domer1322

no ... I don't want to change the order of the data fields. In this case, the OIP does not show the door plug-in object data field for key code. I want to make it show up in the OIP so i don't have to always access the "settings" dialog box to get to it. any other suggestions ?

I recall there is a way to change the data fields as listed in the Object info Palette, but I can't figure out how to do it. Can anyone help ? Specifically, I want the OIP to show the data field for a door plug-in object to show the field for the door hardware key code. I know I can get to it by picking 'settings' from the OIP, then scrolling around until I find it. But I would much rather be able to see it immediately when I select the door and the OIP shows the door parameters. Thanks for any help, in advance.

thank you so very much .... Marvel. I tried a million times to change the "feet and inches" setting without success. However .... The key was to change the cell format in the number tab to be = "dimension" ... instant success. Thanks.

I don't do schedules much ... and I just generated a door schedule. However, the values in the schedule under leaf size are shown as (2 1/2) instead of (2'-6") for example. How do I change the values so they display with typical feet and inches (like 2'-6") ? Please be specific ... I've looked in the "Units" menu and the "cell format" and can't figure it out. Thanks.

-Pat: thanks for the help. It works ... sort of. It seems I can copy/paste individual columns one at a time using your method. However, I can not get it to copy/paste the entire worksheet of multiple rows and columns, in one action. In my case, i can keep the number of columns to a minimum (about 5) so I'll use your technique. I am glad that this method allows VW to change the geometry of the door symbol in top/plan view, so it is a time saver, instead of trying to change all the door heights/widths individually. Thanks.

Pat: I tried the copy-paste method and couldn't get it to work. As far as I can tell, it only lets you copy and paste one cell at a time. I can't get multiple rows or columns to copy-paste from Excel to clipboard to VW.

Is it possible to do this: generate a door schedule, then export it, then change some of the field data in MS Excel (for instance, change the door number or the door size) and then import it back into VW. Of course the idea is for someone who doesn't have VW to use Excel to edit the schedule, and then after importing it back into VW, the new worksheet now changes the plug in object parameters, like the door width. I understand the import/export must be done using other formats (like CSV or SLYK) but I've tried a few times and it doesn't seem to be possible. If someone could confirm it is not possible, i'll give up.

OK ... thanks for the responses. Anyone want to buy a 2009 27" iMac i7 ?

thanks for confirming my suspicion. I had considered that as a "work-around" but I figured there had to be a better way. In this ... I guess not.

To make a long story short, I now find myself the owner of 2 iMacs, they are both 27" i7 processor. One is late 2009 and the other is 2014. Is there some way I can network them together in order to speed up VW 2015 rendering times ? If you can point me to a good reference I would appreciate it. I've looked, but can't find much. Is it even possible?

I made a custom wood door leaf and used it in a plug-in door object. On the leaf symbol, the wood texture runs up-down. Once I make the door plug in object with custom leaf, the texture runs left-right. How do I fix this ? The OIP does not show a texture rotation option for the plug in object. Also, the obvious answer might be to go into the door leaf symbol and rotate the texture. That didn't work. Thanks for any tips.

well I'll be dog gone .... Vincent C you were correct. I was changing the wrong Lintle class location. I sure wish I would have figured that out a week ago. Now it works. Thanks for the detailed help. However ... the file that I attached to the previous posts came from another large building file. I went back to that original large file, and found that changing the lintle class under the "2D visualization" window worked as you said. But I'm still puzzled ... in that file, when I click on any door and choose "settings" in the OIP, then pick nothing but "cancel" the door changes to show the wall lines (are they the lintle lines ?) . It is as if picking "settings" automatically changes the lintle class from "ceiling-main" to be "none" unless I purposefully go into the settings and change the lintle class to be "ceiling-main". I'm still puzzled .. .but at least now I can make it work. Once again, thanks to all posters for your help. And I also wonder, as does rDesign, why there are two locations for this class setting ?

