domer1322

I've been trying to import a dwg landscape plan using trial and error, and so far it is all error. My problem is that the file imports to scale that is exactly 12 times too small (suspicious of feet-inches ???). I tried to simply scale all objects times 12, but when I do that, all the tree and bush symbols change into a single circle (where the tree trunk was) or a simple dot (where the bush center was). If anyone can tell me for sure what the best conversion settings are, I would be thankful. I've tried many settings, and I even tried to read the manual, but no luck yet.

if I have a civil site sheet and want my units for dimensions to be in tenths or hundredths of a foot, I know how to do that. However, when I use the same file and put a bldg on it, I want the dimensions to be in feet-inches or fractions of an inch. Is there any way to have one layer show in decimal feet and another layer show in feet-inches ?

OK ... I got it .. thank you very much. (Previous one was not in my junk mail nor ordinary mail) I now see how you manipulated the settings to get a realistic render. Using the tile shader has a problem ... can't manipulate joint width ... the width (in the US) is always 3/8 inch, but the tile shader makes the vertical and horizontal 'gaps' always proportional to the height/width of bricks .... and brick proportions vary. I still wish VW would publish a good explanation of how to manipulate these shaders .... for instance, I still have to fiddle with your examples to get them to match US imperial sizes for modular or Engineer modular or non-modular King/Queen sizes. In a perfect world, the brick shader would have dimensions to enter, instead of percentages .... this is far too difficult.

Tamsin: if you sent me anything, I didn't get it .... and I don't know how you could, unless you know my email address: rocket1322@yahoo.com I also read the reply from grant_PD to use a tile shader, not brick. Well I guess that makes sense to someone ..... "don't use a brick texture to make bricks, use a tile shader". Thanks to all for your help .....

Doesn't the current Mac OS "spaces" switching do about the same thing as this new-fangled "Lion" stuff ? PS: I'm with the other guy about getting the old stuff right first, before adopting new technologies. I'm forever frustrated just trying to get a good grass texture that doesn't repeat a pattern, and looks realistic up close or far away.

Tamsin: (or others) .... years ago (VW2009 ?) I was able to render bricks of slightly different color in the same wall, and the colors were located randomly in the texture (as happens in real life). (This was not an image based shader). Unless I'm missing something (quite possible) the current RW shaders will always have the bricks repeat a pattern in a predictable way. If there is a way to render bricks in a random, non-repeating, pattern, please tell me how. Thanks. (PS: I tried to convert old brick textures (that did not repeat), into new VW 2011 files, but the translation does not result in the same RW texture.)

I am also frustrated with the shader descriptions and getting tired of the constant "trial and error" technique. I was happy with the brick render in earlier versions which could be manipulated into a non-repeating pattern. Now that doesn't seem possible with VW2011 ... everytime I render bricks, they are in a repeating pattern. Very frustrating ... are you listening Nemetshek ?

I have a simple problem that pops up repeatedly ..... If the design shows a walkpath that has many curves, and the path is concrete in the middle with rows of pavers on the edges, how does an expert VW operator render the pavers in 3D ? Since I'm not an expert .... I figured I'd ask for some expert advice on this forum. The big problem is to find a method to render the pavers so that the joints are always perpendicular (or parrallel) to the path. Its easy if the path is linear, a little harder if the path has a consistant radius, but as far as I can tell, it is impossible if the path has multiple curves and a varying radius. Also, what if the path has a varying width ?

I have a simple problem that pops up repeatedly ..... If the design shows a walkpath that has many curves, and the path is concrete in the middle with rows of pavers on the edges, how does an expert VW operator render the pavers in 3D ? Since I'm not an expert .... I figured I'd ask for some expert advice on this forum. The big problem is to find a method to render the pavers so that the joints are always perpendicular to the path. Its easy if the path is linear, a little harder if the path has a consistant radius, but as far as I can tell, it is impossible if the path has multiple curves and a varying radius. Also, what if the path has a varying width ?

I was curious ... same thing here .... no problem if "clig drag" is off (on Windows VW 2011)

thanks for the help ... I'm often confused if its the program or if it is operator error (it is often operator error).

When using a space object, if the label has text that has to be changed in size, you do it by editing the label symbol. I'm wondering if I'm missing something about this. When I edit the symbol and select the data text field, when I try to change the font size, the symbol text shows up grossly bigger. For instance, the symbol text name shows up on the drawing as if it were font size 144 when I set it to be size 2. Is this a bug or is this operator error ? If it is operator error, please enlighten me. Thanks.

I very happily bought a refurbished 13" Macbook Air yesterday on the Apple refurbished site. I highly recommend buying from the refurbished site. They told me it would take a week to get here, and I checked the shipping track information this morning and it is due to arrive today. Under promise - over deliver. PS: I've been looking for the new MBA 13" on the website for weeks, and it first popped up yesterday .... and just as quickly, it was gone. You have to be quick and decisive .... or just pay and extra $200 from the regular store.

