P Bartoli

Under MacOSX, can anyone tell me exactly the difference between printing to PDF in these different ways: - save as PDF - save as PDF-X - save as PDF as Postscript

quote: Originally posted by jodawi: This problem is reported as being fixed in VectorWorks 12. This means that I have to pay (to upgrade to vw12) to import correctly a dxf file that is supposed to be part of the standard package?? What would you do if your car wouldn't accept Exxon gasoline? You'd take back the car to the manufacturer for a free repair! This DXF import problems drive me crazy: it should work. As a matter of fact I'm working with a broken application, and I have to pay myself for problems not resolved by Nemetshek??!! Makes me think NNA is not a serious company. The competitors are used to release "patch upgrades" for free.

I've been working with Microstation for about 10 years (since release 4) on Macintosh. Too bad it's out of development for this platform since 1997 (latest release for Mac OS is 5), anyhow it keeps rocking even under OSX. I find it a very robust CAD, flexible and powerful. As already said its referencing capabilities are excellent. Some years ago I was able to reference some 20 drawings (each was around 5MB) from city maps: this might sound normal right now but it wasn't some years ago running with a mere 128mb ram... Microstation was way way ahead of the competitions in 1995, still working after 10 years without crashing a single day... On the contrary it's a very complex application, I keep on forgetting where to find some commands. I read in the last release they added some 900 commands. Its complexity is also it power: you can customize almost anything from the interface to custom commands. For those looking for 3d, Microstation Modeler is a enhanched version with parametric geometries (btw, who had parametric 3d in 1995?). Pro: - very powerful referencing (when will we have this in VW??) - very fast, still faster than VW under osx... - very good implementation of curves (Bezier b-splines etc), much more controllable than in VW - imports/exports 3D IGES and SAT - plots to hpgl, this mean you get small plotfiles, drawings plots way faster than VW's. - standard package includes rendering with raytrace, animation Cons: - scales. In Microstation you can't setup different scales for each layer, as you'd do in VW. You have to use refencing within the drawing. If you move you drawing to another folder the drawing might lose its reference (you can attach it again) - acad compatibility. It's not anymore uptodate with Acad: its dxf get till release 13, so if you need to speak with the acad world you're out of business. This was one of the main reason I switched to Vectorworks - image import and font management: not as flexyble as VW dealing with - expensive compared to VW

Convert to group is the right answer?

Sometimes it happens that dimensions readout is too accurate and you'd like the dimension to be indicated as something else. I try to explain: I'd like to break the dimension to change the value to what I'd like it to be. What tool should I use? thanks!

Can it be that importing a dxf file I get the line thickness in my drawing all messed up? it looks like my line style were different before importing a portion of a dxf drawing...

quote: Originally posted by islandmon: I posted a bunch of those hatches @Vectordepot ... but I often use Image Fills within wall cavities instead. For example for PolySteel Wall System Blocks which have a distinct circular and rectanglular center fill pattern. Image fill is quite interesting, but doens't work if you need to export to DXF/DWG/autocad...

quote: Originally posted by jan15: For a complicated multi-Level Hatch, I usually draw (in VectorWorks) a small sample of the pattern I want, making each Level a different color for easy identification. ... Then I print that out, and write the angle and distance of each vector next to it. Does this mean you can't "import" a drawing into an hatch automatically, but the only way is to manually reconstruct it in the Hatch editing windows from your printed sample?? This sound pretty crazy if you're going to design complex hatches! Some hatches found on VectorDepot seems like imported from Autocad, they do have for instance, circles. How do I draw circles in a VectorWorks hatch manually... recontructiong a circle as a 32-sided line collection??!! can't it be a simpler way?

quote: Originally posted by jan15: A Hatch consists of one or more "Levels". Each Level consists of an array of identical and equally spaced parallel lines. Thanks a lot jan. What you say is that everything in a hatch is composed of just lines? This means that a circles hatch is in reality composed of circles broken down to lines?

I'm quite new to vectorworks. I'm trying to understand how to build complex hatches like hexagon hatches, hatches with circles etc, not just lines criss crossing. I've found on Vectordepot.com some hatches, but as I open the files, I can't find already made hatches resouces in these Vectorworks files, the hatches are just "drawn" in the file, but not available in the Resource Browser. How can I import these "drawn hatches" into a Resouce Browser's Hatch??

I'm being asked to indicate a plotter to buy, to used with Vectorworks, on a Mac ethernet network mixed Os 9 and X. I was thinking about the hp500. Does the PostScript versioni is worth the price?

