Francois Levy

I think I may have answered my own question: http://www.vectorbits.com/VectorBits/vectorbits/Entradas/2008/1/8_Optimize_Drawing.html If anyone knows of another solution, please let me know...

I seem to remember seeing a script once that deleted duplicate (superimposed) instances of the the same object. I looked for it over at the VectorDepot but it's not there. Does anyone know of such a script? Thanks in advance...

I'm wondering if anyone on the list has exported a Vectorworks model to STL and output to a 3D printer. If so, I'd like to hear about your experience.

Thanks Michael! Just what I was looking for. In 2010 you can use the Attribute Mapping Tool to position the hatch correctly in the wall.

I'm curious if anyone has developed/found a batt insulation hatch (for use in wall components).

You have to assign a class to the texture bed not from the Class pull-down menu (as you normally would), but by typing in a class name in the appropriate field (Class) via the Object Info palette, or upon creation. Assign the texture you want to the class whose name you typed in.

I have a Vectorworks BIM workshop coming up this weekend (August 1-2) in the Bay Area, with another in Pittsburgh on August 15-16. Here's a link: http://is.gd/1dcIX. ABOUT THE CLASS The BIM Workshop is intended for users of Vectorworks ARCHITECT or DESIGNER (and even FUNDAMENTALS) who wish to integrate intelligent models into their design and documentation workflow. Topics covered include: * Using hybrid 2D and 3D parametric objects such as site models, walls, windows, doors, stairs, etc. * File organization and maximizing the effectiveness of classes, design and sheet layers, and viewports for efficiently extracting views of a building model * General 3D modeling * Embedding data in hybrid objects and generating tabular views (reports) such as door and window schedules, area takeoffs, and performance calculations * Team collaboration using workgroup references, including integrating DWG (AutoCAD files) in your workflow, and importing and exporting IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) files For a preview of projects demonstrating some of these principles (and others) please see these two online movies (approximately 40 minutes in length each): http://download2.nemetschek.net/www_movies/Francois_Levy_AIA/Francois_Levy_AIA.html http://download2.nemetschek.net/Presentations/Levy_7shades_green.mov Macintosh workstations will be available for all participants, and participants are welcome to bring their own laptops with Vectorworks installed. Fast-paced and comprehensive, this training is helpful to Vectorworks users wanting to take their expertise to the next level. For more information, email me info AT francoislevy DOT com

I'd like to save myself some trial and error time on this. Does anyone have a preferred export format for best quality animations? Video, PNG, MPEG, etc.? Which produces the best quality (least pixellated) in a broadly digestible format? I've been typically rendering in FQRW using Video format, as in my experience most people can view that, but even at highest quality I get some pixellation, particularly with raking light (low sun on a DTM hillock, for example). Anyone have any favorites?

I have Vectorworks BIM workshops coming up in Los Angeles, the Bay Area, and Pittsburgh: http://is.gd/1dcIX

I am seeing one of my students with a similar problem (VW 2209 Student Version, Windows). Is this a known issue with the student version, to avoid circumventing watermarking?

I strongly agree that direct editing of the model from a Viewport and especially a Section Viewport is an essential direction VectorWorks should take.

Did I miss something, or are stairs now only in 3D? I seem to have misplaced the draw in 2D only option. Can anyone set me straight?

Does anyone know of a script or worksheet function which will return the Z-coordinate of a specified PIO? Thanks in advance!

I seem to be missing the Site Modifier as an option of object types to convert to in 'Modify/Convert Objects from Polyline...' I usually work in Designer, and am on a colleague's workstation with Architect installed. Is 'Convert Polyline to Site Modifier' a Landmark/Designer only command?

Yes. Does that help, or hinder?

I've noticed that from time to time textures which had been applied at a 90? rotation to extrusions will flip back to 0?. Is anyone else experiencing this? Is this a known bug? Anyone know what triggers this behavior? Unfortunately this is one of those that's hard to predict or reproduce ...

Hi Pete, I don't entirely agree. Individual objects need not be selectable in the VP window; there could just be a toggle in the classes column (next to visibility) for "VP overrides object attributes". Another approach would be to make objects selectable within the Annotations Space itself (that's a taller order of course). I don't know how much engineering effort is required. We can already override graphic attributes by class; it seems a small thing to allow them by object. But of course seemingly trivial features can actually involve daunting coding. As to your larger point: I think these kinds of requests actually have everything to do with making VPs "work". In private conversations with NNA, I like many others I am sure have pointed out that there exist in VPs graphically conflicted interests, borne out of the fact that an object may be required to appear one way in plan, another in elevation, yet another in section, and be represented in yet another way in a rendering. Overriding attributes in VPs in effect allows me to assign multiple attributes to the same class. I suppose another way to go about it would be to give every class multiple (user-defined) attribute panes. Each class could have a plan appearance, elevation appearance, section characteristics, etc. In essence that already exists to some degree with classes assigned both RenderWorks textures and 2D graphic attributes. I think your caution is valid, though, that such systems could collapse under their own weight and be either buggy or unusable. Ultimately, I'd like to see "smart" elevations and sections (i.e., VPs) that "know" to lighten line weights as elements recede in the background (preferable controlled by a simple slider by the user).

It would be useful to be able to assign a pattern to hatch lines.

While class attributes of objects can be overridden at the Viewport, Viewports cannot override any "forced" attributes of objects. That should be an option in Viewports/Classes...

The subject line says it all: a readily-accessible button in the Object Info palette that converts selected object(s) to polygons (saves going to the menu). Maybe also Compose and Decompose?

Personally I like white and have for years. My colleague seems to think black is easier on her eyes, and that a soft grey or Borco mint might be even better. To each her own I suppose.

A user in our office has requested a background color other than black or white. Does anyone know of a plug-in or script that allows customization of the BG color? I am not, of course, referring to RenderWorks layer backgrounds. One sloppy workaround would be to have a huge rectangle of a desired color on a dedicated layer, with a Saved View that would activate that layer. Not perfect though ... Should I x-post this to Wish List?

Class overrides only work in viewports if the original object was drawn by class. If you have a wall class and set it to a .30 mm line weight, but manually assign a .50 mm line to a given instance, then the viewport will be unable to override the manually-assigned line weight. That might be what you are experiencing. Until viewports intelligently recognize depth, I simply force nearly all objects in the viewport to a light line, then trace over objects I want to "pop" with heavier lines, generally in the annotations space. Still requires manual fiddling, but still faster than the old Cut 2D/3D Sections in most cases. Now if only viewports would update faster ...

Well, I'm only asking for the same ones you already have in the 2D tool to be available in the 3D joist. It struck me that they are in one place, and not the other. Obviously those are different tools, but ... W, angle, channel, tube pretty much captures it for me.

Sorry, not LGMF. I meant the same standard steel channels that are in the menu of choices for the 2D steel channel PIO.