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Peter W Flint

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Everything posted by Peter W Flint

  1. I have shared models in the last few months with some of my tech-savvier/enthusiastic clients and not heard any complaints. There are some UI improvements that address the learning-curve, notably the `?` Help icon with some simple graphic instructions. Classes can also be toggled on and off, those are the improvements addressed over the course of this thread. However, there seem to be some issues in the course of introducing those features that have now made the app less set-up friendly on the deisgner end. For instance, I'm not getting consistent results with availability of higher level PIOs in .vgx files generated after the latest series of updates. Ie doors, windows, landscape areas, fences, or texture beds will not display or be available in class selection. That is a significant step back. Layer organization also seems somewhat arbitrary, meaning layers will not be arranged according to the order in which they are specified in the original file, but they are also not arranged alphabetically so I've not tracked the logic on that. In defense of the developers, I am still drawing in v2022 and the issues above may be related to that. Overall I would say it is still a useful tool provided its limitations are understood, maybe at the conceptual phase when still playing with massing and spatial arrangements. But it now requires more time and energy to set up at more advanced stages of design and I suspect is ultimately more confusing for an end user or client. As an example, I am preparing for a review next week and do not anticipate introducing it as a presentation tool. PWF
  2. Fair point. I think this was partly "complain as problem-solving" and screaming into the void. There is an issue with the way the data is formatted in the catalogs and the way it is read into a new catalog from the edit plant style dialog in the RM, but it works when creating a new plant from the Landmark menu. I am struggling to find a way to reproduce in a time efficient way. Will probably set aside and return to it once I am clear on the necessary steps.
  3. EDIT for clarity: I use the field/record terminology for tabular data as commonly used in GIS applications. When I use the term "record" I am referring to what would be called a "row" on a spreadsheet or an "observation" in other data related disciplines. I am not referring to VW resource records. When prompted to add a new or edited plant style to the catalog, VW will interpret some of the data as new records (or rows) from the values in each field. The pattern I have been able to determine is some hidden delimiter in the data that ships from one of the Vectorworks catalogs. When I create plant data from scratch I am able to import and export between catalogs without issue. As an example, here are some screenshots from one plant edited in the VW2008 catalog. I have edited the flower characteristics, tolerances, and comments fields. It seems when there are multiple values delimited by a space in the same field, VW will interpret as a new record. If I include a pipe (|) VW for read as multiple values. This is not user-friendly. Please do not reply with advice for using plant styles in their own drawings or to avoid use of the plant catalog. I am already familiar with these approaches.
  4. Prompted by discussion in this FR, I am able to assign tags to objects in the resource manager but unable to filter by them. I suggest a "filter by tag" drop-down somewhere in the vicinty of the "filter by resource" drop down on the RM ribbon. This adds another layer of visibility once drawings become resource saturated. PWF
  5. In my very limited understanding, the reason the folders are "typed" by "things" is because each "thing" involves a different data type. So line types involve one type of data, textures another, and records another. Higher level objects call these different data types into their geometry/settings as specified, which is part of what allows for their customizability. Hence all the "zNested" folders. I agree with the spirit of posts that VW has not quite dialed this in for industry use cases. The design of the RM is really more of a file browser, so "general folders" would actually be drawings stored somewhere in user defaults. I find that even with understanding this philosophically, my resource management is a hot mess. One solution to the "mix and match" request is tags. I am able to add tags to individual resources, however I don't seem to be able to filter by tags. I am unsure what the logic is here in terms of interface design. PWF
  6. Problem: Wall components will not complete in a random corner. Solution: 1. Attempt to join walls. 2. Once properly befuddled, ask for help on VW forum. 3. Read the solution. 4. Retry after reading. 5. Success! Weird.
  7. Any thoughts on why the geometry for one component of a foundation wall would fail to complete (or fail to render) for this corner? Its the only corner out of 10ish. See screenshot and file. Thanks, PWF 2024-01-25_wall-comp_forumReprex.vwx
  8. Using a material for the original extrude resolves the issue. Still curious as to whether the behavior posed above is expected.
  9. In the drawing attached I have three identical symbols at varying scales. A texture has been applied in 3d editing space via the texture mapping tool. The object with no scaling renders correctly, the others with upper or lower scaling simply revert back to having a fill. Is this normal? VW 2022 SP6 PWF 2023-09-27_forumReprex_scaledPaver.vwx
  10. Similar with @Tom W. I use it via resource selection in the RM, but less so within the tool palette itself. If it's cluttering space, I recommend removing it from the basic tool palette via a custom work space.
