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Petri

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Everything posted by Petri

  1. An Italian developer once had a hatch creation utility (you drew the hatch in the normal fashion and it converted the linework into a hatch), but virtually no-one bought it, so he gave up.
  2. quote: Originally posted by jan15: And it's easy to make hatches. You're the first one who has said that! Try creating anything more complex than simple cross-hatching or brick bond and I think you are in trouble...
  3. No such problem here - good for me, bad for figuring out the reason. Whoops - you said Office 2004... We have Office X - there are reports of Word 2004 being even slower than X, so we have not rushed to upgrade. [ 11-22-2004, 11:53 AM: Message edited by: Petri ]
  4. OK. Let's get back to the track, for the benefit of PJvH. One of the really excellent things in VW for landscape architects is scheduling of plants, garden/street furniture, surface areas and 'lenghts' (of, say, edge types or kerbs - curbs, to you Americans.) (Something that AutoCAD does not do, dear Jckii...) I understand that Landmark comes with predefined reports that may or may not suit one's preferences; modifying them or creating custom reports is fairly straightforward. I can't comment on the plant database, since we have not used it, but I'm sure it is better than nothing. G-Pang refers to workgroup referencing. Well, we use that to generate three different-looking drawings from one design file: a working drawing (a rather austere line drawing), a permit drawing (fewer details, a bit more pizzazz) and a marketing drawing (no details, but fancy presentation). If budgets would allow, the fourth type would be a 3D image. We prefer to do the design in the 'permit drawing' mode, but after contract documentation, often need to switch to work in working drawing mode - this takes roughly 5 minutes - and the permit-style is automatically generated from the working drawing. Of course the presentation drawing will also reflect the current design - if we so choose, that is.
  5. Been there, tried that - at least three times. A user group needs quite a user base to be functional and neither MC/VW nor ArchiCAD has not had that in Melbourne. Well, probably I was a lousy convenor.
  6. For vector data, VW uses the world coordinates of imported files (in my line of work, we are talking about millions of units in x/y cartesian coordinates) without a hiccup. But GeoTIFFs - no. And of course, VW won't even recognise EWC-files (the emerging standard for aerial photos; if you are on the Mac-platform, GraphicConverter is AFAK the only program that can open & convert EWC.)
  7. quote: Originally posted by jckii: Thank you, Petri, you chose to edit out of my post the most important issue with VW, which is drawing exhange among consultants. OK - let's go through this one by one. quote: If VW was able to come up with an export-to-DWG function that did not result in every one of my consultants (ALL of whom use AutoCAD) calling me up with problems with unusable files, what you're sayng might hold some water.After exchanging data with tens - no, hundreds - of consultants, I have never been called up about unusable files. Maybe the difference is that I know what I'm doing. quote: Don't give me that old line that "This is a common reaction from people who try to use VW in the same manner as AutoCAD" - I have gone by the book, and beyond, Well, something very fundamental is wrong then. Perhaps you had the wrong book? quote: from day one with VW, and regardless of how you use it, VW is riddled with problems that I never had in AutoCAD: the snaps are lousy, How? I think the snaps are quite good. What exactly is it that you can't snap to? quote: dimensioning is inconsistent and inaccurate,I have never noticed this - could you elaborate? quote: window, door and other parametric tools are hopelessly unreliable and inflexible, not to mention tricky to manipulate, They may be inadequate, but surely better than AutoCAD's standard parametric objects for the same. Unreliable - no. quote: workgroup referencing is cumbersome, obtuse and slow, But far superior to AutoCAD's XREFs. Different - yes. quote: and the very fact that the program has a "nudge" tool is testimony to the fact that accuracy is compromised. Please, don't be ridiculous! For things like loose furniture, text, even plants in the architect's site plan, it just makes life easier! The accuracy is not compromised a bit: nudged objects are in precise positions. quote: VW is fine for graphics, and maybe for small, one-person boutique projects - for accurate drafting and extensive documentation of large projects, forget it. Well, here is a scintilla of truth: VW is NOT a drafting program, but a design and modeling program. If one is at the drafting level in the food chain, AutoCAD may just be the ticket. quote: Add to that the fact that many intuitive, obvious drawing tools one would expect as standard in any decent CAD program are only available as "plug-ins" that one has to buy or download from somewhere else, and then install, or worse, that you have to write scripts for yourself.I thought that AutoCAD add-ons were a big industry... quote: We are architects, not computer geeks, and the last thing I want to worry about when drawing, designing, managing a building project is how to deal with, or expand, the ridiculous limitations of my software.Well, if this were so, why would Autodesk promote its (fairly) new aquisition Revit as the next generation tool for architects? (Not to mention the fact that we are NOT discussing architectural drafting here at all.) quote: Your trainees most likely use AutoCAD to do the parts of projects that VW cannot handle! True. Large terrain models (like 10 million points) cannot be created with VW. There are also some other more or less expensive 3rd party add-ons for AutoCAD that some people need for, say, subdivision planning and roadworks or GIS-functionality. But they do not have any need for plain vanlla AutoCAD, not to mention LT. One firm in question has LandCADD, but I don't think it has ever been used.
