Benson Shaw

Hope you solved this already. Some thoughts: Is all the geometry close to drawing origin? Search for any stray object at great distance. Esp can be distant stuff if any of the geometry was imported. Verify info in the attributes palette. The roof face is in the Roof-Main class, but the attributes palette fill color for the roof face might not pick up the texture unless palette shows fill color is “by class”? Also, save in case you need to go back, then try enabling “Use at Creation” for the class setting and leave the texture one enabled too. Something is missing and preventing textures on those surfaces. Try pasting a copy of just the two roof faces into a new blank file and test settings and render there. Faster test cycles and fewer distractions. If something suceeds, replace the ones in project file with the test roofs. -B

Attention moderators or Community Board techs I find recently that an image I attach to my posts displays twice. It doubles. Process: (MacOS) screen shot, save to Clipboard, Paste into body of the post. Result: Two instances of the image display in the post, and two indicators of the image file appear the attachment box at bottom of post. Workaround is to delete one of the images or one of the file indicators in attachment box. Do I need to alter something to avoid this two-for-one "feature"? Thanks -B

@PatStanford Exploring your Reset script with my simple Marionette test network. See attached. The script appears to run, because objects in the drawing area blink. But I cannot discern any other effect. The script does not trigger the Mnet to run. Other kinds of objects do not switch to some other status. What would be an example object or process that demonstrates a reset? The Mnet follows runs via OIP Run button, and follows the rules to create couple new objects in correct positions. These are groups containing duplicates of the original with designated new fill color. Still working on inducing the Mnet to loop several cycles with different offsets. I will get there bit by bit. -B Reset Script test.vwx

Sorry to drag this up again. But trying to understand a couple things: 1. Re earlier posts in this thread: RGB numeric designations are comma delimited. The conversion to 16bit in @AlanW example provides a revised, but still comma delimited triplex value. How does one enter the 3 part RGB value? The String node? But how enter the values? Text node into the String? A List node input to a String for every object that needs color? Or? 2. Integer values for the Set Fill node can determine object fill. The desired color value often can be picked as the number location of the color square in the vwx Classic Color chart. Starts at zero, upper left, then counts left to right. See screen shot. Most of the numbers seem to correlate. Top row is all good, or at least colors are very similar to the chart squares. But some location numbers, eg 22, 37, 95 do not return same color as that position on the chart. I did not test all the chart colors. Many more may miss. Any advice? -B

Thanks again, Pat Not sure what is meant by “reset”? For Marionette, is that same as “run”? also, if this script starts a process, what stops the process? i will give it a whirl with nothing open except one vectorworks file. If it won’t quit, I can shut down -B

OK, Thanks Pat and Dom If I understand discussion above (or maybe not), one idea is to manipulate an object(s) via Marionette, but have a separate VectorScript to repeatedly, but with delay, "press" the Run button on the Marionette. Each cycle would produce another instance of the object. The idea to export each step to a unique layer, then make a flip book animation is of less interest. It can look good, but not what I hope to learn or accomplish. I think there are many examples of this, though, going all the way back to Ishmael's rotating cog animation in the Machine Design "extras" file (Vectorworks v8 is where I 1st found it). @AlanW made some flipbooks, too, I think. I looked at a few python timer scripts, perhaps to adapt into Marionette. Dom's file contains several time related nodes eg Lag, Pause, Step Delay, Pass and Wait. I need to examine these, too. Their descriptions show user input in file units, but vwx document units do not include time measure. Or? Note that I am total novice - only one prior attempt at Marionette, several years ago (Fun thing plotting radial prime pairs). Have to relearn everything. No experience creating or using scripts. Please bear with me. -B

Certification requires passing the Core Certification Exam. Your screenshot suggests you are progressing through the various getting started guides and the preparation material for the Core Certification Exam, but have not yet taken the test. Search the Vectorworks University certification page for a link to the exam. Or, I think the test link is also at end of the Core Certification learning material index. I only know about the USA version of the exam. Localized versions may have the exams at different links. Vectorworks folks, please add to this. -B

Now I'm really in trouble. This is the inspiration, but not necessarily the goal: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conway's_Game_of_Life I want to explore/create a much simpler rule based system, of my own devising, that propagates at a controllable rate. As described above. The math teacher demands, "Show your work". The Buddha proclaims, "Happiness is a journey, not a destination, . . ." -B

Thanks, Pat. I don’t actually need a video. I just want to press Run and watch as the cycles progress and complete. Video can be a screen grab. -B

Or refining the description a bit, the cycle is: Selected Object>Duplicate in Place>Move the dupe>Dupe remains selected>Pause Repeat x number of cycles Manually, one could run one cycle, then click run again, and again, and again . . . A strategy to automatically cause Run multiple times? (sounds dangerous). -B

Is there a node or strategy to cause an intermittent pause, eg to make an animation of the steps or cycles? For instance a cycle of Object>Duplicate in Place>Move the dupe Repeat x number of cycles Result: A display of the original and all the dupes. The display appears all at once. To show the dupes appearing in sequence the cycle would be: Object>Duplicate in Place>Move the dupe>Pause Repeat x number of cycles Result: An animation of the duplicates appearing individually, ending with a view of the orig and all the dupes. Ideally, the Pause duration is an adjustable parameter. -B

Thank you soooo much. The workflow for disassociating the grid from individual lighting devices was eluding me! -B

Yes, understood. That was not the question. Should it not zero out if the light is switched off? Does one have to delete the light and refresh in order for the grid to stop responding? -B

I have a lighting test model with: Layer 1 A stage mockup Layer 2 A single Lighting Device (Altman Micro) focused to the only Focus Point in the file, named "A" Layer 3 A 5x5 Photometric Grid surrounding the Focus Point A. The photo grid always displays values, always the same values, whenever the light device is present in the file, including: If the light is on or off (yes, refresh the grid) If the light layer is active or not (refresh the grid) If the light layer is visible or not, and active or not (refresh the grid) If I move the light & focus to the photo grid layer and toggle the light on/off (refresh the grid) The only ways I found to zero out photo grid: Delete the light from the the file and refresh the grid Change the light focus designation to a non existing focus name (eg no focus is named "0") and refresh grid Delete the focus point and refresh the grid Is that all expected? Shouldn't the photo grid values all revert to zero if the light is switched off eg via lighting palette, or the light is on an invisible layer? Doesn't really matter, I'm just exploring, but rather surprised. Or something I need to do differently? -B

Oh snap! - you guys got here early! @jmhanby Here is image of a couple modes of the Simple Stair with OIP of the Standard Style. Or model it. -B