David Ormsby

picareta - You may want to try the Duplicate Array command - even if you need 1 copy, it will give you precise control over the copy's location. mralistair There is a third party plugin on the Vectorbits dot com site (Vectormove) that sounds like it could fit your bill. Not that it wouldn't be nice to have this feature built in, but they do have some handy tools there.

On my machine, the "=" key activates interactive rotate, and typing it twice opens the requestor - many VW commands work this way, a single press activates the tool, and a double press opens the requestor. (The "A" key being one of my most used - turning "snap to grid" on and off, or the double tap opens the grid snap settings box). I think the "v" is about placement - as I mentioned cmmnd+z,x,c,v are among the most common commands needed - undo,cut,copy,paste - and they all neatly adjacent to each other. More of a qwerty thing than windows - I seem to recall these commands working on the C64 and they may even predate ms-dos. BTW, these 4 keys by themselves are very useful in VW z = pan x = select c = zoom in (a double tap zooms in %50 on the cursor) v = zoom out (a double tap zooms out %50 on the cursor)

I think ccroft is right, if one menu command has a window open, the other menus will be inactive. cntrl/cmmd z,x,c,v (undo,cut,copy,paste) work in almost every application, on either mac or windows, and may be your only option here. HTH For what it's worth, and I'm sure most of the users here would agree, learning some of the basic keyboard shortcuts can really increase your productivity. I draft with one hand on the mouse, and the other on the keyboard, and rarely need to touch the menu bar, as many of the basic commands are available with a single keypress.

I had a look at this site - looks very interesting. However there is no pricing info listed. Are you associated with this?

I use the export from VW almost daily, and am very happy with the integration. The lighting, texturing, and rendering speed are all excellent, and many notches above RW.

http://www.semafore.com/design/calendar/2007/2007.02.html Check this gentleman's art for some fluid C4D renders

Speaking from the corporate experience, where everything is temporary - Primary fields would include; Multi Name, Length, Part (i.e. A,B etc, for when the run is broken up), Voltage. Secondary fields would be Rack number and Destination (i.e. with multiple racks, Multi X is going to Rack 2 input H - be a nice help when tracking down circuits in the patchbay), Loads, Gauge, Spares. I'd like to see the primary fields appear at the female/truss end, and have all the fields assigned to thier own classes. The length rounding sounds great - as well as the ability to get this into a worksheet. Seems one challenge is to calculate the vertical drop. Once the cable was would it's way around the cieling, at some point it's going to drop to the floor. Perhaps there's a entry in a prefs screen that would add cieling/trim height to all cable runs, so even though it looks like a 50' run in Plan view, the tool would know to add 25' to get the hod to the floor. Perhaps additional fields would support the use of data cable runs for movers and control - Universe, Opto, Console.... Not asking too much, am I? I think it would be the perfect companion for AP and Chain Motor, and I for one will drop coin on it immediately! BTW - Thanks for all your support over the years!

Which "Pull Down" is your grid layer appearing on top in? Does the grid layer appear on top when looking at the design layers? Are the "shaded boxes" on a design layer? If you are looking at the Navigation Palette, check that the grid layer has a "1" in the right column - this palette can be sorted by visibility, name or number, the number indicates which layer is actually "on top".

Gideon - Thanks, been so long I set this up I forgot that step.

Create a new Worksheet in the Resource Browser and Open it. Create as many columns and rows as you think you may want. Mine has 2 columns, Symbol Name and Quantity. Right Click on a row number and select Database. The Criteria requestor pops up - in the first row select Layer - is - "layer name" Click more choices. In the second row selecr Type - is - Symbol Continue creating rows for each layer you want to count. Now left click/highlite your new database row. You will see the Sort and Sum icons have become active. Click and drag the Sum icon onto the "A" Column; this will summarize all symbols with the same name into 1 row. If you wish you can also drag one of the Sort icons onto the "A" column. Repeat this step for each Database Row. As a finishing touch, I entered text in the empty row above each database row with a name like "Lighting Layer" What I've done is created this worksheet in my template file. This file as all my default layers in it, and the worksheet will count everything on each of those layers. Even though it took a little while to set up, I only had to do it once, and everytime I start a new project these tools are available. Note that if you rename a layer, you will need to Edit Criteria for that row to get it to work. HTH

You need to download the latest version from the Maxon site to work with VW12, and that will work with C4D 9.6 and 10.

