P Bartoli

how to scale all the elements of a drawing except the scale of the patterns? It happens that scaling with the "scale all elements" checked, I get a drawing with patterns so small that it becomes very very slow in screen refresh! thanks

Is it possible to automatically center all the drawing contents on to the printer page? I happens often to me that changing scale of the drawing the printer page (the Move Page Tool) shifts out of sight. When you change from 1:1 ro 1:100 scale it becomes very hard to do the job!

I'm working with VW 11 on Mac OSX. A friend working with autocad has asked me to supply a CTB file along with the DWG files I usually send him. As I understand CTB files are setups for linestyles and lineweights. Isn't enough for an autocad user to receive ACAD2004-DWGs? As I understand, ACAD2004 DWG should keep lineweights and styles: no need to play around with line colors and line weight tables. Anyone can help me out of this? Thanks

In the office where I work, we've bought a new Epson 4000 six months ago and had already some major problems. Epson assistance has changed the whole printer engine and now they're going to change the roll feeder as well. I'm wondering if this machine is fragile and has some defect from conception. Anyone has these problems with the Epson 4000? thanks

I dont' know if it's possible, but I'd like to use the same hatch pattern rotated as the object it is being applied. I try to explain: I'm drawing a plan, with some rectangular grids (rectangles with a grid pattern). These are of different shape, dimensions and rotation. Usually when you apply the same hatch to different objects, not matter what, the hatch doesn't change rotation: that's what is supposed to do! Can I have two objects using the hatch pattern, to have with different rotations? Else is it possible to "break down" the hatch and transform it into lines, so it's possibile to rotate it with the object containig the pattern? Thanks

quote: Originally posted by oldguy: Possible work around, at least on Windows platform (unless you can find a Mac DWF viewer) is: Download/install Autodesk free DWF viewer. Install/Configure an Encapsulated Postscript capable print/Adobe Distiller and print to file, creating an ".eps" file. I do believe VW will import an eps file, but have no idea as to quality of the import Thanks old guy. As mentioned I tried the shareware AnyDWFtoDWG but seems to freeze VirtualPC, as it reboots Windows before completing the translation of the DWF file. Anyone can you suggest me a windows freeware/shareware untility to print to PDF/PS/EPS? Thanks again!

found out that there's no app that supports / converts DWF on Mac OSX. Searching on the internet I found a Windows shareware that opens and hopefull saves DWF to DWG: Any DWF to DWG Converter. I trying it now, I hope it works...

How can I import DWF files into VW? are tey plain DWG or have some relationship to DXF / DWG?

quote: Originally posted by wv_vectorworker: Paolo, If you don't teach technical drawing, why are you testing your students drawing skills? What sort of drawing mistakes do your tests expose? Well, unfortunately not all students have the needed drawing skills, even if they have attended the previous year a Technical Drawing class... We ask them to draw a very simple object like a pen or a small box, with sections. Most of them do it right, but some need to refresh their Drawing class!

quote: Originally posted by tvetter: wv- I disagree with those who say design can only begin on paper, or the computer may hide drawing errors -sorry Paolo, the computer actually emphasises drawing error because of its precision. Well, that's exactly what I mean. If you can't draw on paper neither can you with CAD. As you say, CAD will even worsen you drawing deficiencies!

quote: Originally posted by MullinRJ: Tom Urie's code for the Rotating Cam should provide a good example of what's needed. Find it in the VW application folder under "\Extras\Goodies\Rotating Cam.sta" Raymond, I tried to open the "rotating cam.sta" file with a text editor. It comes with some garbage inside. Can I just modify the readable text and save it with a new name? Does it work or should I follow a different path?

Thanks raymond, I'm NOT looking for a 3d animation, but basically the possibility to move "leg vector lines" in 2d. The parts of the leg should be joined as to have a "chain" movement

I feel I can answer this one. I'm an industrial designer and teach design in university in Italy. We use to ask the students to make a "test" technical drawing, something very simple, just to evaluate their drawing skills (I don't teach technical drawing or drafting, just industrial design). I can understand teachers asking for a hand made drawing vs. CAD drawings. I do the same to understand if the students knows the geometry/theory of the technical drawing. The common use of 2d/3d cad systems sometimes is a workaround to cope with drawing deficiencies. The computer might help the students to "hide" some of their drawing errors. This is my view.

