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Speedy Gonzales

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Posts posted by Speedy Gonzales

  1. I just ready Henry Finch's recommendation of the HP 4MV. I bought mine used from a friend for $700 about 4 years ago, and it is still going strong. Great for check prints.

    I am considering buying another just like it for a second office location. Look at the HP 5000N. Same machine and features except faster, with PostScript, 1200 dpi and networkable (without the need for JetDirect; plug and play really).

    Costs about $2,200.

  2. I just ready Henry Finch's recommendation of the HP 4MV. I bought mine used from a friend for $700 about 4 years ago, and it is still going strong. Great for check prints.

    I am considering buying another just like it for a second office location. Look at the HP 5000N. Same machine and features except faster, with PostScript, 1200 dpi and networkable (without the need for JetDirect; plug and play really).

  3. As a small office practioner, I can ill afford to have my staff trouble shoot problems. At home, I have VWA 9.5 installed on my PB G3 333 (Lombard) running OS X 10.1.2 exclusively. At home, I can catch up on unfinished work from the office without time being an issue, and can test out and learn more about VWA's 9.5 improvements.

    I am happy to report that it is a beautiful thing working in OS X and a relatively problem-free VWA 9.5. About the only two things that are preventing me from making the switch at the office is that Microsoft has yet to release new drivers for the MS Intellimouse Optical devices we use at the office, and the concern about being able to plot to our HP 455CA. No doubt the former will come at the end of next month, but the former is problematic at best.

    From the forums on printing/plotting problems, you can see it is bad enough with OS 9.x. It appears that my work around would be to reopen the file in Classic's VWA 9.5 to plot as we do now with our JetDirect server and HP RIP. Troublesome. The only two other options are to output to a bureau with PDF files or spend some fairly big bucks on a currently supported PostScript plotter with OS X drivers.

    Hope this helps.

  4. smile.gif" border="0

    Lest I forget my manners, thank you Nemetschek for allowing us to vent on the printing problem. Could we get a standalone forum in the General Forum area for us all to share info, please?

    And thanks for the 9.5 upgrade. It brings VWA to an enjoyable and productive CAD program I first discovered in version 7 and has improved tremendously. I feel your pain for 9.01 and am glad for the fixes. There's still room for improvement, but that is what keeps you and us in business!

  5. Aersloat's comments were most helpful and insightful to date for us Mac users. Thank you!

    I have gone to HP's website store only to find a mind numbing combination (and need I say) costly array of plotters out there. Calling and reviewing my choices with a salesperson of course is tricky as you have to sometimes read between the lines into what they are trying to sell you vs. what you simply need and can afford. The 1055 CM is pricey, but if it results in cost savings from wasted time and effort troubleshooting and in fact speeds up the plotting process with a simple one time send to print command without intermediaries (HP RIP, JetDirect and such), then the better for us all who want to now use OS X, VWA 9.5 exclusively.

    Quite frankly, this is the one thing next to mouse drivers for OS X that is stopping me from changing over at the office. I have otherwise had success with the work around to simply save-as from 9.5 to 8.5.2 and then plot through the HP RIP. It does, however, mean running OS X and 9.x together. But hey, it gets the job done and delivered.

  6. shocked.gif" border="0

    What a stinkin' mess! This has always been the one fear I've had about going from hand drafting (an art) and CAD. You may get accurate and manipulatable drawings, but what good are they if you can't get them out of the "box."

    What puzzles me is that everything works fine when printing out from my HP 4MV laser printer in every version of VWA and Mac OS. So why can't the plotter do the same? Did I miss something, or is the HP 455CA not a Postscript machine? It just seems that we should not have an intermediary piece of software or hardware (JetDirect) to send something to print/plot.

    So, now I am curious. What would be the one, stand alone plotter that would be truly plug & play on a Mac that would allow us to plot without second thoughts as to WILL it plot, and that works with all versions of the Mac OS and VWA 9.x/10.x?

    Time is money, if we have to spend a few bucks with a trade in, I would entertain a new plotter if I could just get my work done.

