islandmon

Yeah ... seen some real winners with stuff all over the place. Recompiling can be a challenge, indeed. Finding the 0,0 of each sheet and then placing 2dLoci works. Make sure you also get all the text line spacing correct cus v11.5 is very touchie with text. Finally, I re-orient the drawings to my design page. Don't ask about symbols ... the origin can be anywhere and fixing them can be ... well .. a nightmare especially if they're at a different scale than the sheet they're on.

The suggestion to use hatch&patterns as Renderworks textures is excellent and also avoids postscript issues with patterns not converting to PDF. Also, fill patterns on Viewports sheets will not translate to postscript/PDF except as a solid fill. Avoid FillPat and use image props & textures instead. Viewports allow for unlimited cropping and blocking out which can be great fun : > )

Mr. alanmac, Over the last couple years I've wasted weeks and $$$$ working around various corruptions and sending in bug reports & sample files, etc. Like every other User I've found ways to work around the issues and limit the damages. Printing to PDF is a life saver when you have deadlines. After 4 tries I managed to get the v11.5 download to install without error. But the result was tragic as i then reported. However, sales sent me the v11.5 CD. I noticed after comparing the two installed directories a different set of updated Plug-in files came with the CD. Also v11.5 CD installed was more stable but is NOT comfortable predictable for guys like me. Thereafter, I revised my normal workflow to take extra care and respect the limitations. When I get a crash , I decompile my work step by step to isolate the problem. Vectorscript is a tremendous benefit in this regard. Just the other day I reported an issue with the Table&Chair PIO crashing OpenGL under somewhat random circumstances.Export to Vectorscript helped me isolate that bug. I've also reported that there seems to be a significant improvement in the way v11.5 CD compiles the code as long as all the PIO are up to date including the .ds_store for each directory and the OS, etc.. The installer is a wee bit short on this vital info. You will also note that recently a special service pack was released to correct significant flaws in VW for XP. Perhaps, OSX is just more forgiving of certain pre-conditions with the dylibs. As for my Kudos to "Awesome ViewPorts" There is nothing wrong with giving credit where credit is due. ViewPorts are not perfect in every situation but they are a major step in the right direction and serve to solve many 'challenging' control of display and output issues. Nevertheless, ViewPorts are a module built to access the existing code basis. A flaw in the underlying structure will corrupt/crash the ViewPorts. "What gives? Do you detract (sic) your statement regarding a major underlying fault in VW as put forward in your death of Vectorworks thread?" Actually the thread was titled, "Death of Vectorworks?". I put forward the question as to whether or not the additions to the program were getting too far ahead of the core structures ability to handle the arrays and variables. Noting that vectorscript offers a unique but limited window into those structures for those of us who do not have access to the 'crown jewels'. Perhaps, it would be best if all of us just go blindly into that good night never assessing nor questioning our situation. But I have this compulsive need to analyze and fix things. Maybe I should've been a Trial attorney instead of an architect : > ) Subsequent to my posting Travis emailed and then called my office and we had a lengthy chat . He is a fine and knowledgible fellow who took the opportunity to seek out a different perspective on issues of mutual concern. I enjoy participating in these forums. Perhaps my small contributions will help to pay back those who have 'freely' given me so much. Thank you for your excellent, informative, and inspirational postings. One final thought > G5, Tiger, VW12 .... rock on !!!!! islandmon

In my case it was related to text line spacing after a DWG import. Making setting all the Text Line Spacing via the Text menu resolved that issues. But then the space number field of Parking PIO defaulted to some huge font size which obscured my 20" display !

start with http://www.vectordepot.com

In my little world Layers are containers for Objects whereas Classes are for the parameters of those Objects. Layers control the display of entire sets of different types of Objects whereas Classes control the display of parts of those Objects including the entire Object. Layers links allow Layers to operate as a single entity for display of 3D views. Double clicking on the linked Layer takes you into that Layer to edit it. ViewPorts have the awesome power to place control of just about everything in one display container. So that you can mix & match as required.

What procedure are you using to do 'the move'. Remember that walls have a sinister little memory of past relationships and are loath to break off the engagement just cus some guy named Dav13 wants to move them to the other side of the tracks. Try grouping the selected walls then move them as a 'family' group. And avoid habitual defaulting to the UnDo command... it can be so very damaging...I've totally screwed myself over with it more than once. Especially with this G5 which encourages me to zip along oblivious to my circumstance.

The more I use ViewPorts the more wonderful and essential they become. Just yesterday I 'Layer Linked' a 2D Col. Grid onto a 3D Truss design layer. Then created a ViewPort >isometric view and ...viola' ... the 2D grid transformed into a 3D Grid and laid down under my 3D rendered trusses. Even the dimensions laid down!So Kool ... I remember when Minicad went 2d/3D and that was GREAT! ViewPorts are a similar advancement to Vectorworks. Give those guys a raise and send them on a cruise with their entire extended family.

