ericjhberg

Thanks Sam, I am glad to hear you have success so far. Honestly, I haven't spent the time necessary to really assess the complete upgrades. What I am more frustrated about is that you MUST transition to the new titleblock since legacy sheet borders are no longer supported. This means I MUST spend that time up front before converting. It's really just an annoyance rather than a large issue. I am all for progress and I am sure we will learn the new way in time, but it is an issue that we need to resolve before even transitioning to 2018.

I'm glad to hear people are working through this. I am pretty annoyed that old sheet border titleblocks no longer work in 2018 and that all the time we spent creating custom titleblocks is wasted and we will have to re-do and relearn for this new tool...frustrating! All of this and you still cannot reference project information in between referenced files within the same project... One thing I am still having difficulty figuring out is how to store custom titleblocks in a workgroup library so that our entire office can utilize our new title blocks.

I agree! I have only started fumbling with this very complex tool in 2018 and my first reactions are...what's the point? This is more difficult than it needs to be? ...Also, all of my old sheet border titleblocks no longer work. This means I have to redo all of the efforts and reformat them all to work with the new tool?

After previewing VW2018, I am again excited at some of the new features! Landscape architects using the software can rejoice at: · Multiple Views – This is pretty awesome upon first glance · Better Site Model Contour Manipulation – The updated interface and experience will take a little getting used to, but the added control over 2d-3d contours is a much-awaited feature · Worksheets – The slightly updated interface and interplay with the criteria selection will make some of worksheets’ notoriously difficult to understand elements a little easier to manipulate and interact with. · Irrigation Tool Fixes – Hatches for drip areas and the ability to rotate symbols on a pipe are great additions Knowing that the next Version’s list is already being developed, I would like to reiussue my running wishlist for VW2019 or even the next service pack? For comparison, here is my big list from last year. (https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/forum/19-wishlist-feature-and-content-requests/&do=add) First of all, some of my wishes were granted, or at least partially. With links to the original posts, they are as follows: Create Objects from Shapes – Fixed in 2018! https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/topic/43106-create-objects-from-shapes-alters-vertex-control/ https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/topic/49842-create-objects-from-shapes-fidelity-loss-in-vertex-control/ Irrigation - Symbol/Component Rotation – Fixed in 2018! https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/topic/45311-irrigation-tools-bug-how-to-rotate-symbols-dripline-outlets-etc/ https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/topic/49849-irrigation-tools-symbolcomponent-rotation/ https://screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cDX33GQh5g Better Tangent Snapping for Circles and Arcs – Kind of fixed in 2018? Partial fix in 2018? It seems that some efforts were made on this point, but the problem still exists. Some tangent point appear when trying to connect two arcs with a third tangent to both arc, but they are incorrect. https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/topic/48013-better-tangent-snapping-for-circles-and-arcs/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umUiKBdLQKM Hide Database Headers on Export – Kind of fixed in 2018? OIP for worksheets now includes a checkbox to hide database headers. I would still love to see this as a checkbox option in the plot/publish menu. https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/topic/44341-hide-database-headers-on-export/ So…that leaves us with a running list of all of the wishlist items that still remain. These are prioritized based on our perceived level of importance in day-to-day workflows. Note that I have also attached an excel spreadsheet we use internally to categorize our wish list items. Design Layer and Sheet Layer Hierarchy - No changes in 2018 https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/topic/42924-project-sharing-design-layer-and-sheet-layer-hierarchy/ File Size - No changes in 2018 Many of our files are getting too cumbersome to work with. As the ideal workflow seems to be the idea of project sharing, where everything is located in one file and team members check out that file to work simultaneously, we are at a standstill. Right now our workflow contains 5 files (L-Hardscape, L-Irrigation, L-Planting, L-Details, and L-Base) all referenced together to create our drawing set. Each file can top out at over 1 GB of size, making combining all of this information into 1 file impossible. Can you imagine a 3-4 GB VW file...we can. With that said, finding a way to dramatically reduce file size and/or the draw on the computer is going to be vital for us going forward. The projects and demands being placed on us aren't getting any easier, so we need a software that is nimble and can react with us and VW seems to be heading in the opposite direction. IN VW2018 - A bare bones 35.68 MB file becomes a 36.08 MB file. Albeit a relatively small increase in file size, this is going in the wrong direction from our perspective. Text Handling – No Changes in 2018 https://techboard.vectorworks.net/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=43962&Number=220315#Post220315 