  7. You can buy a single version of Tekton ($25.99) or a package ($95.99) from Adobe online at the following address: http://www.adobe.com/type/browser/P/P_123.html

    Since these are Type 1 and not multiple maste (MM) fonts, they should work on OS X as they did for me using FontBureau's Graphite.

    I should note that Suitcase does not specifically say on their ads whether it makes MM fonts work in OS X. Does anyone else know more about that? Suitcase offers a competitive upgrade from Adobe's ATM Deluxe ($59) that would be less expensive than having to repurchase these fonts and continue using the ones we now have.

    Any additional information would be appreciated.

  8. I would agree that HP has been fantastic in their support. I had spent the better part of 12 hours once trying to trouble shoot plotting problems when we went from OS 8.x to 9.x. With the upgrade came a new LaserWriter driver which caused an incompatibility with our HP 455CA and Macs. We kept getting the dreaded -8993 communications error. After only 20 minutes with an HP technician, we were up and running after also downgrading the driver to which are sticking to until we have full assurance we can make a seamless transition to VWA 9.5 and OS X.

    My question is: did they offer a similar solution for the Mac side?

  9. We have had similar problems ranging from the same or similar error, and even a -8993 communications error. All from our HP 455CA with HP RIP running on G3 Macs (OS 9.1) using VWA 9.5. We had some of the same, though to a lesser extent on VWA 9.01, too.

    In each case, we found that doing a save-as to VWA 8.52 worked without a hitch. No loss of information or drawing and we plot like we used to, no problems. Nagging little work around, but with deadlines looming anything that works is welcome. rolleyes.gif" border="0

  10. A clarification for assigning zoom to your MS Intellimouse.

    Go to the control panel for Intellimouse (or if you have the latest driver, Microsoft Mouse). Go to "wheel" tab. Under "set global settings" click the "ADD" button to create a settings file for VectorWorks. Once you've done that, go to the "press & roll forward" button (for zooming in), click and select the "keystroke" as the command under that drop down menu. Then assign "c" as the key. Do the same for the "press and roll back" with the "v" key to zoom out.

    Hope this helps.

  11. You can assign the zoom in/out functions to the MS Intellimouse wheel by going to the assignment tab for the scroll wheel.

    The way I've done it is to assign the "C" key to the wheel when I press down and forward (away from me) to zoom in; the "V" key to zoom out. These are VW's standard keyboard shortcuts for these tasks.

    Although I've worked in AutoCAD as well, the zoomining in and out by this method in VW is not as smooth; it is incremental, but it does the trick.

    You can also assign the side buttons with "X" (pointer/selection tool) and "Z" (pan and drag) keys to work more with the mouse and less with the keys. Pretty nifty timesaver.

    I should note that these hints are what I use in VWA on a Mac using OS 9.1. They do not work in OS X since Microsoft has not yet updated the drivers for their Intellimouse mice.

    Hope this helps. The key commands and assignments should work equally well in Windows through version 2000 Professional.

  12. Just before I left for the holidaze, I needed to prepare and send out some drawings with the Graphite font. They were sketches on 8 1/2 x 11 detail sheets.

    I am using Mac OS X at home with VWA 9.5 running native. I printed out two copies: one on a HP 4MP and one on a new HP G85 (all-in-one). Both printed out beautifully, the latter in color. I was also able to use the G85's HP Director software to fax directly from my PB G3 (Lombard) to multiple recipients.

    I purchased a single form of the font from the Font Bureau and installed it into the fonts folder and it printed out like a charm. Worth the $40. They were champs in being able to complete the transaction in just 15 minutes. Timely, considering the Mrs. said that's all I had or she would leave on vacation without me. (Nice to be able to tie up loose ends without a hitch.) wink.gif" border="0

  13. We have the benefit of an HP LaserJet 4V that allows printing to 11x17, which is close to a miniset size.

    We have found that a 24 x 36 can be reduced to 45% and will include the title block.

    We will send it out to have it enlarged (OC? or Xerox) and request enlargement to 222%. Scales beautifully!

