MHBrown

Although I work totally in 3D, I never use the "Working Plane" mode except in rare occasions. In my document preferences, however, even though I choose "Screen Plane Only," it doesn't "stick." I constantly have to go back and reset it. It continuously jumps to "Working Plane Only." I think this is a well known bug, so was wondering if had been fixed for v2017 (along with all the associated problems such as inaccurate views in symbol edit windows, but that's another post). Thanks to all you early adaptors! MHBrown

For what it's worth, I agree that a section view is just about as fundamental as it gets and should be included. I can't imagine a reasonable argument that sections are not fundamental to architectural drawing. Perhaps it would be helpful if VW would list the ways in which the Fundamentals version of the software is disabled so one could make an informed decision. MHBrown

OK, I see it now. You have to click it to reveal the hidden text field. Other associated problems: I don't see a "Reply" field, only answer field, so there is nowhere to simply say "thanks, that solved it." Lastly, the "my stuff" selection is buried inside one of those little three parallel line icons when it was in plain sight before. In general, it seems like this web site was not really thought out. There are lots of problems from a user experience point of view. I'll move my suggestions to another place. Thanks for the help. MHBrown

This new format has a few problems. First, How do you search? The search field should be above and in the same format as the "Ask A New Question," but it's not. Thanks, MHBrown

The ability to create hybrid objects is one of the great things about VectorWorks. I wish it worked in other views besides Plan, but I'll explain how it works in that view. Three-D geometry is very messy in wireframe, but wireframe is and always will be the quickest way to work in a CAD file. Since VW was developed for architects, the plan view is used more that any other. Having a 2D drawing while in plan rather than looking down on all the 3D geometry is super efficient. First, you can refine the 2D plan image to have only the information you need for space planning. A chair, for example, can be a simple square. If you were looking down on all the 3D geometry you would see the legs, back, etc. With a 2D plan view you can make the chair with as much detail as you want without taking a hit in working speed. These objects are symbols, of course, which also helps. So when I make a 3D symbol I create a "Convert Copy to Lines" in plan view to become the 2D counterpart. I then edit out any lines I don't need. This also leads to very clean, easy to read plan drawings for clients without having to render it in Hidden Line. Hybrid symbols is actually what sets VW apart from other CAD programs and is its main selling point. I wish it had the same ability in Front, Left, and Right views. I put it on the wish list a few years back, but I'm still waiting. Hope that helps.

Thanks, P Retondo, that does fix it. The base problem, however, is that the preference "screen plane only" does not stay set. It will change randomly. Usually I notice when I'm trying to draw a rectangle and it disappears as soon as I draw it. Sure enough, my Preferences has changed from "screen plane only" to one of the other two. I think this is a known bug that I hope is squashed in VW2017. Although I work exclusively in 3D, I have minimal use for the other two preferences and would "prefer" that there were a way I could delete the option or at least keep "screen plane only" from switching off. Thanks for your help! I just have to pay attention to the OIP from now on and convert as I go. MBBrown

In VW 2016, when I do "Convert to Lines" on a 3D object (to get a 2D plan view for a hybrid symbol, for example) the resulting group of lines is a 3D entity instead of a 2D entity. I've been using "Convert Copy to Lines" since MiniCAD 5 and it has never behaved like this before. It says it is a group of "lines" in the info palette, but clearly that is wrong. If I go to a 3D view the group of alleged lines appears as a dimensionless plane. Is this a bug? If it is supposed to be a "feature" is there a way to permanently eliminate it from happening, such as changing a default in Preferences? Thanks, MHBrown

I've been directed by my computer to upgrade to VW 2017, but I can't find a fixed "bug" list or changes from the previous version that would serve as a compelling reason to upgrade. For example, in my version of VW 2016 the data stamp does not update from the Info Palette. It has to be deleted and reinserted to work. If this hasn't been corrected I probably won't bother to update. Anyway, is there such a list somewhere of fixes? Thanks, MHBrown

Can anyone tell me why I can't draw a rotated rectangle when: I'm in "Screen Plane" (by the way, I have to constantly re-select "Screen Plane Only" because it doesn't "stick." It keeps switching to one of the other two options. Has this bug been fixed in the latest update I'm being pestered with?) I'm looking at a right side view. I click on two points, but then all I get is this dotted red line streaking to the bottom of my window. This is not the behavior I'm used to. Can anyone shed some light on why this tool doesn't work in this situation? Thanks, MHBrown

I don't think it does happen in other documents, now that you mention it. I think it is peculiar to this one. I looked at other drawings and I as a rule, I create one Viewport and the copy it everywhere I need other views. It's one of the best things about Vectorworks. I was thinking that I may have switched on some sort of "Conserve Original Viewport Settings" button. If so I'd want to switch it off. Thanks. Good to know that it's not normal behavior. I'll just create another Viewport from scratch and see if that fixes it. MHBrown

Is the following normal behavior for Viewports? If so, I've never noticed it before: 1. I place a Viewport on a saved sheet and render it (it's a perspective camera view.) 2. I copy and paste it to another saved sheet, render it differently with different class visibilities. 3. The Viewport from the first saved sheet changes to be identical to the pasted Viewport. Is is normal? It happens with other viewports as well, not just camera views. Thanks, MHBrown

Thanks for the tip. By the way, it was a general question about 3D things, not specific to roofs. I was not trying to dimension a "VW roof." It was just a 3D object.

