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defjef

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Everything posted by defjef

  1. I use both MAC and PC.. 8.52. My experience is that copy and paste from Excel works on MAC and creates editable text and lines etc. On PC it creates a bitmap which does not scale..looks awful and is a huge file... I wouldn't be surprized if WORD performs the same on PC.. and works OK with the MAC... I have asked Tech support to tell me WHY this is... but have not received and answer except that it as a WINDOWS issue... operating system... go figure
  2. A problem when trying to use an ACAD file... if that you need to do more than simply imprt the file to a blank document. The ACAD user... which may be in another office, needs to create a compatible file which will open in VW. The effect of this is that a series of daughter files, perhaps with exploded elements etc., snapshots in the life of the file are created. A daugher file may serve the purpose. However, beware that as the ACAD files progresses / is developed / is revised, you will have to create a new daughter file to reflect these changes in YOUR work. I do not know of any way to reference files created on other platforms and / or other networks. And of course if you are exporting BACK to ACAD... you have all sorts of layer class conversions / coordination to deal with. All this cross file / cross platfor, / cross network effort is time consuming and not real productivity. Such is life.... go figure.
  3. defjef

    Cut Command

    I get a similar message MFC42DLL when I attempt to launch Quickeys. I suspect that this file is corrupt but do not know how to replace it. I downloaded a new MFC42DLL file... but cannot remove the old one, rename or and try to slip the new one in. Any help here? Also... can I download a list of VW 8.52 shortcuts? frustrated defjef
  4. There is an expectation that our software will be productivity tools in our work. Accordingly, we need to learn how to use the designed functionalities of the software to produce our products which are design drawings and construction documents. We all have our wish lists which would make out software more useful. In fact, there are productivity upgrades we are even unable to conceive of... thankfully other visionaries do! Not being a software engineer I do not understand how a program evolves new features. Not being a software company manager I do not know the decision process which leads to new releases with new feature sets of a software product. What I can say is that, it is completely unacceptable to issue a product which is full of defects which result in financial loss to the users. Of course, we expect a learning curve with a new product and the loss of productivity while the new product is integrated into our busines practice. However, it is my belief that a series of flawed decisions and poor management decisions has resulted in a seriously flawed product release which has cost many users enourmous amounts of money. As a small practicioner, I cannot afford days of down time messing about with software glitches, and endless hours debugging and finding work arounds. This is unbillable time and would kill my business. I cannot imagine the cost to a multi license user having a staff thrown into chaos because the software is full of bugs. It is my belief that the upgrades must be very seamless. This seamlessness has to be the foundation of the evolution of a software product. It must be engineered into the upgrade to allow users to access the new features... or revert to the former "tools" or features. The failure of being able to easily migrate files from / to upgrades is a serious flaw. The number of reported almost random crashes is unacceptable and represents a major failure of the software engineers. I suppose that decisions may be made as a result of new hardware available which forces the engineers to create a new product which looks very similar to the older product but underneath the hood a new engine is at work. These marketing decisions force the users to not only upgrade the software, but their hardware as well. There must be very clear productivity benefits to make such an upgrade. Remember if it aint broke dont fix it! I would like very much to see how the upgrades target productivity increases for the user. A series of tools which are not used makes the product complex, error prone and like asking a locomotive to haul a long train when you only have an interest in the contents of two freight cars. At some point it becomes clear that CAD software has to be modular so that the user can assemble the functionality he requires. The modules are essentially tools and features... like Renderworks, which sit on top of the basic CAD engine. Some users have no use for cartoonlike 3D images and are focused on 2D drafting. Their product should not be burdened by unneeded capabilities. It appears to this user that the decision was made to make the basic product more robust, filling it with capabilites that many users have no need for. This seems to have created a product which is full of serious errors. It is my belief that MORE focus should have been made to allow files to move accurately and seemlessly from / to other CAD platforms. This would allow the VW product to find its way into all workig environments. It is my belief that the product should be made MORE intuitive and easy to learn and teach. Many firms are reluctant to use a product which has a small market share and seems to stand apart. I believe that if some serious policy re examination is not undertaken.. the product will not survive. I see other CAD products adopting the more intuitive and user friendly features while VW offers releases that crash and burn. This forum should be a wake up call to VW. A word to the wise is sufficient! defjef
