Landartma

I'm recreating yesterdays site model which got lost in cyberspace due to back up failure so be sure to check your back up settings. I'm creating a site model using the stake tool. I have an area which has approximately 2% grades (based on the eyeball method). Can the grade tool be used to create Source Data for the creation of a site model? I'm seeing it can be used once the site model is done but can it be used before? I'm sitting here with a couple knowns...top of foundation interpolated FFE assuming 2x12 rafters and 1.5" sheething and flooring. Maybe should add in for a sill plate but....it will be accurate enough. I'm taking grades I shot and calculating the grades around the house in reference to the FFE with a calculator. I'm doing the calculations from my station to individual spots where I don't know slope exactly. If I can avoid calculator work that would save me some time. Thoughts anyone. BTW check out @jeffprince is doing with Drones and Lidar.

I had a client who did the same kind of thing professionally with drones. I believe he works for a big civil company or real estate developer. I met him last year he was saying they produce some pretty accurate stuff. I'm not sure what systems they are using but I'm guessing they are high end systems.

Thanks for turning me on to this string. Really cool stuff. Is the drone work profitable for you or are you in hobby mode with it. I have a realtor friend who uses it and had to get a license. But I'm in Massachusetts the land of licenses. So I'm not sure if it federal or state. I've started with VW from Dynascape in 2020 and with limited time to really dig in I'm finally getting into 3d modeling. It would be really cool to make measuring more efficient. Psyched to hear about the tools your using can't wait to get there. BTW your real generous with info here...Just wanted to give you a shout out...Thanks!

I lost yesterdays work because my back up was turned off. The software crashed this morning as soon as I opened it up. I specifically went it and made sure back up was on when I did the upgrade to 2022. Is there a bug or do I need to set it for each project. Prior to this everything else was backing up fine. My cache gets cleaned up regularly and the machine gets rebooted daily...except last night. I know it happens but I'm not that into doing entire plans twice. I'll be checking for bugs on the machine today just to be sure. Any known VW hackers out there to look for who might have malware floating around out there.

Yes many features and components of VW are not well explained. What is well documented but how is lagging.

LIDAR Scans? Man am I behind the times. Glad I asked. Are you using specific equipment or software for it?

For many of my projects I don't have professional surveys so I shoot my own grades and do a bit of ocular estimating. I am working on becoming more efficient in site modeling so I'm looking for opinions on the best way to go about laying out those grades in preparation for creating a site model. So far I have laid them out using the stake tool as source data and the boundary tool. Opinions?

A few things nagging me and some others in the landscape community are a functioning landscape wall tool and fence tool. The goal would be to allow a designer to simply put a batter on a wall and have the same kinds vertical layering options as the wall tool, the difference being materials stone veneer instead of siding or drywall etc., with some sort of library items showing different construction methods and materials. Block and veneer, dry stack field stone, SRWs etc. and the foundation and capping options available for those options. I was able to create some pretty cool stuff with my trainer but its just a bit cumbersome to have to model every wall especially if its on a simple project. The other is the fencing/gate insertion issue. Possibly an upgrade to the wall and window and door insertion tool to consider these items would be hugely helpful. It seems as if its almost there with existing tools I don't know how much of an ask this is.... but seems reasonable it we want to create accurate 3d models.

I had it set to layer only for an operation I was doing. Then set it a few other times for other particular situations. I must have set it to Current Selection Mode and that explained part of the issue. But when I put it back in Select Any Mode the functionality returned but only when I had a limited amount of attributes selected. For example when I went to select my walls it would only select when I had Layer Class and Object selected it would also work with wall slab roof all selected. As soon as I selected I selected any of the font attributes it would not select the foundation but would still select my spot grades. Is the select similar tool not expected to select certain objects if everything is selected for example. My understanding is that unchecking boxes just limits what it will select for and if all attributes are checked it will pick up just about everything on the drawing. Am I missing something here.

That's what I did. The door tool worked fine. However, it will not automatically remove and reconfigure the fence posts and panels. So essentially the doors must be placed in the desired place and fence be drawn to it from both sides correct? As far as rendering, texturing etc. I have the fence in shaded mode and that will work for now. The gate symbol I created from the door tool won't show its in shaded mode. In fact I can't get any color to apply to it. I'm not sure if I'm having a class issue or an object issue. The class dropdown at the top of the OIP is grayed out, indicates its in the none class but so is the fence and the fence is shaded. The difference I see is that one is a door symbol and the other is a railing fence symbol. What setting am I missing?

My select similar tool in VW 2022 is not functioning. As usual I suspect a setting. Any ideas. See the screenshot. Hmm not sure why image is so blury.

That's what I did. The door tool works fine. But since a fence is not a wall the offset insertion mode does not work correct? Therefore the door tool will not remove the section of fence automatically? The gate will need to be built up to the gate then continued on the other side of the gate? Then still the matter of making the two appear the same. I'm guessing that if needed matching textures could be applied.

