Speedy Gonzales

If your mouse is programmable, you can go into the preferences dialogue and set the key commands that are equivalent to the interactive zoom mode. Ditto for the pan mode. I use a Microsoft mouse and can make program preference settings specific to VectorWorks. If you are on the Mac, by the way, this won't work if you are using OS X, 10.3.x (Panther).

Ahh. I will try this. Thanks!

Robert, My apologies for my confusion regarding sheets vs. layers. My point was that we already have files created in VWA 10 that are not set up in a way to take advantage of viewports as they are currently implemented in VWA 11. I simply was inquiring if there was a way to cut and paste a newly created viewport within the current formatted file with design layers as opposed to sheet layers. Or rather, is there a simple set of steps to take our existing files' design layers and make them into sheet layers so that we can use the viewports? Thanks!

cberg and Robert. What a coincidence. We were just pondering these issues ourselves as we attempt to take advantage of this new wonderful feature of viewports. Robert, as you've suggested, we thought we could simply paste in our newly created viewport into our existing design layer of our drawing file (begun and set up prior to VWA 11). Having tried this, we get a window that tells us simply and emphatically that we CANNOT paste viewports into "design layers." Is there another way to this with existing formatted files? This would be a boon to our productivity and a natural feature to use intuitively using cut and paste. Thanks!

If you don't spending a few dollars ($22)for a font, I would recommend Graphite. Go to the following website: http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/agfa/graphite/ You can also click on the left side to see other similar fonts that might suit you more. Our office has been using Graphite after previously using Tekton. Enjoy.

I've installed the updater on my Mac PB 15" G4 (OS X 10.3.4) without a hitch. I noticed a bit of a speed up in opening files, and all settings were working good. Haven't put it to a good hard working test, especially to test and see if some of the bugs have been resolved, but when I do, I will report. BTW, you don't need to change the name of the folder, and you shouldn't change the name of the application.

It happens with all files, all of which are conversions from v. 10.5.1. I have not had the opportunity to create a new file from scratch to get to the point to test. We use an HP 5100tn laser printer, and we are attempting to print mini check sets onto 11x17 (45% or original to fit). The printer is networked.

We made the move to VWA 11. What great improvements and new features. Sadly, though, some of the things that we have come to rely upon and enjoy seem to have become broken as a result? When we go to "batch print", the output is that we get 2 prints of the first page, then random printing afterwords of the remaining sheets, meaning that not all sheets will print, and there is also a shift in the page causing some of the title block informationto be cut off. Is this a bug or are we missing to set a preference or something? Otherwise, we are enjoying all the new goodies and increased performance despite the occassional glitch (see other posts). BTW, we are using VWA 11, Mac OS X 10.3.4, 1G of RAM, various computers including iMacs, PowerBook, all with same results.

Invariably, we have on occasion been working on a file, printing, plotting and no problems. Then we get an error warning something like, quit or close to avert a possible problem with VWA. Thereafter, we'll go to print the file, and we get a PostScript error and it won't print or plot. However, as soon as we open that file on another computer, voila, back to normal. It's almost as if that one workstation has said "I've had enough of this one project or file, give me something else to digest!" Has anyone else experienced this and is there a fix, like rebuilding the file to resume normal use on that particular workstation? Thanks!

Thanks! Good to know. I appreciate the link, too. Misery does love company, so I am glad I'm not alone. I'm glad I read this before attempting to reinstall. I thought I had done something wrong.

Does everyone using Version 11 have this same problem? Is it only on the Mac, or certain installations and set ups that we may individually have? Just curious. Kinda a naggy issue for powerusers, but at least there is a work around. Can we simply get a patch, or is the update forthcoming? I must say, though, that I haven't encountered too many things amiss with this wonderful update!

I've just begun using VWA 11, and found that when I type text, then need to go back and edit within the block, the Cut, Copy, Paste and Undo keyboard commands do not work. I am using Mac OS X, 10.3.4 on a PB 15", FW800. Uh, any ideas what's going on here? Thanks in advance.

Hey, how about if just have VW show the 11 in the upper corner of the menu bar on the Mac side like it does on the Windows side, this will solve all our concerns! =) Just a little joke, folks. I was hoping to not make such a big deal out of it, especially given all the other great things that Version 11 already does and has been worked on so hard to work right. Thanks everyone! And enjoy.

Oh, by the way, Katie. Just a suggestion, but maybe on the next maintenance update, you may want to have the icon for the application updated to differentiate v.11 from v10 with the new orange object and the "V". Easy to recognize and a nice consistent graphi touch.

Thanks, everyone. I, too, recall that the demo was done on a Windblows machine, although the screen shot on one of the Mac versions I saw somewhere did also show the "11" in the menu bar. No big deal. Katie, I think your suggestion is a good one. I did just what you suggested and that works for me.

Thanks. I am aware of where to find the version, it's just that it was demonstrated and touted as a feature that is convenient to have "displayed" on the menu bar if you are working back and forth with more than one version of VWA. It simply isn't showing up as advertised. No big deal, we should be migrating over in short order with the rest of the office. I appreciate your note nonetheless.

Well, I would have thought that, too, would be the case. I even saw a screen shot of what it should look like in the manual and on the NNA web site, but on my Mac, it just isn't there. Thanks for chiming in though. There must be something amiss in my installation or a bug in the software. I hope it just shows up at some point.

