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JHEarcht

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Everything posted by JHEarcht

  1. VW2008, SP2, R3, build 83388, on Windows XP Over the weekend I replaced my ATI Fire GL X1, 128MB, CAD/GL, video graphics card, because of some rare, but serious problems with VW over the last few years. For example, VW 12 had been crashing during fast, intense drawing sessions with lots of zooming and panning---and of course lots of lines drawn between saves, and short deadlines. NNA techs always put the blame on the video driver, but ATI is under new ownership, and no longer supports my four year old card. I haven't used VW2008 that intensely yet, but other minor, but frustrating screen-draw related problems have continued. Last week, out of desperation, I decided to try a different video card to see if that would fix the graphics glitches. The new card is nVIDIA 3000FX, 256MB, CAD/GL graphics card, which is equivalent to the ATI except for twice the memory (and half the original $500 price). The driver is up to date as of 02/07/08. Today I started using VW for the first time since the switch and began to note some new quirks and odd behavior. I opened VW for the first time from scratch with a blank document. After deleting the blank, I clicked on FILE to select a recently-opened drawing, and the whole VW window instantly disappeared. After I reopened VW, it again disappeared after a few seconds, but before I had a chance to click on anything. On the third try, VW stayed on the screen, but more annoyances awaited. For example, after I paste an object, it is immediately de-selected. When I start to nudge an object, after a few shift/arrow clicks, a red warning in the info bar says "no objects are selected to nudge". I started to modify the WorkSpace to add some hotkeys. I added a new menu function, was told the key combo was already in use, so I deleted the new function---and the Workspace Editor itself instantly vanished, and the VW window was locked-up. These glitches seem to be video card or driver related, but new hardware and software has only added new problems so far. So my question here is this: If VW doesn't play well together with two different graphics cards (designed specifically for CAD) what are my options now???? Does any of this sound familiar? Any helpful suggestions (or just sympathy) will be appreciated.
  2. VW2008 SP2 on Windows XP In VW12 when I clicked in a Sheet Layer ViewPort to "Edit Design Layer" I was taken to the same location on that layer. Now in 2008, in a Design Layer Viewport, I am taken to some arbitrary location on the original Design Layer. then I have to zoom out and hunt around to get back to what I was looking for. Surely this is not the intended default behavior. Am I missing something?
  3. Some fonts have license restrictions that prevent Acrobat from embedding them in the document file. In that case the font name will be preceded by a padlock symbol, and a substitute font will be embedded. Some older font sets, early 90s, don't have any license information, so Acrobat seems to assume they are restricted. In that case a newer edition of the same or similar font may fix the problem.
  4. Thanks for the info. The NNA position is similar to the ACAD recommendations. Buying a video card online is extremely frustrating! I found the same new-in-the-box nVIDIA Quadro FX3000 for sale at a high price of $1,500 and a low price of $257. What's the difference? I have been unable to determine why one seller wants six times as much money. On the nVIDIA website I clicked on the FX3000 AGP product comparison and was taken to a page with FX3500 and 3700 PCI products. Cards for the PCI bus are much cheaper than the 8 times as fast AGP bus. Could the advertised FX3000 noted above actually be a mid-range PCI card instead of an "extreme workstation" AGP card???
  5. VW2008 on Windows XP Katie Since graphics cards and drivers are blamed for many of the lockups, crashes, and bizarre behaviors in VW, has NNA done any testing so they can recommend video card upgrades? AutoCAD has a list of "certified" cards on their website. Perhaps a list of cards to avoid would be helpful. I currently have a four-year-old ATI FireGL card (+/- $500) which was designed specifically for AutoCAD. But my experience has been poor in situations that are very demanding for the graphics card. My research so far has found several posters who have also had problems with ATI cards. In any case, I'm ready for a change. I'd still like to have a card with Open GL capabilities, but as an individual, non-corporate purchaser, I'd rather not pay the excessive upcharge over ordinary game cards. Does NNA or individual Techs have any recommendations?
  6. When I referenced the external file to a new Design Layer, I get the external classes and resources, but no visible objects. Select-All doesn't find anything except on the border layer. Classes are set to Show Snap Modify Others. Oh well, I'll just copy and paste the survey into the working drawing. I was hoping it would work faster as an X-Ref.