I was wondering if it's possible to print from VW under Mac OS X to a HPGL plotfile. Anyone has a cue if there's a driver to perferm such an action?

quote: Originally posted by mike m oz: Paolo - is the original file from AutoCad or is it a DWG export from another program? (Maybe Microstation?) Actually I don't know the origin. The file was supplied by the city administration offices. I guess they use Autocad. Beside this they supplied also some PDFs, that aren't easy to manage. I'd have opened them in Illustrator (to convert them in dwg/vectorworks) but they're locked PDFs...

If the drawings where done on a Mac, I do remeber there was around an application called CadMover, I don't know if it's still around, but ?t might help...

I'm expericencing problems importing a large city map into Vectorworks 11. In the linked images you'll see that the import result is un-usable since it's covered by orthogonal lines allaround. Is there some option I missed during import? That's what comes out of VectorWorks: Funny, really funny :mad:mad If you'd like to play around with the DWG file: original DWG file

quote: Originally posted by jodawi: This problem is reported as being fixed in VectorWorks 12. Will it be a free update, as it's a bug in VW ?

Digging around I found that there's a software that supports the HP DesignJet 600, and it even works with a USB-to-parallel port adapter. The software is ESP Print Pro, as I understand it works with Linux as well. Unfortunately it's not open source $$...

quote: Originally posted by Kevin: If it were me, I would put my money into a different printer, either new or used. If the 600 needs parts, you might be hard pressed to find them. Well, as a saying goes here, let it live till' it dies...

quote: Originally posted by Katie: The 600 is listed on the Gimp Print website, however it's under the section labeled: I had a look at the gimp print printer list: http://gimp-print.sourceforge.net/p_Supported_Printers.php3. However I can't find the DesignJet 600, just the DeskJet 600: little difference in name, big in reality. DesignJet is a A0 plotter, DeskJet is a desktop printer... Tell me if I'm wrong but I don't see the DesignJet 600 in Gimp Print's list: I'd be happy to be wrong!

quote: Originally posted by jan15: The "Snap to Loci" option is not in the Import Options, but rather in File > Preferences > VectorWorks Preferences. And it has nothing to do with snapping. It should be called "Draw Big Hairy Lines All Across and Up and Down the Screen at Loci". But that would take up too much room, and might make people wonder why there would be such a preference. sorry to report that I got a new file from the same source and had the very same problem, Even unchecking "snap to loci" doesn't work! I think NNA should work on this kind of problems.

QUOTE]Well, Gimp Print doesn't work with HP600, as far as I know. Does it work now? [/QB] To be specific, ours is a DesignJet 600 HP. Gimp print lists the DeskJet 600 (I suppose it's a printer, not a plotter...)

quote: Originally posted by islandmon: Should be possible to use Applescript from OSX to automate some of the process. You will need to write a Print Script in Vectorworks with the parameters. Then Applescript calls the script. Then the only thing I need to understand is HOW to actually write a Print Script... thanks anyway

quote: Originally posted by islandmon: Who needs MacPlot .. use the GIMP Drivers for both OS9&10 ( OSX uses them by default)... they're great and free OpenSource. GoTo www.versiontracker.com www.sourceforge.net Should be possible to use Applescript from OSX to automate some of the process. You will need to write a Print Script in Vectorworks with the parameters. Then Applescript calls the script. Well, Gimp Print doesn't work with HP600, as far as I know. Does it work now?

Alan, I agree that the service bureau I used somehow must have mixed experiences. It's quite a big service in the area and does a lot of big jobs, so I was a little bit puzzled when they said they couldn't print PDF with reliability: I guess it depends on the RIP software they use, that seems to be a quite expensive one. ??

Well,I'm trying to figure out how to solve a plotting issue. I work in a Mac OSX / OS9 mixed ethernet network. Some VW users are on OS9 others are on OSX. The plotter is linked to a OS9 equipped Mac that spools with MacPlot to an old HP600 inkjet (no, it's not on ethernet...). I'm not going to upgrade MacPlot to OSX right now, so I'm looking for alternate ways of plotting from VW/OSX to the OS9-linked plotter. What happens now? I manually open the VW drawing on the OS9 plotter server and manually print to file (the plotfile is automatically spooled to the plotter). Maybe it's not possible, but is there any chance I can make a script that from the OSX mac opens the VW file on the OS9 mac and prints it? The script should: - connect to the plotter server - send the file to the server and open it in VW copy resident on the plotter server - instruct VW with the correct options to print the file Too complicated? Have another solution? Any suggestion other than upgrade MacPlot to OSX? Thaks a lot!