domer1322

for VWA 2012: often when I make a texture bed on a 3D site model, the texture is wrapped as a planer texture instead of perimeter, and the plane is the wrong plane (for instance, a paver texture renders on the 4" paver thickness plane but shows as streaks across the walking surface). How do you change the plane, or change the wrapping type on a texture bed ? PS: I can't figure out why sometimes the texture wraps nicely on the walking surface, but other times ... not. Any tips ?

PS: I noticed I don't have the same problem with VW 2011 (Windows XP). The other problem was on an iMac OS 10.5 with VW 2012. On VW 2011 it seems to put the hardware in the right place.

for VW 2012: I've noticed using the door PIO for a double leaf set with hardware results in the door lever backset grossly wrong ... something like 7", but it should be something close to 2 3/4". Am I doing something wrong or is this a bug that no one cares about because it only matters when you show a door in a 3D rendering ? Also .. I think the lever height is off a few inches. Is there any way to correct thee things ? (right now, If i really care, I make my own door symbol without hardware and add the hardware manually at the location I like.)

My employer is forcing me to get a Windows laptop instead of a desktop. They'll provide a port replicator and extra monitor, but I am afraid they'll botch the purchase and get me something that will fowl up VW use. Can anyone make a recommendation about any specific issues that I need to know about to make sure they get it right ? I know there are recommendations on the website for RAM and processors, but I'm concerned about things like VRAM and graphic card incompatibilities (things i know little about). PS: I do lots of RW renders, so I need power/speed.

thanks for the help ... cad@sggsa: I tried your hotkey 'save for internet use' technique but did not get the proper dialog box. Is there a menu to do that ? Miguel and invertasse: your solution worked the best ... and very well, if there is a single sheet. What if I have multiple sheets? I guess i can make many individual pdf files and then combine them together into a single file, but i was hoping there was a more convenient and elegant way to do it inside of VW. I'm hoping VW is monitoring this thread and figures out a way to solve this problem on the next version.

bcd: thanks for the help bcd, but it doesn't seem to work on VW 2011, using Windows XP Pro. Using downsample rates of 36 dpi and 72 dpi resulted in the same pdf file size (28Meg) cad@sggsa: thanks for confirming this problem isn't just me. Also: the GIMP solution might work, but i was hoping for an easier way to fix this within VW .... the GIMP solution doesn't work if I have several viewports on different sheets with this issue. Too time consuming, many files.

I import a large aerial photo (pdf format) from our City GIS system, and put it on a layer with another layer for the building on top of it. Then I make a viewport, and generate a pdf file from the viewport. The resulting pdf file is so huge that I can't email it. Often the file size is over 25 meg. Is there a way to do this and make the file size much smaller ? (PS: I've tried changing the sheet layer resolution and the pdf file export resolution, but that usually doesn't make any difference.)

in case anyone cares ... I answered my own question. The answer is ... do nothing, then come back the next day and it fixes itself. (PS: before submitting this problem, I had already saved saved the file, quit and restarted VW and the Mac OS, and nothing fixed it.) The old saying is true ... "time heals all wounds" .... even in computer files.

Can anyone give me a clue ... I made a simple rectangle, clipped a couple shapes on the perimeter to make 'holes', then extruded it. Then I used subtract solids to put grooves across the top. (I was modeling an EZ Dock Pier section). That's all i did in this brand new file on VW2012. Oddly, the dock section renders OK in OpenGL, but when I try to render it in final Renderworks, it is as if all the 'holes' and grooves are stripped out, and all I'm left with is a extruded rectangle (and it turns into a wireframe and doesn't render surfaces). I can switch back into top/plan view, and all the grooves and holes are still there. Is there an explanation for this ? or better yet ... can someone suggest a fix ?

I've been extruding curved nurbs lines to form 3D curb and gutters on site plans. One curve worked very nicely, one curve did not. The one that did not work shows up as a series of straight segments instead of nicely rounded curves. The only difference between the good one path and the bad one path is that the 'bad' one has verticies that are 3rd degree, whereas the good one has 2nd degree verticies (as indicated in the OIP). Is this a known bug ? Is there something I'm doing wrong ? How can i change the verticies from 3 to 2 degree without affecting the curve position/form ? PS; I searched for all the resolution preferences and they are all turned up as high as possible. Both good and bad curves show up as nicely curved in the top/plan views, but the bad one becomes segmented in 3d vies. PSS; one curiosity: when I hover the mouse over the 'bad' curve, the selection highlite shows up as if the curve is nicely rounded (not segmented). Go figure !?@#

I'm suddenly having inconsistent problems using this tool. I've used it in the past to make 3D models of curb/gutter and extruded the profile along the curved nurbs or polyline. Now, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Is anyone else having trouble in VW2012?

something easy has escaped me .... there must be a way to make a herringbone pattern texture for pavers, but i sure can't figure it out. Help please ... PS: I know I can make an image and use the image to make a repeating pattern, but I want a texture that does not have a noticeable repeating, like can be done for bricks in a wall. PSS: I know the hardscape tool has a herringbone pattern ... that isn't what i want either... I want a texture with colored brick pavers in a herringbone pattern for a 3D model. The hardscape object uses black lines.