  8. quote: Originally posted by jckii: No. I don't know Landcadd, but do not buy VectorWorks if you can help it - in other words, if you're not on a Mac. Get AutoCAD LT: it costs about the same (OK, a little more), it references decently, is way more accurate and intuitive, This is a common reaction from people who try to use VW in the same manner as AutoCAD - except that I can't remember anyone saying that AutoCAD would be more intuitive. Having trained tens of landscape architects to use VW (many with prior AutoCAD experience and some with the choice available permanently), could not disagree more. Of my trainees, not a single one has - after the proper training and VW implementation - gone back to AutoCAD by choice. Some use AutoCAD to do specific parts of the projects, but usually bring the results to VW. The facts are that LandCADD requires full AutoCAD and that VW is exactly as accurate. Whether one needs Landmark is another thing; we have it, but the only feature we have ever used is the terrain modeler: our line of work is not suitable for the strictly regulated work process of Landmark (and we are not in the U.S.A.)
  9. quote: Originally posted by tgm: [You should be able to edit like symbols using the OIP, simple as that. Truly a no-brainer. Sorry, but I really have to disagree. Firstly, PIOs and symbols are two different animals and, secondly, both can contain several text items that may or may not need to have different fonts. The user interface is anything but a no-brainer - especially if one wants to edit a symbol via the OIP. As someone who has created both PIOs and symbol libraries for others, I appreciate your position, but there is no simple solution.
  10. All above is certainly good advice, but there are situations when circular paths are quite sufficient, by adding some half a meter of tolerance. If anyone wants the turning radius PIO, drop me a line: petri@4dform.com.au.
  11. Hmm - maybe I should post the one I have to VectorDepot.
  12. A - ha! You are not talking about symbols, but plug-in objects. With PIOs, the programmer decides how fonts are applied; the problem with the PIO approach is that the list of fonts does not reflect your system's fonts, but is 'semi-hard coded' in the value list of the parameter. If a PIO only contains one text item (or items that logically use the same font), the font menu is a more user-friendly solution.
  13. quote: Originally posted by tgm: Anyone from NNA want to comment on why all the symbols using text cannot be editted using OIP as stated above??? Tom A symbol can contain several text items, with different fonts. In the symbol definition, OIP works. You can't edit the symbol definition without entering it anyway - why would text be different?
  14. This feature is already in VW: parametric objects can be written in such a manner. I have at least a dozen or so: windows, glazed walls, balustrades, beams, parking spaces and so on. For some reason, the NNA Integrated Products team seems to come from the Drafting school of CAD and assumes that when you place an item in the model, you already know exactly how long, wide, tall etc. it should be and are willing to make adjustments numerically. Not that my home-brewed stuff would be ideal, far from it, because they have always been created in a hurry just to get a job done, but I rarely use NNA's PIOs.
  15. I run my VW 9 under Classic - simply because of the speed problem in OS X. 'Fortunately' I have some other programs that also require Classic (and no OS X version), so I need to have Classic running anyway. The selection speed (?) is indeed one of the most irritating issues, right after OIP slowness.
  16. In MC 6, MiniPascal commands were usually incorporated in the documents, in command palettes, but the other alternative was to have stand-alone macros. There may not be an extension at all (Mac users usually do not bother with such arcane concepts), but possiblities include TXT, VS, MP and what have you. The most common location for stand-alone macros was, I think, the MiniCAD folder or a subfolder in it. Check some old documents to see if they are in palettes; if so, option-clicking the macro opens the editor. Happy hunting!
  17. And THAT is where the danger hides - and the reason for suggesting the PIO option. Perhaps one could incorporate an update script (using FOREACHOBJECT(doIt, S='locationsymbol')) in a Saved Sheet or a printing command such as my little 'Print and stamp' (date and filename stamps updated, printing launched), but one beautiful day you forget... Well, the latter would be fairly fail-safe if CMD-P would be the shortcut for that and standard Print 'hidden' in a submenu. Whether one uses PIOs or symbols, there is the additional matter of remembering to recalculate the report.
  18. Charles is right - eg. my free 'Cloning around' class utility at VectorDepot is ideally suited for switching between different graphics standards, using classes. It seems to work with VW 10 & 11. If you are systematic, you first create 'on screen' settings with colours, then use 'Clone classes' to create a stand-alone VectorScript program ('macro' in the old parlance). Next you change class attributes for printing purposes and clone those. Finally, you use the VectorScript plug-in editor to create menu commands: say 'New command' and in the editor window 'Get text' to pull the appropriate script in. Say OK, repeat for the other one and install the commands to your workspace with the Workspace editor. In fact, for QA purposes you might add to the auto-generated scripts these lines: Printing settings command: code: SETPREF(9, TRUE); { Zoom on } SETPREF(10, TRUE); { Print in B/W on }[/code] On-screen settings command: code: SETPREF(9, FALSE); { Zoom off } SETPREF(10, FALSE); { Print in BW off }[/code] Depending on file size and number of classes, the change is either fast or slowish.
