whitecap

i'm back...........didn't mean to start a firestorm here! my short time with cad, albeit limited to vectorworks and archicad, tells me that every program has it's strengths and weakness'. the archicad usergroup meetings i/ve been to suggest that the majority, like 90+%, do all their work in archicad. the 2d work can be accomplished in the msa detailer template. it's simpple or i couldn't do it. and it is reportedly, from users, better in ver 8. the price vs. power. will you pay? is really the bottom line. many people on this discussion board complain to no end about the shortcomings of vw. it is a piss off to lose your time, no doubt.i will once again sing the praises of katie and matthew before her. there is no calculable value for their tireless efforts and it NOT their fault! you live with your choices, good or bad, sometimes, like in my case, you choose again. anyone want an inexpensive seat of vw arch 9.5.2? jeff out

well it's all new to me. so yes it might be premature to sell vw but i am already much more comfortable with archicad than iwas after 4+ steady months with vw. the reality from my desktop is that each system has "it's ways" that you must apply and bow to or you just won't get it done. the work around thing. there are less of them so far with archicad. i am coming to this line of work from carpentry, so the modeling is intutive to me in the sense that their tools are designed to create objects that reflect the actual building process. i am in effect generating a model of the actual house which in turn generates the 2d documents. just works for me. [get a demo and play with the roof tool. it will blow you away. ]

hello robert, i found a copy of archicad at 40%off retail. when i first got into this, my cad quest, the idea i had was to be able to create a 3d model that would generate working documents with the ease of cad editing. i spent a fair sum of money on training materials as well as actually spending time in vancouver bc with in media res for one on one tutoring. and many many hours. in the course of that valuable tutoring i began to realize that the dream of working off of the model was just that. as well as the non hot linked elevations and sections. i was shown with great skill on their part how to create quality documents. but it became basically just 2d drafting. the model was an accessory not a centerpiece. that takes the fun out of it for me. the model can be a fantastic tool for design, presentation and reviewing problematic areas. if nothing is linked you are stuck redrawing all your elevations and sections the time invested in an accurate model becomes moot. the roof tools [ which describe the most complicated and interesting part of a house ] alone are amazing and straight forward to use whereas vectorworks, for me anyway was an endless series of work arounds. then there is the ease of plotting/printing layout. the animation, built-in rendering, i could go on. in the end as with most things you usually get what you pay for. in the end the time i am spending learning the program is much too valuable to invest in a program that will not do what i expect. it is different for everyone. it seems that each program has it's short and long suits. this is just a better choice for me. i will miss the auto scroll, fantastic 2d tools and the valuable help katie in particular provided on this tech board. i will part with my fully licensed copy and lots of traiining materials [tutrial cds from archoncad, in media res ] manuals and another book or two for $500. as you can see this is not a cheap decision. who ever takes this will save close to $700. regards jeff

does anyone have any ideas about where to advertise a single seat of vectorworks architect 9.5? i have lots of training material as well and would like to recover some of my investment and do not know where to advertise it? any thoughts greatly appreciated.

does anyone have any ideas about where to advertise a single seat of vectorworks architect 9.5? i have lots of training material as well and would like to recover some of my investment and do not know where to advertise it? any thoughts greatly appreciated.

i went back through all the possible routes to set black +white/grayscale, both in vectorworks paths and hp printer paths. in vw>file>printer setup the grayscale was not turned on. it appeared to be but a further menu investigation proved otherwise. my bad! sorry. interestingly though the sheet sizes which we had been through, thourghly, in one instance hsd reverted to 8.5x11. i would have thought this would remain as set. i have burned enough of your time. the moral of my story here is DOUBLE CHECK every setting before you print. at least now,thanks to you, i understand a more thourough way to do this. thanks again. jeff

katie, it does print black text and lines in other apps. i haven't looked into cleaning cartridges because of the black printing. please keep trying. jeff

hi katie, yes it's yellowish green and it runs two seperate cartridges. one color and one black.

well katie, while i am not always impressed with this product i AM ALWAYS impressed with you! i had set the print set up, printer preferences, document preferences, all correctly but i had yet to go into properties>features through the vw file>print path. apperently there were a few stones unturned yet. ok! thanks, i was starting to look amteruish to both myself and potential clinents. but........... what about the black and white issue. i am set to b+w in document preferences, grayscale in printing preferences also. is there somewhere else i need to go?

i'll just be waitin' til somebody throws me a bone. i tried changing color of the light source and that cured the color. but that still seems like a workaround to me. i also have combed the archives and print current view sounds like it might also be a work around. except i cannot find or figure out how to do this.

