Damon Design

I'm hoping someone can help me with understanding and fixing a section viewport that is all of a sudden displaying as if parts of the building are completely solid. I can reverse section side and it displays correctly (which to me indicates it is not the actual model geometry)-but I don't want to look that direction. I have moved, deleted and re-configured the section viewport several times and while different parts of the building fill depending on the cut, this graphic cut fill is definitely not reflective of the model. I have checked/changed class settings, made sure both section viewports are configured identically. Any guesses? Thanks

Enter the symbol editing mode the same way you edit a group; menu bar: modify>edit symbol or keyboard: command>[

I cannot find this xFrog Index.pdf . I don't have an xFrog folder other that an Libraries>Objects xFrog folder and there is no pdf there. Spotlight is not helping Can anyone give me a specific path? Thanks

I have a file that I believe was created in VW11, converted to VW12.5.3 where I created a window symbol from two separate DH separated by a 4" mullion, it cuts into the wall fine. This was created before the window tool became a bit fancier and you can now define a window exactly as such. When entering the group symbol definition for editing I can individually select the three elements that define the symbol. After entering the settings of one window to change the style of the sill and exiting, the other window and mullion extrude are no longer selectable (if I change view I can select them again, and can marquee select them all) when I exit back into the document the other window no longer cuts the wall but you can still see the sill so it is there. I can obviously create a new window with the same look with the new window tool but like to know the logic behind the reason the old symbol hiccups now. Is there a new way that VW and the symbol/window tool now defines how the cut is made and can I no longer make my own window symbols out of multiple windows and other elements? Thanks

You might have to ungroup the roof object to make the changes, then the roof object will become a roof face and be easily editable. Make sure that the dormers associated with it are exactly how you want them because they will also be ungrouped and not easily editable any longer. I often duplicate the whole roof object to maintain the flexibility and ease of edits and then you can still make changes to your dormers or other elements with your roof, ungroup that roof and transfer those elements to the new roof. Edit. Or you could use Peter's better suggestion...

Thanks Peter, sounds like what I'm looking for. I'll check it out.

The few times that I have incorporated xfrog plants in presentation files I have found them to be excellent graphically but always spend way too much time trying to find the handful or less of plants/trees that I want to use-opening up the individual files and then searching through the resource browser at the plants available in that file, then closing and opening up the next one until I find something that will work. Is there a way or some hidden file that just shows and lists the plants that we get so that we can easily scan that to find a plant? The xfrog website has exactly what I am looking for when clicking one of the 22 libraries, but I don't know which of these plants I have in VW. Thanks

You need to experiment with the 3D reshape tool on the 3D modeling tool set (also double clicking the wall will invoke this command) You should be able to do what you are looking to do with cleaner line breaks. In the above example I surmise you want the wall above the stone entry wall to be a continuation of the wall plane with siding. I would stretch that wall out to the same geometry of the entry wall and then add wall a wall peak from the bottom corner to "subtract" the area of the wall from the entry wall. It takes some practice to do this efficiently. I tend to use lines and locus points to snap to the geometry quickly. If you have a lot of elements behind the wall you wish to edit (then hard to discern what's what in wireframe) then sometimes i will move the wall and the roof or other geometry I want to snap to up or to the side, complete the editing and then move it back. Basically the wall can take on just about any shape you want it to (as long as its vertical) with this tool. You will immediately see how to raise up one corner of the bottom of the wall so it is not horizontal. Good Luck

You should include your hardware/OS & Vectorworks # info for us to attempt to help you.

I don't know if the create roof accessories includes dormer accessories, but if it doesn't, I would just draw the geometry in the front view and extrude it the dimension of the overhang (or whatever you need)-go to top view to place it correctly.

I don't have VW08 with its design layer viewports, so there may be a nested level of editing that I don't know about but you should be able to select the roof object-the complete roof that was created by the "create roof" tool and ungroup-prompting a warning dialogue box-and then hit OK. Then the roof turns into separate roof faces. I always keep a duplicate if I need to change to be able to change the whole roof object quickly by changing building geometry or other factors and then ungroup again for final tweaking.