https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/topic/40696-paragraph-editing/ Irrigation Pipe Jump Autosize – No Changes in 2018 https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/topic/49883-irrigation-pipe-jump-autosize/ Offset irrigation Pipes – No Changes in 2018 https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/topic/49884-offset-irrigation-pipe/ Sheet Layer or Viewport Linking Text – No Changes in 2018 https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/topic/42925-sheet-layer-or-viewport-linking-text/ Tag/Callout Based on Record Field – No Changes in 2018 https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/topic/42971-tagcallout-based-on-record-field-label-gis/ Image Function in Worksheets – No Changes in 2018 https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/topic/43284-image-function-in-worksheets/ https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/topic/45671-image-function-is-better-but/ Hardscape Components – No Changes in 2018 https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/topic/42560-hardscape-components/ Site Model Contour Labelling – No Changes in 2018 https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/topic/44578-site-model-contour-labelling/ https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/topic/50682-dtm-units/ Reference Viewport Classes – No Changes in 2018 https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/topic/43817-reference-viewport-classes/ Viewport Visibility - Save Settings – No Changes in 2018 https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/topic/48660-viewport-visibility-save-settings/ Document Management - Viewport Crops and Annotation – No Changes in 2018 https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/topic/48655-document-management-viewport-crops-and-annotations/ Dashed Line Endings – No Changes in 2018 https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/topic/43207-dashed-line-endings-roundedsquare-option/ Civil3D Integration – No Changes in 2018 https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/topic/45097-civil3d-integration/ Referenced Titleblocks and Project Based information – New Tool, problem not solved. I haven’t had an opportunity to do more than a cursory look over the new Title Block tool and it seems a little complex! Maybe too complex? That being said, I am pretty sure the referenced file workflow updating project based information between several referenced project files will work with this new tool, just as it didn’t with the Sheet Border tool https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/topic/41885-bpreferencing-titleblock-symbols-in-different-files-but-same-project/ Enhanced Clip Cube Operability – No Changes in 2018 https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/topic/42923-enhanced-clip-cube-operability/ Auto Color Classification for Data Visualization Viewports – No Changes in 2018 http://webhelp.esri.com/arcgisdesktop/9.2/index.cfm?TopicName=Standard_classification_schemes https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/topic/46022-auto-color-classification-for-data-visualization-viewports/ https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/topic/45692-data-visualization-auto-range/ Select Similar Tool to Work for Plant Objects – No Changes in 2018 Fixed, I guess? Select similar by Object type will select all of the same plants, but select similar by Symbol Name will not! https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/topic/42968-select-similar-tool-to-work-for-plant-objects/ General Notes Needs Columns – No Changes in 2018 https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/topic/43206-general-notes-needs-columns/ Floors inside symbols don't export to DWG – No Changes in 2018 https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/topic/44318-beware-floors-as-part-of-symbols-do-not-export-to-dwg/ Constrain Image Dimensions on OIP Resize – No Changes in 2018 https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/topic/44481-constrain-dimensions-resize/ Stake Tool - Read Elevations of Objects in Addition to Site Models – No Changes in 2018 https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/topic/50352-stake-tool-read-elevations-of-objects-in-addition-to-site-models/ Create Class from Object – No Changes in 2018 https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/topic/50964-create-class-from-object/ Calculating Quantities Across a Database Header – No Changes in 2018 https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/topic/50023-calculating-quantities-across-a-database-header/ Site Models and Aerial Imagery Textures…gotta be a better way – No Changes in 2018 https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/topic/49258-site-models-and-aerial-texturesgotta-be-a-better-way/ https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/topic/46557-draping-map-over-dtm/ Railing Fence Tool - Corner Posts – No Changes in 2018 https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/topic/49024-railing-fence-tool-corner-posts/ Irrigation Calcs for True Looped Mainline – No Changes in 2018 https://www.irrigationtutorials.com/using-a-looped-mainline-for-irrigation/ https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/topic/50586-irrigation-tools-and-a-looped-mainline/ Thank you for reading this far, and if you are a VW staffer, great work on 2018, don’t let this list get you down. Get some rest. PCLD Wishlist.xlsx

Exactly, I have requested a smart callout feature that could easily pull information from attached records. Ideally it would work in design layers and sheet layer viewport annotations alike and have the functionality to be placed as a keynote into a keynote legend with auto-numbering.

