jcogdell

Sorry its taken a while to respond to this one, The issue discussed above is being worked on currently, I'm not sure when the fix will be ready though. I'm not 100% sure if I am understanding what you are asking here, so please correct me if I'm wrong. I'm reading this as you are trying to perform a Braceworks calculation on a sheet layer viewport. Braceworks calculations have to be performed in a design layer and can then be displayed in a sheet layer viewport afterwords. If you perform the calculation on a dedicated layer you can use this combined with the Braceworks Preferences results display tab settings to control the results visibility for your sheet layer viewports. If you are meaning you want to perform Braceworks calculations on objects that have been referenced in from an external file (perhaps as a referenced layer) then this won't work as the referenced object are not actually in the current file, which means their data is not fully accessible to Braceworks. The only solution here is to fully import the layer or file and do the calculations, or if its not being referenced from a VWX you will need to recreate the portions of the design you want to calculate using Spotlight symbols and objects.

Hi Charles One workaround that a friend in Switzerland showed me is to attach a T-piece corner section to the top of the vertical truss and then connect the hoists to the T-piece. Another option, if you are planning to attach a hoist to the top and bottom (another point away form the top) of the truss is to insert the vertical truss, change into a side or front view and then insert the hoists, in this scenario I tend to set the lower hoist to use the hoist up symbol option so that the body of the hoist isn't inside of the truss A third option if you only want to use a single hoist is to create a symbol of the vertical truss and attached objects (extract the 3D geometry from the symbols, do not just use the inserted truss or lighting device objects) to use with a point load object. Set the point load to the same weight as the combined weight of the truss and attached lights (and any other equipment). Not that I'm aware of, I'll make an enhancement request for this, but distributed load objects can't attach directly to a hoist so it wouldn't be possible to use this as a direct workaround. You could try a horizontal pipe with a point load for the combined weight of the truss and lights

Currently there is no correct way to attach a hoist to a bumper bar as they aren't enabled for Braceworks. If need them for documentation or rendering purposes you have to manually position the hoist. The issue is the same with the rigging guides, they are not supported in Braceworks. They are primarily for documentation purposes and not designed to be used with Braceworks.

@Mickey You can change the truss symbols truss type by right clicking on the truss symbol in the design layer and using the Customize Truss Symbol Data command. The best workflow that I have found for this is to do the editing in the truss library file, once you have renamed the symbols and changed the fills insert each truss symbol into the design layer, right click on the truss and choose Customize Truss Data this will open the truss properties dialogue allowing you to edit the hidden BrxTrussItem data record go to the 'Type' field and edit the contents, typically for colored truss I just add the color to the exiting contents next copy and paste the new 'Type' into the connectable with field so that Auto-connect will continue working with the edited symbol hit OK to save the changes into your file repeat for each symbol after all the symbols are edited delete them from the design layer (make sure to not delete them in the file resources!) Close and save the library file into your application library with a new name for example Tomcat **** black. Also make sure to make a back up in either your User or work-group folder Run the 'Refresh Libraries' command in the resource manager

I think this is more a question for Parallels, does it support OpenGL 4.1? if not then there is no chance that Vision will run inside of it. From our side we do not actively support running any Vectorworks (including Vision) software in any VM environment, except for testing and utility purposes, due to the performance impact VM's have.

I just tested your file and found that if I changed the 'Hoist Position' drop-down to 'Show No Hoist' then the system will calculate correctly (at least in 2021 sp5). I also tested using 2022 sp2.1 and it worked correctly there. Let me know if this works for you I've opened a bug report to get the underlying problem fixed

You should also be able to use the command on the truss symbols in the active file, that may be a better route for updating an ongoing project file. I've just done some quick testing, its definitely a bug. It looks like the main issue is that the existing Truss objects OIP is not updating/refreshing to display both the edited truss properties from the BrxTrussItemRecord and any attached records from the new symbol definition that has been imported. The truss object is updating the the weight etc.. in the background, if you use the Customize truss symbol data command it will display the correct data from the newly imported symbol definition, but doesn't seem to be pushing the changes anywhere else that should be updated I've opened a bug report

There is a menu command that will the magnets to your libraries, 'Update Truss Magnets'. After using it you will still need to check the allowable rotation parameter of the magnets as it will only set a default of 180° I'll have a look into this, Truss objects don't use the truss record attached to the symbol definition, It instead use the concealed BrxTrussItemRecord. this can only be easily accessed using the right click context menu Customize Truss symbol command. This will open the same Truss properties command that the Braceworks menu convert to truss command opens to configure the trusses properties. This is where you will need to update the trusses weight.

