Bart Rammeloo

There might be an easier explanation. If your objects in ACAD are 3D solids, then VectorWorks will not import them. Try exporting your 3D solids to 3DS, import them again in the ACAD file, and import that DWG in VW. You will get faceted geometry, but at least you will have your geometry in VW. This triangulation also happens when you export VW NURBS to ACAD. ACAD doesnt support VW-NURBS, just as VW doesn't suppor ACAD-solids. Cheers, BaRa

Hi guys, It will perhaps - I stress "perhaps" - be translated in French. It's rather technical, and not every translation office is able to transate this correctly. And I don't have the time to do it myself, so chances are it will never be translated at all. Keep in mind that most people in Belgium are at least bilangual, so even French speaking Belgians can at least understand those Dutch tutorials. Which means there's no real rush to make a translation. They will without a doubt never be translated in English - again no time to do it. Of course, if NNA would request us to make a translation ... well that would of course change the picture ;-) B.T.W.: the chair modeling tutorial has been put online. Cheers, BaRa

Maz, If you want to draw in 3D, you (a) need to use 3Dtools like 3Dpolygon or NURBS (b) need to change your working plane so that your objects will be drawn in the correct plane. The first one is easy - that's just a matter of selecting the right tool The second on is also easy: with the 3D-arrow tool you can easily change your working plane (move and rotate), and with the Working Plane palet you can even save different working planes. There's also a tool that lets you define the working plane by clicking 3 points or by clicking a face of an object. All very simple to use. [Edit: removed uncorrect information about I, J and K coordinates. Feeling pretty studid] Cheers, BaRa [ 01-26-2004, 08:04 AM: Message edited by: BaRa ]

You CAN draw from an isometric view. You only need to change your working plane (know as UCS in ACAD). Cheers, BaRa [edit: deleted uncorrect information about I,J and K coordinates. Feeling pretty stupid] [ 01-26-2004, 08:03 AM: Message edited by: BaRa ]

quote: Originally posted by jan15: No Enter or SpaceBar or Escape to end a command or tool. A "command" (issued from a pull-down menu or by Ctrl-key combination) usually acts on a pre-selected set of objects, and ends as soon as it's issued. A "tool" (selected from a tool palette or by pressing a letter key) ends when you select a different tool. There's always a currently active tool. To quit a tool: press the escape key [ESC]. To switch back to the mouse pointer (arrow selector): press X-key. Cheers, BaRa

Hi guys, For what it's worth: 2 NURBS-related tutorials can be found on Design Express' website - go to www.designexpress.be and look in the support section. There's also a tutorial for visualising a VW model in C4D. Warning: only Dutch. Another NURBS-tutorial will be put online next week, which will show you how to model a chair. Cheers, BaRa

A small example of what a picture looks like in VW, and what it looks like after exporting it to DWG. The drop in quality has as far as I know nothing to do with the quality of the export, but everyting with the display quality in ACAD Unfortunately, I'm unable to make the export of images work when placed inside a symbol. The images don't appear in the ACAD block. Cheers, BaRa [ 01-20-2004, 05:13 PM: Message edited by: BaRa ]

As far as I know there is no solution to this problem. The only thing you can do to avoid this is by moving the original 2D shape around, instead of moving the 3D object. I realise that this might be cumbersome when you use peculiar extrusion angles. I'm also very interested to see / hear if another solution exists. Cheers, BaRa

Kaare, you're in a terminal condition. "spending as much time with your family as with the application". T-t-t-t. There's only one solution for you: turn the negative into the possitive and get a job at NNA I honestly don't know a single software manufacturer that gives away their planned rout. Cheers, BaRa [ 01-15-2004, 08:20 AM: Message edited by: BaRa ]

Hi Chris, NNA and Maxon are both Nemetschek companies. That's the only relationship they have right now. The alliance of which you speak simply isn't there. Or at least, not right now. They are well aware of each others' products, but that doesn't justify the move you describe. NNA and Maxon are in different markets. Don't forget that the kind of rendering and animation we are obviously interested in is but a niche market. I use both applications. What problems are you having with internal cornices? Cheers, BaRa

