Landartma

Yes I've been working with the same issue. I had my crashes in 21 but 22 seems to be worse. My post Site model looks wrong got some attention and I took the advise given and it seems to be better. I was having issues with a site model...I think. But my issues were exactly as you describe. I'm thinking that its a 2022 issue. I sent two files to tech support and have been awaiting a response.

I am having issues with crashes especially on the bigger files I create (not real big). I have come to realize I have/had some video card settings amongst other things incorrect. I have corrected some of them, I think, with the help of @Jeremy Best but I'm not sure I'm there yet. I recall getting a system spec for my machine but don't recall getting info on how to optimize the system for VW. I'm at the point where I am considering a full reinstall. If I do that I want to be sure I have it right. A spec sheet would be helpful, a video of just how to optimize a system would be even better. An app that can tell you what needs doing would be very useful too. I see a ton of posts about crashes.

Oh man @Jeremy Best thanks a ton for the help. I'm 90% sure my system is up to the task as it is spec'd for high end VW although to the lower end. The steps I took so far seem to have sped up the system. I'm thinking I may just do a clean reinstall and clean driver install of my Video card. My issues tend to come when I get into the 3d and more complex (for what I do). My next question is does VW have a definitive guide on how not only to spec a machine but to set it up with all the correct settings? It would be great if VW had an optimizer/analyzer app that could do that work.

Here's food for thought on site measurements. Any opinions? Its an hour watch but if you measure sites it might be worth looking at. Measurement tools and PM for design build

Here's the funny thing. Ask and ye'll get answers. Was trolling the VWU and found this one. Many interesting solutions. Site measurements and PM Software for Design Build

Did VW give an explanation of how the new interface works? Been looking can't seem to pin it down.

This is a bit off subject but I just put another post out there. I am looking to simply grab the square footage from my plant beds and walk ways. The menu looks very different. I used to be able to select the layer(s) and choose square foot or area and It would generate it in the report. Where did that go in 2022. Should be very apparent.

I went to do some reports and the menu looks different. Did the layout change for 2022?

I have two issues in tech support without timely response...over 5 days. I have attempted to resolve on the forum, with very generous input from the members, but still no resolution. As a result I have a stalled project due to crashes. This is very likely a setting issue or other user error but non the less I'm stuck. Seeing what VW charges for training a similar price structure for live tech support would be reasonable especially if billed in 15min increments (like other professional services). The wait time is the killer. A tech support service with fast turn around would be invaluable...run it as a subscription possibly. I'm guessing that the turn around timing is due to labor shortages but there are some really sharp minds on the forum. Maybe tap some of that talent and just route the call the next available VW guru.

You are correct I tend to ask around though. I found a couple off the shelf that will work. Its not a big ask for what I'm doing...I'm managing under 6 people normally. We are just happy artisans running around designing and installing cool stuff for peoples yards. Those big ticket solutions are not what I need. It looks like I'm going to need a full time tech person just to keep VW running unless I can figure out what dogging me.

Yes the very reason I posted this here to see what people are using....Maybe the wrong forum but worth a try. I'll find it.

The topo was created by VW from spot elevations I entered. I ungrouped the site model and it doesn't appear to show a ton of vertices but does have a ton of site modifier conflicts. I submitted to tech support 5 days ago. I separated the site model from the hardscape and building layer and still get crashing on both. I experience this on a regular basis in other drawings too. I don't know if I have an issue with my system...is there a way to scan to see if the system is optimized for VW? The unfortunate part is I spend as much time troubleshooting as I do designing. See the attached file if you wish to take a look. I also tried to work with it in 2021 with the same result. BTW is 59 mb a particularly large file? I did just notice that while I had my files backing up to one location as VW went though its crashes it decided to change the backup location to back up to original location from the dedicated folder I set up. Now I have back up copies in various folders across the drive. I also have a ton of backups could that be an underlying issue. I'd like to get the final drafts of what I completed, put it in the clients folder and delete all the other backups. Is that considered good practice or is there a better way to store final drawing docs. I remember a thread about excessive backups and crashing. Parks 2-21.vwx

Yup that's pretty much what I do. Now I will just find the PM app...Likely spread sheet based and stick it in the folder with all the other docs so the expectations are set. I export to excel. The one thing I have not yet succeeded in is to have my VW take offs export into an excel template so its the same format each time and I don't need to redo my calculation formulas. That would be a key time saver. It sends out the groups like shrubs, perennials, trees, loam, mulch etc but I almost need to recreate the form each time. Is there a way to export to a template instead of just an excel spread sheet.

Yes I was not thinking VW was the tool for the job but rather seeing in other design build folks using VW had a solution they use. I started looking for some industry specific stuff as well. Its really not to difficult to create an inventory spread sheet of tools and equipment but a ready made one is always easier.

