedule. this would allow me to fill in 6 columns of dimension data just by designating the door or window type. and entering the numerical info is always the most tedious and allows room for error in many locations. no 3d or bim here. everything i am working with is 2d symbol based. any help would be greatly appreciated !!!! thanks in advance oh, i am using the Fun. version of VW 2013.

i doubt my explanation will be clear, but hopefully this is common enough that it will be familiar to someone. i am having a tough time getting my newer, externally referenced, door symbols to orient themselves correctly on the floor plan. Ive checked the original symbols, that i am replacing, and they are all rotated to 0 degrees and when opening that symbol up, they seem to be rotated differently in the edit symbol mode. i can not make sense of it. since i am using the same locus point all i have to do it numerically rotate the symbol, which is not a big deal, but if at all possible, id like to simply mass replace and be done. i will try to explain. i have a file that contains symbols that i am replacing with new symbols that are built in, and placed from a new, external, symbol library file. i am starting by copying the old symbol from the org file, pasting into the new symbol library file, editing, and renaming. with the new symbol library file already referenced in the target floor plan file, i then use the replace symbol button, then replace the doors. the first time i did it all the doors were oriented properly. luck? then i tried another (noticed that in the edit symbol mode it was rotated differently) and almost none were correct. THANKS!

through the organization/references/update. i tried making a symbol of the site plan and that works fine for now. but long term it should just be a referenced drawing. any help would be appreciated!

I have a floor plan referenced into a site plan. when ever i update the site plan file, the floor plan loses its location and re-centers itself in the center of the page. what is the pref or option that will prevent this? i need the floor plan to stay right where i place it. thanks again!

somehow my cursor cues have disappeared. (the ones calling out, object, center, line, point, etc.) i can see a very light magenta box, or two dots, near the cursor when hover over something. can someone point me to the correct pref? thanks in advance! VW2013 fundamentals

thanks, got it, or something like it to work. perfect.

I am working on a development with 20+ buildings. most of the doors and windows will be consistent throughout the project so my questions is: what is the best way to set up a (window/door type / detail) symbol library that would reflect through all the buildings. where everything can be updated from one location. i am not sure what VW calls this. ArchiCad calls it simply a symbol library and it works really well, because i could simply scroll through different elements and use it on multiple addresses. I am still newish, to VW and thought I would save myself alot of headache having to work through issues that you experts have already smoothed out. thanks! VW 2013 - fundamentals MAC