Also - you can turn these off at import, should you like using your own Loci. In the DWG Import window click Use Custom under Import Options. Click Set Custom Options, go to the Objects Tab and check Symbols under Import Points As.

I use the prefix plugin as well - to keep it manageable I'll import the dwg into a blank file, run the plugin, then copy and past the dwg layer into my working drawing. Still a bit of a kludge, but at least it works.

I gave this a shot as well, and using the "create report" command it does indeed work. The thing I can't see how to do is get the "=xcenter" data back into the OIP and connected to each fixture, so that it can travel to Lightwright through the Spotlight "export instrument data" command, as well as being available in the Lable Legend manager for printing on the finished plot. Perhaps the rumoured script sross has.....

Kevin I don't know if Matt is running 12.5 - but I know that for myself and a couple of others we've noticed that the default mapping in "Import Inst Data/Autolink" does not seem to work by default anymore. It has been flawless single click operation up to 12.5. Now I've had to create a Import template and load it each time.

Petri Generally when creating a stage plot all dimensions are based on a center line. Especially with a touring event, this is the only constant. It would be nice if PIO Instrument tool had fields for position. I tried putting the =xcenter into one of the user fields, but VW just treats it as text whether or not I used the SL report or a custom report. Pudge - one tool I use is included in the Autoplot for Spotlight tools (AutoplotVW.com) that will add an ordinate dimension to the drawing for every instrument. Mucks up the plot a bit, but can be very handy.

Dave I think you are being clear - If you group the extude by itself, you will get the world coordinates back. HTH

Not sure what you mean by "setting line", but have a look at Autoplot Tools for Spotlight (autoplotvw.com). There are some dimensioning tools in there that will place an ordinate dimension on every fixture, from center or where ever else you choose. A LOT of other great tools as well.

Before I started on the Allnetic thing, I used the log file quite a bit. I found that it would make an entry everytime the autosave was activated (which I have set to 5 minutes). And autosave only works on the active drawing, and if VW was the front window - so when I did have multiple files open, I could tell what I was actually working on by the autosave entries. Still a lot of work wading through it.

I wish that Logex did have a windows port - looks great! Al, I use a program called Time Tracker (www.allnetic.com) Very handy - allows for multiple projects and tasks withing projects. Starts and stops from the Task bar, and easy to edit later (in case you forget to stop or start it.) HTH

That's where the problem lay - LW Device type was going to SL Do Not Edit, and LW Template was going to SL Device Type. Of note, I was using the "Autolink" button, which has never come up with this result before. Thanks

Jim T - how are ya? Yeah, just found this out for myself as well. I ended up going into the Label Legend folder and duplicating the legend in use, and appending " - Back" to the name. Then I went to Edit Layout in the LLM, and swaped the alignment on the text block for Circuit Name and Circuit Number, so I see Number on the left in the preview. Then I selected the lights in question and Assigned the new label. Using the AutoplotVW Selection tools, it was actually less work than flipping each "downstage" facing unit. Just to be clear, Jim and I use a Legend that has Name and Number on the same line. Flipping horizontal used to "fix" the fixtures that were pointing downstage, getting Name to appear on the left.

I've run into some wierdness - running 12.51 Spotlight and using the Field Template symbols. After importing from Lightwright, and refreshing all instruments, the Inst Type field is changing to "Light" for all fixtures, rather than (for example) Source 4 19. Before refreshing, the data shows correctly in the OIP. After Refreshing, all other data is fine except for the Inst Type field. I tried replacing the Field Template symbol with the SL version and the Inst Type shows correctly. I've double checked the Record data is correct in both. I've used the Field teplate symbols for quite a while without this problem, but it's the first plot with 12.5.1. Any Ideas? Thanks

Shaun Same here, I was able to export from 12.5 to C4D 9.603. FYI, I DID NOT update the import plugin in the C4D folder, only in VW. HTH

Katie Any word on the 0.1 bug fix? Been getting some lock ups in 12... Thanks