jnr

I might as well throw in my two cents as well. I've also had walls to infinity appear when I add/remove windows, doors or heal a wall. This problem has been around since 9.0 hell. At least I now know its not just me.

Looks more complicated than it may be. Thanks and I'll let you know if I have trouble.

Katie: Is there any way, once a hatch is created in a file, to transfer or re-use it in new project? I read the manual and can't seem to find a way to do it. (getting tired of re-creating say, 4" tile for each new project)

Open Data Base Connectivity

I believe that you can contact the company and they will issue you a serial # for the PC. I've had friends do this in other offices. I don't think it cost anything. If you look at the license agreement, I think it says one user and one computer at a time. They should not have a problem with a switch.

By the way, Archicad, which I believe is the only other cross-platform competitor to Vectorworks, has ODBC capability. Yes it is more expensive, but on the other hand I could imagine that one would easily recoup the difference in cost in labor savings.

take a look at this : http://techboard.nemetschek.net/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=12;t=002811 This issue continues to rear its head. Version 11?

Jim: Let me make myself abundantly clear: I don't know about anyone else, but I hate autocad. You're right, being forced to use another program like Excel is archaic and a waste of time. There would be no need for a secondary spreadsheet program if the worksheet function in Vectorworks were more robust. However on the PC, there is no other way to get formated specification information on to the sheets. I've tried everything I can think of and so far, pasting from Excel seems to take the least amount of effort. If the NNA engineers could develop either a text tool (perhaps keep the existing text tool, and add a second for more difficult or larger volume notes) or a worksheet that could handle large amounts of text (i.e., include a word wrap feature)then the issue would go away. In the meantime, since this issue seems to reappear with some regularity, one would think it evident that there are users out there who could benifit from an improvement.

Hey Richard: I wouldn't have to use excel if vectorworks had more sophisticated text editing capabilites, which incidently I understand from a NNA source, was "dumbed down" in the last release because the Mac could not handle the advanced editing design the engineers had come up with. Since they have to produce a product that is 100% cross platform compatible,text editing was modified. Personally I also despise Autocad (its why I'm using this software). As for specifications, my experience has lead me to include the specifications in the document set because builders leave the specs in their office and never read them. Time and again inclusion of the specs on the set has saved me. Anything I can do to make the information more accessible to the builder, means fewer mistakes and less conflict. I know of several large local firms that have adapted this strategy as well.

In the meantime without dynamic links, we waste a lot of time trying to get the information on the sheets in the form of bitmaps.(unfortunately like it or not, the reality is that PCs dominate the AEC market). God forbid one has to edit the information (back to excel, edit, repaste as a bitmap). FYI I have found that if you print at a "Best" setting on your printer/plotter, resolution is not that bad ( the contractor can read it). This is how I do my specifications. Its cumbersome at best: Lack of edit capability, slower printing speeds, and severe increases in file size. To boot, if the worksheet was worth anything, one would not be in this pickle. But alas, there is no word wrap, so we're stuck with an inefficent solution.

The most current version with all updates including the wall tool patch. I'm e-mailing the file. Crashes occured in the following order: maple,glass (modified to mirror), aluminum textures imported (all in plan view). switch to perspective and hit fast renderworks (I think it crashed on final as well). Image renders, then issues a runtime error and locks up. One time (I think after aluminum was added), the entire application just disappeared. file is on the way.

VWA crashes (proverbial RUNTIME ERROR)when rendering a single story building using textures. This is a small file with maybe four textures loaded. It appears to happen when an object is assigned a texture, then a perspective view rendered. It happens after rendering is complete. Once it didn't even give an error message, the application just vaporized. WHY IS THIS PRODUCT CHRONICAL UNSTABLE?

Petri: Do you re-import the data back to Vectorworks? I would pay the difference to have the ODBC capability as it would save me a ton of time. People seem to spend a lot of time obsessing about the cost of software on these boards, yet it pales in comparision to the cost of labor.

Robert: This would be a good suggestion for the newsletter.

I'll vote for outside, and linked to VW any day of the week. It keeps files smaller and like a program such as InDesign, takes advantage of the other program's power (in this case Excel). Archicad, VW's main competitor on the Mac, already does this.

McAuliffe: After using programs like Excel, which blow away the worksheet capabilities of this program, its easy to get very frustrated with the worksheets. To note that Autocad has better text editing capabilities was used to illustrate that there is room for improvement in this program. And NO, it does not mean I want to revert to using that program. Furthermore, if NNA were to get on the bus and make the program capable of linking files to other programs (go look at InDesign or Archicad), then this discussion would be moot and you would not be jumping through hoops to rotate your sheets.

I got confused. It was text editing that was dumbed down by your engineers in the last release because the Mac OS could not handle text editing possible on the Windows platform. The text editor while improved, is still deficient. For comparision go look at autocad 2000. What about cell/row height, word wrap, multiple cell selection?

If it is not Vectorworks then why do these problems not exist with any other application listed above? The reason it works with the Mac is because it uses a Postscript rip before it prints. However printing postscript takes probably ten times the time as non postscript--time I don't have to waste. It would be most useful if the company would take a position on hardware. Other CAD vendors do this. We as users are left then as guinea pigs to unwittingly spend thousands of dollars and god knows how much lost revenue on equipment that is INCOMPATIBLE with the software. It would improve the bottom line of NNA as less resources would be dedicated to diagnosing the countless combinations of cpu,os,and printer. I have no patience for claims this would be a restriction of trade. So far the restrictions are on the users, in this case anyone on a windows machine and not on vendors. If Autodesk, Bentley, Catia and others have figured this out, where is NNA? Perhaps NNA would like to reimburse me the $3600 to replace the plotter plus about $5,000 in lost revenue?

why can I not adjust the height of a worksheet row as I can in Excel? (the worksheet won't fit on the page and I need to rescale) why does the worksheet not have word wrap? why does the worksheet not have multiple cell selection as a feature? Excel does. why was it "dumbed down" in the last release?

go to file, pull down, find preferences, go to session, and uncheck use sound.

Since this seems to be a popular plotter and even more popular driver, is anyone from NNA doing anything about what appears to be a substantial problem with the software? (I'm glad I'm not one of those who have over 50 seats and can't plot their projects). Unfortunately this doesn't make me any less frustrated. I have 33 sheets to print per set in a month and am facing a royal pain in the rear regarding managment of this printing issue. I realize you have a very full plate and I appreciate your efforts and promptness. I hate to keep pestering you with this issue. Is there someone in the company with whom I could take this further?

Did not purchase the GL2 card. In Vectorworks I print with the non-postscript driver. The postscript driver (recognized as a separate plotter) is used when I can't get the non-postscript to print. Specifically, trying to print any saved sheet that has grayed layers or a saved linked elevation, rendered. I do not have these plotting problems with any other program I use i.e., acrobat, photoshop, word, excel, or InDesign (previously Quark). Which driver to use if not 5.32?

Katie: firmware A.02.06 HPgl/2 driver: 5.32

Drivers and firmware are current (within the last month).

Katie: Unfortunately plotting problems have not gone away with 10.1.2, or whatever it is we're on these days.(upgraded yesterday). I have found that trying to print any sheet with anything gray-ed out will cause the print job to vaporize.(The current Hp driver will not process it-appears to skip over it). For example framing plans, MEP sheets, or any other view with the floor plan in gray just won't print with this driver. It will print with the postscript driver, however the driver will not rotate the sheet, so I have to manually cut the sheets. This is a royal pain in the rear end. Version 9 did not do this. Any plans to have your print meister look at it since this driver is used on countless HP plotters?