mike m oz

Thank you for your input Chris, but in the end I managed to answer my own query. After a bit of surfing I discovered a great little shareware program called Meshwork http://codenautics.com/meshwork/ "Meshwork is a 3D triangle-mesh modeling program for MacOS. It is designed especially for making compact, efficient objects for use in 3D games or on the web. It imports and exports several file formats, including DXF and optimized 3DMF. It can also be used to produce VRML for the web, models for POV-Ray, sprites, models for OpenGL applications, and more." What I have been trying to do is import some of the 3dmf files of notable architectural buildings that can be found on the Great Buildings Collection website http://buildings.greatbuildings.com/ The site is worth having a look at, as is the ArchitectureWeek website http://www.architectureweek.com/today.html

Does anybody know a method for doing this? Thanks in advance.

Erik That capability already exists and as far as I can remember has always done so for the eyedropper tool. Click on the eyedropper tool preferences (RH end option button) and check the "Pick Up Sets Defaults" option.

The extrude along path routine assumes the path is the centre point of the object. You can either: - Reduce the radius of the path by the required amount before extruding along the path; or - After extruding along the path edit the profile and move it relative to its origin so that the result is what you want.

Make a popup from the bottom of the drawing (alongside the "Fit to Object" etc.) which would allow you to change an individual layers scale by choosing from a list of the available scales. Obviously the list would have to default to either metric or imperial depending on which your global drawing units are set to. Acess to the normal scale dialoue box could be by the ... convention as for the Layer and Class popups.

Michael Have a look at the post on training under General discussion - "Best way to learn". http://techboard.nemetschek.net/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=12;t=004046 I can highly recommend the ArchonCAD training manuals by Jonathon Pickup. They are worth the money and will pay for themself quickly through increased productivity.

TAD's response shows how valuable training resources can be. They will invariably pay for themself quickly by improving your productivity.

Don I had similar problems - in the end I concluded it was because I had a 56K dial up connection. I had a friend download it for me with his broadband connection and he had no problems at all. The other issue is that the download contains 2 files - a quicktime movie file and a PDF file. It might become simpler if NNA made these 2 files seperatlyly downloadable.

G-Pang The capability doesn't exist unfortunately - I wish it did. How I overcome it is to: - Draw a wall across the end as for the exterior component (eg 110 bwk) making it longer than the joining wall width. - Make a T wall join. - Stretch both ends of the end wall so that its length exactly matches the joining wall width. It is something I only do at working drawing stage when I am trying to make the walls look correct. It is better not to do it at the design modelling stage as it complicates things too much and introduces additional lines which have to be dealt with in section and elevation views )particularly when these are converted to lines). There is also the quick and dirty option of drawing a 2D filler polygon with no line thickness over the cavity to simulate the outer skin returning. This method usually requires a bit of tweaking to get it right

In the Oz (Australian) version it is located under the Text tool As a guess your version will be the same.

TAD The Wall Tool is part of VectorWorks Basic. It provides all of the wall tool functiionality, but the user has to create the cavities (these should really be called components) that make up the construction of the wall when it is viewed in 2D. The Wall Type Tool comes with Architect and allows you to create and save preset wall types (ie. overall width and individual width of the components which make up the wall). These wall types can then be easily recalled saving you the bother of having to recreate them each time you want to use them. They can also be preset to be a particular class, have a particular height and have records attached to them. All of the latter can also be done with the 'manual' Wall Tool. The Wall Type Tool simply 'automates' some of these functions allowing you to work more quickly and effectively. You will probably still have to think through what it is you are trying to do and either alter the existing preset wall types, or create new ones. My experience is that new users have problems with the Wall Tool because of the way the wall components (aka cavities) have to be formed relative to the centreline of the wall. It really would be beneficial if NNA were to standardise the method of wall creation across both tools. VW Basic could require you to create each wall type as you require it, like now, and VW Architect could allow you to save the wall types for later re-use.

What also would be nice would be the ability to reshape floors using the polygon reshape tool as you can with roof objects. As show other objects while in groups does not work for floors (or extrusions) this would overcome the issue of not being able to see other objects whilst you are making the changes to floors.