  11. The shapefile's hegemony over spatial file formats is quickly becoming outdated in terms of variability and portability, its many limitations are outlined here. Currently the only real useful option when exporting is the the ability to modify attribute records that can then be used as modifiers inside VW. Also, weird things happen in .shp exports (like data coming in as integer!!) The only other export alternatives from spatial applications is the .dxf file, which limits efficiency in modifying by record. I personally like the geopackage format developed by OGC. It permits multiple layers to be stored in one file along with style information. Its an open standard. As of yet unlimited file size, other benefits are listed in the link above. But I am open to other spatial formats if members of the VW community have strong opinions. PWF
  12. What size sheets are you using? I’ve noticed a lot of residential designers limiting themselves to 11x17 and this definitely limits available space. I’ve found with residential clients that ARCH C is small enough to casually roll out on the breakfast table but large enough to get a good scale along with notes and schedules.
  13. @bob cleaver looks like Laura & Jeff covered it for me. Basic premise is pairing the tag ID with an image so any reasonable person can go, “Ah, this picture means this plant, and this tag means this plant, and they are the same so I will put this plant here.” Added redundancy also helps reduce drawing errors from being implemented in the field.
  14. I’m not at my workstation so can’t verify, but my recollection is that fence tool will send to surface but will not read terrain, it will pick a z-value (lowest?, highest?, avg?) and set the entire fence at that elevation. One work-around I’ve seen is to create one panel, create duplicates with move-by-points, and send each individual panel to the surface. This gets things done okay graphically but doesn’t give you good BIM data. PWF
  15. @laurakukulski I have a love/hate rel’ship with eligible object mode. Great for speed but not for accuracy. I’ve found that it takes less time to select eligible objects up front, then delete and re-tag where the leader placement is ambiguous. I also find it helpful to pair tags with a simple plant schedule with symbols, as a legend of sorts.
  16. @Boh just tested and you are correct, drawing templates will retain settings for the general notes tool.
  17. Can you delete the row when you r-click and edit the table?
  18. It still feels like what you are trying to achieve is feasible with the tools available, whether its separating out your information over a series of sheets and VPs, or leveraging some of the more advanced functionality Jeff is referring to. Obviously without an example it is difficult to help. There are lots of ways to reproduce an example without disclosing confidential information: screenshots of drawing areas with layer/class visibility adjusted to hide confidential data, c/p layers without geometry into a new drawing, drawing a simple box with the problem in a new file and applying all the elements necessary in a way unrelated to the project. I'm unsure how to classify your current approach to asking for help but it doesn't seem to be working.
  19. Some of the classes that come in with PIOs, like Ceiling-Main, are just the way they've been drawn according to VW convention, I'm unsure as to whether they need to be specifically named that way in order to interoperate functionally with other objects. For instance, you can rename the Site Modifiers class and it will still communicate geometry to the site model. Attempting to delete a class is a surefire way to figure out whether it is a default class or not. The logic of the None class baffles me. In simplified code terms, I'm not sure if an object is coded <newObject class="none"> under the hood or just <newObject> and we see the None class so we can toggle objects without classes on and off. But the hidden classes can be a real pain, and I'm not sure VW has fully rounded out customizability for every single one. I like to attach numbered prefixes to classes so I can easily filter and reduce clutter through the drafting process, but still randomly get VW-specific hidden classes popping up, even when using custom resources in my user folder (Plant-Component-Polygon is currently the one driving me bananas). My only solution so far has been to be more disciplined in reaching for user defaults first, or just suffering through the extra classes until its time to clean up the drawing and moving or renaming them like I want. It would be nice to have one of those coffee breaks cover how to resolve this.
  20. 11. Ability to save and load formatting settings I haven't chased this fully down so I may be mistaken, but I believe the Notes tool is set to a set of defaults for title and body text, and you have to update any formatting through the OIP, or prior to creating notes in the tool settings. A "Save settings..." button and "Load settings..." drop down, similar to graphic settings in the site model or impot menus, would be useful as well.
  21. I also renamed the None class once, hilarity (not hilarity) ensued.
  22. Only folks I know of who might be attempting something like this would be the Suffolk crowd or someone executing an Oudolf project and these usually rely heavily on seed for the underlying structure layer. Specific interest plants are represented with a simple symbol notated on a legend, not with with callouts or data tags. Again, even in these projects the final layout occurs on site.
  23. There are several of these peppered throughout VW (“none” and “dimension” most commonly encountered). I usually rename the class then populate according to whatever I’m trying to do. BUT if you rename a default class then pull in other resources that ship from VW libraries, those will automatically repopulate the default classes you renamed. EG if you rename the “None” class to “Something” and pull in a new resource, the default “None” class will repopulate (I don’t recommend renaming the None class). You might be able to work around this with specific cabinet class by opening the resource drawing itself, renaming the class and saving as a new resource drawing in your user folder.
  24. Without seeing a drawing, this sounds like an inefficient use of the tools available, and I’m not sure anyone professionally is even laying out large matrix plantings according to a precisely written plan. I would break up a volume of plant mixes this size into landscape areas so you can get your orders right and your placements close, then tweak the final layout on day of installation. FWIW, it’s not been that long since I was in a university getting my MLA degree and I’ve never heard of the formatting convention cited here.
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