Edward Joseph

Hey @thelightingguy try turning off auto graphics switching. Occasionally, the macbook pros aren't sure which one to use. Go to System Preferences>Energy Saver and uncheck the box, then launch Vision.

Great resources, Juan! As always though, if you have any trouble, don't hesitate to reach out to support if you run into any snags at tech@vectorworks.net - we're here to help!

Hey Kyle, in your nomad, enable sACN, and uncheck default, then disable it. That is a good first step. Next, if you select the lights in the scene graph under root, do they turn on? Also, I noticed you were using an older version of Vision, go to Vision>About Vision. Whats the version number there? Honestly though, the best fix would be to just use 2019, it's better in every way - by leaps and bounds. You can find the installer here: That link will work as the demo or full version.

This is likely due to the Nvidia drivers packed into the last few versions of OSX. Until apple sorts out the driver issue, we recommend switching over to integrated following the instructions in this tech bulletin: Luckily, the performance improvement in 2019 makes the dip in performance moot. You shouldn't have any major issues with Vision.

So, I had to take some liberties considering apple chose some...weird parts on their maxed version. 128gb of ram is pretty gimmicky. Nothing actually utilizes it. Like the above however, you could use it with a few thousand tabs in chrome maybe. Linus tech tips actually did a great video on 128gb, and every test showed no speed improvement. However, if we are being sticklers - add about $500 to swap the motherboard for a server board and add another 64GB of ram. Just note that even 64GB is going to be a little silly in most environments. I also went with single core performance over multi-core because of my previous statements. Multi-core could benefit someone in a very specific environment (but not VW or Vision). Funny enough, even when people compare the 18 core iMac to the 8 core, they are excited about 5 minutes saved on an hour video render. It's worth noting as well, that basically all of mac hardware is proprietary (but not the good kind of proprietary) stuff made at foxconn. Here's the list I came up with, at $2451 so the number I pulled out of the air was a little off, but not by much. I added liquid cooling and a 4k monitor for kicks but this is obviously optional. The funny thing is, 5k iMacs are 118ppi. That 4k monitor....is 157ppi. Take that as you will though. iMac displays are pretty. If you want to near that $13,000 price tag a bit, you could add $1500 or so for an actual 5k display. Without further ado, here's a part list: PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/kdx7yX Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/kdx7yX/by_merchant/ CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor ($379.99 @ Amazon) CPU Cooler: Corsair - H60 (2018) 57.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($59.99 @ Newegg) Motherboard: MSI - B360-A PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($69.99 @ B&H) Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 64GB (4 x 16GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($519.99 @ Newegg) Storage: ADATA - ULTIMATE SU650 960GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($136.99 @ Amazon) Storage: ADATA - ULTIMATE SU650 960GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($136.99 @ Amazon) Storage: ADATA - ULTIMATE SU650 960GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($136.99 @ Amazon) Storage: ADATA - ULTIMATE SU650 960GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($136.99 @ Amazon) Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1070 Ti 8GB SC GAMING ACX 3.0 Black Edition Video Card ($409.99 @ B&H) Case: Corsair - Carbide SPEC-04 (Black/Gray) ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Newegg) Power Supply: Corsair - CXM 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($42.98 @ Newegg) Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit ($124.79 @ OutletPC) Monitor: AOC - U2879VF 28.0" 3840x2160 60Hz Monitor ($250.99 @ Amazon) Total: $2451.66 ***NOTE: My views on this matter are my own, and NOT the views of Vectorworks. In fact, VW HQ is full of macs.***

Hey Zeke, this is likely a separate issue. 99% of the time when fixtures don't show up in the patch window or the scene graph, but you can see the geometry - they have no fixture mode assigned in Vectorworks. Not assigning a fixture mode in the object info palette will make the fixtures come over as simple 3d geometry.

