JHEarcht

VW 11.5 (service pack) on Windows XP VW has been acting squirrely ever since I upgraded to 11.5. Today I created a new layer and a new View with three layers. On the Floor Plan layer, which has been much slower than other layers to redraw the screen, part of a wall was missing. So I began to toggle thru the classes using Control-Arrow. After a few classes it refused to toggle any more. Then a couple of screen blinks, and finally in the drawing filename bar at the top of the screen: "Not Responding" I have never seen that error within VW before. I closed the drawing and reopened. After the same steps, the same result. The drawing was originally created in VW 11.0 and acted normally. After 11.5 acted up, I trashed the preferences and tried all of the other tricks suggested on this board. So until NNA issues another fix for VW 11.5, I'm going to go back to version 11, which was pretty quick and stable.

< When you select multi ojects it tells you how many objects selected and has buttons and arrows to navigate these in the righthand top corner. Well in VW10.5 windows anyway.>> Alan That's good to know. I have been struggling with overlapping objects for a long time, and I never noticed those litle buttons in the top right corner of the OIP dialog. Now I can select an object on any sub-level for editing. Thanks a lot. JHE

Nicholas I don't see the "cycle" option in OIP you mentioned. I made three overlapping rectangles; selected all three; nothing in OIP about toggling front to back. In my experience the "Send Forward" (control/alt/F) and "Send Backward" (control/alt/B) one step at a time are no help. Either the commands don't work, or I have too many levels to make it feasible. The "Stacking Order" tool suggested above would a big help for me.

EJ Thanks for the response, but 1) There is no white fill behind the text, but that's what it looks like. Most dims have a complete line, but some have only a short line at each slash marker. 2) The "Offset" I was referring to is the distance left or right of the witness lines that the text jumps to when the space between the witness lines is too small. The left offset is closer, but the right offset is off in "left field". 3) I can't see the last part of your sentence after "betweens". The tolerance is between what and what?? I'm guessing it's something like (+/- 1/4"), in which case it doesn't matter to me. JHE

1.) In VW 11.5 on Windows XP, a string of dimensions occasionally omits the dimension line (between markers). It looks odd so I have to go back and draw in a line. 2.) When dimension text doesn't fit inside the witness lines, it automatically jumps outside. The problem is that the relocated text is too far away from the witness lines. In the dimension Edit dialog, I haven't found any way to change the minimum offset. The only option I see is to check "Dimensions always inside". But then the text is crowded. 3.) In the dimension Dialog I have no idea what the "tolerance size" means. Apaprently it refers to text, but for what purpose? Tolerance btween what and what? I never noticed these problems before 11.0, so I assume they are "improvements". Any workarounds to de-improve them will be appreciated.

**Note: These instructions are for Windows. Someone should also post instructions for OS9 and OSX.** For savvy VectorWorkers one of the first troubleshooting steps, when VW is acting squirrelly, is to "trash the prefs". I always keep a backup copy just in case, so it's a quick fix. Here's the instructions from our local user group newsletter for saving the Preferences file in Windows XP. When VectorWorks mysteriously misbehaves, often the problem involves corrupted VW preference files in the OS basic settings. VW10 has added a new button to the VectorWorks Preferences dialog to ?Reset Your Preferences? to default values. Unfortunately, this will delete all of your personal settings, including Workspace layout. Windows XP also has a RESTORE function to go back to a previous copy of all Registry settings, but that could affect other programs. A better way to ?trash your preferences? is to replace the corrupted preferences file with a backup copy. Until NNA gives us a ?backup prefs? option. Here?s a manual procedure for Windows users: First, under the Vectorworks 10 folder, create a new empty folder named ?DBL CLICK TO TRASH PREFS?. Next, Start / Run: regedit.exe In the Registry Editor, go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER Click + to expand and go to SOFTWARE Click + to expand and go to NEMETSCHEK Click + to expand and go to VECTORWORKS 10 Click + to expand and go to PREFERENCES Right click on PREFERENCES icon to open a context dialog box Go to EXPORT and click to open the EXPORT REGISTRY FILE dialog Browse to the ?DBL CLICK TO TRASH PREFS? folder Type a name for your backup copy: ?VWprefs.reg Now when you double-click on the binary .reg file, Windows will import the backup copy back into the Registry, And overwrite the corrupted prefs file.

