Benson Shaw

Dunno, Horst - I see the same limitation. Show/Snap/Modify is not so troublesome for me. If points are too dense, I often group a sub-set of objects, enter the group (disable Show Other Objects in Edit Modes), make the snaps, moves, etc. Exit the group and ungroup. Totally old school. -B

Did you enable the Symbols and Groups options in the Export DXF dialog (may not be as many options in older versions of VW)? One workaround is to Cmd K (Convert to Group) the problem symbols prior to export. That usually works for me. It's probably best to duplicate your VW file, covert the symbols and export from this new file rather than in your orig file. That way your symbol functionality is preserved in the orig. You can trash the duplicate after a successful export. Create a new duplicate any time another export is needed. I think dwg is better at symbols and PIOs than dxf, if that's an acceptable export format. -B

Hi, Milkbones - Pretty good demo. Good call on the Illustrator trace. Too bad the VW trace tool is not as effective as the AI one. Also, good use of the paint bucket tool. Not sure why you applied the Convert to Polygon & Compose steps. Conversion breaks up curves into myriad straight segments. Compose keeps all the new vertices. Edits with all those close packed vertices are almost impossible. Anyway, way to go! -B

Or change the page settings in File menu. -B

Do what mar says (see #3 below). Or did you draw the sketch with Vectorworks tools? Several ways to rescale in VW 1. Change Layer Scale If the sketch exists on a single design layer and the objects are to scale, just change the layer scale: A. VW menu>Tools>Organization>Design Layers tab B. Select the layer in the list. Click the Edit button. C. Click the Scale button and choose a new scale to fit the sketch to the page size. 2. Rescale the sketch, but not the layer scale. A. Select all the objects in the sketch. B. Modify>ScaleObjects>Symmetric>key in new ratio. Uncheck the "Scale Entire Drawing" box - otherwise the action will rescale all objects on all layers in the file. 3. Create a ViewPort (VP) on a new Sheet Layer (SL). Then edit the SL page settings. Learn about this as soon as possible. See VW Help and Basics below. Basics: A. Draw a rectangle around your sketch. Leave it selected. This becomes the Viewport Crop. B. VW menu>View>Create Viewport>Choose "New Sheet Layer" in the Create on Layer pull down. Fill in name, scale & fields or they can be changed later. Click OK. Check Yes for the Crop question. C. Your view changes to the new SL and displays the new VP surrounded by the Crop you drew. D. If necessary, move the VP into the page area. E. In the Object Info Palette adjust VP scale to fit the desired sheet size. Or Menu>Tools>Organization>Sheet Layer tab>select your SL and adjust the page settings to fit the sketch. Post back when you succeed, or with more questions. Good Luck! -B

michael - My batch print in VW2011 is working as expected after install/uninstall ARw and the AR-works.vwlibrary. I did not install/uninstall 2012, so somewhat different conditions. Hope you get this sorted. -B

Questions, but with a critical slant because I don't see the benefit: Does fingerprinting provide a benefit to license holders? Does fingerprinting make VW a better, more desirable product, likely to sell more often to new users? Is there some intellectual property that needs protection among users of differing modules? Is this a response to some kind of theft? Is there widespread "upward conversion" of license functionality through exchange of previously unrestricted files and PIOs? Does fingerprinting prevent pirating of 3rd party developers products? If a fingerprinted file cannot be opened by users of other modules, it means intercommunication is limited. The user base becomes fragmented. User practices become increasingly arcane. Is any of that a good thing? Files with fingerprinted symbols, PIOs etc might produce a blank spot, or even prevent opening in other modules. Current implementation may not be that "strict", but what is the future intent? Maybe we are headed around a full circle of product life - MiniCAD and early VW had no industry specific modules. If the current modules are overly restricted, or functionally separated from each other, they will become useless. Everyone will need Designer. Not a bad thing except the cost will go up for many users. Is fingerprinting just an income stream thang? Prodding us all into Designer? -B

Oh, sorry that wasn't clear. Here is some more info Connect: I don't keep my external storage drive connected all the time. So I need to plug the cables btw external and the Mac. Networked storage may have some other procedure. TM Icon: On the right side of the Finder menu bar (not the Vectorworks menu bar) there is an icon for Time Machine - clock hands inside a circle with arrow head. Activate the Finder, click the TM icon and a drop down menu appears with choices including Backup Now and Open TM Prefs. Open the prefs to see the on/off switch. HTH -B

I use TM in manual (OFF) mode with an external HD, so it never messes with my other operations. Turn off Time Machine in TM prefs. It's the big switch on left side of the pref dialog. Switch it back to On if automatic backups are preferred. To make a manual backup, connect to your backup drive/network and click the TM icon in the menu bar. In the drop/down dialog, click the Backup Now option. Normally I just make one weekly backup. Your needs may vary. -B

