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CARMELHILL

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Everything posted by CARMELHILL

  1. I'm arguing a fact with a Chief Architect user. He is telling me that BOTH VW and Chief have dongles. I don't, do I? I have no USB lock. I do have a Product Key and my program does check my network for other computers using my key. Is that considered a dongle or type of software lock? Just curious. He might be thinking of one of the Non-USA versions of VW.
  2. Designer includes landscape and all the other goodies. Chief also does lasndscaping. And from what I've seen, it's plant library, tree library, material librarys, and other included items seem to make it a better value thatn even Designer. So I am still reviewing it. Cadalyst gaev VW a better recommendation than Chief, I think partly because it doesn't have XREF ability or "work group referencing". So other than the ability to do machine design, I think my price comparison still applies.
  3. I understand people are fiercly loyal to whatever they are currently using, but I have to get the most bang for my buck. Ialso noticed that Chief Architects yearly upgrades are half the cost of Vectorworks. They also have monthly oject librarys that you can download and add to your system. But if your right, and it's not that good of a drafting program, then that's a major problem. But after 9 years of being a VW user, I am starting to see the limitations of this program. I need a new computer first, but then I have to investigate the program. It seems to take me forever to do interior renderings. I REALLY wish VW was more "drag and drop" friendly. I also wish the renderings "popped" more. The ones from Chief might look cartoony, but I still think they look better. I think their reports and materials lists are better and more automatic. I wish Vectorworks set that up easier for us with some premade material templates. Vectorscript programing is freakin impossible. But there has to be a reason that Chief isn't as popular. Maybe it's a cheesy GUI. It does look a little too simple. And maybe that's what it is. Maybe you can't modify lots of things. Maybe they simplified the program to keep it idiot proof and uncustomizable. It looks awefully similar to those Home Design Programs you buy at Staples, like Punch 3d, which is a total crap product. I am looking at their animated tour and I downloaded their trial version. If they have a competitors program upgrade I might plunge in for a look. Anyone else have input?
  4. Has anyone ever compared Chief Architect to VW? I always liked Vw because it was a bit cheaper but I just checked and VW with Renderworks is now $2895 for a total new license while Chief Architect is $2590. And I think the user renderings on the Chief User Center Area are much better than anything I have seen in our own VW user area. The renderings for me are the most important because that's what sells my services to my prospective clients. They have difficulty perceiving my higher value over another architect without them. But if a client saw some of VW's renderings and saw some from Chief Architect, I think they'd hire the guy with Chief Architect. So, tell me fellow VW users, what keeps us with VW? Persuade me to stay. Thank you.
  5. Yup. That's what I was looking for. Thank you.
  6. Can VW and Renderworks create a self contained, 360 degree rendered room, that you can pan around with your mouse? Kind of like: This website link from Dassault systems: The Showroom http://www.3dvia.com/3d_experiences/index.php?p[ls]=2 Or: You sometimes see 360 degree Realty Virtual Tours of homes for sale. http://www.realtourvision.com/tourdemos.php Thanks.
  7. Your not alone. I had slow redraws and slow navigating. I hadto increase my RAM to 4 gig and I also replaced my video card. Here is the tech link you should read about all of this. http://techboard.vectorworks.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=116110&page=1 Read all the messages till the very end. You'll realize you need either a very powerful video card and lots of RAM to utilize all of 2009 new on screen hints and aquisition highlighters. I turned off all the Interactive Highlighters in Preferences and it tremendously speeds of the program. But if you still slow, you'll need to upgrade to more RAM, a better video card, or finally a newer computer.
  8. Ahhh? Ceiling Tool? Do you mean the Ceiling Grid Tool? I noticed it doesn't have an editable thickness. Is there another tool? I've resorted to suing the floor menu tool and making sure it is thinner than the roof to make sure it doesn't peirce the roof top roof membrane. It might not be dranw to scale but at least it looks decent in the model.
  9. Can anyone, maybe Panthony, post a few examples of their automatic sections. Panthony posted some of his auto elevations in the past that put me on the right track towards using VW to it's full potential. I think I might be wasting time the way I am doing the sections. Or maybe email a file that shows the way you are doing it. I am having VW do them automatically but then I find myself redrawing a lot over the Annotations of the viewport. Not sure if this is right. I am finally doing the elevations the automatic way any they are coming out great. Thank you. My email is: carmelhill@optonline.net
  10. Thanks Grant. That is very good to hear. I read the upcoming release of Windows 7 will be installed 25% of the time as 64 bit, and Windows 8 will be only 64 bit, so I'm going to order my new computer with Vista 64.
