[Retaining Walls]

Here is the file.  This is a practice project to get me up to speed on basic 3d so a bunch of components are missing but the wall is the sticking point.  Wall modifier says walls are not connected.  I went through the classes, layers, elevations and think I have them all the same.  I did these with the fillet tool but it left really small pieces of straight wall.  I will do another free from and post that as well.

long lake road finished practice project.vwx

[Retaining Walls]

AHHHHGGG.  I didn't even get to applying the wall modifier because I cant get the walls to connect.  I tried the fillet tool but am to clumsy with it at this point to make it do what I want.  

 

[Retaining Walls]

So from what I can tell the Landscape Wall (Retaining Wall) is a legacy function...Not sure.  But if you don't have your wall segments joined then you get an error message when you go to create the wall modifier.  I'm convinced there is a way to do it.  I just haven't figured it out yet.  Like with so much software you'd think it would be intuitive.  I think I will try an extrude.  Maybe if I complain about it enough the Jedi Knight of Vectorworks will show me the way?  I have a training coming up so I'm sure it will be solved then.  But now I'm a dog after a bone.

[Retaining Walls]

I have been racking my brains, looking all over the web, community forums, and VW U with no luck on creating a curving retaining wall that's one piece.  Retaining walls are essential elements for all landscape designers and there should be a very slick tool that accomplishes it quickly and efficiently.  I would also be pretty cool if you could incorporate the site modifier right into it.  The walls I see out there are ok but they look like foundation walls not landscape walls.  If such a tool and methods exist please publish something specifically about it.  If it exists please share.

[Wall Connect]

Yea I've been drawing from poly then convert to walls.  I've done it in any way I can think of.  The problem is that when you go to do the site modifier it says walls are not connected.  I've also zoomed in on the place where the connection is broken but can't get the vertices to show up to reconnect so I'm guessing that functionality is not there.    Its particular to curved walls getting segmented when converting from poly lines into walls then they get disconnected.  Like I said in a previous post there is very little out there on the subject.  I'm missing something here or is there a glitch in the VW universe.

[Wall Connect]

I repeatedly have a problem connecting walls via Wall Connect Tool.  Here I have a series of walls combo of straight and curved.  They were created with create objects from shapes from a poly line.  I combine connected before I did create objects.  I try to join the straight walls with the first curved walls and get the error that the walls do not completely connect or nothing just no connection.  If I skip the first curve and go to the second and hit join VW creates a wall with a 90 tangent.  I created a wall with a core component.  The straight walls work fine.  Do curved walls not connect?  Am I over thinking this?  Do I just go with it?  

[Pinned to Z 0]

That's my issue I can't tell.  I started to play around with regrading the site and running topo lines into my wall.  When I hit exit proposed site model contours the whole thing goes crazy.  I'm thinking I am clicking on geometry on my 0 plane.  OIP says its the site model at 0 elevation.  Any idea how it might have gotten to zero and should it even snap to zero my minimum elevation setting is 95'10" with a datum elevation of 2'.

[Pinned to Z 0]

One of the reoccurring issues I have is with Site Modifiers, Hardscapes, Stake Objects and Grade Settings on objects pinning to the zero plane.  It looks like a matter of accuracy when applying the modifier.  How do you determine exactly what the source of the issue is here.  In this case I am trying to regrade the site using Edit Proposed Site Contours mode both site model contour mode and reshape mode.  keep getting these projections of grade from finished to 0 or in one case 2.33'.  Insights anyone?  Also excuse if my terminology is incorrect.  I'm figuring out how to do the grading.

[NOTHING WITH THIS SOFTWARE IS EASY OR USER FRIENDLY!]

I have to agree with all of the above.  The frustration is over the top I pic up piles of hair off my desk.  But once you get a handle on something it works well.  I was sold because a few of my local colleague's use it, love it and say its the way to go.  Some of my high end tech savvy clients who I have discussed my frustration say pretty universally is with features comes complexity.  Both of learning and how to make the features work together.  I have the 2d pretty well down.  I have been at my desk for the past month learning the 3d...I'm not there yet but gaining on it.  For perspective...I took basic autocad back in the day.  It was a semester long 2x per week class at the local community college just to get the basics down.  Here's a trick that just dawned on me the other day.  You can take a screen shot video of your work so as soon as you learn something do a video for yourself so you can go back to it when you forget how.   I do suggest the training it helps turn the lights on VW trainers are very knowledgeable.