Michael - Pat may have nailed it. Did you install then remove ARworks? I had some bad VW behavior after removing ARw. This from my post in the VW Community Board 3rd Party Services forum: "I . . . trashed the app from applications folder. VW seemed to work normally, except I started getting AR-works license requests when I used Modify>Scale Objects. Could not use the Scale Objects command! So AR-Works is messing with Vectorworks in unintended ways. I removed the "AR-works.vwlibrary" file from my VW>Library>Plug In folder. Now things are fine again. I hope I removed all traces." Seems like Batch Print could be another thing the ARw messed with. Good Luck!! -B

Hope it works. As Peter suggests, be sure to update your VW2009 to SP5. Good luck! -B

Hi, Joris - I think that file is corrupt. I get same results you report. My VW2009 is SP5 1. When I opened your file, there was an "Illegal File" warning indicating the file comes from an unregistered license or other license problem. But file did open. Contact your distributor to verify that the license is valid. 2. I drew a rectangle on your Design Layer. Could not fillet the rectangle. Could not fillet your big polygon However, the tool did create a fillet between two line segments. As your report, the Fillet Tool works as expected in the sheet layer, both on the "inside" and "outside" the Viewport. 3. In a new, blank VW2009 file the fillet tool operates as expected on new rectangles and other objects in the design layer. 4. Also, I selected all from your design layer and pasted it in to a new blank file. Fillet tool works as expected in this new file. Maybe this problem will be solved by pasting everything to a new, blank file? -B

To add a file use File Manager in the Full Reply feature of this forum. Access Full Reply by clicking the "Reply" button (not "Quick Reply") at bottom of a post to which you are replying, or in the reply area at end of each forum thread click the big "Switch to Full Reply" button. Near bottom of the full reply window is blue text link for File Manager. Click the File Manager link Click "Choose File" (browse your hard drive to select file you intend to add) Click "Add File" to add the file you just selected. Click Done Adding Files. You are returned to your post. Submit post when ready. Good luck! -B

Hi Milkbone Usually there lots of ways to do things in VW. Here are a few ways to stick stuff together. Read more about them in VW help. Notes - Commands are up in the menus. Tools are in palettes. Many tools have several modes. 1. Compose Command (Modify Menu) If the lines, arcs, open polylines, etc are snapped end to end, select them, then: Modify>Compose. Segments become a single object. If any of the segment ends are not coincident, those segments will not compose. 2. Inner and Outer Boundary modes of Polygon Tool (Basic Palette) The paint bucket you mention is middle mode of the Polygon Tool. Invoke the Polygon Tool, click the bucket icon (Inner Boundary tool) in the mode bar located in upper left area of the drawing window. No need to select the bounding objects - just click the paint bucket cursor inside the bounding shapes. This creates a new, closed polygon bounded by surrounding objects. The original shapes are retained. Try also the lasso (Outer Boundary) mode - drag a lasso around the bounding shapes. This is great if bounding objects overlap - no need to trim them. 3. Connect/Combine Tool (Basic Palette) Compose and/or trim lines, arcs, and open polys. Explore the modes. Read VW Help. Click the tool, then click adjacent segments in sequence - they highlight as you hover. 4. Add Surface Command (Modify Menu) Overlapping 2d surfaces (circles, polygons & polylines, etc) can be combined into a single surface: Select them then Modify>Add Surface. Explore the Clip, Intersect and Combine into Surface commands, too. 5. Join Command (Modify Menu) This one is only for wall objects and dbl lines, but does what it implies. Suggest you drag/drop the logo image into your drawing and trace the edges with 2d tools. Use Clip Surface cmd on two concentric circles to create the outer ring of your logo. Similar for the "D" ends of the inner shape. Extrude the shapes. This will give you a really simple, sharp edged model of the logo - vertical sides. Learn about Multiple Extrude, Extrude Along Path, and Fillet Surface (Model Menu) as possible ways to model the tapered (filleted?) profile implied by the logo drawing. Good luck. -B

What Mitch Brooks said, plus Assuming recent version of VW, the 2d Fillet Tool, in the Basic Palette, should work on a rectangle, polygon, polyline corner (not spline or bez points), skewed line segments and many other 2d objects and between pairs of objects created by VW. Are there other indicators when the tool does not work? Does each edge highlight as you hover to operate the tool? Do you get a fail dialog? or red "Fail" box at lower right of drawing window? or a tone after second click? Ideas: Corrupt object? Draw a new object in the problem file and try to fillet with a reasonable radius. Does that work? The fillet may not work on 2d objects imported from other software. Recreate/trace the problem objects with VW tools. eg with the Polygon tool in bucket or lasso mode. The second highlight may not show when filleting btw 2 arcs. Not all radii will work btw two objects. The fillet radius may be so small that it is hard to see (small layer scale w/ big rectangle?). Zoom in, or increase the radius. Post back with progress. Hopefully you already solved. -B

Does software development in 3dPDF involve an expensive license/royalty which would defeat the relative low cost of current VW? -B

Yes! Pretty Please?

