Beaster

Thank you Katie, You are most helpful. I feel I was misled by sales staff... It's time to return this software. Do you know the best way to get a RMA?

Actually, I do all my drafting in 3D. It was not a big deal in DataCad, 3D or 2D drawings just zip right through to my Epson. Setting up lots of details with different scales on one page could occasionally be maddening. Everybody is pulling their hair out trying to plot with these older HP's. At least that's how the posts look. Maybe we don't hear from people who are doing fine. It seems like a wide format printer would be more fun? E-Bay sounds like a great idea. Thanks

I've been looking all over for a symbol library with VW10.5.1. Does it come with symbols for overhead garage doors, windows, etc?

Well now, I was thinking of updating my printing capabilities because my older Epson will only print to a C-size sheet. I'm new to VWKS, having spent plenty of time trying to get DataCad to print my drawings. Running WinXP. Sure sounds like the best thing to do would be to get a wide format printer, that all the plotters will make you crazy. And maybe a plotter will work OK for a year or 2, then you upgrade your OS or your software, and then nobody will give you the time of day. Does this sound like it represents the consensus of irritated plotmeisters? Who do you suppose makes a nice big printer?

Dorp, Did you ever get it all figured out? I'm at a similar spot on the old learning curve (looks a little like the old learning CLIFF actually. ) It seem like VW is lots harder to learn than AutoCad for 3D, but it's lots cheaper, too. Even so, I'm thinking of sending it back. Bruce Donelson A Better Builder

It might be that the Snap to Grid is checked. (I might have the exact command name wrong, as I'm new to this platform.) Anyhow, it constrains the snap grid to some predefined (and adjustable) value. This is handy to set to, say, 1/2" if you're drawing 5 1/2" rectangular walls, but if you are trying to find intersections of complex things, those will not always be at those grid spots. If you turn it off it should drop stuff right where the intersection is. I think VW will let you round off the dimensions, so that associative dimensions won't read everything in 64ths (or thousandths) of an inch. Hope this helps.

And maybe I need a LayerLink layer, to keep the weird layer link lines on. And to keep from driving myself crazy (crazier?) I should set this layer to invisible so I won't keep trying to do something with these weird lines that I can't snap to unless I'm in this LinkLayer. And is it true that when you have layers that are linked you can only snap to objects in them when you have their home layers set to active? I sure have lots of things that I can't snap to floating around.... Makes me wish for DataCads Identify feature: if you can see it, you can find out all about it. You can even match settings to it. Oh well.

Hi Maz, I'm new too. I think what you mean by disconnected is "Why are they distinct object types?" Other programs treat everything as 3-D stuff, some of it just happens to have a thickness and/or Z-origin of 0. Here, things are either 2-D (lines, dims, locus points, etc.), 3-D (extrudes, maybe Nurbs surfaces), or hybrid. The real WHY of it all may never be fully understood. It might have to do with some obscure programming decision in an ancient version of MiniCad. I would guess that it was implemented to save memory in the drawing space, sorta like the Y2K date styles. Our task is to just get used to it as quick as possible so we can get back to real work.

Thank you Katie! That's pretty much what I came to. I figured to put in another layer for floor joists so that my floor framing plans would work out. I've got the training CD's, and I've been through them. They kind of help. I suppose it would be almost impossible without them, but so far it's been tough with them, too. I'm starting out with a garage, and its hard to believe that it could be this difficult to draw even with years of DataCad behind me! I can hardly wait to start plotting! I'm afraid I maight be back here from time to time... Thanks again.

I'm a new Vectorworks user, showing up here from a DataCad platform. I'm still a bit uneasy about the whle layers/classes thing, and I'm wondering what's the best way to set up a default drawing template. I build mostly fairly small, simple residences. I thought that it might be best to set up layers for plot plans, footings, stemwalls, floors, walls, roofs, sections, and elevations, each with their own Z settings. Classes might be dimensions, notes, room labels, furniture, exterior walls, interior walls, plumbing, electrical, cabinets, floor tile, and ? So what is the best way to categorize windows and doors? Or should I just ignore them and let them kinda go wherever they put themselves. The Vectorworks documentation does an OK job of describing what the commands do, but not a very good job of telling how to use the software to produce output. A little input from a Vectorworks pro would be much appreciated. Thanks.