I'm currently drawing a bicycle in VW, and would like to "animate" the movement of legs and crank somehow like what's being done with the "cam.sta" file supplied with VW. I've never worked with Vectorscript, so I don't know how it works. Can Vectorscript be used to make some kind of controllable/customizable step-by-step 2d vector animation? BTW, I'm not looking for 3d animation, and I'd like to make it within VW... if possible! Thanks

EJ Armstrong, thanks a lot... but how does it work?? I'm not pratical with VectorScript, but I tried my best to understand how to use and customize the "cranck" script that I renamed "cranck.vss" and tried to run it into VW, apparently without success. I must admit I know almost nothing about Vectorscript, and will try to learn it. Thanks anyway EJ, just shed some light on the matter...

Maybe I posed the problem in the wrong way. I didn't make myself clear, sorry for that. I'm not looking for animations in 3d. I would like to do something in 2d, obtaining a result like the "cam.sta" drawing supplied with VW, and would like to make it within VW. As I understand the "cam.sta" file isn't easily customizable. Another way to achieve my goal would be to draw in 2d using parametric constraints to lock into position the knee joint for example and let the orther parts of the leg move. Is this kind of "constraints locked" movement possible? I'm quite new at VW so don't know in deep the power of 2d constraints.

quote: Originally posted by Kaare Baekgaard: 'Can an animation like this be modified to suit my "leg movements" needs?' If you are a programming wiz - then maybe. If not, there is a score of programs out there, that can do it easily. I use an ancient version af Stratas Studiopro, when the need arises. Strata as far as I know is a rendering/animation package. It's not what I'm looking for. What I need right now is a 2d CAD animation, like the one seen in the "cam.sta" file supplied with the VW package.

I'm drawing a bicycle and would like to draw/animate the movement of the legs. How can it be done? I tried to use the parameetric constraints, without success. Can it be done with these constraints? I had a look at the "cam.sta" file and looks interesting. Can an animation like this be modified to suit my "leg movements" needs?

I just learn by experience that if you'd like to have a faster screen redraw with VW 11/Mac OSX 10.4.4 you'd better NOT SWITCH ON (in VW preferences): - Hardware accellerated 2d navigation - use VectorCaching for faster drawing Seems to me incredible, but you can work faster if you don not switch these two options on!!

quote: Originally posted by jan15: The competitor in this case doesn't provide any compatibility at all, and in fact seems to work actively against it. BTW the competitor is Autocad 2000, the one who sets the standard! In my vision, VW, like most other CAD app should provide compatibility to the standard. Someone seems to do it better: point.

quote: Originally posted by jan15: Paolo, I think your criticism is unfair, especially in the comparison to competitors. The problem you're having is not in the way VectorWorks does its own work, but only in the way it offers compatibility with certain versions of a competing product. The competitor in this case doesn't provide any compatibility at all, and in fact seems to work actively against it. I don't think it's unfair. Every app has its high and low. As a matter of fact I tried to open the ACAD 2000 dwg (with spline) with VW and another CAD app which I won't cite. The other CAD opened the file without problems... without those airy lines.

quote: Originally posted by jodawi: quote:Originally posted by P Bartoli: Makes me think NNA is not a serious company. The competitors are used to release "patch upgrades" for free. Four free patch upgrades were released for 11 - 11.0.1, 11.5.0, 11.5.0 Service Pack for Windows, 11.5.1. jodawi, that's all true. Unfortunately seems like my problem is solved with an upgrade to release 12, which is not free...

quote: Originally posted by mike m oz: Paolo - you could overcome your loci problem by using VectorBit's Optimise Drawing plug-in to delete all of the loci from your imported drawings. (30 Euros - well worth it!) http://www.vectorbits.com/ Mike, thanks for the interesting link. Still I don't understand the conncetion between my dwg import problems and "loci problems". I see no connection. I realized than the problem seems to be due to ACAD 2000 vs. ACAD 12. I mean that the same file saved as ACAD 2000 comes with splines instead of polylines (that comes in the ACAD 12 dwg). For what I understand, splines causes the "airy lines" during the import process into VW 11. As a matter of fact, JimL (oldguy) succeded in translating my dwg with splines into a dwg with polylines. The last one imported fine. Thanks again to JimL for the help!

well, I think I sorted out the problem, even though I didn't understand completely the mechanics of what happened. Seems like I imported a 2d dwg that came from a 3d drawing and selecting the lines in the imported drawing the inspector window reported it was a "3d line". I then converted all the elements to lines, ungrouped and converted again to lines. now everything's fine and editable...

Editing an imported dwg, it happens something strange I can't understand. Let's say imported lines come in red and solid style. I'd like to change the style to blue color and dotted line. I can change the color but not the line style. I go and change the line style in the pop-up list, but as I check it's still solid line!! what can it be that prevents me to change line style?