Petri

Do you mean that the distance is determined by two points just "somewhere"? Unfortunately, there is no built-in feature for that, but a free add-on to do it should be available from VectorDepot. http://www.vectordepot.com/ or to be exact, http://www.vectordepot.com/Plugins1.shtml (Pt2Pt Move & Pt2Pt Copy) They don't seem to be in VW 12 -format, so you may need to "edit" them with VectorScript editor before you can install them into your workspace. You don't have to DO anything to them, just "visit" them after putting them into your Plug-Ins Folder.

It would be nice to be able to use VectorScript functions in worksheet databases and be able to generate reports on definitions, not only drawing objects. Today I would have liked to get a list of gradient definitions and their names; I'm sure CAD-managers and even some designers would like to list available gradients, hatches and symbols and resident PIOs. Yes, it can be done with VectorScripts, but this involves programming and is by and large inelegant and clumsy. So, I'd like to create a database like =DATABASE(T=Gradient) with formula =DEFNAME. For object listings, with a formula like =INDEX2NAME(-FP) we could list the hatches or gradients used. I'd have many uses for this!

With my somewhat unusual gradients there is a strange rendering bug. They are supposed to be single colour (thanks to Matt Panzer!), but occasionally get an odd colour band in one end. Like this: The gradients in question are created with Vectorscript like this: gradient := CREATEGRADIENT('TVT 506X'); SETGRADIENTDATA(gradient, segmentIndex, 1, 0.5, 246, 227, 195); Resetting the gradient like this does not help: PROCEDURE ResetGradient; VAR obHd : HANDLE; BEGIN obHd := FSACTLAYER; SETFPAT(obHd, GETFPAT(obHd)); END; RUN(ResetGradient); Bugsubmitted, but if someone has any ideas, I'd really welcome them.

Peter, you are a genius! Thank you VERY much!

Thanks, Rick. That makes sense - but does not work. I get the gradient index (they seem to be negative, ie. are vector fills), but no name is returned with Index2Name. How annoying! Well, I've had the same problem with hatches. PROCEDURE GetGradientName; VAR gradientIndex : LONGINT; gradientName : STRING; obHd : HANDLE; BEGIN obHd := FSACTLAYER; gradientIndex := GETFPAT(obHd); gradientName := INDEX2NAME(gradientIndex); {MESSAGE(gradientName);} MESSAGE(gradientIndex); END; RUN(GetGradientName);

I can't figure out how to get the name of the gradient used in an object. (Early blindness, I guess.)

In a viewport, say "Project 2D objects", then define an orthogonal view. All object will of course be flat. No "wireframe" mode or rendering, no perspectives. Still, it can be helpful. I occasionally use this for functional diagrams of multi-storey buildings (albeit with layer links, being a VW 9 dinosaur.)

Thanks. The functions look suspiciously similar to those I've tried to use with erroneous results, but we'll see what VS thinks about them.

Very funny... Too involved, too sophisticated. I guess just have to figure out what the input values are (% I believe) and especially what the output values mean. When I interpreted the formulae in Excel, I got funny values.

This is one of my standard posts here... One can (and should!) edit the value lists of Plug-Ins. Not even the Spanish Inquisition wants classes called "Style-1", "Style-2" etc. So, go to the VectorScript Plug-In Editor, locate Window (press W to get close quickly), click Edit, Parameters, Values and replace the silly styles with something more appropriate, eg. along these lines: None COL-White COL-Graphite COL-Red COL-Blue MAT-Aluminium-Natural MAT-Aluminium-Bronze MAT-Aluminium-Gold MAT-Timber-Light MAT-Timber-Dark Choose the most likely to be Default. Then you give suitable graphic attributes to classes named in your choices list.

Yes. No. AppleScripting is not my fort? and especially not of programs.

Gradients? Not in 3D, though. (Why not?)

What? Robert and I agree on something! These are the days of miracle and wonder... While you are at it, see if negative values could be accepted, too. Perhaps a rare situation, but not unheard of. Oh, islandmon: it IS consequential for hidden line renderings if one wants the line to be seen. (The way eg. Mrs Petri wants to work is to do hidden line drawings that she renders & colours by hand, often with water colours. About 100 times nicer images than I can do with VW & Artlantis...)

I will shortly get a text file of paint colours as CMYK values. I was wondering if anyone can interpret the following - or knows how otherwise the conversion to RGB values is done. Wikipedia tells me this: Converting CMYK to RGB To convert, we first convert CMYK to CMY, then convert the CMY value to RGB Converting now CMYK = {C, M, Y, K } CMY = {C',M',Y'} = {C(1-K)+K, M(1-K)+K, Y(1-K)+K } RGB = {R,G,B} = {1-C', 1-M', 1-Y'} RGB = {1 - (C(1 - K) + K), 1 - (M(1 - K) + K), 1 - (Y(1 - K) + K)} = {(1-C)(1-K), (1-M)(1-K), (1-Y)(1-K)} ...but I' afraid I don't get it. The purpose is to create gradients in bulk; for this I already have a program that accepts RGB values. The conversion could be done elsewhere (Excel, FileMaker) or in VectorScript.

