[Power Schematics]

Usually, making connections on the input automatically connects to the output. But sometimes, one input is not actually the same as the connected output, most often when circuit breakers or fuses are involved. 

 

Add this to your workspace to check internal connections.

[Graphic Legends and lighting accessories, and more]

25 minutes ago, William McLachlan said:

4) when using equipment summary keys, is there a difference in their operation if they're placed on a design layer vs. directly on a sheet layer?

5) Same question for Graphic legends - are they any more or less capable or used differently if they're placed on a design layer or sheet layer?

4. They're supposed to work the same for both design and sheet layers.  Personally, I always recommend placing them on design layers and using viewports to place them on sheet layers. It gives more control over the resulting display, specifically the scale. I've often reduced the scale by 10-20% without confusing the crew.

 

5. Graphic legends do not work in design layers.

[Power Schematics]

There's something about the pass-through circuit in the Coffret Tri 20Kw. I don't know what, but to get you the calculation you need for the system, if you bypass the Armoire 2 and go from the Source 2 to the Armoire 3, you'll get the calculations to work. 

 

Drawing the cable connections in the schematic view correctly, @JCodgell is correct; there's a known issue. However, if you want to draw lines, instead of connecting the two distributors using the cable tool, you can use the Connect Selected command in the schematic view, shown here. 

 

BTW, the Coffret Tri 8 lacks connections to circuits 7 & 8 N & PE

 

[Problem when copying objects from a project to another project!]

2 hours ago, Cristiano Alves said:

With a blank new file, it happens the same .

I don't know if you have tried these troubleshooting steps, but... Close VW and try number one first. If that doesn't work, try #2. 

1. Please reset your Resource Manager Cache to force a fresh download of the VW libraries.
   1. Refreshing your Resource Manager will update your library to the latest published symbols. You may need to clear your local RM cache file. Refreshing the RM doesn't always do this. Delete the RM Cache folder and then refresh the RM and it'll pull down a complete set of updated RM files.
      Win: C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Nemetschek\Vectorworks RMCache\rm202x
      Mac: /Users/username/Library/Application Support/Vectorworks RMCache/rm202x
      Remember to replace the “username” with your computer username if you copy and paste the file paths
      Your file location might differ. 
2. Reset your user folder. 
   1. Find your user folder for 2025 and rename it to something like 2025Cristiano so you can restore it later
   2. Start VW, and a new user folder will be placed. You might need your serial number for this.

If resetting your user folder works, you can then start adding custom settings and plug-ins back in. When I'm searching for an item that creates conflicts in my user folder, I add each custom plugin, one at a time.

 

[Cable tools are worse than ever]

19 minutes ago, LiteDoctor said:

Well, that's a lot to go through but it does work. A couple of questions:

I agree! 
I've not explored my workaround enough to answer your questions with clarity right now, and I'm neck deep in some other things. 
I still prefer the line offsets Autoplot offers, and I hope to offer the same in VW's version as soon as practical. aka, not soon, but it's on the list.

As for naming symbols, you can save the symbols with a new name for each, but use the short name field for paperwork. I never use the symbol name on paperwork, as it's always too long for the column width in my reports.

[3-Phase Consumers not showing wattage when creating Power Schematics]

@JamesB1 I played more. I renamed a few connection components to help me trace where things were getting connected. You'll see what I did in this file. I spent my time working on getting one connection working as expected, and it calcs the three phases. Giving each component a logical name helps trace how things should be connected. I think all the work I did was inside the T4 symbol.

hth, Scott

PowerTest SCP.vwx

 

[3-Phase Consumers not showing wattage when creating Power Schematics]

Hi James, your distro is missing a lot of internal connections.

Add this to your workspace to check internal connections. Once you have edited the connections, you should have better luck.

[Problem when copying objects from a project to another project!]

This problem could be in the template file you are using.

 

What happens when you paste into a new blank file instead of your template file?

[Cable tools are worse than ever]

On 6/16/2025 at 5:11 AM, jcogdell said:

The workflow is that you need to draw you power cables first, then draw the data cables. 

 

On 6/16/2025 at 5:11 AM, jcogdell said:

The adapter notification dialogue will probably be triggered, select the option to not insert adapters and close.

 

On 6/14/2025 at 9:31 AM, Marco Erbert said:

What is Vectorworks’ approach when you have 200–300 fixtures in a large rig? Somehow, you also have to calculate the amount of data cabling, not just the power cables.

 

 

All this got me thinking, and I have a workaround while data is being further developed. One issue is lighting content. VW automatically adds the power consumer parts to each light, and this doesn't help us with data connections. To fully use the cable tools for both power and data, we need to add new power components to our gear. After doing so, we can build a full set of paperwork and schematic layouts for both power and data cable runs. I've made a video and attached my test tile.
 DMX cabling demo w data input w components v2025.vwx

 

[3-Phase Consumers not showing wattage when creating Power Schematics]

Please post a sample file so that the collective can take a look. 