I appreciate all the responses and help, but .... I tried it again .... same result as always. I've restarted and re-booted several times without affect. I'm using VW2015 version SP4. Here is the same file, after I tried to change the lintel class on two of the doors 'B'. It seemed to me I might as well just re-draw the walls and doors on a new file, using a design layer viewport referenced to the original file (to use as a trace template). I started doing that, and my new doors are responding as one might expect ... the new file does not have the same problem, and I can manipulate the wall lines as I would expect. The mystery lives on ....

Michael: thanks for the response .... but your solution didn't work for me (sadly). I'm hoping someone else will read this and confirm if your solution works for them or not. I suspect some type of corruption in the file that transfers with the door plug in object. (But I'm not qualified to know anything about software

Would anyone care to download the attached file with a few doors and a single wall, then stop me from pulling my hair out with this problem: I'm working on an old file that has been updated and using VW 2015 sp4. I copied a wall and put it in a brand new file, as attached. Notice door A shows the wall lines. Notice doors 'B' do not. Pick any door B, and from the object info palate click on "settings" but don't do anything thereafter except pick 'cancel' in the settings dialog box. The door B will now show wall lines, just like door A. You can change it back without wall lines by using the eyedropper tool, (or 'un-do') but nothing else will remove the wall lines. Please .... someone tell me why my door plug-in objects are automatically changing to show the wall lines as soon as I try to edit them ? (PS: I've tried and tried and tried to fix this by changing the class "ceiling-main" or by changing the "show wall lines" setting in the O-I-P, but I just can't get it to work. A brand new file does not show this problem, but I really need to use my existing old file. A brand new door object, when placed in the old file, has the same problem. When I copy and paste the old walls into a new file, I still have the problem. There must be something in the old file that causes this ... but I sure can't tell what it is.)

thanks for the replies .... JimW: when you're making the list, can you include some instructions on how to make real world textures like: water, grass, cut glass, random shades of bricks in a wall, translucent glass on a light fixture, and ... the hardest one .... how to model a water fountain spraying water in the air or cascading off of a decorative fountain. I am currently trying to model many different floor tile patterns, both ceramic and vinyl, and finding it very difficult. If I copy the image and use it, the result is a repetitive pattern that usually doesn't look good. On second thought .... if anyone could post the settings for a real good grass texture, I would be forever thankful. Every texture I've tried either has a repeating pattern or only looks good at a certain magnification level (if it looks good at distance, it looks bad close up, and vice-versa.) My current compromise is to use the noise shader to add irregularity. Is this what others do ?

although I've been doing 3D renders for years, I'm still puzzled by many of the render and shader settings. Can anyone refer me to a good source to explain how to use the shaders and all the settings. For example, I've never figured out what these things mean or how to use them : fresnel, buya, stupl, sema, opl, ....are these words in english? I can't even figure out the difference between voroni 1 and voroni 3 (I guess the difference is 2 ?) I also can't figure out the cycles high clip and low clip. Please enlighten me on how to figure these things out (I'm tired of 'trial and error'). Too many errors and lots of trials too. PS: am I the only one who still laments the rendering change a few years back ? ... just after I figured out how to make nice brick renderings that were not a repeating pattern ... now I haven't figured out how to render a wall with brick colors where each brick is a different shade (randomly).

Thank you all for the replies. Although the problem still exists, it is comforting to know that the problem is not simply due to my ignorance. I'm a part-time maker of 3D renders, and I often feel like there are so many more things I could know about manipulating this software. They keep adding more things before I've figured out how to use the old stuff. Amelia: I agree ...... Hoping that someday I'll see software that actually meets the promise of 3D CAD. That is ... integrate the spaces with the finish schedule. When you change the spreadsheet from green walls to blue, and the 3D render automatically changes to blue walls ....