  7. VW2008, sp2 on windows XP I am trying to use WorkGroup referencing for the first time. I have imported a DWG survey into a blank drawing file. The Design layer is at 1:1 scale, and the DWG viewport is a 1:720 scale. In a new blank file with a 30x42 border I create a ViewPort in a design layer. I external-reference the survey and a VP box appears with a tiny dot in one area and a remote X where the border is. Apparently I can't reference the external viewport, so my only choice is to ref the design layer. I assume the survey origin is miles away from the center of my drawing, but I was assuming that VW would automatically center the linework. I have tried various combinations of layer scales, but I am unable to get the survey to fit inside my border at 1:720 scale. The help file doesn't seem to address this particular use of X-ref function. Any pertinent suggestions will be appreciated. Thanks.
  8. VW12.5 on Windows XP (SP2) FYI, FWIW, When I export from VW to DWG, my Arial Black fonts are substituted to some other font (on my computer), except that some random letters within a word remain Arial Black, especially Fs and Xs. In PDF exports the same text has the correct font. VW has had problems selecting the correct font from the Windows font folder for several years. But I have only recently noticed the font problems when exporting to DWG. This is not a serious problem for me personally. But in the eyes of my consultants, it just confirms their prejudice that VW is an inferior product.
  9. FYI, I opened a VW12.5 drawing in 2008 and VW asked for a substitute for a Geneva font. I'm on a PC so I have never used a Geneva font. It seems that 2008 has some kind of bug in the font list. Maybe a Geneva font fixation? :-)
  10. VW12.5.1 on Windows XP Since version 12, I have been having occasional corrupted workspaces. The specific functional problems vary, but here are a few examples: A) Object Info, Tool sets, etc are empty. B) Unable to snap & select classes that are not currently active. C) Quicktime QTR module causes crashes. The only common denominator between the corrupted files is imported DWG files as background content. Today I imported a file that I had previously created in MCD and then exported to DWG, then re-imported after a consultant had added some work. When I import that DWG file into a new blank MCD document, the toolbars and such become empty. Another MCD file open at the same time also has no tools. Because corrupted workspaces have been common in VW12, I now keep a backup so I don't have to recreate it from scratch. Am I the only one with similar problems that seem to be caused by imported DWG files?
  11. Thanks for all the helpful suggestions. I finally managed to copy and paste from the corrupted file to a clean file. I still had to re-scale the objects by a factor of 5.3497 to get it back to a usable scale. Weird stuff!
  12. I tried the WGR method, but the scale is still out of whack. 1/16" per foot looks like about 1/4". But the difference is not any even proportion I can figure.
  13. Pete I'm not familiar with that method. Since I work alone (where nobody can hear me scream) I don't use WorkGroups. Can you give me a hint? I have Design Layers, Sheet Layers, and ViewPorts in this drawing, but they are all in the same fix. I'm wondering if I can blame these gremlins on the AutoCAD content in the file?
  14. You're right of course. I was confusing my default LAYER (SSO)setting with the default CLASS setting(SSMO). I told you I was getting confused. In this file sometimes it works OK, and sometimes not. A few minutes ago, the SSMO class option was working, now it's not. My latest problem in the same file is that the PAGE SETUP is set for a 24 x 36 sheet to fit my 24 x 36 border. But on screen the page size looks like 8 1/2 x 11. Objects are in proportion to the border, but the scale is way off, by a factor of about 5.35. Layer scale numbers (1/16" in this case)are set correctly, but th e Tape Measure tool measures 20 feet as 104 feet. When I try to group and shrink all objects the doors in walls go to the correct scale, but the walls don't. Somebody keeps changing things around, and it's not me. I'm getting paranoid.
  15. I think this file is beyond help. But I will continue posting here just to keep track of my futile attempts to salvage something on the project. After I finally succeed in selecting all objects on a layer, I convert them all to the same class, and group them. Next I copy and paste into the new clean file. However, even though the source and destination layers are set on 3/16" scale (to fit a 24 x 36 sheet) the groups paste in the new file at about 5 1/2 times the correct size. But if I rescale the layer to 1/32" scale to fit the objects on the 24 x 36 sheet, the reduced walls look about 1/3 the original size, but they scale the same as before at 3/16. And to add to the confusion, the doors and windows in those same walls now look about one foot wide relative to the walls, but they scale 3 feet wide. In other words, the symbols are now at the correct scale for the layer, but the walls are not. My sanity is being sorely tested here.