In VW 2016 I have a 3D model that I'm looking at in right side view. In Annotations mode, I go to dimension the pitch of the roof. I select the Angle Dimension tool, but it does not work. I have to draw a line along the roof pitch and another line that is horizontal, then it works fine between these two lines. I don't have to do this to take linear dimensions. Why do I have to do this for angular dimensions or any other non-linear dimensions? Do I have a preference turned off somewhere? It seems like this is so fundamental I must be doing something wrong. Thanks, MHBrown

As I mentioned, I know how to delete them one at a time. That is not practical for deleting over 100 classes. Also, as I mentioned, The Purge unused classes does not work. I put everything into the None class, but the newly unused classes are not recognized by VW as "unused." I don't know why. It doesn't matter, anyway. There must be a way to globally remove classes even if they are being used. That's what you can do in the Resource Palette one at a time. That is my question: how do you globally delete classes, regardless as to whether or not they are being "used." You can do it one at a time in the Resource Palette, but I want to delete them all at once. Pretty basic feature, I think, so it must be there somewhere. MHBrown

By the way, I can group everything and put it into the "none" class, but the now unused classes are still there. I made sure all 10,000 items are now in the "none" class. When I use the "purge" command under "Tools" it shows 0 items will be removed. This is not true because there are over 100 unused classes. MHBrown

I imported a DWG file and it dumped hundreds of classes into my VW 2016 file. How do I delete all the classes at once? I know I can do them one at a time and have them go into the "none" class, but I don't see the bulk "purge" command anywhere that would do the same. I don't want to delete the objects, just their classes. Thanks, MHBrown

As soon as you said "3D human model" I was pretty sure of your problem. That 3D model probably has almost as much 3D information as the rest of your model. I add my humans via Photoshop in post. It makes things work smoother. MHBrown

Oh, never mind. "SPs" are service packs. Sorry, it's late on a Friday. MHB

What are SP's (sic)?

It's good to know it's a bug, but, really, why can't these be fixed in one of the constant so-called "service packs" that I'm bombarded with? Look at the bugs that have not been addressed: the data stamp no longer updates, trailer/leader notes don't work with secondary dimensions, and this crazy invasion of 3D dimensionless objects that should stay 2D, they all need to be fixed before new "features" are coded. This last problem is not even a bug, but rather yet another unfortunate unintended consequence of feature bloat. You know, NNA, you should NEVER issue updates based on a calendar date. You should only issue updates when you have a critical mass of new, useful features AND—more importantly—bug fixes. Pulling unwanted, unnecessary or trivial additions out of the blue and pasting them into VW just to rationalize a date on the calendar is a bad idea.

Thanks. I think because VW slips out of "Screen Plane Only" mode so often I must be making my 2D objects at that time. This is a very new part of VW. In past versions, 2D entities stayed 2D. Not all objects had "...functionality in 3D space," they would politely wait for me to decide. I always work in "Screen Plane Only" although I do all my work in 3D. I'd like to remove the other two options if I could. Is there a way to convert these dimensionless objects back in to 2D? That would be very helpful. MHB

Is there any way to keep VW 2016 from creating 3D entities from things I draw in 2D? I'll draw a bunch of circles, squares, etc. and then I go into an isometric view and they are all dimensionless, 3D versions of the 2D objects I intended. Very bothersome. Does it have something to do with the bug that causes VW to switch randomly from "Screen View Only" back to the other views? (Both of which I really wish I could banish forever.) Thanks, MHBrown

Is this a bug with my system? When I use duel view and choose "Secondary" units my trailer or leader notes do not work. I can't imagine it is designed this way, but I want to make sure. VW Arch2016, latest version on Mac El Capitan. While I'm here, I've also noticed that the data stamp no longer updates the file name. You have to delete it and replace it. The OIP has no effect as it used to in earlier VW versions. Thanks, MHBrown

No, it's not nested symbols, but ALL of my symbols are hybrid. MiniCAD/VW has had 3D/2D symbols for at least 20 years: A 2D plan view (although I don't know why it can't have 2D images for any or all of the orthographic projections. I asked for this back in the 1990s) to coexist with the 3D model. No, this is something new and not specific to my machine. I simply do not have the time I once did to tease out the problems. I have to get work done and I'll work around this one as best I can. Posting my particular symbol would just waste your time. I think I have something in my workflow that does not jive with a new way of working with VW. It may be a better, more sophisticated way as VW has gotten more sophisticated to compete in the CAD world, but it is different. I suppose in that sense it's not a "bug," but rather something I need to figure out about my workflow and change it. MHBrown

OK. This is officially a bug. There is no way VW is designed to make it impossible to edit a symbol. Objects disappear simply when I try to "flip" them. They appear with handles, but no lines. Stuff like that. I wish I could say I had the time to figure out exactly what is happening, but I don't. On the other hand, Ford and GM don't expect me to do their work for them, so perhaps it's time we hold software companies accountable for their own troubleshooting. Thanks for the help! MHBrown