"Vertical mitres with no overhang are not recommended", says the program (Create Roof command) and refuses to create a roof to my liking. Well, maybe they are not recommended for McMansions or whatever NNA's point of reference is, but if I want one, I expect to be able to create one. In my work, I'm the expert and don't need any NNA-empolyees to teach me any lessons. In this particular test case I have a historic building with a hip roof surrounded by parapets. I don't need to model it exactly, with box gutters and roof details, just to look OK in aerial views. Obviously, I need another CAD program...

That's all there is to it. Now, if you have identical floors, you only need to work on one. Then you create layer links on the other similar layers. After creating the first one, tick the "Project 2D-options", then copy the link and paste it to other floors, move the layer link upwards (front view, move by Y coordinate). If some floors later become non-identical, delete the link, copy and paste (paste in place) the basic plan in its place. If nothing else, this helps you in exploring the overall architecture of a multi-storey building quickly. There are other approaches, too.

Do your maths. By pure guesswork, the "content" is 70% US-focused and useful only there, by the 30% user base.

My tone? Well, the tone is caused by the fact that I'm supposed to pay for totally useless features even in order to develop the useful features myself. Eg. VectorScript is crippled in the basic version. (Of course the official line is that it is not crippled; instead, the more expensive versions have an expanded VectorScript.) Now, if I would "talk to the local distributor" they would in all likelihood tell me that they have raised these issues with NNA numerous times, to no avail. Political rants? Well, whatever. Perhaps Katie will remind Mr Hannigan about the style of the forum - you know, the "professional and polite" -thing, instead of unprovoked personal attacks towards other VW users. Perhaps Mr Hannigan should consider other forums if he wishes to engage in an exchange of insults.

Exactly, Nicholas! SURELY all metric system users can change the default values of all imperialistic NNA plug-ins to have real metric steel sections etc, but why should the majority of users waste tens of hours (repeated for every update and upgrade) for menial tasks when the minority can work with software out of the box? After all, we all pay the same price. Does the US design industry need subsidies from the rest of the world? We have to pay for tons of totally useless crap. When the add-on packages were introduced, there was an opportunity to establish a "user pays" -system, but that became a system in which many users pay and few users reap the benefits. All VW users are equal, but some are more equal than others... Regional distributors. Right. A regional distributor cannot use many of the advanced features for programming, unless they sell a premium package to everyone. This premium package contains all the US crap. Paid for, but useless. Every line you draw, every move you make - the privileged few, the modern Colonialists, will benefit. Worldwide.

The easy solution would be in the installer: Install VW Metric, Install VW Imperial.

No.

I am investigating whether it is worth my money to upgrade from VW 9. For a number of reasons, I probably depend less on NNA's special components than the average user, but viewports would be nice. I've been told that VW 12 is more metric-friendly than the blatantly imperialistic previous versions, but I can't substantiate the claim. When I launch VW 12, I get good old feet and inches. The wall styles are American. And so on. I can't find a Preference for simply, with one click, to change the entire behaviour of the progam to be metric. Units, scales, libraries, everything. (In fact, I can't find a way to use the metric wall styles library at all!) On behalf of the 95% of global population: can we please get the single radio button to make the program to work the way we expect and need it to work. Pretty please, that is.

Manual? Well, maybe I can offer a digital manus: {------------------------------------} PROCEDURE Layers2Classes; { ? Petri Sakkinen 1995 - 2006 } VAR ObHd, LHd : HANDLE; LayerName, ClassName : STRING; PROCEDURE L2C (ObHd : HANDLE); BEGIN SETCLASS(ObHd, GETLNAME(GETLAYER(ObHd))); END; BEGIN FOREACHOBJECT(L2C, ALL); END; RUN(Layers2Classes); {------------------------------------} In short(hand): copy the VectorScript, paste it into either a new VectorScript in the current document or a Plug-In command. After issuing the command, have layer options as "Show/Snap/Modify Others", then say "Select All", "Group" and "Ungroup". Finally say "Purge Unused Objects" (Layers) and Bob's your uncle. No hands. (Once upon a time, AutoCAD files needed to be reclassified & flattened, thus the original date of 1995.)

...and also: if the glass is in a class, the formula is =AREA(C='classname') or, if you need to calculate different parts separately, eg. =area((L='layername') & (C='classname')) Now, a good door or window PIO would calculate the glass & opening areas. Some building codes have eg. a minimum % of glazing per sqm of floor space of habitable rooms and a maximum of (gross) window opening area for the building. Even R-value could be a part of the PIO, either as user input or, say, "normal" values for single, double, triple and quadruple (yes, Victoria, there is quadruple glazing!) glazings. But I digress...

Daryl, I wrote a detailed discussion with some ("too late") suggestions, but the forum software decided that it had taken me too long to write it, so everything disappeared. Well, in short: you are probably out of luck in general: too difficult. There would have been workarounds, though.