MJW Don't dismiss training so lightly. The program is constantly evolving so the need for training is continuous, whether it be self training or formal training. There is a continuing need to come to grips with new features and ways of doing things as they are added. Even though I have been using the program for 11.5 years I wouldn't pretend to know everything. I have learnt from the other sources I have mentioned, and expect to continue to do so. Think of training as an investment which will enhance your capability and make you more productive. It may also help to diminish your obvious frustrations. Contact your UK distributor and ask them what training is available and who does it where. In a brief search of the internet I found some UK training resources.

This was covered in an earlier post by another user that I can just recall. It was suggested that for each Viewport you create separate light source(s) in the model with separate classes so that the correct light source(s) could be 'switched on' in the viewport. Hence each elevation view could have its shading in a consistant direction. I thought it was a very good lateral thinking solution and I am grateful to the person who thought of it.

MJW A couple of points. 1. The NNA manuals are far from useless. They are well setout and explain stuff in plain English. In my experience many other CAD programs manuals are no where near as good. 2. NNA provide free technical support for 18 months after purchase. Other programs do not offer anything like this level of free support. With AutoCAD for example you will have to pay each and every time you contact their support people. 3. There is also no other CAD program that I am aware of that has a public techboard like this one. NNA are very receptive to feedback and often technical queries are answered by either them or the contributor's to the technical board. I have provided VW support and training for many years, and my experience is that for many users it is easier to ring or email than to bother looking for the answer either in the manuals or the on-line help. I've even had people state that "They don't do manuals", or similar. For me this is sheer stupidity - RTFM has a lot going for it and can reduce frustration levels substantially. Try it for a change - you might be surprised at how easy it is to find the answer to your queries or problems. Katie is dead right when she says there is no substitute for training. Invest in some - whether it be formal lessons, the NNA training CD's, the ArchonCAD training manuals, the OzCAD multimedia CD, the third party books etc. Gaining an understanding of the concepts of the program is critical to becoming proficient. Training will help you do this. If you also develop an an attitude of learning as much about the program as possible, and adopt a mindset of solving your own problems, you will get much more joy out of your work.

Eric Training suggestions: - The OzCAD multimedia CD by Julian Carr (very good). - The ArchonCAD training manuals. - The Janis Kent Works Manual (if it is still available). I have also found the current NNA training CD's to be very good. They are for version 11 though - it might be worth asking them if the earlier version Training CD's are still available.

Dan That must be a new feature because in 11.01 it doesn't. All it shows is a black dot against the current class.

Chris's need for data is all part of the BIM concept. That is having created the model for it to be truly useful under the BIM paradigm the model must return accurate data which can translate into accurate costings. For me however I am more interested in the appearance and issues like representing building reality as close as possible. Some examples: - Being able to have different appearance attributes for the top, bottom and side surfaces of floors. - Having the capability to return both the exterior and interior wall finishes separately into the reveals of door and window openings (we don't use timber reveal linings internally - the wall finish wraps in) - Having the capability to add slab thickenings (with 45? edges) to slabs on ground (both to the perimeter and under internal walls). - Having the capability to add integral beams to the underside of slabs. - Having a 3D ceiling tool which will create suspended ceilings of different types. - Being able to simply add cornices and skirtings to walls (having them return into reveal openings where appropriate would be great, but I suspect this is too difficult). With some of this I am thinking forward to where we want to be - ie. producing accurate useful and useable 'live sections'. On this issue it would be nice if the 'architectural live sectioning' had a depth of field capability. By this I mean the capability to choose how much of the model is seen beyond the cutting plane ranging from nothing (ie just the section) to all of the model beyond. The cutting plane should also have the capability to be stepped in plan.

Eric Check out Custom Tool/Attribute under the Organise menu. - Create the wall the way you want it, - Draw a piece of wall and leave it selected and the Wall tool active. - Select Custom Tool/Attribute under the organise menu. - Select the Attributes you want. - Click OK - Save the script with a name that appropriately describes the wall type. This will create a Script pallette (give it a name such as Wall Types) attached to your drawing which can be called up through the Window menu. Just double click on the Script name in the pallette and it will bring up the Wall tool and wall type for the script so that you can draw the wall. Other wall types can be added to this Script pallette by repeating the above process. This Script pallette can then be imported into other drawings. I would suggesting importing it into a new drawing based on your Termplate drawing and then saving this as a new Template file (overwriting the old one) so it is there for all new jobs. It would probably be prudent to read the relevent section in the manual first so that you have an understanding of what you are doing before you tackle it. This process is pretty simple really, and can be used for all sorts of presets for tools such as wall types, text types, line types etc. All it does is write a small macro program that you invoke by double clicking on it. The capability has been around for ever, but as the program has become more sophisticated the need for most users has diminished. Check it out but because it provides a very quick way of automating activities,. PS for one offs you can transfer wall cavities from one wall to another using the Eyedropper tool. One proviso though - it is only effective when the walls are the same width. I usually use solid walls at the design stage and then convert these walls to cavity walls at the documentation phase by selecting all of the walls and using the eyedropper to change their attributes. Using different classes for each wall type makes life a bit easier here.