Yep! We looked over it and figured out what's wrong. It was our error - that fixture was made for Vision a long time ago, and was overlooked when we renamed everything to work with newer versions of Vision. The fixture team is working on a fix and as soon as it's done, I will send you an email with instructions on how to update that fixture.

That's a weird one, can you send your .vwx file and File>save as > a .v3s file over to tech@vectorworks.net? I'd like to look deeper into this to see what's going on.

Are you seeing anything in the Vision window at all? Any geometry, truss, anything? Are these lights listed in the scene graph if you expand ROOT?

I agree, updating libraries may fix the issue - what fixture mode have you set the fixtures to before exporting? Are they not showing up in the scene graph or are they completely invisible in the scene itself?

It sure did! Fixtures assigned to focus positions in Vectorworks 2018 and up all come over to Vision properly. Just make sure that they are assigned fixture modes - and original Vectorworks symbols to avoid any tomfoolery. I've seen a few manufacturer symbols that are backwards, rotated, etc. which can mess with the focus positions (the base is where the lens is supposed to be, so the base gets focused to the focus point.

Hey Zach - Sorry for the delay, we were out for Labor Day. You can go to http://localhost:1947/_int_/devices.html to find your dongle ID, it will be listed under "Key ID" when your dongle is plugged in. The dongle ID isn't always 100% necessary, it mostly helps in situations where someone in an organization registers the license under their name and someone else tries to renew. (Searching for Zach Moore won't pull anything up if Dave Smith registered it and didn't include any company info). I usually see people writing the ID on the dongle, I often use a label maker to tag it. You mainly need the ID for renewing and requesting fixtures.

Try running vision by right-clicking and selecting "Run as Administrator." Then, try to update via the help menu, there is a chance you have a permissions issue (Windows Updates often like to tinker with permissions).

If you select a Video Screen object, there will be a button to set screen image, when you click into that, the scaling options are there. You scale the screen image, then turn it into a vision video source (selecting the video file or capture device).

I can answer this, it's one of my favorite topics. Though my opinions on the matter are solely that, and aren't representative of Vectorworks in any way. I'm going to imagine the legal people are giving me a high-five for that. First to answer your question simply, yes, and ESC file is transferable to a PC from a mac and vice-versa. Just make sure you keep the mac up to date by running the Vision updater with the dongle in every now and then, to keep your fixture modes current. Honestly though, unless for some reason you need to use a Mac for your drawing I'd just use a PC for the whole process. Your VW license allows for 2 installs anyway. Ignore below if tech discussion bores you: Finally, for the question you didn't ask. A maxed out Mac Pro is $7000, a maxed iMac Pro is $13,000. For the same performance in a pc you'd be looking at....2000? Maybe less. Here's where they get you - hardware exclusivity. The Mac Pro likes to tout the dual D700's as a big selling factor, because you can't find a PC with them. Why? Apple took W9000's from 2011, renamed them, and dropped them in. Vram, clock speeds, memory speed, all identical to a W9000. BUT, Apple says they cost like 2 grand each - so people think they are good. Next, the processors. Not many things utilize multiple cores at all, let alone some of the high counts in server CPUs. Xeons are designed for a ton of people accessing a computer simultaneously and doing different things. I'd put money on the server for our website having a Xeon. Anything over 4, just won't really get used - unless you tinker with processor affinity to manually assign a process to certain cores every time you launch it. Which leaves us with performance on 4 cores or less. The iMac Pro has a Xeon W-2195 (I'm assuming, they never specify for some reason) which has a clock speed of 2.30 GHz, ouch. My personal machine has an i7 8700K, running comfortably at 5.0 GHz, and that processor is about $2000 less. The comparisons I always see are between a mac and a PC with the SAME hardware, but this is silly. You wouldn't try to go out and buy a W9000 for a PC, it's 7 years old. If you do go PC, let me know. We've walked a bunch of people through part picking - to get the best bang for your buck, and I'd be happy to help out.

