[Linking a single camera instance to multiple viewports]

++++1

Unfortunately class settings won't reproduce a view.

Sounds like Vectorworks needs a solution for this.

Ideally this would be to leave the camera instance in place, and allow it to control multiple viewports (i.e. multiple views can be updated in one shot if the camera is moved / adjusted).

[Linking a single camera instance to multiple viewports]

I'm wondering if there's a way to reference one camera with multiple viewports. IE I'd like to be able to update the perspective of multiple viewports (with various class settings) at once. This is typically an option in 3D rendering software, but I haven't found a method in Vectorworks yet.

Correct me if I'm wrong but once a rendtrworks camera is linked to a viewport it cannot be linked to another viewport.

[UI Improvements / Dockable Palettes in OS X / Full Screen / Toggles]

+1 Great thoughts all. Love having full screen on the mac now. Can't wait for some docking options.

[Is there a way to toggle palettes on / off?]

I'm wondering if there's any way to emulate the kind of palette toggling seen in products like Creative Suite. I find working with VW on a laptop pretty frustrating given how limited the screen real estate is, and how cumbersome it is to position, close and restore palettes.

Is there a script for this? Is this a feature in the works?

[Erratic behavior when section viewport is converted to 2D group]

I have a project that involves flattening some section viewports for a colleague who can't deal with 3D. I did this with one, and it worked beautifully. Section hatches, most polygons and fills and all came through okay.

I did it to another with the a viewport with the same settings, and the sectioned solids lose their fill. And they're reduced to lines instead of polygons. Any ideas?

[Constrain axis of movement / snapping based on view?]

Or on that note, a way to map the constrain to working plan snap? Seems to be missing from the keys section in the workspace editor.

[Constrain axis of movement / snapping based on view?]

Thanks guys. I'll take another look at these options (screen plane, constraints).

I hear you Jim. Shift does seem to lock to an axis, but doesn't always prevent snapping to / movement along the unseen axis.

Any chance there's a way to map a keyboard shortcut to switching to / from screen plane, in case that's the best solution? Haven't found one yet. Maybe that's an advantage to working planes.

[Constrain axis of movement / snapping based on view?]

I'm wondering how to ensure that I'm only moving an object along the axis that I can see with a given view. IE, if I'm moving an object in 3D from a side view with no perspective, movement is limited to Y and Z axis, or if viewing from the top, Z movement cannot occur from snapping.

This seems to happen on its own some of the time, and other times I move something only to find out it's slipped into another location in the unseen dimension. I've tried holding shift, and this doesn't seem to solve the issue.

Any particular sort of workflow or plane setting that would help with this?

Thanks,

O

[Multiple section styles in section viewports?]

Thanks guys. I hadn't considered the layered viewport option, and resorted occasionally to the annotation solution Michael mentioned (and always worried I would forget about updating it when I change geometry).

Sounds like a feature request maybe? I imagine this being added as an attribute to classes, i.e. a 'section style' in addition to the standard line and fill options. That would be pretty great.

If the roadmap is moving towards 3D and generated sections, this kind of granularity would be necessary.

[Viewport Layer Dash Visibility Option]

Thanks Jim. This would be super helpful for entertainment designers.

[Multiple section styles in section viewports?]

I'm wondering if there's anyway to have section viewports generate a few different styles for the sectioned objects (i.e. denser hatches for certain objects, lighter line weights for more detailed pieces). I see there's an option for different classes for 'structural' objects, but I don't see anyway to specify what objects are 'structural.'

Ideas? Thanks.

[Viewport Layer Dash Visibility Option]

+1 Oh man this would be amazing.

[Shortcodes for auto-date, etc in record fields]

Thanks! That works.

Would still love to know if there's a list of these codes somewhere.

[auto re-number sheet layers in vectorworks]

+1

Seems oddly missing considering all the other issue management tools.

[Shortcodes for auto-date, etc in record fields]

I seem to remember that there is a way to create a record field / linked text that updates to the current date, or publish date. Is this some kind of short code, suffix or prefix? Is there a list of all these codes somewhere?

[Automatic Drawing Coordination not working in some documents]

Thanks anyhow Kevin.

[Automatic Drawing Coordination not working in some documents]

Oh, I'm an idiot. It's in document preferences.

[Automatic Drawing Coordination not working in some documents]

I've created a custom title block using the sheet number and sheet title suffixes in its fields, and it works as intended in a new blank document (i.e. syncs this info with the sheet info). However, when I insert this same title block in some documents started by others, this function doesn't work (and viewport labels don't auto-update either).

Is there some way to toggle on automatic drawing coordination if it isn't enabled on a document? Or is there something else going on here?

[Consolidate rendering modes, options dialogue]

Along these lines, it might be nice to let power users dig into the artistic styles a little more, create their own brushes, etc.

[Consolidate rendering modes, options dialogue]

I've noticed that the different rendering modes overlap significantly, and in many cases use the same rendering process at this point. Yet they have a separate menu item, and separate options dialogue, which I'm guessing is a holdout from earlier frameworks. Since their functions overlap so much, separating these modes (hidden line, dashed hidden line, sketch, artistic render works, render works, etc) is confusing, and doesn't accurately describe what the software is doing.

At this point there are two engines, correct? OpenGL and Cinema4D? Use that as a starting point, and let the user mix and match linework styles (hidden line, dashed hidden line, artistic lines, etc), texture options (white model, full textures, etc), backgrounds, lighting, quality, effects. Sketchup does a decent job with this.

This would remove an obstacle for new users, who at this point have to play with all the modes to find which one has the exact option they're looking for (or find out that this particular style combination doesn't exist).

[Export rendered viewports in batch?]

It seems like a workaround is to set up a sheet layer with multiple pages, one viewport per page, and use the export image function. That way you can get a set of image files in one shot, in a variety of formats. The downside is that the system hangs pretty badly if they aren't all updated. A background process with a progress bar would be preferable.

[Export rendered viewports in batch?]

I'm wondering if anyone has a workflow suggestion. I'm hoping to send all my Renderworks viewports out to Photoshop for post processing (lens effects, etc). Photoshop can watch for files to run actions on, but I'm not sure how to get VW to produce these files. It seems as though batch render is sort of limited in this regard, since I typically use viewports to set crops, lighting, etc.

Any ideas? Thanks.

[Change background in perspective modeling?]

Oh man. Thanks guys. So much better.

[Change background in perspective modeling?]

Perhaps the option to view the RW background selected in realtime, or at least select a color? Something neutral is preferred in most modeling software.

[Change background in perspective modeling?]

I suspect the answer is no, but is there any way to control the background viewed while modeling in uncropped perspective projection? The whole green grass / blue sky is pretty distracting while trying out different render settings, particularly for theatrical applications in which the background is a dark interior. I realize this isn't an issue in viewports but it is while working in a design layer.

If not, feature request? Seems to go along with Vectorworks' move into serious modeling features.