This just keeps getting deeper and deeper. Tell me if I'm wrong but I'm thinking VW can be given enough info to almost produce an estimate although I have tried software that claims to do that without success. I have always resorted to using design software to give me quantity calculations then I work my magic numbers and come up with an estimate for my clients. The design and data from it are used as reference for ordering material. VW does a great job with takeoffs IMO. I'm looking to schedule projects and be able to share with the crew so they know what, where, how long, what equipment and when the client says "while your here can you" they know call me get approval, say yes to the client and clock in under time an materials and get it done, tell me how long it took and what material they used all in a nice tidy place in cyber space. I created a post about equipment management and in looking for that piece I found an app called Monday which looks promising then I see others like Trello. It needs to work for my foreman and crew leaders too...Funny I say it like there are minions...Maybe someday labor will get back to work but I digress.

We run multiple projects at time to be sure we always have work to do. Some of the jobs include fine gardening to smaller landscape enhancements for our existing clients. As a result much of our small equipment is scattered all over our territory. We basically need a project management platform and an equipment inventory system. I think I may have found one today called Monday.com which may do the trick. Its excel based an customizable and sharable on google docs so the crew members who aren't on the design side can use it...hopefully.

To what extent can VW be used for overall project management. I see the design, estimating, documentation aspects of the software. Does it have functionality in project management for design build? Are there PM apps most compatible with VW? The shiny plan and all the numbers are meaningless unless it can be executed efficiently? Thoughts please?

I'm a relatively small design build company. Our VW platform is not fully developed for our business but it looks like it can be developed to really streamline the design, estimating and documentation areas of projects. One of our challenges is equipment and tool management. Knowing what equipment is where is crucial and costs us a ton of time. Has anyone used VW to help with this? What other tools/apps are design build people using?

Yes. I have not resolved it yet though. There are some 3d plants available on VW which to my understanding can be maniuplated and linked to your plant styles. This is an older video I found this morning but have yet to mess with it. I've been in 2d for the past two years with the exception of messing around so now I'm asking the same questions. You can also bring in image props with plant images. Its a bit time consuming though and you'll need to create an alpha channel. I used an app called GIMP 2.10.22. It took me a day to figure out how to do it and I was able to create a couple image props. But with anything VW its a deep dive to learn anything. That's what I got. Hope it helps.

Thanks @PVA - Jim driver was indeed out of date. NVIDIA also offers two types of drivers for the graphics card one for gaming one for studio applications. I was out of date by two years. Reinstalled the driver and centered on origin. Also had a windows update pending. Did all three things and it appears VW is now in turbo mode. Booting quickly and seems way more responsive. VW is still dogging in this file. This is what I'm seeing now. I separated the site model from the rest of the drawing. It seems as if the rest of the drawing is working pretty well. The site model is lagging when I switch from 3d no display to 3d proposed 3d mesh colored. I see some site modifier conflicts that are overlapping pads... Not sure if that could be contributing. I have submitted to tech support but I'm hoping to get a solution sooner so I can keep going on this one.

I'm working on model that has become progressively slower as I work on it. I went to the task manager and between CPU usage is over 18% and Ram usage is almost 7500 as such the model is unresponsive and the blue wheel keeps on spinning. It does stop and update after a while. This file in particular has crashed VW several times. I have my back ups set to every 20 operations, they are saved to my hard drive, my back up folder could be tidied up a bit. I reboot the machine each day, I do regular, disc clean and defrag and run malicious software scanners to try to keep it running. I have 32 GB ram and a ton of harddrive space. I have purged the file a couple times as well. I sent the file to tech support and it was over 32 kb it is now approaching 60kb. What else can be done to keep the file size smaller ball rolling so crashes are less frequent?

Oh Big thanks to @Benson Shaw & @jeff princeas well. The generous nature of the folks in this community never ceases to amaze me.

It seems to hang out there for a bit then...well not sure what I did but a few clicks and its goes back to normal. My site modifiers do it too. The more I work with them the fatter they get then I slap the mouse around and it seems to go back to normal. I'll send to tech support.

Ahhh! A new toy. There's todays task. Thanks @Tom W. Started to mess with it brought the grades to the sky...practice makes perfect.

Huh. I do not see the Edit Surface Modifiers option in my OIP. That could be part of my issue. I'm in 2022...Did it get put somewhere else or do I have an option turned off? When I right click and choose Edit I get nothing. On the walls I used the wall tool and used the retaining wall site modifier. I messed with the way the walls joined and did separate modifiers for different sections and got it to work. Now that thats all done I need to look at whats under ground and see how to modify below grade wall to gage material. The issue may be that I need to redraw the walls in order to step them up in different locations. I will look more closely to the landscape wall tool which I abandon a while back because of the way it handled curves. Maybe armed with a bit more experience I can get it to do what I want. It would be cool if there was a wall tool with a built in Wall modifier so you could adjust the modifier in sync with adjustments in height and length. Add curves, batters, bases and caps....We will have us a tool.