quote: Originally posted by Chris Manus: I now would like to see some greater comptability between the 2 Programes in the future.eg I would like to send objects made in C4d exported back into VWA? Wouldn't we all ... It's under consideration (could I be more vague?), but the only thing that can drive this is user count. If lots of people use C4D as a render solution for VW, then the pressure on Maxon for a better integration of / exchange between VW and C4D can only grow. One of the major problems right now is the lack of NURBS geometry in C4D. As long as C4D can't handle NURBS, you won't be able to make a good 2-way link. Currently, when you export NURBS to C4D you "loose" information (you end up with polygons in C4D). Apart from that, and a bit off topic: I would rather have an improved DWG-exchange than a two-way VW-C4D exchange. Better C4D support won't make NNA sell more VW licenses. Better DWG support (which is already very good for a non-Autodesk product) will absolutely make NNA sell more VW licenses. Suppose you would be able to export a bitmap based symbol to DWG, and get a bitmap-based block in ACAD. Or suppose you could import not only Layout elements from ACAD, but also Viewports with correct scales. Or suppose you could import ACAD Solids in VW. These are the kind of improvements that would be beneficial to NNA. Not a better C4D exchange. In other words: if you want better VW-C4D exchange, you should talk to Maxon. Maxon is the one who would benefit from this. In case you wonder why I'm stressing the DWG-related NNA sales ... VectorWorks is one of the major ACAD competitors. The better the exchange with ACAD, the easier it gets for existing ACAD users to convert to C4D. And more users means more funds to develop a kick-ass CAD-package. And believe me, in regards of the Autodesk upgrade and pricing strategy a lot of people are looking for new software solutions. Kind regards, BaRa [ 01-13-2004, 05:28 PM: Message edited by: BaRa ]

I don't believe in this - making a shortlist or even a longlist public ,that is. Nemetschek stating that they are "Considering" quickly becomes "Nemetschek said they are developing", which in turns grows out to be "They promised us users to include that feature in the next version", especially on a forum. NOT a good policy. Ask yourself if VectorWorks is currently a good solution for you or not. If it is, then stick with it. If it's not, try to find a better solution. But don't let your feelings about the application be guided by "featuritis of future versions". It won't help you one bit. Kind regards, BaRa [ 01-13-2004, 05:09 PM: Message edited by: BaRa ]

I see your point about job opportunities in an ACAD-ruled Australia. However, what I meant to say was that it doesn't really matter what software you use right now. All 3D-packages use the same conventions, whether you use LightWave, Max, Maya, C4D, or XYZ. Of course, the interface differs, and commands tend to be named differently, but a shader is a shader, independantly of the package you're using. I've personally worked with Strata, LightWave, Max/Viz, and I still use Maya and Cinema 4D, and the transition from one to another always took a bit of time but was, given the complexity of 3D solutions, fairly easy to accomplish. So it's, in my opinion, not really a matter of trying to convince your employer to buy a license of a different brand, but rather a matter of convincing your employer of your talents, regardless of the software you're using. B.T.W.1: if you plan to use C4D for architectural visuals, you might want to check out the C4D module Sketch and Toon - great stuff for non-photorealistic renders. B.T.W.2: you should get in touch with the Australian distributors of VW (OzCAD, www.ozcad.com.au - ask for Julian, he knows the inns and outs of VW) and C4D (www.adimex.com.au). I'm sure they're willing to help you out with details about who's using VW / C4D for architectural purposes. Cheers and good luck, BaRa

When the shape of your objects is satisfactory (and only then), you can always remove the construction history. Use the command "Convert to Generic Solids" to achieve this. This is only possible from 10.5 onwards. If VectorWorks refuses to execute the command - and you will run into this if you would try to convert an extrusion along path - you can always transform your object: first convert to NURBS, then ungroup, and then add solids. The new solid object can without a problem be converted to a generic solid. Cheers, BaRa [ 01-03-2004, 03:33 PM: Message edited by: BaRa ]

A couple of things you have to keep in mind when exporting to DXF for use in a 3D animation solution: (1) DXF contains layers. When you open a layered DXF file in C4D, the layers are transformed into groups. This means that, when each layer corresponds to an object categorie, you immediately have the correct organisation in your C4D scene. (2) In VectorWorks, you can either assign objects to layers or to classes to organise your scene. (3) It is NOT necessary to split the scene up in layers or classes. You can do it afterwards in C4D as well. The only advantage of using classes or layers in VectorWorks is when you use the VW-->C4D plugin, because they allow for easy updates of your scenes. (4) If you don't need 2D elements in your C4D file, then don't export them to DXF. Use only 3D if that is what you need. On the other hand, if you would use 2D elements (polygons and the like), they would appear as splines in C4D. (5) Try to avoid Intelligent objects in Walls and similar geometry. Although they might not cause problems in ACAD, they tend to be messed up in Cinema4D (or in other software solutions, for that matter). Converting them to groups and solids before exporting might help. This is actually a second advantage of the VW-->C4D plugin: it translates PIO's without a flaw. (6) The only technical advantage 3DMax has over C4D is its capability of using NURBS (iges export and import). This means that when you use NURBS in VW, you're better of with a package that supports NURBS, like 3DMax. Of course, when NURBS are the thing you need, you're better of with Maya or XSI - they have better NURBS support than 3DMax. And of course, this reasoning is only viable IF and WHEN you use organic surfacing. (7) The easiest to learn is Cinema4D. Then come LightWave, XSI, Maya and 3DMax. For an employer, it doesn't really matter which one you know. The basic principles are always the same. Use the one you feel comfortable with. Good luck, and if you happen to have question about C4D or Maya: go ahead, I can try to help you out. Cheers, BaRa [ 01-02-2004, 05:39 PM: Message edited by: BaRa ]