  5. I work on VW8.52 on a G4 and Dell866L... both have more 512mb of ram. I am able to copy and paste spread sheets on the MAC version of VW, but when I attempt the same on the PC it pastes as a bitmap which looks god awful. The MAC paste has every line and text as a separate object. I have tried closing all other apps when doing this but the PC version AWLAYS does the bitmap deal. Does any one know why and how to get the PC paste of an Excel spread sheet to work as it does on the MAC??? I use Excel because I have a lot of spread sheet worksheets for each project which are oftened conveyed as letter size documents and I dont want to create worksheets since the spread sheets have been formatted for presentation already. Of course the MAC pastes the entire formatting... which is perfect... and the cells no longer contain formulas, but the results of the calculations. Help!!!!!!!!!! defjef
  6. Same occurs in 8.52... some of the settings for windows and doors need to be reset... It is similar to some of the objects like drawing title when you change the layer scale... they do not scale... you can click in change the scale.. click in the drawing and then click in the scale box and set it back to the scale factor you want and it is reverts to the same proportions... simply a waste of time. Windows and doors set to WALL Thickness when pasted into a new file have zero thickness.. same work around.. same waste of time... same flaw... defjef
  7. A reasonable amount to pay for a piece of software is $200. If you have 100,000 users. That would be sales of $20MM. If you use the billing multiple model in reverse say.... 2x direct expense and the wage of the average software personal is $100,000 / yr or about $50 per hr... Then the cost of producing $20MM of sales should be 200,000 man hours. So if I assemble a staff of software engineers, secretaries and so on using $100,000 per year as the average salary... it would take a company of 50 employees 2 years to develope the product. $10MM for salaries and benefits.. $10MM for profit and overhead. That's how I see it.... since you asked. defjef
  8. I have no intention of writing to the top management of this company. I hope they are reading this forum... If they are not they are burying their heads in the sands of denial. I have been a user for 5 years and have resisted the pressure to work in ACAD. I have called and written letters to Diehl about marketing and some of the concepts expressed in this thread. No one calls back. No one replied to my letter. This product has enormous potential, but they are doing their best to run it into the ground. I will continue to read the forum to see what the USERS have to say about the product and will never ever again buy a new release from this company until the USERS declare it a better mousetrap. It is unfortunate that a software product built on a bad foundation... like a building built on a bad foundation will not support more and more development... but will ultimately collapse on itself. I returned VW9 after a few weeks of crashes and problems... and mysteriously they still sent me 9.01 which is in its proper place - the trash. I sincerely hope that more users express their opinions about the company's overall approach to their product as well as individual specific issues. defjef
  9. Brian O suggests: Try the "Import" feature in VectorWorks to import a Worksheet. First, save the Excel file as a copy with a comma delimited format or a tab delimited format. Next, create a new worksheet in your file. Use the Import Worksheet command (File-Import-Import Worksheet). I want to copy and paste directly from the cells I choose and not go through the steps to save my excel spreadsheet as a separate file for the purposes of exporting data to VW. My Excel file is a workbook with many sheets and the files are typically revised and updated many times after creation... no different from a CAD drawing file which one works on for many hours days and weeks. The approach Brian suggests would create a file management nightmare and take up hard drive space and many extra steps.. cost SOMEONE time and MONEY. This is NOT an acceptable answer. Why can I copy and paste on a MAC and why can't I copy and paste on PC???? The problem lies in the software me thinks and the solution lies in the fixing of a bug perhaps???? defjef
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