Christiaan

If you can do it in Artlantis do it in Artlantis. That would be my advice based on my experience of both apps.

It's a fine art all right. Look forward to this being fixed too.

I've worked out the problem. We have both new build and refurb in this project and I've WGR'd both plans into the site plan. Problem of course is that we've given SVPs in one building the same as in the other. The solution being to make sure all SVPs to be WGR'd into the site plan are individually numbered.

I have a floor plan with numbered SVPs (soil vent pipes). I've workgroup referenced this floor plan into the site plan and turned on the Class that the SVPs are on. The problem is the individual numbers of the SVPs are not showing (only the default character is, a dash). And if I select a SVP and look in the data tab of the Object Info Palette the correct data (number) is there. It's just not showing on my site plan. Is there any way to get the correct data to show?

It would be good if the Detail Cut Wood tool support plywood, i.e. straight lines. Currently I create a new hatch every time I have a piece of plywood and a different angle.

Geez, I wish I'd asked that question a long time ago.

You've answered your own question. The advantage of a laptop is portability. That's it. If this is not a priority then should always go with a desktop.

Use the Component Join tool.

If you're looking for photographic results you can't beat Maxwell Renderer. Unfortunately VectorWorks is one of a few modellers that doesn't have plugin support for Maxwell Renderer (possibly, and unfortunately, because Maxwell is seen as a competitor instead of a value adder). One of RenderWorks blessings is also it's achilles heel; the fact that it's contained within what is primarily a drafting/modelling environment. This cuts out program switching and exporting/importing issues, but it also means that it's very difficult the program designers to optimise the user interface for rendering. If you're looking for quality as good or better than Renderworks but much faster and much easier to use then I recommend Artlantis. Without fail I produce easier-to-make, much faster, and better quality renders from Artlantis every time.

To be a little more specific, when documenting a building, I put a floor level on each Layer, and then divide up all objects into useful groups that I might want to turn on and off for each Layer, such as external walls, internal walls, furniture, windows, electric, etc.

I have a wishlist item for this capability: http://techboard.nemetschek.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=81085

Chocolate fish for Peter! Edit: sorry I think that might be a Kiwi vernacular. A chocolate fish is a soft chocolate coated candy bar, sometimes given out by (the nice) school teachers when you did something good.

Which tool is that DWorks? So you just create the thickness by building up a number of hatch "levels" (lines) right next to each other? Is there any way to avoid the glitches where you have a change in direction (see attached image).

Have you tried installing under a new user account? That, at least, will tell you if it's something to do with your user account or not.

Yeah there're a couple of other (similar) windows with this problem too (can't recall which ones right this minute)

When drawing a DPC in our details we like to indicate them as shown in the image attached. Except that I can't figure out how to draw this kind of thing quickly and easily. Some here in our office have used patterns, but you then have to have a pattern for each change in direction (i.e. hori, vert, and other), and I try to avoid patterns because of potential problems when printing. I wondered about, instead of using the Double-Line Polygon tool, using the wall tool with a hatch specified to rotate in wall. But I can't figure out how to make a hatch that gives me this kind of visual effect. Any suggestions entertained.

Yes, Workgroup Referencing is the method. The problem is anything you want someone to work on independently has to be WGR'ed, but we tend to limit our use of WGR because the more you have the more complicated management of the job becomes. Generally we'll split things up in terms of plans, elevations, sections, schedules and so on. On one job we also had master plans and a separate M&E drawing for instance which we WGR'ed the master plans into. My number one wish for VectorWorks is a better system for working as a team, such as ArchiCAD's 'Teamwork' system: http://techboard.nemetschek.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=74599

As a general strategy how do people tend to deal with text and Classes? For instance say you have a floor plan with windows. Do you put text on the window Class, or do you have a general text Class, or do you have special window text Class? Or something else?

Could be off screen? You could try changing your screen resolution a couple of times.

I seem to remember something like this happening to my set up too. It may have to do with upgrading Workspaces. Try starting afresh with a default Workspace setup, or simply try adding the export function to your current Workspace.

It was Abvent that sorted that particular problem out but that wasn't my point Katie. My point is, to me at least, it appears that NNA isn't exactly beating down the doors of 3rd party developers to ensure VectorWorks plays well with other rendering packages. If RenderWorks didn't exist, for instance, I would hazard a guess that NNA would have an ongoing dialogue with the likes of Abvent and Next Limit Technologies to ensure maximum compatibility with their products. But RenderWorks does exist and instead of Next Limit and Abvent being viewed as partners who can help increase the value of VectorWorks they're seen as a competitive threat who can decrease the value of RenderWorks. I don't want to see RenderWorks spun off. I just want to see it compete on its own two legs and I want to be able to use VectorWorks with emerging technologies such as Maxwell Renderer.

It seems apparent to me, judging by comments by NNA staff on the topic, amongst other things, that RenderWorks has become a conflict of interest when it comes to getting VectorWorks to play nicely with 3rd party renderers. If this is the case my wish is that NNA changes its attitude. Make RenderWorks a competitive product; let it compete on its on terms and stand on its own two feet instead of trying to project it from competitors. If this is not a problem then how do we explain the fact that Maxwell Renderer still does not have a VectorWorks plugin available? Not only that but Allplan, ArchiCAD and Cinema4D (all products of NAG) all have plugins. It's a real shame that NNA's apparent attitude with regard to RenderWorks restricts VectorWorks users in their choice of renderer, and in this case means we don't have the compatibility that nearly every other serious modelling app has with one of the best renderers in the industry. It can hardly help VectorWorks' image as a serious 3D modelling app for it not to be supported by Maxwell either.

Here's an example of a Wiki by the way: http://www.vectorwiki.org/

100 Operations/Confirm before save, here. 100 undo steps. Left hand usually hits command-s every few changes too. I've found number of operations to work much better than timing, especially with regard to the problem you mention.

So, I'm picking it's difficult to program an associated hatch that one can snap to.