[Wall join curved walls]

Oh yea the wall tool works well and that's what I've been using and I think your correct about Landscape Wall being a legacy tool.  The cool thing with the landscape wall is that you can layout your wall batters and show them.  Even the wall tool segments the walls when they curve.  It may be a function of the width of my walls...It exaggerates the segmentation.  I'm trying to draw like I build.  I strictly build dry stack stone so our walls are really beefy and wide...I'm looking to get a good representation of that.   I'm also getting the yield sign error that says pads intersect.  I've been ignoring it seems as if my digital world remains intact but it is an annoyance.  I'm thinking with all the photorealistic capabilities of VW we would have a seamless wall tool that represents the actual geometry landscape retaining wall as opposed to a foundation wall looks like.  I'll be in training in the next couple weeks and get it figured out once and for all if I don't sooner.

[Wall join curved walls]

Seems to be a common issue.  But I'll let you know when I figure it out. It seems that when you create a landscape wall from a poly line it gets broken into different components.  If you have a curve it becomes a Landscape Wall Arc....I think.

[Curved Walls/Wall Connect]

I'd like to see some specific info on creation of landscape walls in particular curved walls.

[Wall join curved walls]

I have done in both ways.  I have yet to try an extrude.  Using the wall tool seems to be the simplest way.  Angular walls seem really easy to join and all need a core element to join which i'm sure can be added to a landscape wall.   As soon as I put a curve on something like an interior wall it still won't join.   This Landscape Wall,  was created from a poly then became three walls once it was converted.    The center section of wall is flipped with inside and outside pitches being inverted.  Is there a way to flip the center walls orientation?  I don't see it in the OIP, Edit Landscape Wall Arc says command does not apply, right click and edit says no edit behavior. To get them to meet up I made the pitch equal but the inside and outside are still reversed.  I can only guess what will happen when that gets applied to a site model.  My guess is that prior to turning that wall into a wall style I will need to straighten out the inversion.

 

Creating curved landscape walls seems to be a bit wonky.  I have looked all over VW help, VW U, google, bing and youtube for videos of curved walls in VW.  No luck. 

 

But the curved sweeping natural stone and block walls are on a ton of jobs.  I want to create graphics as true as possible for my clients.   What am I missing Here?

[Wall join curved walls]

I have a curved landscape retaining wall I'm trying to join with the wall join tool.  I started out with a CMU wall which would not join.  Then realized it's core component of the wall that causes the WJ tool to work.   I converted to a standard framed wall  from the resource manager and it worked on straight walls but not on the curved ones.  To avoid screwing up the work I'm being paid for I created the attached site model and put in the curved wall.  It will do a funky join in capped mode though.  What am I missing?

[Attributes on 3D Objects]

I think this is what Pat is talking about.  Let me know if I'm wrong.   If you already created the 3d symbol just go into edit 2d and draw the same rectangle and fill it and that creates the hybrid object.   Also here is a pretty good video on the subject. Texturing Extrudes.

[Attributes on 3D Objects]

are you getting a fill in 3d

 

[Wall Join]

I have a landscape wall consisting of wall and round wall components.  I have auto join walls turned on as well as being sure the walls are snapping to each other.  When I try to use the wall join tool I get nothing or I get an error.  These are retaining walls and not being joined is messing up the site model.  What's the trick?

[Slab behaving badly]

This hardscape slab keeps grabbing something on the base plain.  I have cleared out all original line work and recreated my geometry several times.  I used the grade tool to set the new slopes in aligned slab modifier top mode.  This is when the problem happens.  In I also did a couple test samples on a clean document with good results.  I'm looking all over for a bottom datum setting or an elevation offset.  Any ideas on what is causing this would be much appreciated.

[edit surface modifiers visibility]

Thanks Zoomer.  Tools-Options-Preferences-Display-Show Other Objects When in Editing Mode.

[edit surface modifiers visibility]

I'm trying to edit a surface modifier but when I get into the edit window none of my graphics are showing.  What am I missing?

[Walls]

Yup thats it!

[Walls]

Can anyone tell me why my core and drywall on this wall do not meet the top of my exterior shingles in this model.  It seems to me that once I put my slabs on I would want them sitting on top of my wall not down in it.  The height of the wall is to be the interior ceiling height.  So the bottom of the ceiling slab would sit on top.  The base of the wall is to be connected to the top of the first floor slab with not overlap on either.  I thinking basic residential construction-Foundation, sill, joists & floor sheething (making my slab), walls including base plate, framing and top plate.  Then repeating for the second floor minus the sill.

[Image Props/3d Plant symbols]

Zoomer thanks!

[Image Props/3d Plant symbols]

First I have to say thanks for everyone's help with my questions its much appreciated.  I spoke with my buddy who's a graphics wizzard.  My understanding is that for an Alpha Channel you need photo editing software.  Any suggestions on what to use?

[Image Props/3d Plant symbols]

yes indeed I am just using an image.  I attempted to go through the image prop process...No luck yet.  So it needs to be cleaned up prior to importing like go through and delete the background?