    By printing out to 11x17, you can maintain the line weight resolution and most of the fills/hatches.

  14. Thanks for the input and information.

    I guess I don't know the answer to your question? I assume all TrueType print in the Mac OS 9.x works just like the PostScript version, especially if you have ATM and its anti-aliasing on. In OS X, the anti-aliasing is built in.

    So am I to understand that their is a TrueType version of Graphite available as shareware or purchase and that it will work with OS X, VWA 9.5, laser and inkjet printer, and plotters (HP455CA)?

    Please clarify. If Graphite is available and it does work with this configuration, where should we all go and get the font? confused.gif" border="0

  15. I just received an email from Apple (promotional) that Suitcase 10 supports Type 1 and multiple master fonts in OS 9.x and X.

    This may the $129.95 answer (?)

    Anyone know anything more about this program or a workaround?

    (I used Suitcase before I switched to ATM because Suitcase had a number of extension conflicts I couldn't resolve.) confused.gif" border="0

  16. Update on the FontLab tool. The fonts are now available on the menu and in the document, thus one can edit and continue working on the file.

    But when I tried to print a portion of the sheet on my HP LaserJet, the font that printed defaulted to courier. So close, yet so far.

    One thought, is that I did this with the trial version of the software to see if it would work. Maybe it only allows you to now see and use the font, except when it comes to printing. It could be like other trial software. Try it, but you can't save or print.

    I am testing all this out at home in the evenings and therefore haven't been able to contact folks during normal working hours. Can anyone confirm my theory? $99 would be worth it if I can convert all my other fonts from others to use on OS X.

  17. Just a thought.

    Adobe could simply sell the separate portions of Graphite (as they do with Tekton) so that you aren't working with a multiple master, and just a simple PostScript font.

    We normally use the "regular" style with "normal" width. We almost never use the narrow or wide widths.

    I've left a comment with Adobe to see if it gets some response. I would gladly pay $25 for this single font. It puts me one step closer to dumping OS 9 and going fully with OS X and VWA 9.5. All that remains, is being able to reliably plot.

  18. Guess what. The fontlab trick worked. I am now able to view my files with the Graphite font after conversion.

    It's late at night here in California, and so all that remains is testing it out on the laser and plotter.

    I'll let you all now the results.

    shocked.gif" border="0

  19. Just a thought.

    Adobe could simply sell the separate portions of Graphite (as they do with Tekton) so that you aren't working with a multiple master, and just a simple PostScript font.

    We normally use the "regular" style with "normal" width. We almost never use the narrow or wide widths.

    I've left a comment with Adobe to see if it gets some response. I would gladly pay $25 for this single font. It puts me one step closer to dumping OS 9 and going fully with OS X and VWA 9.5. All that remains, is being able to reliably plot.

  20. Nicholas,

    I figured that out last night and you've confirmed it with your posting. Thanks!

    Unfortunately, I am sad to say, despite having successfully downloaded and installed VWA 9.5 for OS X at home (haven't made the transition at the office yet because of this issue and plotting problems with OS X), that the graphite font does NOT appear on the menu selection.

    I do think it is an Apple issue (graphite doesn't show up in any other program, including the new MS Office X).

  21. UserName (Member #804)

    Thanks for the lead on the fonts issue. Here's a query for you. I thought about what you've suggested, but when I tried to copy the fonts over to the OS X font folder, it wouldn't allow it. Can you tell me (and others) which font folder it should go into (User or System) and if you are locked out, how to (as an Administrator) you make the appropriate settings changes? I had a similar problem with screen savers, and I went to <Home> and the <screen saver> folder in the <Utility> folder.

    Thanks.

  22. UserName (Member #804)

    Thanks for the lead on the fonts issue. Here's a query for you. I thought about what you've suggested, but when I tried to copy the fonts over to the OS X font folder, it wouldn't allow it. Can you tell me (and others) which font folder it should go into (User or System) and if you are locked out, how to (as an Administrator) you make the appropriate settings changes? I had a similar problem with screen savers, and I went to <Home> and the <screen saver> folder in the <Utility> folder.

    Thanks.

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