Hi Jeroen The lights should be attached automatically to the hanging position when you inserted them. What happens when you use the select system object button in the hanging positions properties? What are your auto positioning settings in the Spotlight preferences Loads and rigging pane? Can you send me the file to have a look?

I think I know why this is happening, but I'm not 100% certain It sounds like you are using custom truss symbols, for the black truss section (and possibly for the regular silver versions as well). As far as I can tell the truss inventory uses the 'Type' from the truss object properties (not from the older truss record) combined with the symbol name to define whether a section should be included in the Change Truss Configuration dialogue, this means that if there are multiple truss symbols with different symbol names (and colors) but the using the same type and length, they will each be displayed as individual options in the dialogue. After a bit of testing I found that if I changed the symbol name, and the 'Type' and 'Name' fields in the truss object properties to include the color I could get them to display as separate truss types in the inventory and avoid having them display wrongly in the Change Truss Configuration dialogue. I also had to update the 'Connectable with' field in the truss object properties to include the new black version of the symbol so that Autoconnect keeps working. I will add an enhancement request to find a better solution for this and to have the documentation in our help updated to better explain how this works

Sorry Andrew you're correct that was a typo on my side, I meant to say it not as easy as it should be, I'll correct it

The problem with both of these commands is that they work from an inventory that you have to manually set up and although this is documented in the help its not made very clear inside the command dialogues themselves, especially in the Replace truss type dialogue. Also setting up a truss inventory is not as easy as it should be, The first step is to make sure you have downloaded any truss libraries you want in the inventory into your application folder, (our help also says that you can use a user folder but I haven't been able to get this to work and have opened a bug report for it) Then you need to open the Replace truss dialogue (which means having at least one section of truss in a design layer) and hit the inventory button in the top left corner this will open the Truss inventory dialogue, hit the update button in the truss inventory pane of the dialogue, this will add every downloaded truss library into the inventory (from your application library folder). make sure that the use column is ticked for for all the symbols of each type of truss you have available and want to use, this can be done by group selecting them in the truss inventory pane and ticking the use column This will make the truss types available for the replace truss type command, when you exit the truss inventory command. However if you want to get full use of the Replace Truss command to automatically reconfigure which Lengths of truss will be used in a truss line then you also need to input how many of each length is available for each type of truss. This is done in the truss inventory pane of the Truss inventory dialogue in one of two ways, manually, by selecting the truss symbol entering the available quantity (either by double clicking on the row or selecting and hitting the edit button). This is ok if you only need to add a few available types. By using Excel and the Export & Import buttons. For me this is the easiest workflow as Excel spreadsheet editing is far faster if I have a lot of different truss types and lengths in my available inventory, that need to be added or updated. First hit the export button to create a CSV file that can be opened in Excel, then use Excel to change the use column and the available quantity column as needed, before using the import button to bring the changes back into the inventory. Once this has been done you should be able to use both commands You need to use the Replace truss type command from the Spotlight Rigging menu, In your above example select a section of truss from the line or system you wish to change activate the Replace truss type command, once in the Replace truss dialogue use the select truss type drop-down to select the appropriate type of XSF truss you want to change to. The Replacement pane should now display what the various truss symbols used in the selected truss line or system will be replaced with. One thing to note the command doesn't do a very good job of converting between metric and imperial truss lengths, not sure if this is a bug or works as designed and needs an enhancement, I'll put a bug report in for it. If the truss line or system includes corners or circular section then you will have to manually map the replacement by selecting each in the replacement window and using the resource selector in the Select truss/circular truss pane to define the replacement. The alignment option enables you to define how the replacement truss will be positioned if it has a different physical height from the original truss type, the preview displays the how the new truss will be vertically positioned (red) vs the old (black). The changes will take place as soon as the dialogue is exited by hitting ok. The Change configuration button is a short cut to the Replace Truss commands' replace truss configuration dialogue and is for re-configuring which lengths of truss are used in a selected truss line. This is why no symbols are mentioned in the dialogue, as no matter how you access the dialogue you have to have selected a truss line or symbol first. The displayed lengths are based on the symbols in the relevant truss library, all non corner sections (including spacers) available in the library. I think the V and H displayed in the length column headers is a holdover from when Spotlight had to use separate vertical and horizontal truss symbols The edit quantity pane allows you to change the number of each length used in the line, a useful trick here is if you don't see the length you want click on it in the main pan and the edit quantity pane will change to display it In this scenario you would use the Change Truss Type command,

Do you have a Vision dongle? MA-Net 2 is propitiatory and Vision requires a USB security dongle to unlock its use (this is a requirement set by MA Lighting to access MA-Net).