[Temporarily Suspend Snapping for Loads when moving/or creating?]

3 hours ago, Mike Wright said:

the lights all snap to the square of truss above

Are you talking about the lights that look like they should stay snapped to the pipes below the truss? Can you share a copy of this for use to play with?

[Cable tools are worse than ever]

4 hours ago, Marco Erbert said:

What is Vectorworks’ approach when you have 200–300 fixtures in a large rig? Somehow, you also have to calculate the amount of data cabling, not just the power cables.
I would be very happy if we could get a working tool for data cables again with SP6.

Hello Marco,
I encourage you to add the legacy version of the data cable tool to your workspace and use it for now. Data is being worked on, but it's not going to make it into SP6, nor into 2026. With all the other items that need data, we're working on improving the underlying coding so it works properly across the board vs. just fixing what's missing for lighting. 
If you want even more powerful data cable functions, check out our third-party partner's cable tools at autoplotvw.com. Sam's tools were the basis of our old set of tools, and he continues to improve them. They're fantastic, though they don't do 3D, power calculations, or Braceworks.

[Adding Data Tag to Truss Hanging Position]

27 minutes ago, Iainy1961 said:

I have the hover over the center of the truss and not the truss itself.

Ah, yes. There's a funny thing about hanging positions. In this case, you're actually hovering over the HP rather than the truss. 

[Adding Data Tag to Truss Hanging Position]

Please post a sample file so that the collective can take a look. 

[Adding Data Tag to Truss Hanging Position]

Have you tried the hanging position data tag from the VW resource manager? You could use it as a starting point to build your own custom data tags.

 

[Cable and Distributor Objects in Equipment Summary]

On 6/5/2025 at 5:20 PM, hdmcclx said:

by default all Cable Parts and Distributor Objects get assigned to Lighting, is there a way to change these

Not yet. The power/cable tools were built for lighting first, as the lighting system is the most developed in VW. As we push improvements to other tools, the power/cable functionality is being worked on. Separating out power/cables for audio is on the list, as is power/cable for hoists, video, LED, etc. 

For now, you can filter some of your needs by layer. Even though it'll still list as lighting power, you can limit your audio if it's in an audio layer. 

[Global Truss 4mØ - Circle Truss]

@JustinVanHassel When I opened your file and then tilted the truss, the big circles came back. This is shown while the truss are selected and in wireframe ISO view.

[Cable Tool Connection Origin in Symbols]

1 hour ago, hdmcclx said:

different slack distance for Inputs and Outputs?

Good idea. Please do me a favor. I'm going to be out for the next week. Ping me in a couple of weeks to remind me.

[Global Truss 4mØ - Circle Truss]

6 hours ago, Regie said:

Here is the vwx file

THanks. Wow, the symbol is buggered. I'll file a bug.

[Cable Tool Connection Origin in Symbols]

12 hours ago, hdmcclx said:

3D input object

Do you mean the red box added to show the rear of many movers? It's really just added geometry to show a direction and doesn't have functionality to grab onto. The power connectivity for lighting units is coded rather than being an added consumer component. 
 

 

12 hours ago, hdmcclx said:

And for distributors the logical spot would be the corresponding Input/Output connector

I agree. It would require more processing power and affect performance. At the moment, we're just counting how many connector components are inside the symbol and matching connections. Adding location clicking would require each cable to find its corresponding start/end points, one at a time, to be drawn properly. 

 

What would be easier and keep performance up would be to add a default slack distance for a device. 

On 5/29/2025 at 3:20 AM, hdmcclx said:

Another example, i built a custom 96-way touring rack Distributor with a heap of Socapex outputs, The top row of which is over 1.5m off the ground (The insertion point being at 0 Z Height)

If we added a default slack distance field, you could add 1.5m, and all cables connecting to your distro would automatically add slack to all cables run to it. 
Thoughts on this?

[Cable Tool Connection Origin in Symbols]

6 hours ago, hdmcclx said:

connect to with the Cable Tool instead of just defaulting to the Insertion Point.

I agree. I started playing with this for large trailer generators with outputs at both ends of the trailer. This kind of suggestion for improvement is very helpful.

[Calculation Errors with Tomcat Truss]

I'm not seeing the same issue. What settings are in your braceworks preferences?

 

[Calculation Errors with Tomcat Truss]

Please post a sample file so that the collective can take a look. 

[Cable Path Does not work]

On 5/22/2025 at 12:58 AM, MTH said:

I gave it another go and made sure to do all the tricks you said still having the same problem.

Please post a sample file so that the collective can take a look. 

[Inclining trusses disconnecting to hoists]

Please post a sample file so that the collective can take a look.