Depends on the kind of geometry you're using. If it's NURBS, use IGES. If it's only polygons, use DXF/DWG. Use only 3D 0bjects if you can - I had troubles with incorrect scaling of 2D splines (b?zier) when imported in Maya. Good luck, BaRa

Sounds like a display problem (duh ). What kind of Graphics Card are you using? Are you using NURBS? Did you change the quality of your OGL-display? What settings did you use for your Graphics Card - is hardware acceleration set to none or to full? Does it happen with every scene, or only with complex scenes? How many (copies of) symbols do you have? Cheers, BaRa

There's a very important option in the restrictions menu. Double click on the point restriction icon to activate the "snap to 3D point" option (or whatever it's called in the US version). This is only available starting from 10.5. What is known as UCS in ACAD is called working planes in VW. It's pretty porwerful, and behaves in a similar manner as UCS's. One very handy option is clicking a face. The working place is placed on the face, and the center of the working plane is the center of the face. Of course, this only works with flat faces, not with curved surfaces. Good luck, BaRa [ 12-21-2003, 02:16 PM: Message edited by: BaRa ]

Hi B-A-R, There is no C4D import setting in the current version of the plugin. And using the same units will not really help. Try the following: - In VW, set your units to milimeter - make a cube of 100x100x100 milimeter - export to VW4D - Open C4D, and set your units to milimeter. - open the VW4D file What you'll get is not a cube of 100x100x100 milimeter, but a cube of 10x10x10 milimeter. And if you would now change your units to centimeter in C4D, you'd get a cube of 10x10x10 centimeter. So the current situation seems to be: 1 cm corresponds to 1 C4D unit. Unless you would be using an updated version of the plugin, but as far as I know Maxon didn't release an update. Cheers, BaRa [ 12-17-2003, 06:47 AM: Message edited by: BaRa ]

Hi ChrisD, Your point about the difference between layer linking and viewports is correct. However, viewports have one specific disadvantage: when you change the scale of the viewport, dimensions and text don't keep their "real" sizes, they scale along with the viewport. It takes a bit more time in ACAD to fix that, in VW it's just checking an option box. Cheers, BaRa

NURBS can be exported without too much problem. You don't, however, get them as NURBS in C4D. You get polygons (tons of triangles). The lines you see are not rendered isoparms but a texture with a line pattern. Combined with Sketch and Toon you get the result above. Cheers, BaRa

The plugin is sold by VectorWorks resellers / distributors, not by Maxon. Maxon only monitors and steers the development of the plugin, but the distribution is handled by the NNA channels. You might want to try your local VW dealer. Cheers, BaRa P.S.: a bit off topic, but here's my first image made with the new C4D S&T module. Model built in VectorWorks (yes, with Nurbs): [ 12-04-2003, 05:43 PM: Message edited by: BaRa ]

There's no such thing as scale in ANY 3d animation solution (Maya - XSI - LW - Max - C4D - Houdini - ...). The future version of the VW-C4D plugin should give you, amongst other things, the option to rescale the model automatically on import. Currently the best solution is, in VectorWorks, to switch to centimeters before exporting. That way objects made in C4D will at least have the same "scale" as the objects in VW. cheers, BaRa P.S.: you might want to check out Sketch and Toon, the new NPR module. It gives great results for architectural visuals. [ 11-30-2003, 08:26 PM: Message edited by: BaRa ]

Are you using XP home or XP Pro edition?

A strange request, IMO. Why would you restrict the editing abilities to text? Why not have the option of editing every element in the group? And if you'd go that far, then why would you group objects together? Why not leave them ungrouped? I personally like the current behavior: double click on a symbol or a group, double click on a text block, and presto. It's probably as fast if not faster than selecting a different "edit text in group" tool. And it's more consistent in use, as it doesn't add an extra tool. Just my 2 cts, of course. Cheers, BaRa