Hi Sam The lighting pipe ladder doesn't really work with Braceworks, Personally I use it for layout and documentation but like you use point loads to represent the ladder for Braceworks calculation. I've not managed to find a good work around for this myself either.

At the moment this is not possible, as far as I know this is a limitation of the hanging position. If you have Braceworks you can use the Braceworks Load Overview dialogue to provide this information otherwise you will have to create a custom worksheet to get the total weight.

@mlkimmel & @Eli van Hooff I've just done a quick test and found that there does seem to be a problem with snapping lights to a hanging position but it seems to depend on how th hanging position is created. I can only duplicate the issue when the 'Use Geometry' option is selected while creating the hanging position, if I select the 'Create Symbol' option the hanging position behaves as expected Is this what you are both seeing as well? Also what service pack and build number are you both using? (need it for the bug report)

@tailortek I think this is the video that @LukeLion is referring to (please correct me if I'm wrong). Its from last years design summit. The cable tools section is the first hour 10 minutes or so

Hi Tolga This seems to be 2 bugs related to the same symbol, one is content related and one is software related, I've put bug reports in for both.

Hi Strobie This thread goes through the basics of setting up a straight truss symbol, If you are using 2022 the new magnets add a couple of extra steps, mainly for classing them and defining the allowable roll angle. If you have questions let me know and I'll do my best to answer them

You can use the cable set feature for this. When you have created your new cable parts use the Manage cable parts dialogue to change the set name for each part you wish to have in the new set (this has to be done in the cable parts library file). Once you have changed the set name (or unchecked the use column) save the library file, open a new empty file, reopen the manage cable parts dialogue and hit the update button to import the changes. The new cable set will now be available in the cable preferences dialogue, select the set you wish to use in the dropdown and it will control which cable parts are available to the cable tools while drawing, based on the set you have chosen The manage cable parts dialogue is primarily designed to be used in the cable parts library files, any changes you make using it will only be saved into the currently open file, so if you edit parts in the library file with it you will only have to make the changes once, where as if you edit your active show file the changes will only apply to that file.

Hi LukeLion From your video it looks like the truss lines are not connected into a single truss system using corners, what happens if you use the select system objects? The automatic insertion relies on the truss auto-connect system, so if the truss lines are not part of the same truss system the cable will not correctly draw. The cable reshape issue is a limitation of the cable object's automatic reshape feature. For the cable object to know that it has to reshape, the connected object has to be selected, in this case the breakout. We are planning to improve the automatic reshape features of the cable object as the cables tools further develop but didn't have the capacity to manage it for the 2022 release

In theory the arrows should scale automatically, after spending a bit of time looking at this and another possibly related issue with a different object, it looks like this is a bug that only seems appear on Mac's (I'm not seeing this issue on Windows). I'll get a but report opened to have it addressed, In the mean time here's a data tag that will hopefully solve the issue for you, the tag is designed for use in a 1 to 50 scale, so it should work in a 1/4" scale hoist measurement tag scale 1 to 50.vwx

The hoist label and measurement labels are both controlled by check boxes in the hoist object properties. You can use the text style at the top of the hoist properties to control the font and size. Another option is to use a data tag either from the default library or by using the new create data tag style from object command in the tool menu.

Hi Patrick I'm afraid what you were told is not correct, its ETC's plugin and they are responsible for maintaining it. Our dev team is providing them with support but the issue is at their side.

As Tom mentioned the reworked hoist was intended to work with the new cable tools for cable planning. Personally I would use the notes field to document the control cable length if I didn't plan on using the cable tools for this. I'll put an enhancement request to have the parameter added to the hoist object properties. I'm not sure why the "Control Cable Length" parameter is showing up in the plugins manager for you, have you added the legacy hoist tool back into your workspace? that may be why you can see it in the plugins manager. As far as I'm aware there is no way to use the plugins manager to add the parameter into the new hoist objects properties.