  19. But they do if you give meaningful names to the classes to be used - colour etc. are class attributes. I use classes for materials (MAT-TIMBER, MAT-ALUMINIUM, MAT-GLASS etc) and colours (COL-BLACK, COL-RED, COL-BLUE etc) and have no trouble remembering, as they are all in the class definitions. Oh, BTW, I should have also pointed out that the number of choices is entirely up to the user. You can have as many choices as you want.
  20. Not that I would remember PowerPoint arrows (probably never used them), but in what respect are they superior to those in VW? My biggest complaint with VW arrows is that you can't put them to polygons or polylines, but the editability has been sufficient for my uses. (Memo to myself: write a plug-in for polygons with arrows.)
  21. Oh dear - time for my regular input once again: Use the Vectorscript plug-in editor (in Organise -menu) to change the values in the pop-ups for classes. You can even type the values elsewhere and copy/paste them to the list. So, you scroll to the PIO in question, select it, click on the Parameters -button, then scroll again to the Class settings -section, select a field and say Edit. The value list is behind Choices -button. (And no, it does not take half an hour.) And while you are in a mood for a melody, you can also change the default values of any parameters to be what you are most likely to use. For us metric folks, that is really important.
  22. Amagine, X & y values are easy (see VectorScript discussion for a solution), but z values can get hairy - the user interface for placing objects in z axis is not exactly 'there.' Or maybe it is, but I'm somewhere else... Anyways, the robust solution is a parametric object. Which might even use a symbol as the marker.
  23. quote: Originally posted by archoncad: i don't have much of a problem snapping to witness lines. The reason is that I use Fixed Witness Line Length. Your builders must love your drawings! Now, I come from the Old School (1970s): we used to have up to 10 chained dimension lines on the top & left side of the drawings, with teeny weeny witness lines, and the poor builder had to decipher what they meant. But graphically the drawings looked fantastic! Not to mention the buildings. Well, our builders also came from the Old School and actually knew what they were doing. What a luxury! (Don't take this too seriously, Jon!)
  24. Sorry, Damo - not with worksheets and symbols, but if instead of symbols you would use (simple) parametric objects, they would work (via a data record.) The script of the PIO might be something like this: code: { -------- START SCRIPT -------- } PROCEDURE xyMarker; { ? Petri Sakkinen 2002 - 2004 } CONST rName = 'refdata'; { the name of the data record you wish to use } xField = 'xCoord'; { and the names of the fields } yField = 'yCoord'; lineLength = 500mm; { modify constants so the size suits you } textX = 700mm; { ditto with tag locations } textY = 700mm; VAR x, y, xo, yo : REAL; me, rHd, wHd : HANDLE; myName, xCoord, yCoord : STRING; ok : BOOLEAN; BEGIN ok := GETCUSTOMOBJECTINFO(myName, me, rHd, wHd); SETOBJECTVARIABLEBOOLEAN(me, 800, TRUE); GETSYMLOC(me, x, y); x := x - PXREF; { we have parameters for coordinate reference } y := y - PYREF; { point in case of a specific local coord origin } xCoord := NUM2STRF(x); yCoord := NUM2STRF(y); SETRECORD(me, rName); SETRFIELD(me, rName, xField, xCoord); SETRFIELD(me, rName, yField, yCoord); xCoord := CONCAT('x ', xCoord); yCoord := CONCAT('y ', yCoord); MOVETO(-lineLength, 0); { crosshair lines } LINETO(lineLength, 0); MOVETO(0, lineLength); LINETO(0, -lineLength); TEXTORIGIN(textX, 0); CREATETEXT(yCoord); SETTEXTVERTICALALIGN(LNEWOBJ, 3); SETTEXTJUST(LNEWOBJ, 1); TEXTORIGIN(0, textY); TEXTROTATE(90); CREATETEXT(xCoord); SETTEXTVERTICALALIGN(LNEWOBJ, 3); SETTEXTJUST(LNEWOBJ, 1); END; RUN(xyMarker); { -------- END SCRIPT -------- } [/code] The PIO properties must be 'Reset on move'. Note that you only need to modify the constants to customise the marker a bit, like size & the record/fields you wish to use. Note also that this only does x & y, but you can easily add z with function GETSYMLOC3D(me, x, y, z) and by adding a third text creation/data writing module. [ 10-22-2004, 09:09 PM: Message edited by: Petri ]
  25. The original question seems to refer to Finder previews. This does not work with VW files - or many other files, for that matter. By and large, it is limited to graphics and plain text files. The preview is often generated by Finder. I'm not even sure what the preview should show: a VW file is not technically 'a drawing' but rather something of a database from which you generate tens of drawings.
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