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Taproot

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Posts posted by Taproot

    Which Mouse for CAD under OS X ?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    In our office, we've found a lot of problems with wireless mice and have opted for corded ones instead.

     

    For long hours of drafting, I've found the larger mice to be more comfortable as they support the hand better ... you don't have to hover over them, but can rest your palm on them instead.

     

    On the Mac, the Logitech mice are well supported.  I use the logitech G502 gaming mouse.  It has 9+ buttons and the scroll wheel can adjust between ratcheted or smooth.

    The buttons are intuitive and are distributed well for muscle memory.

     

    My button settings are incredible time savers:

    [escape] for return to the selection tool - I use this about every third click

    Hot keys for entering and exiting groups

    Hot keys for toggling the tool modes (saves repeated trips to the mode bar)

    ... and of course the standard click and right click.

     

    The one negative is that panning (with the mouse wheel button) will also result in a stilted zoom.  So, I just hold down the space bar and pan the old fashioned way.

    Disappearing Title Block

    in Known Issues

    Posted

    I have a worksheet that catalogs the drawing border for inclusion in my drawing index.  I noticed a corruption of my template file where a number of "ghost" borders would appear in the index.  They represented titleblocks that had disappeared and were uneditable.  It made the drawing index unusable.

     

    On August 2nd (this year), I finally followed up with Joseph Block (tech support) to get some help.  He was able to fix it on his end and my file is healthy again.  I assume the file and his solution are in your database somewhere and may assist you in correcting the problem.

    • Like 1

    Reliability of VW2017 - share your experiences

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Migrating to 2017 was probably the easiest yet (the assistant worked and I've had a lot of practice).  I still had to migrate some of my custom plugins manually to the Vectorworks plugins folder (not the User folder).  They either didn't import on their own or their icons wouldn't display properly.  In all but a few cases, moving the plugins solved the problem.

     

    The new features work pretty much as designed. 

     

    Negatives:

    1. I'm experiencing about 3 crashes a day.  I have my auto-backup set to a short interval and I habitually save before doing processor intensive operations.  It's a nuisance but I haven't found it to be a real problem.
    2. There is considerable lag in opening files from 2016 or before.  Perhaps a minute?  That may be subjective, but it seems like a long time.
    3. The new resource browser makes common 'User Folders' workable for shared office standards and libraries.  We have a fast network, but the response is sluggish.  It's especially noticeable in the attributes pallet when waiting for the pop out 'resource browser' to surface.  ±3 seconds (in 2016 it was instantaneous).  This is undoubtedly the fault of the hardware, but it's still sub-optimal.
    4. Zooming in and out in plan view still looks blurry.  It's better than it was, but from the demo - it sure looked like the 2d graphics were better than I'm experiencing.  Like before, it takes a moment after zooming for the screen to pop back into focus.

    Positives:

    1. The docking pallets work great (mac).
    2. The resource browser is a huge leap forward.  I had thought that the pop open feature would be annoying and that I would just leave it open on my second monitor.  But actually, it's intuitive and works well.
    3. Older files brought forward seem to be intact without unexpected changes.  I haven't found any glaring issues (like the window sills going goofy 2015>2016).
    4. The new features that I have tried are fairly mature (not half measures).

    Disclaimer - I have a highly customized workspace and templates that have been years in the making, so I'm loathe to start with a blank file and recreate these materials from scratch.  So, crashes associated with 'legacy' items may be partly to blame.

     

     

     

    • Like 1

    Custom Leaves - Don't seem to resize anymore?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I built a number of custom leaf doors for VW a few releases ago. They followed all of the criteria, built from generic solids, etc (and worked fine).

    The best part was when I resized a door from 6'-8" to 7'-0" the leaf would stretch to fit.

    The auto-resizing doesn't appear to work anymore. Is it just me, or has that functionality been lost?

    Publish command only exports 1st page of pdf range set in options

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    AtoZ,

    Can you post a screen shot of your sheet layer? It sounds like you have all of your content on one sheet (which is then tiled for printing). Interesting! I'm guessing the software engineers may not have anticipated that level of complexity throughout a published set.

    ArtV's comments are good ones. You could also just try 'printing to pdf' and bypassing the publish command. That would at least show if it is an error in the publish command or something wonky in your sheet setup.

    2016 - Viewport Names still disappearing/ghost viewports

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    That definitely sounds like buggy behavior.

    If you haven't already - my recommendation would be to upload the file and send it to: bugsubmit@nemetschek.net

    Sometimes it can be quirky user error, but if it is a problem in the software, they have the resources to track it down.

    BTW - If you are using a Drawing Title in the viewport, ensure that it is not included in a group. I ran into problems grouping my Drawing Title with a graphic scale ... the result is that the title would vanish from the OIP.

    Wall Style Key / Legend

    in Architecture

    Posted

    I'm trying to update my wall legends to automatically display wall styles. I assume this is common practice.

    I'm able to get the wall image to appear in the worksheet, but end caps seem to be randomly applied to different wall styles.

    Is it possible to have all caps showing or hidden?

    Here's how the key looks:

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/d58fz99rnk0n4es/Wall%20Key.png?dl=0

    Here's the image settings from within the worksheet:

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/84ekf2818tkvspe/Wall%20Worksheet%20-%20Image%20Setings.png?dl=0

    Thanks for your help!

    VW Sales could use some improvement!