<< 2) Does anyone know where this "preference file" if it exists is on a PC? >> For savvy VectorWorkers one of the first troubleshooting steps, when VW is acting squirrelly, is to "trash the prefs". I always keep a backup copy just in case, so it's a quick fix. Here's the instructions from our local user group newsletter for saving the Preferences file in Windows XP. When VectorWorks mysteriously misbehaves, often the problem involves corrupted VW preference files in the OS basic settings. VW10 has added a new button to the VectorWorks Preferences dialog to ?Reset Your Preferences? to default values. Unfortunately, this will delete all of your personal settings, including Workspace layout. Windows XP also has a RESTORE function to go back to a previous copy of all Registry settings, but that could affect other programs. A better way to ?trash your preferences? is to replace the corrupted preferences file with a backup copy. Until NNA gives us a ?backup prefs? option. Here?s a manual procedure for Windows users: First, under the Vectorworks 10 folder, create a new empty folder named ?DBL CLICK TO TRASH PREFS?. Next, Run: regedit.exe In the Registry Editor, go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER Click + to expand and go to SOFTWARE Click + to expand and go to NEMETSCHEK Click + to expand and go to VECTORWORKS 11 Click + to expand and go to PREFERENCES Right click on PREFERENCES icon to open a context dialog box Go to EXPORT and click to open the EXPORT REGISTRY FILE dialog Browse to the ?DBL CLICK TO TRASH PREFS? folder Type a name for your backup copy: ?VWprefs.reg Now when you double-click on the binary .reg file, Windows will import the backup copy back into the Registry, And overwrite the corrupted prefs file. JHE

On the data bar below the menu bar you'll see boxes for X, Y, and L. The L dimension is the current length (radius) of the arc.

Apparently this is a glitch in the export engine. When opened in AutoCAD, invisible crop *rectangles* in VW display as hard lines, making the drawing cluttered with extraneous lines. I haven't tried it yet, but John Williams implies that invisible crop *polygons* display properly in AutoCAD. I guess we will have to wait for the next full upgrade for a fix. Meanwhile, just don't use rectangles as crops. JHE

I can pre-set the active classes for each ViewPort I create, but I can't pre-set which Sheet layer classes are automatically turned on when the Sheet is active. This means that every time I go to print the Sheet I have to make sure that the proper classes are on. This really slows down the printing process, not to mention batch printing. Am I missing something? I wish the "Sheet" layer would automatically turn on the pre-selected classes just like the "View" layers do. Why not?

David I have never created a ViewPort while in a Sheet layer. All VP settings are made in the Create VP dialog while in a Design layer. I would naturally assume that the Classes I set in the dialog would be turned on when I go to the Sheet layer. But that's not the case. I have to manually turn on the classes that are specific to the Sheet. The Sheet classes may not match the Design classes. So I'd like to set them once, and never have to do it again. Looks like I am in the minority here. JHE

Delmer The Sheet classes I'm talking about are the ones that are set during the creation of a Viewport. Back in the Design layer I can turn them on & off without changing the ready-to-print setup. All I'm asking for is that VW will make sure that the classes I have already pre-selected will be turned on for viewing the sheet or for spooling to the printer. This is so obvious to me I can't imagine why it doesn't already work that way. Am I missing something? As you say, two different versions of the same drawing can be printed by creating two seperate Sheets. I can't think of any reason why a Sheet doesn't automatically display and print as I set it up in the beginning. JHE

grant PD I do use Views for most drawings. But if I need to crop parts of a drawing, ViewPorts are the only way to go. In fact, I think of Sheets (with ViewPorts) as just an upgrade of Views (old sheets) with the ability to add crops from other layers. Other than cropped viewports, I don't see any major advantage of Sheets over Views. Except, of course each Sheet can have a different printer setup, which is seldom the case for me. Thanks Delmer Why shouldn't Sheets and Viewports automatically turn on all pre-set classes just like Views? As I understand it, Sheets are supposed to be like AutoCAD paper space, ready to print versions of the model. Currently, I have to remember to turn on classes that are specific to each viewport before I print. Unfortunately, my memory is not that good. So a VectorScript to turn on all VP classes would save me a lot of trouble and embarassment. Thanks JHE