How is this different than the current methodology for pulling resources from previous version files? We already have to open that file and save it as a new version and my interpretation of this is that the process is exactly the same?

I'm interested in the file size difference between the native Revit file and the Vectorworks file after import. I have found that VW bloats excessively in this regard?

I had no idea you could do this! This should become a wishlist item to finetune the database criteria GUI to include this functionality...and the ability to delete any criteria instead of just the one at the bottom.

@Tom Klaber...We have been using Lumion for quite sometime with what appear to be similar capabilities. We translate using Collada files (.dae) and don't have any scalar problems...yet anyway. Lumion has developed more working sync cababilities with Revit recently and I'm hoping that VW can work their way in too.

This is an idea for a new way to create new classes. Instead of 1). going to the Organization, 2.) creating a new class and then 3) modifying it's corresponding attributes (i.e. pen, fill, texture, etc.), it would be awesome if there were a command, perhaps a right-click menu command, that created a new class with the attributes of a selected object. Inherently this would then work best if the objects selected were placed in the newly created class and made to reflect all attributes by class. This would be an additional, more visual way of creating classes, simply by first applying graphic overrides to existing objects, and then by using that object to define the style of a new class. Its kind of like a style in Word or InDesign...

This happens on our end all of the time. Most of the time we just deal with it, but in other instances we have had to resort to a workflow similar to the one offered by @Benson Shawabove. This is something that should be addressed, along with many other outstanding site model issues that have been raised on this forum. It definitely needs some streamlining and functionality improvements.

Complex is a matter of opinion. I don't think VW is currently built to go straight through without some work arounds; however, I doubt that any work arounds have to be any more complex that any AutoCAD workflow...just different.

So we just recently started having problems with our plant database after having it work fine. I'm wondering if a change occurred in one of the recent Service Packs? Without informing users? Before the .exe file and folder used to be called 'VW Plants' and now it seems to be 'Vectorworks Plants'? This seemingly simple shift has me boggled because we track our favorite plants by checking the box for favorites...and they all disappeared. I am able to retrieve my old data, in tact, and find my favorites, but when I try to import the .usr file with just the favorites, I can't seem to select an option that just updates existing records with the "favorites" box checked. Instead, the only way I can seem to get those records in is by adding entirely new and often duplicate records into the database. When I do this I end up with two 'Plant name A's...one checked as a favorite and another unchecked. I want to be able to delete duplicate entries in the database. I have even found ones that come in it stock. Is there a way to quickly purge the database of duplicates based on a specific field (i.e. VW Latin Name)? Or Is there a way to import records from another database and have them simply update the records within the database without adding duplicates...mainly the check box for VW Favorites?

So we just recently started having problems with our plant database after having it work fine. I'm wondering if a change occurred in one of the recent Service Packs? Without informing users? Before the .exe file and folder used to be called 'VW Plants' and now it seems to be 'Vectorworks Plants'? This seemingly simple shift has me boggled because we track our favorite plants by checking the box for favorites...and they all disappeared. I am able to retrieve my old data, in tact, and find my favorites, but when I try to import the .usr file with just the favorites, I can't seem to select an option that just updates existing records with the "favorites" box checked. Instead, the only way I can seem to get those records in is by adding entirely new and often duplicate records into the database. When I do this I end up with two 'Plant name A's...one checked as a favorite and another unchecked. I want to be able to delete duplicate entries in the database. I have even found ones that come in it stock. Is there a way to quickly purge the database of duplicates based on a specific field (i.e. VW Latin Name)? Or Is there a way to import records from another database and have them simply update the records within the database without adding duplicates...mainly the check box for VW Favorites?

I've submitted a very similar request, complete with a video explaining the issues.

