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JHEarcht

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    Architect, retired
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  1. VW2013 on Windows 10 Retired for 10 years. Small project. Setup pages for printing. Saved view. Later opened the saved view. Visibilities of layers & classes are all wrong. I have to spend time resetting classes & layers before I can print. Similar problem with Sheet Layers. I thought Saved View automatically saved the current settings. So why are visibilities wrong when I open the view. Am I doing something wrong, or did I misunderstand how Save View works?
  2. VW2013 on Windows 10 Previous phases of the current project have backed-up to the general project folder. The current drawing is set to backup to the same VW Backup folder every 15 minutes, and to save 2 copies. The "backup complete" notice in the lower right corner of the screen displays from time to time. But when I screwed something up and wanted to open the backup, I could find the older ones, but not the most recent version of the current drawing. So, I have lost some work. And I'm clueless where it was backing up to. A general search found only the general backup folder with older files. Just to test, I put a "custom" backup folder on the desktop, and the saved files were there when I looked. I can't seem to make the drawing save into the default backup folder. Any ideas?
  3. Thanks to all for the help. But I still can't get the 3D site to do what I want to do. For example, the interpolated contours between my own contours cross over and make strange bumps in Create Site Model. So I punted, and made a crude base from simple flat polygons. I did find the cause of the 373'.72" vertical gap between site and building though. When I added a new layer to experiment with contours, I didn't notice that the elevation defaulted to that strange number. All other layers were based on a zero ground plane. Maybe I'll try again another time. PS__I discovered that image props of trees don't fact the viewer as they do in SketchUp. Se la vie, se la view.
  4. If only it were that simple. When I select 'recreate from source data', all of the 3D polygons have the correct elevations. I don't know where you found Z values of 370' for contours. I only see that 373'.72" number in the Max Elev box of the Site Model Settings. So the question remains, where did that elevation number come from? I certainly didn't set it. And changing it in the Max Elevation box doesn't fix anything. For some unknown reason, the mesh surface is set at 373' above the contours. When I choose any option other than 3D Mesh Solid for the model, that 373' vertical offset disappears. But then I have no surface for the contours, which is the point of the whole exercise. What would make the mesh jump 373' straight up? I'm guessing that the "polylines outside of the site model" that you refer to are the original source data contours that display at the proper elevation. It's the 3D mesh solid that has the wrong elevations. But I don't know how or why they got that way. BTW, the Site Model mesh also seems to have added some intermediate invisible loci that warp the rendered surface from the intended slopes. They don't look like the contours. PS__ When I click Validate 3D data, the report finds "overlapping 3D polygons". But there are no overlapping polygons, unless it means those that are in the same position, but on a different elevation, where the contours stack vertically on a wall or curb (see attachment). I don't know how to fix that "problem" except to delete the portion of the contours that wrap around a vertical wall. Is this another glitch in VW2013? PPS__I've been retired for eight years. But when I was working, I used VW 2008 for 2D drawings, and SketchUp for quick 3D views (that I seldom got paid extra for). Although 2D was easy and intuitive, I found VW 3D quirky & counter-intuitive, and it repeatedly crashed my computer. This current model is just for funsies. But it would be more fun, if I could get beyond this site model obstacle. I may have to create the site model in my ancient copy of SketchUp 2005, and import it into VW.
  5. Vectorworks 2013 on Windows 10 Here's a sample of the site contours after creation of a Site Model. I haven't changed the max/min elevations. As you can see, the max elev is 373'.72". Which is also the vertical distance between the original Source Date contours and the new site model. All I need is a crude base to set the building model on. I was also hoping to show a few trees, but I couldn't find any free props of Crape Myrtles. Site Plan sample.vwx
  6. The Site Plan layer contains only 3D polylines and loci. I deleted all Site Modifiers. Each object has a Z elevation in one foot increments from the base elevation of Zero on the upper building pad. Before clicking Create Site Model, I select all objects on the site plan layer. Is that wrong? I haven't found clear step-by-step instructions for creating the Site Model, so I'm just winging it. In the last image file, I turned on the building floor & roof layers in addition to the Site Plan layer. Elevations range from minus 10 feet to plus 18 feet. But the vertical separation of the three elements is 373'6.72". I don't know where that number comes from.
  7. I have deleted all site modifiers, which were causing some of the conflicts. But I can't make the vertical stretch go away. The rendered site model looks OK, but the polyline contours still display exactly 373'6.72" below. Shouldn't the original contours disappear under the surface mesh? I change that default Maximum Elevation number (373'6.72" ) in the settings, but it still creates duplicate sites that same distance apart vertically. Where does that default number come from? PS__The building model in 3D view appears 373'6.72" below the site contours in a three layer stack .