Ummm ... me no understand .... what is the script code ?

No you're not. You can create a smallish fractal surface with a 'bump' to it and then replicate ( the simplest method ). Or you can create a somewhat larger fractal surface with a random wave to it.

As they say in Physics, 'there conversion... and then there's conversion'... it sucks to get half way to Mars and then discover that you forgot to convert from Imperial to metric for the fuel :>)

Get yee the fab utility 'Cocktail' from versiontracker.com/macosx and then 'Re-Bind' and re initialize the OSX Finder database. You will be amazed at the results. Set the Cron Scripts to run weekly. And empty all that trash... clean out those caches ... and .ds_store files , too.

Since OSX is postscript driven > PDF , you can use any modern app like Word or AppleWorks to compile and export / print to PDF. I use this process all the time. 1)Print each VWsheet to 'save as PDF' 2)Insert each PDF into Word processor & annotate as req. 3)Print entire doc to 'save as PDF', bingo

And may I add that the Cartesian Grid is essentially rectilinear. I often use rectangles to derive coordinate offsets. This avoids needing to do trig calcs for moves & dups. A quick rect from one object to the next gives me the X-Y move. Very quick ... clean and accurate. Rect is one of the least appreciated 'essential' tools.

The way I do it is to use 'Cut 3D section' and trim out the exact image needed before export to EPS. I used this often with Photoshop and achieved perfect results with out any of the re-working you describe.

Being fundamentally lazy ... I insert the upper windows into a wall offset to the side of existing lower windows. Then via the PIO info I set the height and placement to align as required. If there are conflicts between walls I change the Object insertion or just group the wall & windows momentarily to work it out.

Come on down to the US Virgin Islands where the local quasi governmental monoploy Water & Power Authority is a well known terrorist organization. A day does not pass without a power outrage. Equipment often catches on fire around here. UPS bricks get burned out after one year ! In the 30 years I lived in California I never experienced a single outage. In the USVi we get at least 30/week. Oh and one other tid-bit ... we pay the highest rates in the world for the privilege of having electric current randomly flowing. Come to America's Paradise !

Whew ... what a read ... doth appear to be minor conflicts between User Inputs, VW data I/O and OS I/O. Solution : 1)Avoid unnecessary Undo's 2) Changes to VW Preferences must = save ( note OSX has 2 pref files ) 3) After Crash =first find problem(s) & check Preferences & Attributes beofre continue to work on the file. Summary: What may appear to be a bug may actually be a "random' or "unpredictable" result of complex interactions between carbon & silicon based life forms. Inter-Species mating can get messy ;>0

I think the key is the ID tag# for each object. In order to accept new data into a PIO record field , there first must be a new object ID# to define the record set for that object. Otherwise null is generated by the boolean for object creation. PIO objects all have various record fields by default such as width, height, etc. but the User must first define the object and the placement before these fields can be change via the PIO. Additionally the PIO default parameters can be changed via Menu>Organize>Scripts>Plug-in Editor. Hope this helps.

Ramon, It doth appear that every User has developed a special 'Secret Recipe Book' for handling various situations. Trial & Error evolution of process & protocols. I recommend to all users that they never send a full set of dynamic VW documents around but only PDF or DWG of various completed processes. This basic copyright protects them & their clients. This may be a partial reason we rarely see completed project files posted ( also size is an issue ). VW install normally includes an 'extras' sample of a basic residential plan with Layers, Classes, & Symbol.Check your installation folders for it.

You can create a single wall segment then Duplicate & Rotate using the arc center coordinates. You may be pleasantly surprised at the excellent results.

Ouch... If your familiar with invisible files , you will discover ".ds_store" in each of the VW directories ( folders). When you copied over the old directory structure the links were severed. Just take a moment .. try this : >Quit VW >trash preferences >trash the .ds_store files for the various libraries. >relaunch VW In the future to avoid many of these issues always use a Back-Up Utility.

Trial & Error ... plenty of patience ... strict protocols. First decide which app shall be Master ... then slave to it. Font & line spacing are critical. Use only standard Fonts. Acad uses World Scale whereas VW allows any scale & page scale. Also keep it mind that Acad defaults to engineering scale ratio, ie 1:50 which is mistakenly used for 1/4 scale = 1:48. So get the scales synchronized.

Hatches,Fills,Patterns,Props can be divided into MathProcessor & VideoProcessor. Hatches required vectormath.Fills,Pat,Prop are video bitmaps using videoprocessor/vram. The speed of redraw for Hatches is dependent upon the processor speed. Once calculated the result is sent to vram for display. 1)Editing Hatches to eliminate 'redundancies' and wierd angles can improve performance significantly. 2) Create hatch to match the page scale whenever possible. 3) Minimize the number of Hatches by purging the file of unused hatches ( this applies to classes, etc). Then save the file as a different version. In v10 & 11 the HatchName string would sometimes get truncated resulting in strange behaviors.

Instead of 'Compose' ... use 'Combine into Surface'