Chad's descriptions are right on. I am usually using the hybrid method-an additional step I incorporate is to duplicate the roof group that was created by the "create roof" command, place that in a separate class then ungroup the original and refer back to duplicated roof group and perhaps duplicate and ungroup it again to borrow the parts that are created in the "create roof" command that are not available on the "roof face" command and then use in the ungrouped and no longer as editable roof faces that I am working on.

Use your resource browser to select "create a new texture", navigate to the location of the jpeg on your computer and select, adjust the tiling, size and other attributes-you will likely have to experiment with different settings-name the new texture and use on the object you want it to wrap around.

class visibilities?

Awesome! Great Idea- I should have thought of it myself. I haven't imported a sketchup model before and my quick try is thus far not quite working but I will keep pluggin away until it works. edit: I Import but nothing seems to happen-blank document Thanks Bill.

...a modeled classic 911 that is VectorWorks compatible that is. I'm working on a laundromat renovation in a funky beach neighborhood and our dream client-lots of properties, resources, straightforward and loves us (also a Porsche collector/racer)-is so enthusiastic about our equally funky VectorWorks produced design and rendering of the redesigned building that he wishes to print T-shirts of the rendering as a marketing tool. He loves my inclusion of the classic VW surf van in the parking lot but wants to change out the Subaru WRX wagon on the street in front (which is there because I have one) to a classic Porsche 911. As you all know-PLEASE THE DREAM CLIENT AT ALL COSTS! So... just wondering if there is something out there that someone knows about that I can use or a place to search. I know that I could probably photoshop one in but I'm not that skilled at photoshop to Vectorworks and back and forth. Thanks, Dude....

Downloading 12.5.3 should fix the "invisible until released" bug on OS 10.5

Just a reminder to always try to use the roof tool to create any additional elements ie. dormers, soffits, facias etc... that you might need before you ungroup the roof to edit. Those additional elements are not available for the roof face, and more difficult to create afterwards.

If you extrude the floor geometry to the desired floor depth instead of AEC>create floor, the edges of the floor extrude will also render the texture. Although it is probably more realistic to have the floor surface render a texture and apply a simple color to the overall floor to represent the edge treatment for many flooring types.

Hey Pat- What if you had colors enabled in document prefs- wouldn't that work? I guess that probably wouldn't work by the time you got to printing/services and the doc went back to B&W only. Love the Podcad show BTW-I listen to every one- You guys make me feel not so lame for not knowing everything after so many years of using VW- I'm still learning for sure and get excited about the tips that come up in your show. Tad

I don't think you can. But you can create viewports of the visible classes and layers and override/assign different line colors to the elements in the viewports to simulate the look of grayed layers and classes.

Finally, it was the "semester abroad with the really hot lecturer/tour guide" analogy that gotcha. ;-) Welcome to the fold- you won't regret it. All the 1000's of available software on windows that you will never need never made too much of a successful argument on me either. Though, if you are a gamer-there really is no comparison-me, I'm too busy designing to play on the computer. Now if I can only upgrade my decrepit but trusty machine soon... Cheers

I would say trying to use the internet coming from a Mac on Windows XP with all the warning pop-ups and the constant intrusion of virus protection was nearly maddening-I would just about give up. I would choose a Mac just for not having to deal with that.

Presuming you are using sheets & viewports for your elevation views you can override the class definitions (including line weights) for each viewport.

I doubt you will find many MAC heads that are not enthusiastic about the operating system-not perfect of course but much more elegant, logical and graphically rich-I think PC users are perfectly happy with a system that works but don't think too much about it. As someone who has used both, (admittedly Mac first) I struggled mightily to make the PC work for me. I likened it to: a Windows OS is like forced study hall detention with a strict and exacting professor-you will learn and work but you wont much like it. MAC OS is like a semester abroad with a really hot lecturer/tour guide. ;-) VW works fine with both-but again the graphics are nicer on a MAC