I've always been unsure of the best way to solve this problem. I often model, in 3D, existing buildings, and make a rendering. Often the walls might be painted CMU on the interior, and brick veneer exterior. The problem is, each room might have a different color paint on the CMU. What is the best method to set up the walls so that each wall, although the same in structure, can easily have a different color in a rendering ? The problems that seem unsolvable to me include: 1) many different wall styles for the same type of wall (diff color) 2) the same exterior wall has one color in one room but another color in the next room over. Does that require multiple walls along the same length, even though it is the same structural wall ? 3) no easy way to change the paint color in one room, without affecting the colors of many other rooms that have the same wall style or class or components I'm hoping that I've missed an easy solution and that someone can educate me. Thanks in advance for any response. What do you do ?

I need help. Using an older file that was started in VW 12, but is now in VW 15, the existing door plug in objects do not show the wall lines, as shown in the attached image for the 2 upper doors. When I go to the OIP and click on "settings", the appearance of the door changes to look like the lower door (marked with tag D-10xx) and it doesn't matter if I actually do anything in the settings dialog box. Simply opening and closing the settings dialog box makes the wall lines appear. I've checked and rechecked the usual suspects. The OIP box for "Draw Wall Lines" has no affect. I tried changing the classes in the door settings dialog, to no avail. I tried adding and deleting the transom. I checked the default classes for "ceiling - main" and "ceiling - overhead". Can someone tell me what I'm missing ? I don't want to see these wall lines in the top/plan view.

Solution: check the "Adjust Flipped Text" in the VW Document preferences. JMartinArch: I should have read your post more carefully ... you had the solution.

I also discovered this problem on a few door tags. Interestingly, the ID tag will change if you move the same door to a different wall, or if you remove it from the wall completely. The "Keep ID Horizontal" check box in the OIP does have an affect, but it seems unpredictable.

Pat: Thank you very much. I found the "Use Symbol Geometry" check box and it works for what I need it to do. One bad thing I discovered: my old door symbols had hardware (that I drew myself) integrated into the symbol. Now, using your technique, the entire leaf thickness is controlled by the OIP "thickness" field. Thus, if I set the thickness to a normal 2", then the hardware ends up being about 1.5" thick and the leaf is about 1/2" thick. I figured the simple solution is to set the thickness to something like 5", then the leaf is more properly 2" thick in a 3D view. However, that causes the 2D symbol, when viewed in top/plan view, to show a door that is 5" thick. It seems I better learn to conform with using default hardware instead of inventing my own way of doing these things. Someday I'll actually learn how to use this program correctly. PS: on some of my ID tags, the ID tag text shows up as a mirror image. I can not use the 'flip' setting, as that also changes the door swing. The "keep ID horizontal" check box in the OIP does not correct it. Any suggestions ?

I have door leafs in an existing building that can not be easily modeled using the plug in. Also, I thought it is better for reducing file size, if you have multiple doors of the same type, to use a symbol instead of the plug in. However, I now see there are quite a few pre-made door leaf symbols. I'm coming to the conclusion that I would be better off if I give in, and use the plug-in door. I'm using an old VW file of an existing building, and it was only used for renderings, not construction documents. Thus, the old building did not previously contain a door schedule. Now I've got a bunch of door symbols that seem to be useless for integrating into a Door and door hardware schedule. I've found I can add a door record to the old door symbols, but I can't figure out how to add the data fields to match those in the door plug-in, as displayed in the OIP. It appears, if I use a custom leaf, that I'll have to make a different leaf symbol for each instance when the door is painted a different color on each side, and for different sized doors. Can you confirm this is true ?

Is there a method for drawing a door/frame/hardware from scratch (not using the plug in object) and then making it a symbol, and then attaching all the field data to it so that it can be reported in a Door Schedule ? I've been trying this, to no avail, and I think I just discovered that it isn't possible because there is no way to attach all the data fields. Among the problems: I can't generate a door ID tag that is part of a numerical sequence. Can someone please confirm this ... or show me some training literature (or page number from the Help manual) that will be helpful ?