also, preferences in printer set to grayscale, and black+white in vw preferences but still printing in yellowish green; from the yellow light sources i presume. but still i should be seeing black,gray and white? right?

hi i am running windos 2000pro, vw arch 9.5.2 w/an hp 1220c, w/ the driver reccomended by katie just a few months back. trying to print to 11x17 format. in printer prefrences, set to 11x17. in print set up(vw), set up to 11x17 at 100%. preview,the gray print border all looks good, as i want it to look. when it actually prints the printed material is off to left edge of landscape setiing using about 50%-65% of page. any ideas?

howdy all, i have vw architect 9.5. i'm trying to find or create somethng akin to a 5/8 drain rock pattern for details in 2d.nothing i'm coming up with loks decent. any suggestions would be appreciated.

does anyone know if a copy of renderworks for 9.5 is still available, or even better a "used" copy available? i'm not sure i am going to stay with this program but in the meantime..........

can someone tell me how to access the vectorscript archives WITHOUT subscribing to the email list. i have tried and failed and now the access dialoge recognizes my email address and won't allow me in. i'd like to comb through the archives BEFORE asking a bunch of stupid questions. i guess i need SIMPLE instructions: 1st, do this; 2nd do this; etc. etc. also is there a site where tools and commands like those at vectorbits are available for windows? that would really helpout! thanx in advance whitecap

let us not forget the valuable other use of the boomerang tool............... holding down the c key at the same time as the space bar allows you to zoom and then return to the previous function. invaulable!

your lordship, as a new user here's my nickel's worth. the beginner's manual from jonathan pickup [www.archoncad.co.nz, he is listed on the trainer page at this web address as well as training materials.] will get you moving and drawing i simple language without the inherent language problems. video screen shots SHOW you how to do what the manual just tells you how.. then PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. then definetly buy both training cds from nna off the training section of this site. taken in the context of some experience, time spent using the program they are very helpful. and as katie suggested if you can attend a user group, in person q+a is invaulable. the bottom line is your investment in time and traing materials/tutoring will probably rival your software investment. then you can go make some money with it! ready, set, go [ 01-09-2003, 11:02 AM: Message edited by: whitecap ]

thanks for trying. i think i have been to this intersection before. i don't seem to understand how to regenerate the settings dialoge box after the initial use/exe. of rafter frame. the only info a small box identifing width, hieght, and center to center. the oip doesn't appear to allow as many definitions as the original dialouge box. it would appear that i could select the appropriate rafters and "elevate" them but this hardly seems expediant or the appropriate mode.i tryed copyiing the roof into another file and reviewed the object pr[?] info before exe.; reviewed all settings, i think, to my liking. the second box that appeared, object pr again had a subheading board. specs of lenth 1",width 1.5"and hiegth 96". i am at a loss wht this refers to and it bearing on my roof. hope this is enough information to assist. thanks for your patince. jeff

sorry: win 2000, vw arch 9.5.2

good morning robert & katie, i am getting a strange result when executing rafter frame. i have a 12:12 simple gable roof with two shed dormers at 4:12,one on each side. the dormer roofs extend all the way to the ridge of the main roof. when i execute the frame command the main roof is correct but the dormer frame packages are, about 14" low, below the plane of thier respective roofs. i have tried deleting and repeating, i am working with a copy of the roof on an edit layer, and always the same result. i will presume this is pilot error so i keeping with today's auto theme can you offer some drivers ed. to me? thanx in advance

thanks bryan. ultimately i did a restart of the computer as oppesed to my usual standby shut down and all was well. this still begs the question, why did this hapen and how do i avoid this annoying problem? jeff

well this is NEW! my program, vw arch 9.5.2, windows 2000 pro, won't open. i get a runtime error message. abnormal program termination. i have tried a acouple of back door routes, no luck. ok wizards whats the work around for this, and can you venture a guess/clue as to why? it's late. i'll check in the morning. fogbound

roy, the traing cds offered at th vw website are very helpful. video screenshots with naration. very polished, almost too polished. probably all the foundations you'll need to set you and your coworkers in motion. jeff

nicholas, thanx. that worked quite well.i am continually amazed at how maulable this program is. and how sucessful i feel when i accomplish a manipulation with it. jeff

weeelllllllllll! don't ever give up,right?!? so i found the standard 3d powerpack in the file>workspace but? how do i get it into my architect workspace, or can i? have i made my problem better or worse? it is still foggy here