Jeremy Best

Seeing as there is a correlation between Vectorworks crashes and other software crashing around the same time (Google Chrome) then I suggest the cause of your crashes will be something particular to your computer that is used by both programs. as you are on windows, the most likely cause that comes to mind is the graphics card driver. Download and install the latest graphics card driver for your graphics card. If that doesn't improve the matter then perform a clean installation of the driver. (Google how).

@rDesign This is an excellent issue to submit as a bug. Please do so. —You have files that exhibit the issue. They might not be able to reproduce it easily themselves and if that's the case, then they won't/can't work on it: http://www.vectorworks.net/support/bugsubmit AND, because the GUI could be made much easier to use, please submit an enhancement request: https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/forum/19-wishlist-feature-and-content-requests/

Either that, or install Vectorworks 2023 and open your file there first. Save it, then open it in Vectorworks 2025. To download legacy versions of Vectorworks open the 'previous versions' section in the downloads page in the Vectorworks Customer Portal.

If I recall correctly, Vectorworks supports the opening of files from the 5 most recent versions of Vectorworks. If your previous computer was running macOS 10.10 (Yosemite) I presume you were using Vectorworks 2019 — the last version to work on Yosemite. If this is all true, you might have to get the support team at Vectorworks to transition your file for you. I suggest you contact the US support team.

Note that this issue does not affect most other users who are still on Windows 10, so the cause will be something particular to your hardware, operating system, software, file/data integrity or settings. Possible causes that come to mind: Antivirus preventing particular software components from being installed. Software conflict. Other software interfering with Vectorworks ability to use certain system/software resources. These could include: Security software/settings blocking certain components from running. Graphics-overlay type software using (or somehow blocking) graphical functionality. Other programs using certain system resources and not 'sharing' them or making them available when done. To address each of the above in order, I suggest: Uninstall/remove Vectorworks 2025 > temporarily disable all antivirus/security software > reinstall Vectorworks > Re-test Vectorworks. Restart the computer > Disable all antivirus/security software > Do not open any other programs > Re-test Vectorworks. Use the steps or the main principles of this solution/comment to rule out possible interference from graphics-overlay software > Re-test Vectorworks. If you're using a Beta graphics card driver, switch to the more proven 'Studio' version of the NVIDIA driver. (I presume AMD also has variations). Lastly, maybe, somehow Vectorworks data in the Windows Registry might be corrupt. But I wouldn't mess around with that before ruling out the above possible causes.

If you create a new, blank file, and create a new symbol, does it display the pink X's? If yes, see if the issue resides in your Vectorworks User Data and Preferences Folder by applying the 'Resetting Vectorworks Preferences' process. This process sets aside all your customisations, to see if they cause the issue. If the issue does not persist after executing this process, then something in your Vectorworks User Folder is causing the issue. If it does —when in a new, blank file, then something else is cause. Perhaps the driver of your dedicated graphics card needs to be updated or clean installed. Please report back if this process resolves the matter: Here's the process to apply:

I encountered this issue Michael, and as I recall simply restarting my Mac was all that was required to remedy it.

What a fruit-filled update!

I’m rather late to the party, but here’s my two cents. Based on my 8+ years of providing technical support for Vectorworks, I’d say your hunch is right on the money. Some network traffic security or antivirus ‘Real time protection’ functionality will be blocking either network traffic or the installer from doing its thing, respectively. Or both. Please post back here with what the solution turns/turned out to be

Hi Sean, I'm sorry for the teensy size of my contribution but needs-must (or should I say, time-allows!) Thanks for including a screen recording which goes some way to clarify potential causes. At least in my mind! Just shooting from the hip here, but I suspect the mirror is (wrongly) permanently cached with data associated with the Viewport concerned. You might be able to trigger its release by manipulating the viewport in particular ways, such as toggling the render mode (which I see you have tried) or some other way, but I suspect you'll just need to delete the Viewport and create a new one. If this Viewport is associated with a camera, you might need to delete and replace that too before creating the new Viewport [if using a camera as the source of the view]. Good luck!

It sounds like the actions performed have created a corruption in your document. If you have not added significant work to this document since, then the easiest solution is to open a Vectorworks backup file then carry on with that. If all your Vectorworks backup files also contain this condition, hopefully your files are stored in cloud storage such as Dropbox or OneDrive because then you can access historical versions of files, allowing you to go back in time this way. There are two other paths that might work to correct this issue, but they might be difficult to achieve: Pass your files through to Vectorworks Technical Support. If deemed necessary they can pass them through to Vectorworks engineers who have tools to examine and possibly manually correct corruptions in files. Get online with a technically astute Vectorworks user who might be able to manipulate the file that produces the same result in a less invasive way. Good luck!

If some of Vectorworks' processes remain after such a crash, restart your PC to ensure this doesn't have a negative effect on Vectorworks after it is reopened. There are extremely few users on this forum who could make use of .dmp files are not likely to happen across your post, so reach out to your local Vectorworks distributor for technical support. They will pass such files on to engineers who can interpret them.

@gfyfe, Vectorworks might not be freezing, it might just be taking a long time to complete the operation. The more detailed/complex the mesh object is, the longer it will take. This object contains an extraordinary number of vertices. If you give it ample opportunity to complete on a sufficiently-equipped computer, you should get the desired result. If Vectorworks crashes during the operation your computer might not have enough memory needed to support the process to completion. Open Task Manager (on Windows) and Activity Monitor (on Mac) before you start the 'simplify mesh' or 'convert to generic solids' operations and keep an eye on Vectorworks' RAM/memory use. If they top out and then Vectorworks crashes that is the most likely cause. @Tom W. Just in case it is helpful now –or in the next year or two– there are a growing number of apps and online services that generate 3D models from a photograph. Earlier releases of this type of thing were clearly too rough for use in this type of work but they have gotten noticable better recently and will become very good and highly relevant in the coming weeks, months or years. Worth giving them ago and checking their current viability.

If you are manually arranging these images every time you update your design, you can save yourself a lot of time/effort using the following method if you create these images using Sheet Layer Viewports instead. It will make it easier to generate the same size and proportioned images again and again. If using the Render Bitmap tool suits your needs better for some reason, ensure you have the 'Enable Alpha Transparency' checkbox selected in the Settings dialog for this tool: If you have all the appropriate settings and it's not performing accordingly, make sure you try restarting your computer. Failing that, go through the usual troubleshooting workflow to identify the cause.

Having one or more objects far enough away from the file's Internal Origin ('far out objects') can create a massive variety of symptoms, most of which will seem completely unrelated to any object or action a user might be performing. You will find instructions to diagnose and correct this if they are the cause, here: