azizg

Yes I do use the the Navigation Palette. And it is a great tool. However it's not as easy as having it in the right mouse click.

I'd like to be able to put the 'layer' and 'class' pull down list as it appears at the top of the document window in the 'right click' contextual menu. with the two button mouse this would put the two most commonly used functions where ever your cursor happens to be on the screen. Cheers

Thank you both for getting back to me. Alas it doesn't sound like there is a magic "fix it" button, so I guess it will require a bit of fiddling around and experimentation, a bit annoying. Michael, I was actually using a desktop with 3.5GB of Ram, but that doesn't mean that rap isn't the problem. I've never actually used image props before, but I'll give them a go. Cheers

I'm using Vectorworks 12.5.0. I've create a model of a building in one file. In another file I've created a model of the land. I've created a third file which uses Workgroup References to link the two together. I set up a view of the building in the first file, and every thing works fine when I render it in 'final quality renderworks' mode. (see picture below) I then set up the same view in the third 'Workgroup Referenced' file, which includes both the building model and the land model. Every thing looks OK. (seen below in wire frame) The problem occurs when I try to render this model in 'final quality renderworks' mode. (see picture below) The line marked in red is where the camera cuts a section through every thing. As you can see the line is rather unfortunately in front of the building in this view, but not in other views. When I render the model in 'shaded polygon' mode it works correctly (see picture below) Is there some known reason for this? More importantly is there some known way of getting rid of it? Thank you for any help.

just like to thank NNA for all their hard work. VW 2008 looks really good. Looking forward to getting it in the coming months. New web site looks good as well. Cheers

1) would it be possible to get rectangles to remain as rectangles after they've been rotated. instead of being converted to polygons. Thus to allow their 2 sides to be accurately changed in the obj info pallet. 2) it's possible to change views and save them in 3D. Can we please do this in 2D? I'm designing buildings with funny angles in them, meaning that few of my rooms are in line with the x or the y. It would be great if we could rotate the 2D view, if we do it at the moment it changes to a 3D view. It can be done in AutoCad. Cheers

I don't know if this will help. But take a look in the VW prefs, at the top you have 4 different pref windows. Take a look in the 3D prefs. Here you can change the "3D rotation" towards responsive and the "Retain Rendering Model" towards never. If your working in 3D this should reduce the workload on the processor and video card. Good luck

would be handy

It might be nice also to be able choose which template file is opened at application start up.

I ended up doing some thing similar to this. I created a modifier around the boulders on the proposed DTM to cut them out of the model and then had the existing DTM pushing through the gaps I'd made. Giving them both a different texture it worked quite well. Thanks for the ideas.

I Cipes. No I haven't tried it yet, I'll give it a go in the morning. Island mon. You can apply a texture to a DTM but it wont tile as normal on any other object. It take the texture and seams to stretches a single instance over the hole model. quote help file: "if renderworks is installed, the site model can be textured from the render tab of the object info palette. The texture is applied to the surface of the site model, and is scaled to fit the site model bounding box." so unless you use a texture of several hundred square meters you don't get any detail up close. the "drape surface" sounds close to what I was suggesting, but it's still a 3D tool. This makes it difficult to edit the shape, it also makes it hard to get several different textures to interact closely, and edit them accurately. In 3D these things all take time. What I was suggesting is to use 2D polygons which then have the texture applied to them projected up to the DTM above. Working in 2D is fast and easy. You can do a quick presentation over several hundred square meters with paths, different flower beds, lawn, stream etc and it would only take 5 minutes. It if you wanted to edit it, it would also be really fast and easy. thanks for the tips guys, I'll try them and get back

I've spent a lot of time over the last couple of days trying to find ways of texturing a DTM model, and there seems no easy way of doing it. We need a new modifier tool. However not a DTM modifier which is prone to problems, uses a lot of ram and can be complicated to use. We need a render works modifier to use with the DTM. If we could creat 2D (or 3D) polygons when in 2D plan projection which we could apply textures to, so that when in 3D those textures (not the polygons) are projected straight up onto the surface of the DTM. I don't know what the normal type of land is, but I'm working in the jungle and on hills in Thailand. Where I work we have big boulders, streams, natural foot paths that pass through the land and other features which are all included in the topographical data that I have. I don't need to alter the DTM to add these features, I just need to paint them on to the surface. from what I've read the "texture bed" "site modifier" does some thing similar, however it changes the DTM shape (which can cause problems and errors) and besides I couldn't get it to work in any of the situations I tried it in. Even in situations where the "site modifiers" are the best option, this method of painting on a texture can still be used as a quick way of working in the concept stage before commiting the time needed to do it properly after a decision has been made on direction. so how about it? A DTM renderworks "modifier"? I've added this to the wish list forum. If you think it's a good idea go and say so there. thanks

I've spent a lot of time over the last couple of days trying to find ways of texturing a DTM model, and there seems no easy way of doing it. We need a new modifier tool. However not a DTM modifier which is prone to problems, uses a lot of ram and can be complicated to use. We need a render works modifier to use with the DTM. If we could creat 2D (or 3D) polygons when in 2D plan projection which we could apply textures to, so that when in 3D those textures (not the polygons) are projected straight up onto the surface of the DTM. I don't know what the normal type of land is, but I'm working in the jungle and on hills in Thailand. Where I work we have big boulders, streams, natural foot paths that pass through the land and other features which are all included in the topographical data that I have. I don't need to alter the DTM to add these features, I just need to paint them on to the surface. from what I've read the "texture bed" "site modifier" does some thing similar, however it changes the DTM shape (which can cause problems and errors) and besides I couldn't get it to work in any of the situations I tried it in. Even in situations where the "site modifiers" are the best option, this method of painting on a texture can still be used as a quick way of working in the concept stage before commiting the time needed to do it properly after a decision has been made on direction. so how about it? A DTM renderworks "modifier"?

to any one that's interested, I've found a work around. by using pad's and fence's to cut out the rocks from the proposed DTM you can then get the existing DTM to show through. The problem is that you can't give the proposed and existing DTM's different textures, also you can't copy the DTM and give it a different texture. If the copy does not have the same texture as the original then it just disappears. So I've had to make a new DTM from the original data, this allows me to apply a different texture. The two DTM's can then be combined in a layer link. It seems to work.

Thanks guys I guess I'll upgrade then.

Hi from time to time a file will start forgetting to render at certain levels of zoom. I'll tell a it to "Final quality renderworks" and the screen drops into the checker board pattern and then nothing happens. VW is still working fine, it hasn't hung. I then have to zoom out until I find a magnification that it likes and then it will choose to render. I can go back to wire frame mode at any time. Other render modes work find. Once this has happened that file is then stuck that way. I find it offten happens with a landscape DTM, but not exclusively. any one know why? cheers

Hi All I've just started making a site model for the first time since VW10. Wow what a fantastic improvment, good job. But I have a question about applying specific textures to specific areas. The land I'm working on is quite steep and is covered in large granite boulders (6 or 7 meters tall). These rocks are part of the landscape and there topography is included in my servey data. Now I need to texture them appropriately to distinguish them from the grass around them. Is there some way? I've tried using the "texture beds" in the "site modifiers" tool but this doesn't work at all. Is there some other way of applying specific textures to specific areas? Please help me.

thank you all for your advice. I'll have an experiment with the ideas you've suggested and see what works best. I know the way I do it now doesn't seem to work to well. cheers

What is the best way of drawing beams in my model. I have been using walls which allow me to apply a render component. However in plan you can't see the the render component because it's below a slab so it doesn't matter. And in section VW doesn't show the components of a wall. Also the beam (wall object) interfear and make it a bit tricky apply the actual wall (another wall object below the beam) I just wanted to find out how other people drew their beams, and if I was missing some realy easy way of drawing them. Looking forward to hearing other peoples techniques. thanks

OK I'll give it a go. thanks

I've just re-realized that the same goes for columns, now that I've tried to apply a photographic texture. The last time I tried to do this I had to use extruded polygons. Although then they ceased to be hybrid objects so when in plan you can the objects below them. So I had turn them in to a symbol with 2D polygons attached to get the hybrid functionality back, this in turn made it a real pain to edit and move items around. I've mentioned the columns before It really would be great if it could be addresed

the walls in models are doing funny things at funny times. It's happened many times before at odd moments and in different files and models, but I'll tell you what has just happened now. I have an extruded L shaped polygon as a floor slab with walls around it acting as beams. I selected 1 wall to change the texture. When it finished rendering 1 wall had extended it self by 35cm. The two wall that were attached to it have been dragged along so that instead of being parallel to the X axis they are now at 3.3? and 37? from the X axis. So I now have to redraw them. This has happened many times before. Some times shifting in plan view as in this case, but also in elevation, so that horizontal walls suddenly become slopping walls. I know there's nothing to be done about it, but I thought I should report the bug in the hope that it might get fixed. Thanks VW 12.0.1

Can you please fix the rendering modes on wall objects. When applying a texture to the centre part of a wall there is no option for "perimeter" in the map type options. This means that if your using a photographic texture on the wall, the top of the wall has the texture stretched over completely loosing any of the aesthetical benifits of using a photographic texture. it would be really nice if this could be addressed. thanks

I've just started learning how to use the stair object, very useful. But there are a couple of improvments that I think would really do it for me. 1) the ability to specify different tread length and riser for the different sections of the stair case. People don't want to do it very often, but I just found a situation where I have no other choice. 2) within the settings for the "overall height" by "layer elevation" we should be able to set an ofset value above or below the layer Z of the upper or lower layer. 3) would be handy if the winder U and L's would let you specify the number of treads. And if it didn't create so many errors in it's formation. I hope others agree. Aziz

I'd say that was a brilliant idea!!