We should all, including VW, pay more attention to established standards for Level of Development (LOD). As clients, regulatory agencies and contracts begin to catch up with BIM standards, we will increasingly see LOD standards required for every stage of a project. We may put more modeling effort into some areas for preparing good-looking renderings, but overall we need to know and apply consistent modeling standards.

We also use many office-standard classes - to keep things simple, we keep the most used ones in a master sheet template. We keep a file with all our classes saved as a template in our Office Workgroup Standards folder, under Workgroup/Defaults/Standards. When we need a new class, our HAA Standards folder shows up as an option under the Import Classes menu (under New Class in the OIP). Our Workgroup Standards folder is a shared resource across the network, and uses a similar folder structure as the VW User folder, but stored on our central server.

Not sure 25 years with VW qualifies as "new"

Pat, you are right - so many ways to get things done!

Pat, you are right - so many ways to get things done!

In order to calculate the occupant load from the data in the Space Object, create a Space report. Figure out which VW fields or user fields you are going to use to enter the room function and occupant load factor - International Building Code calls it Function of Space and Occupant Load Factor (Table 1004.1.2) Enter the proper occupant load factor - VW is entering this data as a text string, so you need to convert it to a number using the Value function in the worksheet. In the database header, create a function something like Number of Occupants = ('Space'.'Area')/Value(Occupant_Load_Factor). Insert the cell number or field name with the occupant load factor. Then in the next column, use the rounding up formula = IF (A-Int(A)>(A+0.01),Int(A)+1,Int(A)) to round up the value of Number of Occupants the next higher integer. See the example file below. In your report, hide the Number of Occupants column, with the fractional number of occupants, and show the rounded-up column. Space_Label.vwx

You're looking for something like the CEILING function in Excel - I don't think this exists in VW, but the logical equivalent using available functions would be to compare the orginal number to it's integer (VW integer function rounds down to the nearest integer) - if the original number minus the integer is greater than the original number, then add 1 to the integer. The worksheet formula would be = IF (A-Int(A)>A,Int(A)+1,Int(A)) where A is the original number you want to round up to the nearest integer. Depending on your judgment, you could also use = IF (A-Int(A)>(A+0.01),Int(A)+1,Int(A)) where 0.01 added to A would eliminate adding one whole occupant where the fractional number was very small.

There is another option that might make more sense. Looking at your model, there must be a floor or landing at the top of the stair, on the opposite side of the wall. Create a second layer, call it Upper Level or something. Set the wall height of the lower floor (the one you've been drawing on) to reach to the layer above. Copy the wall from that layer, and paste it on the upper level layer, then adjust the wall height to whatever you need. Set your door to the upper level. The joint between the upper and lower level should read as seamless - you should be able to set it so it is. This would be a more correct solution than trying to work around with a casement.

You bet - post again if you need help.

Not a stupid question - what you've found is a limitation in VW. Doors are 'glued' to the bottom of the wall - raising the door, like with command-option-M, moves the entire wall up, and setting door height simply lowers the top of the door relative to the floor. For a work around, try using the window tool, set to Casement. Under Settings, go to Jamb & Sash - set Sash Width to some very small number, like 0.01 inches, and set glass thickness to 1.75 (or 1.375, depending on door thickness). Under Classes, set Glazing to something other than Glass-Clear - define a class texture that matches whatever texture your doors use.

A variation on this theme - understand how the old employee puts the drawing together, then write a description of they way they do it as a mini office drawing manual. Create some in-house templates and drawing resource files based on other drawings. that would help the office work more efficiently. With your recent training, or by cribbing from VW training information, self-critique the way the office is doing drawings and come up with three ways the work could be done more efficiently. Then present the whole package to your boss.

Really? I thought everyone who managed projects knew the MS Project interface. We use Smartsheet, which is a cloud subscription that looks and feels very much like Project, but costs less. If the managers don't know basic programs like Excel and Project, maybe it's time to find new managers ;-)

Personally (and all these work preferences really are personal) - I prefer having fewer tools to remember thinking about, and have the related options in each tool. For me this is a more powerful workflow. Speaking about move/copy tool - I rarely use it - I normally use CMD-D (duplicate) with VW preferences set to duplicate in place, then CMD-M and enter dimensions for a precise move.

Sorry, but this sounds like a bad idea - normally we read drawings from more general to more specific, so details are keyed on more general drawings and are given drawing and sheet numbers letting us know where to find the detail. It's possible, even likely, that a detail will apply at many locations in a set of drawings - a window sill detail, for example. Trying to key a detail back to where it applies would often result in a number of back keys being necessary. Providing a reference back to a location earlier in the drawings probably doubles the coordination work in keying the details, without providing any important benefit.

We tend to use parametric objects whenever possible. As the design is refined from schematic stage through construction documents, it is so much easier to make changes parametrically than to adjust (or possibly re-model) a modeled object. Sometimes we add custom modeled elements to parametric objects - for example, a modeled sunshade in front of parametric windows or curtain wall. Sometimes we turn stair railings off in elevation views and draw them in 2D rather than modeling very complex elements.