Agree!

Hey, J - No, I have plenty on my plate right now, but, as you suggest, I do groove on NURBS and Lofts. Glad you quickly found how to be dangerous. Best of luck with the public presentations! Please post some sheets or files of your solutions when you can. -B

Yes!! Good one. Toggle or activate with key press is great idea . Please - no additional dialogs to open and close A related function would be ability for user set or change the origin for any object (where it pastes or extrudes along path, etc), and that origin defaults as the primary snap. -B

Hi, jnr As you know, the real solutions will require extensive use of stations, engineered cross sections, probably an actual site model etc. But to model for representations of scale, clearances and general concept stage information and study, the use of NURBS, Lofts, and Extrude Along Path will get you started. Here are some really out-there, silly interpretations. Post back with questions if you need help with some of these modeling techniques. Someone here can help. Click through the saved views for some text explaination and flyover/zoom to see what I did. Apologies for adding high clearances and the resulting corkscrew at end of pedestrian bridge (and all the other stuff I misinterpreted). -B It's a VW 2011 file

Hi, David - Ask all you want. That's the purpose of this forum. No rule that anyone has to respond, but someone usually does. Yes, that open segment between start and end of a poly is a kind of hidden segment. OIP has a checkbox to close/unclose polys. The Reshape tool has a mode to hide any segment in a selected poly - 4th mode, click any segment to toggle it. Same mode can show any hidden segments except the one controlled by the OIP checkbox. Show/hide is not necessarily same as close/unclose. Toggle of fill status does not affect the closed/unclosed condition of a poly. But there is a difference: An open poly with no fill has no area readout in OIP. Add fill, and that poly displays an area value in OIP. Hidden segments contribute to the perimeter value in OIP, except that special start/end segment contributes only when the poly is closed. Never hesitate to save work in your active project file and open a new VW file to experiment with questions like this. If the investigation goes bad, your project file is safe. You can trash the new file right after your experiment. I usually create a Sketch layer in my project files. I can copy/paste objects into this layer and draw/delete/ungroup, etc usually without affecting stuff on other layers. NOt quite as safe as experimenting in a new file. Careful with the word "join". Join command is reserved for wall objects, lines and dbl lines. It does not work on polys. Not same as compose, combine, add surface, etc. You can compose/combine unclosed linear objects if they are end snapped. Fill status does not matter. And, Jonathan's manuals and other materials are very good. HTH -B

No experience with this, but here is a thought: Open the pdf in Preview instead of Adobe. File>Save As PDF with some new file name. Test print that one. Then Print> Save as PDF with variant on the file name. There may be some threading thang. Also, if you created your pdf by exporting from VW, try the Print>Save As PDF option. Or vice versa. -B

Should be fixed if it's a common problem. Maybe it's a conflict with some particular other software or particular group of apps on your (networked?) system. I can't recall this behavior with VW, even with 6 or 7 other apps running. I have seen something similar with my old Epson scanner software. Click makes the app active, but brings only one of the two windows to the front. Expose' also only brings up the "hovered" or clicked window. As AndiACD suggests, the cmd tab or cmd~ sets everything right for that old dog (but I usually just click the other window). -B

Hi, David - Experiment a bit with some of this: Search VW help for Compose Compose command is for linear (unclosed) objects which are end snapped. If the objects cross, Compose will fail. Trim tool can eliminate the tails allowing the Combine command to work. The Connect/Combine tool has several modes. Dual Object Connect will trim the objects in one go. Dual Object Combine trims and composes the overlapping objects. Closed objects are not affected by this tool, but can act as trim boundaries for unclosed objects VW help makes the Add Surface command hard to find, but it has good info. Search for "Add Surface" - use the quote marks. Top topic is Editing Object Surfaces. Add, Intersect, Combine and Clip Surface are discussed. Explore the Polygon Tool modes - Bucket (Inner Boundary) and Lasso (Outer Boundary). These tools create a new object which is bounded by and overlays objects already on the drawing. FYI, the mode bar for any tool is located at upper left of drawing window - little boxes with icons. Click the box/icon to enable it, or press the u key to toggle through the modes. Some text to the right of the mode bar gives limited prompts to work the tool. Post back with specific problems if needed. Good luck. -B