Lucid Phil

wv_vectorworker I trained in the hand drawing techniques which have now been long replaced by (much more efficient and rapid) CAD modelling and drafting. While hand drawing remains a great way to play with rudimentary ideas and as a means of quick communication (and you dont even have to be that good for these purposes) CAD leaves it for dead in developing and communicating designs. When I drew concepts by hand the only information I got from the drawing was what I had put there myself, ie it didnt tell me anything new about my design. When I started to model concepts in 3D I was amazed to see how much new information was revealed. I saw elements collide in ways I hadn't anticipated. I saw my design from all different angles. It helped me to better understand the implications of my choices. I could quickly make small adjustments and improvements, change materials, experiment, all within a few minutes. To undertake this process manually would be outrageously time consuming and expensive if possible at all. Not only that, I could produce multiple 3D views along with the 2D drawings. This helped communicate my ideas to my clients and the tradesmen working on the job. Once the model is made views can come thick and fast. If you are good at something, like hand drawing, you will value it highly and so you should. Use it to advantage where appropriate but be quick to adopt more efficient and powerful techniques if you want to be competitive. Eventually the luddites will be replaced, probably by you... Phil T

Short answer-No Long answer- you have to go into the callout text (double click), copy the text, cancel, activate the text tool, paste, then change the case and copy it back into the callout....whew. Its a workaround with the emphasis on the "work" It is worth it if there is a lot of text to be retyped. Someone slipped up here. Cheers Phil T

Thanks Mike, No, never binned my preferences file. I'll try it once I figure it out. And yes, 11.5.1 Phil T

I'm working on VW 11.5 with plenty of RAM and lately its started locking up, frequently, especially when edititing a polyline. I seem to be able to draw for hours so long as I dont use this operation. Its a HUGE waste of time. It has happened on more than one file so its not document specific. It gets so I have to save every couple of moves. There is no error message. Every so often it will freeze the whole machine. And no, it doesnt come right, no matter how long I wait. It also happens with no other applications running. Its an expensive problem and I want it to go away. What do I do? Re-install VW? Phil T

Amen Thats preachin brother, to the converted in this case. Why cant Nemetscek look at the way Archicad does these things, parametric and total control?

It would be great if you could place and object behind or just in front of another object which you select. I need more control than just "send to back/front" Sometimes I want to put something between two objects and I find myself doing multiple ctrl/b or cntrl/f commands. If the file has been built up over weeks this can be very tedious, nay impossible. I have used graphics programs that include "place object behind" & "place object in front of" commands so its not rocket science.

I agree with this one, graphics programs have it and it is every-day-useful. Basic I would have thought.

No, you are not doing anything wrong. It works this way for me no matter what I do. I now put in missing lines "post production" and delete unwanted ones. You need to export & fix it up in Photoshop.

I can't print any greyed layer or class on my HP120NR UNLESS.... I rasterise the document in the print setup. Then all is well. It just takes a little longer to process but it saves all that wasted paper.

John, Go to http://vectorplugins.com/vptools/index.html and download the free PolyClip tool....it rocks..! And it will do what you are asking. Phil

Katie, V11.5.1 seems to have fixed it..! Can now export DWGs fine...Happy ending. Phil

But Johnathan, this is the way it always worked, but doesn't now. Not for me anyway. I use the method you describe but I have lost control of the styles.

Do you have any greyed layers or classes displayed for printing? My HP 120NR spits the paper out if it encounters greyed objects unless I rasterize the page in the print setup.

Thanks Heather, I'll try it. Phil

Hey thanks Nick, I'm on PC so used the PC equivalents and BINGO, a vector drawing that I could export as a DWG. The trick was not to import into my graphics program (Corel 10) but to OPEN the eps file with it. The resulting DWG has thousands of objects in it so I'll have to fine tune the process but basically it works. I learned something tonight..!