unearthed

@Pat Stanford Hi Pat, this took a bit longer, covid makes life complicated The text below is really only about pulling text into VW from a .txt file. After considering being able to write back to .txt file I am unsure of the utility of that, altho' it might prove very useful. Screenshot of what I'm hoping to achieve, .vwx with linked worksheets and sample .txt file - VW_txtBase_readWrite.txt, I have subsequently I imagine VW_txtBase_live referencing the label text from text blocks in a txt file (probably Visual Studio Code. Then the worksheet VW_txtLinkLabels would space the labels out for use in sheet. - If possible script ignores first text block as used for description of tile contents - maybe it's removed from being parsed by # - each block of text is separated from the next by empty line \ carriage return - I don't know how to handle bullet points as no formatting in worksheet cells but that is really unimportant. Would a line with only a hyphen might be able to treated as a new line? I normally keep labels to a fixed width, say 50mm wide on an A3, so I would set my cells in VW_txtLinkLabels at that width and likewise use a fixed height cell height of 44mm - this would handle almost all labels. Will insert empty rows and columns to space out text blocks. My labels .txt list would run top to bottom running clockwise round drawing (I already do this with my plant image labels). This is my simple-minded approach. If it was possible to cut out the middle step; the VW_txtBase_live worksheet that would be amazing. After that I would normally drop the worksheet in model space and viewport it into the drawing. VW_txtLink.vwx VW_txtBase_readWrite.txt

@rowbear97 No my sig's up to date. I use a mix of CADS plus VW andf I do a lot of hand-drawn, and digital-watercolour graphics. I only use VW in 2D mode as I do not trust it's handling of 3D volume data after a couple of bad experiences. It is also very slow compared to other 3D-capable tools. A number of my sites are very large and VW IMO becomes less reliable when sites exceed 3km across. It still lacks the ability to handle vertical curves and the Property Line \ Landscape subdivision lot module lacks - full control of annotations - topolological polygon editing \ autoupdate of adjacent polygons Most bells and whistles added in the last 10 years do not simplify my workflow. To make me want to upgrade I'd want at least some of the items here forum post 20200311 I also am against photorealist presentations as, in general, they do not lead to the sort of conversations that help make great spaces, so I don't need all the graphic capability. Marionette is attractive and may short-circuit a lot of my wishlist but needs a bit more time on the stove. The GIS tools are not really fit for purpose, other than shapefile file import I do not use the I have QGIS for that. All VW needs to do is ensure their shp file import\export tool works correctly, does not destroy data and enables people to add new fields.

Thank you Pat, I will have a play and try and get back you about the other query re txt linking.

That's I'm asking, How to automate a cell in a worksheet to have the same colour as a class?

I try to avoid residential and work mainly 1 to 10 hectares , plus farms and then some regional things. IDK how you work (and this year and prob '21 too are gonna be very different!) re 2D\3D. I do 3D all in sketchup - but I generally avoid 3D wherever possible, and for larger jobs use QGIS. My experience is that the plant data side of VW is overmarketed, especially if you use a lot of different plants. I tend to just use coloured areas and point a worksheet at them and do some sums. It works fine to 500k plants easily. The interface is a bit greedy - most good CAD\Raster tools (QGIS, BricsCAD, Rebelle, Sketchup etc) enable you to hide everything -but VW is hard to do that. Despite these failings it is still the best tool for general landscape as it is one of the few CADs with a built-spreadsheet - it's not excel that's fer sure - altho' I hear good things about 2020, and Marionette looks like it can weave some magic. BUT AFAIK VW still doesn't do vertical curves which is amajor failing when it comes to making a nice kerb across rolling terrain. This is the best forum to learn about VW; I've been using since 2005ish .

Agree completely Benson-Shaw - a lot of tools have been over-marked\oversold - I think if they spent their money on development we may have better tools. I often end up in windy, cold, very windy, high humid conditions, lost of dust etc - sometimes all in a day - a smartphone and a measuring wheel is my main workflow at moment, plus pics, plus knowing my body dimensions - show 340mm, pace 920mm etc. And a sheet of paper in see-thru sleeve on an A3 of thin ply. When lockdown ends I'm hoping for an EMLID GNSS which will simplify things. BUT the free flowing conversations possible over a piece of paper - that is a hard thing to replace with tech. I do deal with a few larger companies - in my experience tech ability falls with size, maybe institutional lag\tradition and the old order resisting change.

Hi Pat, I'll do a graphic and have a ponder on your words above and get back hopefully later today.