  16. Ha! Katie, you're not the only one that's confused. When I have layers and classes set to SHOW/SNAP OTHERS, I can see and snap to objects On The Current Layer, but I can't select them until I change the class to suit the object I'm trying to select. I'm not trying to select an object on the wrong layer. To be perfectly clear, this problem has nothing to do with other layers---only other classes on the current layer. Anyway, I have given up on the screwed-up drawing file. I am now trying to rebuild the drawing in a clean document, since the template also seems to have the same glitch. However, I can't even use CONTROL A to Select All objects on the current layer for copying and pasting into the new file. Even a CUSTOM SELECTION will only select one Class at a time on the current layer. It will take me 12 forevers to transfer the data at this rate. Somebody just shoot me! PS---I still wish I could understand what caused this recalcitrant behavior. But the project must go on.
  17. PR The odd thing about the Active Only selection problem is that it happens when the current Layer and Class settings say SHOW / SNAP OTHERS. View and viewport settings also say SHOW/SNAP OTHERS. I have found that the template I made this drawing from also has the Active snap issue. I have purged and deleted anything non-essential from the template file, but it still won't select anything that is not in the Active class. It will snap, but won't select. Oh well, I'll just take another chill pill and get back to work . . . tedious, repetitious work. Thanks for the sympathy.
  18. My system specs are in the first post, and other specifics are spread over several posts. We keep going over the same ground looking for that one little obvious gotcha that can sometimes be overlooked even by experienced VW operators. For example, it would be easy to switch to 3D Top View instead of Top/Plan. But that's not the case in my situation. In addition to all of the other strange issues, I have also noticed that sometimes when zoomed-in close the selection handles don't display until I zoom back out. I was assuming this was related to the Active Class Only selection problem, but it may be a separate issue like the constant crashing in another set of drawing files during zooming and panning. [speaking of zooming and panning, can someone explain exactly what Quicktime has to do with those operations?] I appreciate all the suggestions, but I may have to uninstall and reinstall VW, and hope for the best. However, I can't do that in the middle of a hot project. So in the meantime, I'm still checking all options related to snapping and classes.
  19. I just learned from the Podcast that the trick to dragging the door or window is to turn off the WALL INSERTION MODE in the Mode Bar. I had never thought of that as the reason for the object popping out of the wall while dragging. Now I know. Thanks arconcad!
  20. I haven't tried the Gray Others, and such. But I have switched around between ACTIVE ONLY, SHOW/SNAP OTHERS, and SHOW/SNAP MODIFY OTHERS. Sometimes switching to SSMO will allow me to select the object, but the next time it doesn't work. FORCE SELECT will almost always select the object, and change the active class to match. I sent a file to Gunther at NNA. so far he has covered the same ground as this thread. I have been assuming that the problem is in the file, but "where" is the question. However, if Steve K has a similar problem, it may be due to a bug.
  21. I'm still on XP. Unfortunately, my 2 year old CAD-specific video card is no longer being supported with new drivers. The reported cause of the crashes is Quicktime.qtr. The crashing was happening in three separate files on one project. The non-selection happens in a different project and file. However, both files have imported AutoCAD objects, but from different sources.
  22. A VW tech has offered some of the same suggestions, but hasn't looked at the files yet. I have also been having abrupt crashing in another drawing file during panning and zooming. Constant crashing and failure-to-select are not good for my mental health. I'm running out of options; so over the weekend I may have to reinstall VW to see if that helps.
  23. I have edited Class options in every possible view and viewport. I thought it was odd that ACTIVE CLASS ONLY would sometimes mysteriously appear in the Class Option dialog, even though I have never intentionally used that option. But changing it back to SHOW/SNAP OTHERS still doesn't fix the non-selection problem. The keyboard command for ACTIVE CLASS ONLY is: Command+Shift+Option+3. So I don't think I am accidentally hitting a hot key.
  24. Another clue to the Selection puzzle is that when I try to NUDGE an object using SHIFT/ARROW the object only moves once, and then is deselected. To move the object in 10 snap-radius jumps I have to reselect it 10 times. This is not normal.
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