I have not tried workgroup referencing .... I was satisfied with my "copy-paste" new file until this strange thing happens: I had 3D window trim (separate objects, not part of the window PIO) and to edit them I switched to class visibility: 'active only'. Immediately, the trim rotated 90 deg to make the trim be on a horizontal (X-Y) plane. Other objects in that class did not rotate. I fixed them by moving/rotating, then later tried the same thing, and the trim rotated again. The rotation could not be "undone" except by manipulating the rotated objects. The only way to "undo" it was to "revert to last saved". I had already updated the old file to VW2011 plug ins. This is weird. Does tech support have a method to "un-corrupt" a file and give it back to me ? I have a lot of time placed in this 3D model for a project that is likely to last another 2 years and I'd like to save it. Also, after I updated the file from VW 2008, I've added some work, and I don't want to lose that new work by translating it back to VW 2008. How do I get the large (70Meg) file to tech support ? (too big to email).

Can anyone confirm the VW2011 does not allow import of Sketchup version 8 files ? Sketchup ver 7 seems to import OK, but every time I try to import a version 8 file, nothing happens (not even a spinning beach ball ... not that I want to see that

if anyone cares .... the only way to rescue the file was to open another blank file in VW 2010, then individually copy and paste each layer from the old file to the new blank one. After doing this, the new file could be opened in VW2011. So far, I haven't noticed anything missing. Except I'm annoyed that several texture that looked great in VW2010 didn't copy exactly into VW2011 and I find the VW2011 brick texture settings to be more difficult to manipulate than the VW2010 textures.

also: is it true that the roof framer doesn't really work for anything other than a rectangular roof? Among my issues: dormers don't frame correctly, missing rafters on corners, and the top plate is rotated 90 deg from normal (my top plates always generate with the 3.5" dimen of a 2x4 in the vertical plane when it should be in the horizontal plane.

bcd: you are correct .... thanks for the help. I tried it by dragging on to the roof directly from the folder with Marvin windows and I worked. It doesn't work when 'activate' the plug-in/symbol. Now I have to wonder .... all the windows in the Marvin folder are red, meaning they are plug-ins. The VW help manual specifically states the window has to be a symbol, and not a plug-in, in order for this procedure to work. I hope the manual writer gets the info in this thread. bcd: once again, thanks for the help, too bad I wasted 45 minutes trying to figure it out

I'm puzzled .... when I use the tool palette (shift-D) to make a window, then ungroup, then 'create symbol' to insert in the roof to make a dormer, it works as advertised. However, when I try the same procedure but starting with a default window (from Marvin folder) it won't let me make a dormer by the same procedure. This seems odd that all the default content windows can't be used directly to make a dormer. Am I missing something ? Is there some trick to it ? A user ought to be able to just drag the default content windows directly on the roof to make a dormer.

Can anyone answer this puzzle: I made a 60 Meg file about 4 years ago (on VW 12?) with lots of interior details/textures and an external reference. I was able to open, update, and save the same file to VW 2010 on both a Mac and a PC. However, when I try to "open with" VW2011, the program seems to launch OK, and gives the dialog box "do you want to update broken references ?" within 2 seconds after I click "do not update" the entire program crashes. Same result on Mac or PC. Any thoughts ? (Obviously, I can work in VW2010, but this project is one of those that lasts many years, and I'm wondering if I'll ever be able to use newer versions of VW with it.)

DWorks: care to share the settings ? I need the settings for VW 2011 (which are now different than VW2010 ... and when you translate the textures they don't look exactly the same.)

Peter: I got it ... thanks .... pretty good grass ..... but .... I'm really hoping someone has a grass texture that is NOT based on an image because they inevitably show a repeating pattern at some zoom level. If anyone else has a grass texture that does not repeat I would appreciate any help. Thanks. PS: your grass is the first one I've seen that seems to have a more obvious repeat pattern close up instead of far away. I guess that is a matter of screen size (pixels) and texture scale ... but I don't want to have to change the scale often on the same set of images ..... If I have a sheet with several perspectives in several viewports, I'd have to change the texture scale, render one viewport, then change the scale, render another viewport, etc ...

does anyone have a good grass texture for use in VW 2011 ? When the format changed from 2010 to 2011 my old grass texture doesn't look as good. I noticed the "stock" texture called "nature grass 01" is pretty good, but since it is image based, when you zoom out the repetitive pattern shows up. I've been trying to manipulate the settings of the new renderworks textures, but with a million combinations, and no explanation of how each setting affects the outcome, I'm just wasting time.

Is there any way to avoid these most irritating things about the Adobe Air Help system ? 1) When searching for a term like ?circle? it will show the text with every instance of the word ?circle? in a gray box fill that makes it difficult to read smoothly. I?d like to ?turn off? the gray box. 2) When displaying the text of paragraphs, the full extent (left-right) of the text is not displayed within the help window and I constantly have to re-size the window to read the whole paragraph.

OK ... I just tried it for the third time ... third time is a charm.... it worked. The answer is to make sure you put your new template in the right file folder. Libraries>Defaults>templates>default.sta. thanks for all your help ....