I've been puzzled for a long time how to handle this frequent situation. When I have an addition to an existing building, I'll draw the existing bldg on one layer. Then I draw my new plans on another layer. When I show both layers in a viewport, the view will show the new and old stuff together. But there is always some portion that gets demolished (like walls where a new doorway is built). What is the best method for "erasing" the old stuff that gets demolished ? That is, how do I make the demolished stuff be invisible ? I need to keep the old stuff in the drawing file, since another viewport will show existing conditions without the new stuff. The doorway problem is a common issue, since I can't make 2 walls in different classes and then turn off the class for the demo wall .... if I move the door, then I have many changes to make, and the door doesn't automatically heal to the 'new' wall.

thanks ... but on my Windows VW2011 hitting the escape key twice will exit from 'edit group' and also exit from 'edit symbol' and also exit from annotate viewport. I just verified that moments ago (and also found the 'sprocket control' ... thanks michaelK). However, at home on my Mac VW2012, it clearly did not work that way. I'll check the "sprocket control" when I go home. Thanks for the help all of you ... I also knew that i can press the box in the upper right corner, but if I use my right hand mouse, the esc key was easier (I use a right hand mouse at home and a left hand mouse at work.)

when using VW 2011 I was able to exit the "edit group" window or the viewport "edit annotations" window by pressing the escape button twice. Now I have VW 2012 and it doesn't work that way. Is there a preference control box somewhere that controls this functionality ? (I can't find it.)

I also thought it was good ... but .... it missed a very important issue. One of the main points about BIM is the ability to transfer information to contractors. In my part of the world, I don't see any Architects/Engineers who are willing to give their digital information away because they are too afraid of liability issues. I can't even get civil eng to give grading plans to earthmovers ... they're too afraid some hidden CAD issue will cause the cut/fill calculations to be messed up.

I am trying to make a QT movie, and I usually (but not always) get this error dialog box. It happens after I have inputted all the movie settings, then I hit the OK button to start the rendering, and this dialog box (see subject line). Can anyone help in deciphering this problem ? It does not seem related to any of the QT settings, but .... I am attempting the movie as a "rotate around selection" and using "video" but have also tried mpeg-4 with same result. I'm using VW 2011 and Mac OS 10.6.8 on a iMac 27" i7 quad processor. QT version 10.0. I've tried movies as a wire frame and as a Final Renderworks versions ... same result.

Taoist: Right on ! I want to echo the need for much better interior trim/base board drawing .... using extrude along path takes too long and if you move a door, its all out of whack. Also... I can't figure out why sink cutouts in base cabinets have been so problematic ... it should have been made easier in the software years ago. Also: stair tool should have ballusters and newel posts be made from symbols so they could be customized and not just be a straight square/round section.

the more I work on this, the more puzzling it gets ..... I'm now using space objects, and when I calculate the areas, the correct answer is now the database number that VW gives me, but divided by 288. If my units on the document are set to "feet and inches" and the OIP shows each area correctly in sq ft, why does the worksheet have to be divided by 288 ? (or by 144 as listed above ?) ... something is not right ......

bcd: I haven't used "spaces" much but after a few minutes of trial it looks like that might be the best answer to these issues. Thanks for the help.

and ... another problem: I noticed areas that are circles or rectangles do not show up in the worksheet calculation. When I convert them to polygons they show up and are part of the calculation. Is this an abnormality of VW or operator error ? (I never dismiss the strong possibility of operator error).

another problem: my areas show up as 144 times the real area. For example, if I have an area that is 1 ft x 2 ft, it shows up as 288 sq ft (obviously 144 sq in = 1 ft is in play here). I figured out that changing the document's unit preference to "feet" instead of "feet and inches" fixes this problem, but I want the drawing to have "feet and inches" for dimensioning purposes. Any suggestions ?

Thanks ... very helpful. I got enough info to make it work, but what about this problem: if I have 20 areas of sod, I want the worksheet to identify each area by name. I could make 20 different classes titled "sod 1, sod 2, sod 3 etc, but this seems very rudimentary and time consuming. So .... how do I get the areas to have a label that is identified on the drawing and in the worksheet ? (without requiring a class for each area).

in case anyone else runs into this problem ... I solved it (sort of) the dwg symbols were actually all translated at 1/12 the actual size (the circles for tree trunks were actually the round symbols). I had to individually edit the 2D symbol component and scale it 12 times larger. This is not an elegant solution (I couldn't figure out a way to scale all the 2D symbols at once) but it worked. With about 35 plant symbols it only took about 15 minutes (but it wasted an hour of my time trying to figure out the problem).

I'm embarrassed to ask for help with worksheets, which I seldom use (until now). Can someone point me in the right direction to do this: I have many 2D shapes (polygons, rectangles, circles) that represent areas of paving or concrete,or grass, mulch, etc. All I want to do is show a simple spreadsheet that computes the total area of each area of concrete, paving etc. I can figure out how to add them up once I get them in the spreadsheet. I need help with getting the areas from each shape into the spreadsheet. I know that each shape reports the area in the OIP, but I want to make a spreadsheet that automatically shows the changes to the areas as I manipulate the 2D shapes. Apparently, I can't read the manual vey well, because I've ben through it and still can't grasp how to get the shape areas into a spreadsheet.