JBC

If I understand your question correctly, do the following: On the Menu Bar go to Tools>Options>VectorWorks Preferences, select the Interactive Tab and there you can find the controls for Selection and Snap Box Sizes. Changing these controls will have an affect on the tolerances you describe. Also, zooming in very close while your drawing may be an easier solution in many cases where you need more control just for short while. This is what I do.

Drafting for me with my Magic Mouse dramatically improved upon installing the MagicPrefs Utility. I think with the new trackpad there is great potential for improvements in the future for this device should similar software become available.

Kevin I think that your Dimensions are accidentally sapping to the Viewport Crop. If you extend the crop up and redo the dimension you'll get your 10' and 2' dims like the others. MBMD I'm on a Mac and don't get the error you are talking of.

Yes I think that if you Modify>Convert>Convert Copy To Lines, paste into a new VW document and then Export as a dwg. You may get better results when importing in to AI.

Thanks a bunch Wes, this is a big help. The thing I must have missed was matching the jamb depth with the window offset. And it looks like you got the appearance of wall caps by matching the lineweights of the parts of the window to the lineweight of the wall. The file you posted will save us a lot of time.

Hello all, using the window tool, can I offset a window in reference to the jamb? Also, a window created from the window tool does not break the wall with full caps. Can this be changed? This does not seem graphically correct. Someone a couple of months ago posted the same question, but I don't think got a response. Revit and ArchiCAD break with full caps, and I teach to do it this way with AutoCAD/VectorWorks 2d. I've posted an image. The window on the left is the closest I can get with the window tool. The window on the right is one I created from ungrouping and creating a new symbol.-Brendan

I work out at the local Community College here in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I teach intro level courses in Revit, AutoCAD, ArchiCAD, and just this year, VectorWorks. After a student sees something like Revit, Autodesk Inventor(think SolidWorks from Autodesk) or ArchiCAD in action they often ask me why they are taking AutoCAD if these other applications seem to be more efficient at what they do. My answer to them, besides AutoCAD being such a widely used CAD package, is that AutoCAD can do things that both Inventor and Revit can do, but at a cost. My analogy is the Swiss Army Knife. It has a knife, scissors, spoon, saw, etc, but these tools are not as good as a separately bought knife or scissors. The cost of having many tools in a single package is that it is very difficult to be all things to all people. I believe that VectorWorks is in a similar paradigm. This Swiss Army Knife affect is both VectorWorks strength and weakness. If tool in Vectorworks comes up short you can usually model and patch your way through, but at a loss of productivity. In another thread it has been recently discussed that there is indeed a situation where current tools need to be improved while others desire improvements in workflow and modeling, and that there appears to be a dichotomy between fixing what we have and advancing forward. We need both in order to compete/survive. I enjoy the fact that this program can do many things. I do not think that even if VectorWorks should try and be a specialist in one area, and spent all its resource there, that it would be a successful outcome. It's strength to me is that it can do many things. I've often thought that if I were stuck out on the middle of nowhere for years, with a choice only one CAD application, what would it be? VectorWorks is often at or near the top of the list. A couple of years ago I thought there was the beginning of the writing on wall for VectorWorks. I am exposed to a lot of different software where I work and I knew there was tidal shift towards a model centric information systems within CAD. VectorWorks seemed to be going along only slightly nudged by all this, but then, as if on cue, they announced the integration with the Parasolid modeling kernel. My hopes were renewed. I agree with Kevin in regards to his suggestions. I would add that reliable, straight forward, driven constraints and dimensions are critical for moving forward. Changing tool options towards a more context sensitive environment, while not being limiting, is also important. And yes, fixing current tools is equally important. Richard's point regarding free learning materials and other resources is not lost on me as an educator. We need more, and VectorWorks should consider doing as others have done and make this application free to educational facilities. In my opinion it is better to build a user base in the educational environment. These students will then become paying professionals rather than the schools having to make the choice getting free software or buying VectorWorks. I do though appreciate that VectorWorks is available free to individual students. I am in the middle of many of the threads on this forum. I have to decide how much of the class will be concentrated on 3d and more accurate workflows moving things in the direction I think things are headed, or do I teach more 2d traditional work closer to the way business in the local area are aligned and actually operate now. All this is very interesting. No matter what software you use it is within our interest that these applications be competitive. As stated before I think that VectorWorks strength is that it can do many things. The modeling of architectural and non-architectural become more and blurred the further into integrated systems we get. It is analogous to doctors and biomedical engineers. The fields are converging and overlapping. It is physics and medicine. I agree with Benson also. The better VectorWorks interacts with others the stronger more viable the product is. My apologies for being so long. I appreciate the members of this board, and for keeping the recommendations positive. I hope that Nemetschek is listening and responds in the directions stated.-Brendan

Thank you for your reply Jonathan, I think that helps a bit with the core, but it is 1/2" gypsum board on either side of the wall that has me stumped. The pillar doesn't have the ability to translate the components through it to connect to the other walls. At least things look pretty clean in 3d. Perhaps with a bit of 2d fill and linework we'll get through in the meantime.

Hello all, I'm teaching a class in VectorWorks and having a hard time getting some walls to connect their components where walls meet at corners, and in particular where angled walls meet corners. I wondered if any of you had tips regarding this. I have attached a picture of what things are supposed to look like, and the VectorWorks 2009 file I'm testing in. I've tried this in 2010 also. I've spent a couple of hours trying to get these walls to meet up, and I don't think that these conditions are all that unusual. Have tried Auto Join Walls and various modes in the wall and component connect. Any help would be greatly appreciated.-Brendan

phased, if you want to use the colors you set up in your classes you should either check the "Use at Creation" box in the Edit Class dialog, or set the fill and pen color of the attributes palette to "Class Style" before you create your objects. Without either these options if the attributes palette is set up to the color black your lines will end up black regardless of what the class is set to. You then end with what your talking about with having to select the object in order to get an idea what class it resides in/on.

Gosh I thought that might be it. I can recreate your problem over here and the button fixes it every time. There are two reset buttons in the Session Tab of the Preferences. One says "Reset"(lower left of dialog) and the other says "Reset Saved Setting"(upper right of dialog). When I click the Reset Saved Setting VectorWorks pauses and reloads the palettes and then the EPS warning returns when exporting... This is on a PC, 2009 SP2. My older Mac with 12.5 doesn't get the warning...

Under the Session Tab in the VectorWorks Preferences there is a button to "Reset Saved Settings...". I think clicking this will bring back your dialog with reference to EPS and Page Boundaries, but I also think it will reset many other things too, so please be aware...

I have found in the past that if a particular set of objects is giving me trouble using the fillet tool it helps to combine them before hand using the Connect/Combine tool. Use the 3rd mode(Dual Object Combine), then use the fillet tool.

I think if you go to the VectorWorks Home page and Training>Free Resources and look at the last video on the list I believe it may be what you are looking for. http://download2.nemetschek.net/www_movies/2009/VW2009_Mesh_Tutorial/Shell_Tutorial_by_RichardGue.swf

Perhaps one of the Vista guys knows if there is a shortcut to switch between open windows. You could try alt+F6, that works on multiple open documents in Word, but since my VectorWorks is on a Mac I can't test it. By the way on a Mac shortcut between all open documents is Apple Key+~, at least on VectorWorks 12.5 -Brendan