I was hoping that VW11.5 would fix an oversight in VW11. VW should automatically turn-on all previously selected Classes when a Sheet is visible. This would function just like Views. In VW 11.1 I had to stop using Viewports and Sheets because invisible classes to often caused me embarassment. Manually turning them on is tedious and easy to forget in the heat of a printing deadline. Has anyone developed a VectorScript to turn-on all pre-selected layers and classes when a Sheet is open?

In Windows I place an icon of the current drawing file on the desktop. When I click on the icon, VW opens with that file displayed. If Mac OS works the same way it will save you some time reopening the same drawing. JHE

< Bonus Seems to me that the VW import engine should take care of this automatically. It does when a DWG paper space file is imported into a viewport sheet layer. But the model space is imported into a design layer, so the origin and rotation are often unrelated to the VW printable area. This means that any annotations and changes must be done in the viewport, or the design layer must be relocated and reoriented, which then throws off the viewport. An import option to adapt the DWG origin and rotation to fit the VW print area would save some time and frustration.

jan15 Most of the people I work with are only vaguely aware that lineweights are available in ACAD and only a few are using 2005. Also the cheap DWG viewers I use don't display lineweights. So I haven't been able to confirm that they are exported until your post explained the procedure. I have saved a copy of it to send to my clients and consultants if they don't know how to do it. Thank you from the bottom of my little pea-pickin heart.! JHE

Delmer I *never* check the "line weights to colors" box unless the recipient specifically requests it. Still the lines export as one size only. Have you ever checked to see if your line weights are exporting?

I should add that I am currently using VW 11.1 and line weights still don't export..

I haven't seen a post on this particular topic lately, so I'll put it out there again. Since VW10, on windows XP, my line weights, varying from 1mil to 40mil, translate into ACAD 2000 to 2005 as a single weight of about 5mil. Is this a bug in the export engine, or am I doing something wrong? Should I submit a bug report?

Me too! JHE

Tom Please pardon me for pointing out the obvious. NNA has not left you out in the cold. Loyal users are free to buy as many of the Industry add-ons as they feel they need. Remember, NNA is a professional software business, not a moonlighting freeware vendor. If you can't justify the cost of a pro package, you find something cheaper, or do without. For me, the cost of doing business keeps going up, so it's up to me to find ways to keep up; including raising my fees. The cycle never ends . . . So VW is part of my strategy for saving time and money--in the long run. Cheer up; capitalism can be harsh for us bottom-feeders, but there are a few good-guy capitalists like NNA, who give us a break now and then. JHE

Andrew Sounds like your polygon is not closed. Change tthe fill to a solid color and see if the poly is completely filled. The easiest fix may be to recreate the poly and make sure the first and last points snap together. It may help to turn off the grid snap. If the poly is closed, then the layer scale may be too large for the size of the poly, showing only small pieces of the hatch. If so, you may need to use the hatch editor to change the hatch scale. JHE

Andy I have a copy of AutoDesk AutoSketch CAD application. It will open .cad files from Drafix or QuickCAD and save as any AutoCAD filetype: .dwg, .dxf. dwf. It can also save as bitmaps such as .tif, .gif, .bmp, .jpg,.wmf, etc. If you'll send it to me I'll try to convert it for you. From .dwg you can then import it into VW. jhe.architect@earthlink.net

alanmac I recently bought a Microsoft Standard Wireless Optical Mouse, and so far no problems. It's my understanding from ergonomic studies that the primary cause of carpal tunnel syndrome is related to the angle of the hand and forearm, not just to the repetitive motion. If your hand is angled up, the carpal ligaments rub against the top of the tunnel. So I always try to angle my hand down relative to the forearm. In my case, I do this by holding the mouse near the edge of the desk, heel of hand on the edge, elbow below the desk top, and shoulder in a relaxed position. This may not work for everyone, but the general principle still applies: angle the hand down. A pad to raise the forearm should also help, but elbow by the side is a more natural position. jhe