I know, petty, but nice to have as I am currently the only ready to use VWA 11 in the office, but am also working with VWA 10 with the rest of the crew. One of the new features brought to my attention and seen in a demonstration is the fact that in the menu bar, you could know what version of software you were running. Just installed onto my PB 15, Alum, FW800 running OS X 10.3.4. I hope this is any easy one. Thanks in advance for letting me know if I've done something wrong in the installation or need to set a preference.

This may be a coincidink, but I am experiencing a similar situation on my new PowerBook G4 running Panther 10.3.2. When I close the lid to sleep, and then lift the PB and put it into a vertical position (as if to slip into a case), it wakes back up. The similarity is that I had recently installed VWA 10.5.1b first, then upgraded to Panther, sent in my PB for screen replacement, then installed the VWA 10.5.1 full version upgrade. I don't know if there is a relationship between these sets of upgrades, but thought to mention if it helps.

Katie, you might suggest to the folks at NNA seriously get together with SketchUp with regards to 3D modeling, ease of use and intuitiveness.

I must admit I wondered the same in the beginning. So I put the question to NNA. They made my office and me an offer I couldn't refuse which made it all the more worthwhile. I should add, that once we had VWA 10 and began running it on OS X, I was very pleased. About the only thing our office has noticed, is that the combo of VWA and OS X is not as "snappy" as version 9 of each. I must attribute part of this to OS X. The trade-offs were worth the switch and upgrade. The balance weighed favorably for us as it was also time to upgrade the hardware to new 1Ghz iMacs, up from beige G3 desktops. Go for it!

Hey, Titanium. I'm not sure if this helps, but I found a similar bug that I reported while using VWA 10.0.1 & now 10.1 with Mac OS X 10.2.3 and 10.2.4 and right clicking the mouse. It was the Caps Lock key (which I have on as the default while in VWA for text. Might this be the same situation for you? Anyone else?

Given my journey to find out how to save $5K and not buy a new plotter, I wanted to share the assistance that stems from the BB and a follow-up with HP's Mac troubleshooter, Jerry. I called today and in less than a half hour, Jerry patiently walked me through how to find the IP address to use on a networked set of Macs and a HP 455CA 24" plotter, using GimpPrint, and with HP's blessing. Despite all the wonderful advice from this BB, it wasn't as straightforward as I was led to believe. It could be due to our set-up. I have noticed that some of you have similar set-ups and I hope that my sharing the step-by-step details will assist all of you out there searching for a similar answer. Our set-up: multiple B/W G3s, 333Mhz with 512K RAM running OS X 10.2.3 Jaguar on an Ethernet network (Asante 100BaseT switch/hub) with DSL router with a 800Mhz G4 running OS X Server10.1. Printing is to our plotter with a JetDirect EX 300. The steps: The factory set IP address for the device to use when setting it up under Print Center is 192.0.0.192. It might work for some of you in certain conditions, but in ours, we used one of the static IP addresses available to us from our ISP. Select one that is not in use or assigned and use it as your plotter's address. With than in hand, here is what I was instructed to do with great success: 1. Turn off the plotter and disconnect the power from the JetDirect. 2. Hold the Test button of the JetDirect down for about 7-10 seconds to do a hard reset. 3. Bring up your old HP LaserJet Utility and see if your plotter shows up. The default setting is AppleTalk. If it doesn't, then select the TCP/IP setting and toggle back and forth between these two settings. It should come up the second time after toggling! 4. Next, run the original HP RIP software (some folks have reportedly not been able to run the RIP under OS 9 Classic) 5. If your plotter doesn't show up immediately in the bottom window (lower left corner), then change the plotter type at the top, upper left. In my case, I went from the "D/A0" to the "E/A1" and back again. It's all about the toggling! It showed up! 6. Go back to the JetDirect and plug it back in and allow for it to cycle. This will now hold the new settings you made. Turn on your plotter and allow to cycle until the Ready light holds steady. 7. You can now Quit the LaserJet Utility and the HP RIP, not to mention OS 9 (force quit on 9). 8. Within OS X, you can now go to the Print Center and click Add Printer. (Keep in mind that you should have already installed the latest version of GimpPrint and CUPS, along with the latest version of Ghostscript, all available through http://sourceforge.net/. 9. Go to the IP setting and type in the IP address discussed. Leave the queue at the default. Then, go down below and select your gimpprint driver for your specific DesignJet plotter. You're done! You will now see that IP address representing the plotter. I opened up an old V.9 VWA file in VWA 10 just to push my luck. Conversion went without a hitch and I went to the Print dialog and selected the plotter, and watched what happened. It first sends the complete file to the plotter, THEN it begins to plot, smoothly and effortlessly and without any errors! Oh, bliss! I hope this helps all of you out there, and thanks to lowvolt, Kurt and others who provided the leads and phone number to HP to finally get this to happen.

Thanks Kurt, I will try this next step and contact HP. The last time I had to deal with them was for the dreaded -8033 (or something like that) error. That was the one that said I had communications problems. Here I go again. Although, this time I don't feel alone and that others have had success in getting their plotter to work. I have a crew dying to bust open the new iMacs and load up the software and work on new machines. Our space is so small, I can't bear to go to the alternative of maintaining a OS 9 Mac just to dump files onto and print from. I appreciate your guidance. I'll let you know what happens.

As it turns out, the test page act did not work. Never got the printer to do more than blink the "printing" light. I still have not been able to get an IP address to enter and use gimprint. Any other suggestions or step-by-step process by others successfully using OS X Jaguar (10.2.3) with an HP 455CA on a network of Macs? Yes, we are using an external JetDirect EX print server connected to an Asante 10/100baseT ethernet switch and OS X G4 server. Thanks!