Alanmac What I was having a dig at was the implied suggestion in Sofia Ames' original post that to be bona fide one had to use Studio Pro or Viz, and that those of us who choose to do otherwise are Phillistines. There are many ways of doing things, and we need to make decisions on our needs not on what others think we should do. ie. fitness for purpose. Most of us in the VW community will have had the experience of being criticised by AutoCAD users because we dare to be different. Choosing AutoCAD because it is 'the supposed industry standard' is not always the wisest choice. Hence the imploring to not be a sheep and follow the masses. No insult to anyone was intended, and I apologise if anyone did take this the wrong way.

Alanmac I will give an example to explain why. Consider a first floor slab: - On the top it may need to have a tiled, timber or carpeted floor finish. - On the underside it needs to have a plastered finish to simulate its role as a ceiling. - The sides will be exposed in stairwell openings and/or balcony situations. In both cases it will probably not be finished as for the floor above or the ceiling below. Hence the need for 3 separate surface finishes. I will qualify this by saying that here in Australia we tend to build with concrete floor slabs, and in domestic work the slab soffit is usually the ceiling for the floor below. To overcome the issue I have occassionally resorted to using two layers of floor slabs for each floor of the building. - The first floor is the structural slab which I finish as for the ceiling below. - On top of this I then place floor finish slabs to obtain the correct floor finishes for various rooms / spaces in the model. it is a bit time consuming but it works.

Katie You people should not be sitting on your backsides 'hoping' that Apple will fix the problem with Tiger. If Apple will not commit to fixing the problem then NNA must! To not do so would be commercial suicide. This is a real issue which needs to be addressed immediately. If NNA, with its Apple user base, cannot get Apple to realise ithe gravity of this problem then you have to solve the problem yourselves. If this means developing and/or buying your own printer drivers then do it. This is like the issue with the OIP delay which Apple won't guarantee to fix - we users don't care what the problem is we just want it fixed. The ball is in your court NNA! Deal with it. [ 12-19-2004, 04:43 AM: Message edited by: mike m oz ]

I have attended a Revit demonstration and it is impressive. They were however a bit reluctant to discuss certain aspects, and to show us how it would deal with particular problems. An associate who attended the same demonstration decided to run with Revit. After 3 months he is still struggling to come to grips with the program, and is frustrated about how he is going to fill in the missing information. I have seen a set of his drawings for an addition to an existing house and they are not easy to read or attractive. The exact opposite of his manual drawings that I have seen in the past. I think the big point to be made is to not underestimate the learning curve on what is a quite complex problem. It will be a major paradigm shift as you will have no option but to model in 3D. Many people don't fully understand the implications of this. Those people who can't adequately think in 3D and / or discipline themselves in how they tackle projects will get themselves into a serious mess very quickly. Good luck to them in whatever they choose to do.

It would be useful if floors could adopt the hole forming functionality of roofs. ie. the way in which you can cut holes in roofs by just placing a polygon into the "roof group". Cutting holes in floor slabs would be a lot easier if it could be done the same way. Another nice feature would be the ability to resize the floor polygon inwards or outwards by a one click method, rather than having to create a new polygon using the offset tool and then deleting the original polygon. This would allow the source polygon to be generated by the walls and then this polygon could be easily resized to get the right relationship to the walls. The other necessary floor improvement which is required (and has often been mentioned before) is the ability to apply different textures to the top, bottom and side surfaces of the floor slabs.

The problem with using export lineweights by colour is muddied by the fact that very few AutoCAD people stick to the program defaults for the colours. Therefore for an export of this type to be useful to the recipient you MUST know the protocol of the recipient. When you are exporting for more than one recipient the likelihood is not all will be happy, unless you do individual exports for each. [ 12-18-2004, 10:12 PM: Message edited by: mike m oz ]