So I am placing a fence on a clients property. I come to figure out that there is no gate tool with in the fence option or with in the door option. Am I missing something. I'd expect it to be right there with the fence tool or even in the door tool. Do we not have one? If not whats the work around.

I might be trying to solve the wrong problem but it looks like @line-weight your having an issue with push pull in an environment other than cube on the screen with basic push pull functions. Is that correct? I looked at your building peak. Your simply not able to detect a face correct? I just looked at the pptest.wvx file and was able to get a subtraction in the rectangular extrusion fairly easily. I just used the flyover tool to get a variety of narrow perspective views. I was able to put a shape on the plane of the object and select the push pull tool which highlighted the shape. I started my pull operation and then pressed ALT. Its hit or miss though. My guess is that its a specific clicking method between ALT and left click which I have yet to master reliably. I was able to get subtractions and face pulling action. The face selection needed to be precise though. I messed with the BIM object...way above my skill level for now at least...thats some wonky stuff to mess with. I do have to say that with all the issues I have encountered in my brief VW experience the push pull function has been challenging. My guess is it will be a matter of a work around.

Thanks for the clarification Mike! Very helpful. I just followed your method and it worked. I agree that with many of the functions of this program subtlety is a constant and likely needs to be for the endless customization options available. From the standpoint of a lesser experienced user who relies on the educational content provided and these threads-those subtleties need to be pointed out consistently. I have to say that many of the educational videos give it to us as "its as simple as that". This is not necessary criticism but feedback. The learning curve with this is high so at every opportunity the little things that show up as glitches should be highly emphasized in all training resources.

I have been away from the computer for a few months so I decided to brush up and take the VW certification course. I recommend especially to nubs and novices. I get to the 3d Modeling section and am told that I can simply hold down the alt key and subtract one shape from another. I set my working plane to the desired surface of my solid subtraction created my extrude to be subtracted. No matter what I did I could not get it to subtract. Finally I went to subtract solids in the modeling tab and did it that way. It appears that even though my working plane was set when I added shapes to shapes they were all over the place on the z axis although my snaps were all on. Even once my surfaces were all aligned it was still an issue. I suspect user error so for instructional purposes it should be mentioned that the push pull needs to be handled precisely and should give the work around. If VW believes it works as advertised the presenter must be very detailed into all the nuance when presenting the tool. I have a feeling I had one setting off and it threw the whole thing which I spent a ton of time figuring out. Judging from the length of this string its an issue that need addressing. Pardon the redundancies.

I'm a landmark user and am considering my options. I pay the monthly subscription and am considering a few things. First buying the software. Second upgrading to Designer. My understanding is that designer includes the most functionality and cross discipline usage. Three getting service select. As a subscriber I know I get some advantages of service select. Obviously cost is a factor but I am looking into every option. Opinions please.

There have been more than one string about this subject. Hopefully the VW developers are hard at work on it.

Jeff you hit the nail on the head. I have faced similar issues and had very similar conversations. I'm not super interested in work arounds especially in professional grade software. Time is money. Consider this my vote for a landscape wall tool set up to include varying components, elevation changes, curvature, batter, cap options, setting bed options, with material settings for different construction methods etc. Will we be able to pick a dry stack wall with a loose aggregate setting bed and our preferred backing, a block and veneer wall that needs a concrete pad or, block wall and all the afore mentioned things Jeff noted. I'll second its Likely complex, I've never coded, but we are being sold "high functionality" so lets have an effective tool. If a tool is not in the works then I think one of our VW gurus should put together a training on how to effectively create one.

Where did the search Vectorworks and Message Center Icons go in 2022? All I see is the account info button.

Yea sometimes I have to go with the tax map from the locality's GIS. Yes accuracy is an issue. For better or worse we have very few public sewage systems in my neck of the woods...despite density septic systems are the standard. For the most part those plans come on very accurate but still in PDF form which until the resolution on the PDF thread I have failed to achieve any snapping. So I my guess is that the GIS we have available on Vectorworks is suitable for some limited site analysis and conceptual work. I have site contractors who have survey tools and software which will geolocate points and elevations within the inch but that's the result of multiple disciplines being onsite and physically locating their points. My bigger question is are there GIS systems which provide the level of accuracy which can eliminate or significantly reduce the need for time and money consuming site visits?

Is anyone using GIS for residential applications? I have messed with it a little bit but don't seem to be able to get usable data out of it. I get some good info from the towns GIS systems. Then its an excercise of down loads screenshots and combining info which is not a problem but if the Vectorworks GIS can help streamline it I all in. I know many survey companies use it for residential. I'm not sure if thats different/better tech. Thoughts?

Look at that I got it to work...first time with a pdf. I have snapable lines. I'm not to concerned about having layers in the PDF I'll create them.

here is the screen shot

I can't get the blue rigid insulation on my roof layer to respond to the bounding I set out. Each time I add a layer of material it raises the roof instead of just putting the material with in the bounds I set. It also makes it difficult to determine my headroom because it keeps raising the roof each time.