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Some of you may recall the cyber Monday offering from November. I'm considering adding an employee this year so I thought - why not buy a second license just in case?

    It seemed like a simple transaction...

    I contacted my sales rep, fully prepared to invest in my business and shell out several thousand dollars.

    "Nope - the Cyber Monday deal isn't available to you," I was told. I rechecked the fine print. Yes, I was in the US, Yes I was purchasing a new license ... All of the conditions checked out.

    "Your existing license is Service Select and since the anniversary date differs from today, we can't sell you another license" - was the explanation. Hmm, I thought. That condition isn't listed as an exclusion.

    "Well, why don't you just amortize my current license i.e. give me a credit for the 10 months ahead that I've already paid and synch the two anniversary dates?" I asked.

    "I'm not authorized to do that"

    "Can you talk to your supervisor and get authorization?"

    So, he agreed to do that. I heard nothing back. So, a few days later I followed up with him AND his supervisor. The supervisor thought it was fine and sent me back to the rep to finalize the sale.

    The rep decided that even though I had paid ahead ten months on my service select fees he would only credit me for two months.

    It looked like a simple math error and so I asked for a correction. I was basically told to take it or leave it. Subsequent emails to the superior have elicited no response.

    So, in a nutshell ... you have a software user who has been using a product for 10+ years who tries to purchase your product; proactively reaches out 4,5,6 times to the sales team over a period that has now spanned well over a month and is essentially unable to make it happen (or even get a conclusive response).

    Selling software really should be the service side of any company - working to make the transaction easy for the customer. If my experience is anything like what others go through to purchase a copy of this software then I can see why VW hasn't been as widely adopted as it could be.

    Personally, I think the technical and engineering teams have done a remarkable job at developing the capabilities of the product. When I look back over my own wish list items for the past decade, most of the items have been addressed and included.

    That said, I think phenomenal improvement could be attained by improving the sales experience.

    ... So, now that you know my situation, if anyone has a copy of Designer or Architect that you want to sell me, drop me a private message.

    Thanks,

    2D / 3D hybrid wood framing object

    in Wishlist - Feature and Content Requests

    Posted

    I use the "Detail Cut Wood" for all of my 2d representations of framing. However, drawing framing is such a common occurrence that I would really like a hybrid tool: to show it with an"X" in 2D and a solid 3D object with adjustable height in 3D. Having the ability to turn on or off the "X" in 3D would be ideal.

    It seems like it would be fairly simple to do.

    The current method of using pairs of objects (a 2d object and a floor or extrude to model the 3d version) is clunky.

    It could be a version of the Detail Cut Wood tool with an OIP option for extrusion height (and like the floor object), the ability to set textures to the sides, top and bottom independently.

    Thanks

    Custom Door Leafs

    in Architecture

    Posted · Edited by Taproot

    It's been a while since I've made these (there's a library of leaves in the VectorDepot market that grew out of this experience) ... as I recall, the trick is that the leaf can only be composed of 'general solids.' Extrudes, meshes, etc won't work.

    Some other tricks include building the door with two faces / objects. If you want to be able to class (render) the inside and outside of the doors individually, then the interior and exterior faces of the door should be mirror images of one another.

    Finally, the installation point is the bottom center of the leaf, so make sure that your leaf is aligned that way.

    The door tool adjusts custom leaves to fit it's size - so VW will squish or expand a door leaf to fit a 2'-6" door or a 3'-0" door automatically. I think that's the main reason for the constraints.

    ... I came across my notes from a few years ago when I was trying to figure this out. VW may have evolved since then, but much of the content probably still applies:

    • All door materials must be built out of "generic solids."

    • Extrudes will not convert to solids. As a work around for simple objects make two pieces each 1/2 the thickness and "add solids." You can then convert the solid additon to a generic solid.

    • Doors offset 2" forward to cover jamb splice in model - to do this:

    Edit the symbol once you make it - view from the right side, move 2" left.

    • Symbol insertion point is bottom center. i.e. When making a new custom leaf symbol, place a loci at the bottom center and then select that as the insertion point (then delete loci)

    • A tapered extrude at 2" in horizontal travel and 3/4" height = 69.40°

    • Classes used: Exterior sash = Style-2, Interior Sash = Style-3, Glass = Style-Glazing 1.

    (Style-1 is reserved for the exterior trim color). If you want to change these defaults, import your classes, then delete Styles 1-3 and the prompt will allow you to reassign all objects to the classes of your choice.

    • To display symbols in the resource browser correctly, this document has to be viewed in elevation when editing symbols (v. 2008).

    • Note, thresholds are added into the leaf space, driving the leaf up into the top casing. If a door MUST have a threshold, deduct threshold height.

    Zoom Redraw Lag - Normal?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Is it normal to have a 1-2 second screen re-draw lag when zooming in and out in 2D? I thought it was just my under-powered mac mini ... but after upgrading to the Mac Pro, I see that the lag persists. It's über snappy in OpenGL 3D - so I'm a bit confused why VW 2015 seems to be struggling with 2D graphics.

    I've turned off "Use Enhanced Navigation Graphics" and it seems to perform a little better. Has anyone have any other suggestions to offer?

    Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite Beta

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I just upgraded to a mac pro - in order to migrate I had to upgrade to OS X 10.10. For starters, I can say that Renderworks isn't working - Fast or Final quality renders as wireframe (in viewports). In layer view, nothing displays. I'd advocate caution. Now how do I de-upgrade my OS? I know ... ask Google...

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