  8. Apparently I misunderstood the function of Grade Limit. What I intended was a Site Model Crop. The contours look correct in 3D view until I create a Site Model. Then in 3D model view contours seem to extend from 0 to hundreds of feet in the air. I don't know what "RL" refers to, but there's only one vertical height setting in the Object Info. Anyway, I deleted the Grade Limit, but in 3D view the contours still stretch up into the sky. Whenever I create the 3D site model, it defaults to a Maximum Elevation of 373'6.72". Where that number came from is a mystery. But I change it to 18', since there is only about that range from top to bottom contours. Even so, the contours seem to be stretched up to that 373' elevation. When I select all site items, Validate 3D Data says there are "invalid objects for source data". As far as I can tell, only 3D loci, 3D poly contours, and Pads are in the selection. Still can't get a Site Model with 3D mesh. I'm thinking the Pads may be at fault. When I use 3D Contours setting, the contours look OK. but a rough outline of the pads is duplicated a dozen times stacked vertically. Where did that come from?
  9. VW 2013 in Windows 10 I'm trying to create a simple site model for the first time. The existing building is already done and looks OK in rendered view, but it needs some ground plane pavement to serve as a base. No need to be realistic; this is just for preliminaries. I drew 2D polys to approximate the contours (no hard data). I converted them into 3D polys, and gave them an elevation in one foot steps. I add site modifiers for Pads and Grade Limits. I added a few 3D loci for half-foot points. I then group all on the site grading layer. The I click Validate 3D data, which says I have overlapped contours. But I don't see any overlaps, except where some contours hit a curved wall (not shown) one foot above another. So I go on to Terrain / Create Site Model, and then set View/Standard/Right Isometric. The first image is what I see after that command, and the second is a Top/Plan view of the contours. I'd appreciate any ideas on what I've done wrong, and how to fix it.
  10. JimW Thanks for the response. I found a post on Dell from someone with the same setup, and he said the Radeon 6450 ran on his 220W system with no problems. I'm also considering Nvidia GeForce GT730, with 2 GB, and GDDR5 memory, which is supposed to be faster than DDR3. Price and power requirements are about the same. Any comments? My monitors are 17", and 1280 x 1024 resolution, with DVI inputs. Both of these cards have DVI and HDMI outputs, so I'll have to use different connectors. In the past, before retirement, I used different resolutions for each card, and didn't have any problems. But that was with a more powerful system and high-end card.
  11. VW2013, Windows 10, Dell Inspiron mini-tower, 220W power supply I'm retired, so don't use VW as much as before. The standard video card, Intel Graphics HD 4400, is adequate for routine work, but I want to upgrade to dual monitors. So far the best fit for my my low profile slot is : Radeon 6450, 1GB, DVI + HDMI + VGA, PCI bus, no Open GL, 30W. 1. The recommended power is 300W. Will my 220W system be a problem? 2. Is the lack of Open GL in the card a problem for mostly 2D work?
  12. VW2013 on WinXP Let's start this thread all over again: My copy of VW2013 on my old WinXP computer has stopped working. It worked fine just a few months ago, but now clicking the icon has no effect. After following all the suggestions above, I have given up on getting it to work on my old computer. So I tried to move the VW2013 Install files over to my new Win10 PC. But after answering YES to the "Do You Want to Run this Program" nothing happens. So I went back to the original email from a couple of years ago with a link to the NNA server, and tried to download the install files. But the mail app gives me an error message : "access denied" and "this XML file does not appear to have any style information associated with it." I was able to download the file to WinXP. Any idea why it won't work on Win10? I never received a DVD after I originally downloaded the install files for VW2013. Is there any other way I can obtain a clean install file? PS__I'm sending an email to Alice Lowey with NNA, but I don't know if she is still in the same position.
  13. JimW The OS works fine with all other installs. Over many years of computer and software conflicts, I've been told repeatedly by tech support that the problem is in the other guy's stuff. But I usually just keep doggedly plodding on, and somehow eventually reach a resolution. I plan to try to install VW on my new Win10 computer. But it is currently unusable due to a glitch in Win10 regarding the monitor output (long sad story). I've been trying for several weeks to work around the problem, but so far, nothing has worked, and I'm using it as a paperweight. Maybe I need to just get out of the computer business altogether. Pray for me. :cry:
  14. Even though the installer said the new video driver was older than the current one, I went ahead with the install. The installation had several problems, but I kept it going: "can't access the file because it is being used by another process"; "Windows could not find the driver"" . . . . and another file"". I had to restart Windows twice for some unknown reason. When the install was finished, the screen resolution was different, and I eventually had to do a manual shut-down and restart. After that I reset the resolution, and clicked on the VW shortcut. This time the hard drive sped up for several minutes as-if it was loading VW, but beyond that nothing happened. I still can't get VW to start. Any new ideas?
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