You are correct, the current irrigation tools cannot account for true looped mainline connections which, as I am sure you know, can dramatically lessen pressure loss in a large system. I have put together a quick dummy test showing how VW currently handles looped mainlines and what should be closer based on real rough personal calculations. The following article explains some of the benefits and calculations for looped mainlines, so hopefully VW will catch on with the irrigation tools soon. They are definitely designed for much smaller irrigation installations than many larger landscape architecture practices design. https://www.irrigationtutorials.com/using-a-looped-mainline-for-irrigation/ Looped Mainline Test.vwx

You are correct, the current irrigation tools cannot account for true looped mainline connections which, as I am sure you know, can dramatically lessen pressure loss in a large system. I have put together a quick dummy test showing how VW currently handles looped mainlines and what should be closer based on real rough personal calculations. The following article explains some of the benefits and calculations for looped mainlines, so hopefully VW will catch on with the irrigation tools soon. They are definitely designed for much smaller irrigation installations than many larger landscape architecture practices design. https://www.irrigationtutorials.com/using-a-looped-mainline-for-irrigation/ Looped Mainline Test.vwx

I'm going to try and push this one back up in the content feed, since I got a little headway on my previous irrigation wishlist re-post.

Exactly, thanks @BNicholson. Additionally, simple offsets of lines helps create graphic clarity. When using the irrigation pipe tool, our workflow has been 1. draft all pipes as polylines first. this allows you to offset where needed. 2. convert to pipes Where this breaks down is if I need to add a pipe after #2. I cannot use a previous pipe and offset a new one.

It seems getting irrigation questions answered or viewed on the forum is a difficult endeavor?

I think that VW is in a very competitive market for LA services. Unfortunately my take on the LA industry is that it was brainwashed/forced ages ago into using AutoCAD. No viable alternative existed for a very long time. It was made worse by the lack of landscape architecture specific tools developed during those times, mainly because of the relatively small market our profession employs when compared to the powerful engineering and architecture practice. Any small beneficial add-on, plug-in, or new software that promised to make the frustrations of AutoCAD go away were instantly tested, and some almost as quickly disregarded as too cumbersome or not intuitive enough. I firmly believe that this is why SketchUp has endured...it was a practical solution to the difficult modeling processes of AutoCAD, and it has stayed there ever since. Today, we are in the hang-over of that circumstance where LAs still use AutoCAD because 1) it is what they know, 2) they have invested countless hours and resources into developing and streamlining very specific libraries and workflows, and 3) no GREAT/PERFECT alternative exists. It is #3 that I do see VW trying to chip away at. I say "trying" because I agree, the current suite of Landmark tools are somewhat primitive. They may work fine for smaller-scale, landscape design/build, single-lot residential or commercial work, but they struggle on large applications. HOWEVER, I am hopeful that recent VW internal dialogues seem to be catching on and they have made some moves that will hopefully pan out for the better for large scale LA practice. Behind the scenes, they are seeking more input from practicing LAs to better develop the tools and my hope is that this will evolve into a much more competitive suite for our practice...ideally, enough to make the large firms take a closer look at reasons 1 and 2. When will we see this...to me, that is the biggest question. I doubt its 2018, but hopefully soon because the market isn't waiting. We are a LA firm that uses VW successfully for larger projects, but we have had to circumnavigate and create workarounds to achieve many of the key functionalities we currently use. It is possible, it just took years to get to where we are at. We invested long-term and so far it has paid off. If you ever have a specific workflow you are curious about how to solve, I'd be happy to weigh in...otherwise, this discussion may be spinning its wheels in a theoretical argument that has no perfect answer.

This is too bad, as I have already mentioned...I can attest that we have found Vectorworks as easy as AutoCAD for simple 2-dimensional document set production, and far more efficient when integrating any sort of 3-dimensional workflow. The workarounds, although present, aren't really any more complicated that the workarounds we landscape architects have become accustomed to in AutoCAD, they're just different. As for resources, we too get frustrated at the lack learning resources provided by VW, but I can attest that this forum and the personal support we have received far outweighs anything Autodesk could ever attempt to muster. If you are unwilling to utilize the resources that do exist, that is one thing, but to say that there aren't any is absurd...

Couldn't have put it better myself!

Thanks Mike. I haven't tried that, but I am worried about doing that. The reason is...significant loss of accuracy. My biggest concern is in steep areas where the complex polys are really close to one another. In these areas, the simplification command doesn't work relatively to the polys position and suddenly, contours that were close to parallel before, now overlap. I know that is a problem for site models. Maybe I can run a simplification command more selectively. Thanks again for the help.