I find txt in VW a total PIA. But in spite of that I've got some ways... My current workflow is running a file in Visual Studio Code (but any txt editor will do - altho' one with tabs is better). Since I've started this I find I recycle some of my labels and more of my specs. I haven't found callouts and keynotes useful (also they lack graphical controls) as all my drawings are so different. I have an growing collection of text files which I grab things from but wish VW could read-write to\from a .txt file - that would save a LOT of time. Anything I seldom change goes into a text block inside a symbol. If I can structure the page so labels appear in same place I put all labels in a worksheet (I hear that 2020 allows inter-operability with Excel which would make this more useful). This is useful for keys to get quick equal line spacing and alignment control. It's also how I do all my image sheets; a worksheet of large square cells (with a text block at bottom of page), linked to a list of items.

Hi, I'm sure someone worthier than I will pop up soon but there's an ongoing discussion at: I use an older version of VW and for me the best workflow to get data into VW is to import it into QGIS first and export a dw\dxf from that. Saves a lot of thumb-twiddling and anguish.

VW needs to get with the program - our daily work is changing NOW, today. VW needs to realise their users need flexibility TODAY. Millions of people who suddenly have to work from home.

JMR "screen sharing especially useful with engineers" a while back I did a screen share with an excavator driver who I wanted to cut a track across a steep face, he said it was way better than a flat plan.

Another zoom user here - NZ-based, very happy with it, often do presentations to China and Oz. Only thing with zoom is they keep changing their interface. I have tried more than ten systems; Mikago was quite good but is .de based and didn't have server installs here - that is AFAIK the main reason for lagginess with many of these systems. Join-me is very reliable and easy but twice the cost of Zoom-pro. I have also used screenleap but had same issues as Mikago Join-me also do something called Log-me-in for IT-help tasks. and finally there's Jitsi https://desktop.jitsi.org/ - a friend with a distributed IT\AI company swears by it for reliability but seems to be for more technically savvy users.

I almost always do these in QGIS, more recent QGIS versions make geotiff to 3D contours reasonably simple. If VW is trying to market itself as GIS-capable it should be able to handle at least the basic DEM operations.

I'm still using 2012 which some folk think is old but it works. From looking at issues on the forums it looks like the basics are being ignored and lots of Baroque 'features' added. So I'm thinking long and hard before I upgrade. No bells and whistles just the daily needs of a landscape professional. Things I'd need to make upgrading worthwhile considering: Worksheet - two-way excel red\write - ability for cells to read colour info from classes including alpha level - cell commenting like excel - full keyboard fcn shortcuts for all actions - like Excel - ability to export xls files - ability to read text (from csv txt md mdown xls) into worksheet cells - worksheet access to text blocks and vice-versa Simplified arraying - even circular arrays are a real trial, just something simple like ACAD and Sketchup. MS Word, a real working live link from VW to word. Keyboard access to rotation in object info. Image file export - Has this been improved?, e.g. for image export of non-standard size, in 2012 it was Alt F E R and the image default settings are jpeg 2000 and marquee, image filetype can't be changed in marquee so click to another Export Area type and back to format to change that and then back to reset to marquee, then draw marquee (would be great to have dropdown of remembered marquee draw boxes) and finally save. - What new files are enabled? Can the default filetype and format be changed? Property Line \ Landscape subdivision lot module - full control of annotations - topolological polygon editing \ autoupdate of adjacent polygons. Text formatting; kerning, easier handling of mixed formats in a single text block. Ability of system to retain focus on a text block - I'm a non-touch typist and often look up and see I'm no longer in the txt dialog. Plantline lines like Acad had 20 years ago where basic line is drawn and output can be changed at will - makes for much smaller file sizes too. Has the snap-to-all fcn been removed? Alpha \ opacity control for gradients allowing one to have a gradient that fades out to 100% alpha\transparent (a very basic part of GIS's and R). Very useful to show graded actions on plans such as planting densities. Layers and classes - has there been any integration between these? If Classes are truly sub to Layers why can they not all be on same panel? Big time savings potential. How is reading of live data feeds, especially GNSS \ total-station data? Support for old vw formats including .mcd AFAIK Acad goes all the way back, why not VW?? ------------------------------------ Nice to have: Colour palette referencing has been awful - has it been improved? Having to remember where a colour is as you move around the interface is just silly. Ability to filter exploded pdfs by shape and class them automatically. Printing Having saved views in batch print is annoying and wastes time. Is it still like this? Digital file export with all referenced files - like old Acad pack'n'go Inclusion of a duplicate \ overlying polygon tool.

"With 2012 this is not a straightforward process" understatement. Yes for bigger stuff I normally use sketchup (works reasonably well up to 80km or so and you have to do a kludge for Earth curvature) or QGIS if you need real accuracy.