  11. They don't. I have an email to their tech department asking whether they will go that route soon. But they will be forced to when Windows 8 comes out because that will be 64 bit ONLY, although it will have a 32 bit emulation layer. Windows 7 which is coming out next year will still be released as both 32 and 64 versions but they are expecting 25% of all computers sold as new to have orders fulfilled with 64 bit versions. I researched all this last night. They feel memory has come down enough in price and software is finally starting to catch up with 64 bit programing. The dual core processors have supposedly been keeping pace with the 64 bit programming already. Every single eice of my office hardware is already supported by 64 bit drivers. Others have told me that VW 2009 will runb on 64 bit, but 5% slower because it uses a 32 bit emulation layer, but when you consider that you will no longer be limited to 3 gig of useable ram, then the case for a Vista 64 bit machine with 8 gig of ram looks very attractive. At least that's my understanding so far.
  12. Anyone have any recommendations on whether to order a 32 bit Vista computer from Dell or a 64 bit system? It looks like 64 bit will be the future standard so I don't want to order something that will be prehistoric in one year. Thank you.
  13. I found that disabling lots of the silly highlighting stuff in the Vectorworks Preferences Interavtive Tab helped. This seems to have been slowing things down. The upgrade to the video card was by far the best upgrade to my 5 year old machine. From a 256 meg 4200 NVida to a new Nvidia Geforce 6200 AGP 8X with 512 ram. The Nemetschek tech site explicitly said my old card was a problematic card. I am currently exploring a new computer purchase which should speed me up some more, but my big hang up is whether to purchase a Vista 32 bit or 64 bit system. It seems that the 64 bits will be the standard on future machines like when Windows switched from 16 to 32 bit with Windows 95. Might as well be prepared.....
  14. The auto section will do an accurate section through the framing model? I thought the framing model was really only for material take offs. I didn't know it was supposed to be used for the auto sections. How do you normally model your ceilings?
  15. 2009 Architect SP2 I figured a stupid work around but there has to be something better. I built a ceiling in stages, 2" at a time and offset each stage in towards the center. Kind of like a crude tapered extrude. Yopu technically have to use the AEC-Floor menu command otherwise it would create the section outline correctly. If I use the tapered extrude I get this result......
  16. I have just started using VW's automatic sections and elevations instead of converting my 3d model to lines and then cleaning it all up. They have come out pretty good so far but how can you model a ceiling so it appears in the section with the correct thickness but also so it won't cut throught the roof surface (the angled cut on the top of the ceiling joists over the top plate). I'll see if I can attached something.
  17. I'm going to have to replace my computer, and don't suggest a Mac. It's almost 5 years old so it's time. I am wondering which way to go with all this talk about Windows XP not recognizing more than 4 gig of ram. I'll be going to Vista so should I buy a 64 bit machine? Although I've heard rumblings that 64 bit Vista is buggy with the drivers. And if I go 64 will all my old programs still work on it or do they have to be upgraded as well? I think they run in a 32 bit emulation layer but I'm not sure. Nemetchek says Vista 64 if 5% slower because VW doesn't even take advantage of 64 bit, so what's the use in switching? Any help is appreciated. I will going with Dell so if you have a recently new spec let me know....I'm not even sure if I should go with a Quad Core, Dual Core Duo, Pentium, or Xeon (not sure what's the fastest right now or best value for the buck).
  18. The upgrade on the video card made a huge difference. I am currently pricing a new Dell with better processors and better video cards since my existing computer is 4 years old, making it almost obsolete without lots of upgrades. I just recently added a 26" monitor, DVD drive, 4 gig ram, and a new video card. Enough is enough. I refuse to upgrade the main mother board and processor. I'll strip out what I can from this computer and put it into my new Dell. Looks like it'll cost between $1400 and $2400 to get what I need/want.
  19. Never mind. I found it. http://kbase.nemetschek.net/index.php?ToDo=view&questId=73&catId=19
  20. I could have sworn it was done by Tech Support and narrated by a man with and Indian acent, but I might be wrong.
  21. I viewed a tutorial movie last week that showed how to cut a live section through a kitchen counter, then change the color of the cut fill, change the line weights of the images in the back ground, and some other stuff. Does anyone know where this file is? I searched all day in my downloaded files, in the Edispatch Tech Tips, in the Knowledge Base Tech Tips, and in my document movies but I just can't find it. Anybody know where it's hiding? Thanks.
  22. When using Hidden Line Render in viewports can VW 2009 be setup to show wall hatches like 4" siding or a hatch that represents roofing? Right now I do this manually by converting the view to lines and then cleaning everything up. But isn't VW supposed to create your elevations for you automatically? What if I change my design, then I have to manually redraw the elevations. When I render it now it will show a clean elevation with the windows and doors drawn nicely, with hinge swings shown, but no wall hatches. I alos noticed it's hard to use the tool Polygon From Inner Boundary to make a elevation hatch when in a viewport. It doesn't recognize the boundaries of the elevation. Thanks for the tips.
  23. Thanks for both. The Script referred to by Pat Stanford was a tremendous help. I'm still amazed how anyone can program with that language. Problem solved.
  24. Yeah. But I only bought it about 1 year ago. OOPS, I just checked my accounting program and I actually bought it in 2004. I can't beleive it's already 5 years old. It was hard enough dropping $9000 on a copier/plotter this month, especially with this economy. But the new computer is my priority for April. But thanks for the polite urging.
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