Video screens shouldn't be affected by your patch at all. The flickering is a bit strange though, had you performed a step incorrectly, the screen would do nothing. The flickering tells me it's getting a video - it's just not displaying it correctly. Double check the scaling on the screen, when you go into select video source, it should have had an option to adjust the scale. If that's not the issue, feel free to send your file over to tech@vectorworks.net and I'd be happy to take a look.

Which feature are you having trouble with? Most features are explained in the Vectorworks help, as most Vision prep-work is done there. Once a file goes into Vision, it's mostly just environmental variables like ambient, haze, etc.

Yeah, send this one off to tech@vectorworks.net. That's the best way to get support on Vision issues. It sounds like they are getting some conflicting DMX, I've seen that happen in real life, but Vision fixtures don't have motor issues or anything. If they turn on, they will move just fine. Judging by your other posts in the Vision forum though, you are having many issues. Please send your file to tech@ along with the name and email your vision license is registered to.

What do you mean by focus information? As in, you open the show with your console already sending focus info to the fixtures and they are flickering once Vision opens? And rolling that encoder down to 0 then back up stops the flickering? I see you are using ma2onpc, are you using ma-net? Or artnet/sacn? Please got to help>about Vision, What is your version number? Also, in the future, support requests should be made to tech@vectorworks.net. This forum is mostly for users to discuss topics among themselves. If you can, please send your Vision license contact info to the aforementioned address as well.

Hey there! Technically, unlimited. It would be more of a hardware restriction. I'd say on most computers, you'd be limited to maybe 5...ish? Number of lights and complexity of geometry would have a big impact on how many would run smoothly. Hardware-wise, running your screens as looping video instead of capture device screens would be a little less taxing, but there are a few factors that come into play.

Hey Justin, double check to make sure your Visualizer data mapping is correct. In Vectorworks, navigate to File>Document Settings>Spotlight Preferences. Next, click "Edit Visualizer Data Mapping" in the bottom right. Vision uses the terms Universe and Channel to refer to a fixture's patch location, shown on the left of the window. Name is simply what field you want to use to identify your fixture Unit Numbers (101, 201, etc). Set the dropdowns on the right to match the fields you use to address your fixtures. The second thing that could be going on, make sure those fixtures have a fixture mode assigned in the object info palette. If you're still running into issues, please contact us through tech support: tech@vectorworks.net Hope that helps!

You know, I can't say I have ever tried making an adjustment to my plot and re-exporting and merging an ESC while Vision was still running. If I ever have changes to make, I usually close out Vision to free up some system resources anyway. I'll verify and if I run into the same thing with the latest service pack, I'll put it in as a bug. It sounds like the duplicates are getting removed when Vision is restarted so it looks like it's mostly there already. Something that is confusing me though, is the workflow here. Maybe if that was clarified I can make a better suggestion in the bug entry. Is this a reoccurring problem in your workflow? Do you often need to make changes and re-export pieces of your rig after changing all of the root properties and saving camera views? I've really only seen a re-export of an esc as necessary when I make a mistake building my file. Do you two have a workflow where often changing the rig after all of the camera and global property setup is complete is normal? This could help in deciding whether I put it in as a bug or feature request - because if this is a workflow issue, maybe we can make it better.

Awesome, there are a ton of things the ESC workflow can help with. I usually prefer it for bigger shows - careful though, it's easy to go overboard juggling 10 ESC files. I limit it to Main deck and risers, conventionals (with FoH truss and the like), and movers with stage truss. Hope that helps!

Hey Dan, no problem. I usually don't recommend this workflow to most, as it can get complicated fast. It used to be the only way to get a Vision file out of Vectorworks - I made the OG exporter with our original head programmer with some Vectorscript and some backend cheekyness.) The ESC workflow is great if you've got unreliable people taking stock of your lights too! 😂

Sure is! Check Help>Vision Help. Unless you need to swap camera views mid-record, I usually prefer just to hit 1-9 myself to switch. Either way would work though!