atari2600
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Posts posted by atari2600
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In our office, we have some classes set up specifically with certain line weights and dashed styles to avoid using the attributes palate altogether (Line Weight-03, Line Weight-06, Line Weight-09, Dash-Small, Dash-Medium, Dash-Electric... etc). This better insures consistency among our 20 users. If we were to encourage the use of the attributes palate, then one person's opinion of lineweight/type would vary from another's.
Now given that the line types reside in the resource palate, you "might" try dragging and dropping a preferred linetype directly onto an existing line to change it. This procedure could be as fast as picking it from the attributes palate.
(I don't have VW open right now to try it out.)
Furthermore, the ultimate advantage of linetypes being a resource is having the ability to have them formally named & shared by many users across a network - just like the other resources.
hope this helps,
Matt
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Bruce,
If you select the viewport, there is an option toward the bottom of the OIP to select the "Advanced Properties". If you click that, you have an option to adjust the linetype scale.
This may solve the "symptom", but not necessarily the problem.
hope it helps.
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Hi taoist,
In regards to a skylight inserted into a roof. If you don't want to see the skylight, you need to open up the skylight symbol itself, and take note of what class the objects within the symbol are on. Whatever that class is will ultimately control the visibility. (At least that's how a symbol inserted into a wall behaves. The class that the symbol is on doesn't affect anything anymore, but the class of the objects within the symbol still does.)
Jim,
Again, keep in mind that whatever class the objects are on within the symbol will ultimately control it's visibility. When it comes to what you are trying to accomplish in the design layer, I have found great success using the "Select Similar" tool. This thing is perfect for what you are trying to do. You can have your symbols reside on whatever classes you want, and simply create custom settings with the "select similar" tool, having the tool select objects with the same symbol name but only on a specific class. Once selected, make your symbol change.
No other classes need be turned off!
(To me, this tool has sped up much of my work, because I can select objects so quickly with it. Just create your own presets.)
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Just for the hellofit, have you tried just getting a good looking screenshot of it, cropping it, and sending it that way?
I'm rather amazed how good the dumb ole "ctrl/Prt Scr" command works.
Matt
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(Weren't those called "X-lines" in Autocad back in the day?)
Don't forget that you have a couple options in the mode bar when you click the line command:
1) you can start drawing the line in "center mode", instead of "vertex mode".
2) under the line settings, you can jack up the "line scale factor" to some huge number, making a line get pretty long very quickly.
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My biggest issue with class organization is the fact that we are unable to illustrate the different "states" of a given object. In our drawings, we typically want to show the proposed walls different from the existing and walls to be removed. Right now that requires three classes (ignoring the components for the moment.)
I am waiting for the day that VW can give us the option to describe it's "state" (existing, demo, new, future, phase II, etc...) . When this happens the number of classes we use will be reduced by at least %25.
... assuming we can teach new tricks to old dogs....
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Here are some other troubleshooting questions that might help:
1) are you annotating within a viewport, on a sheet layer, in the design layer?
2) is "standard naming" and "auto classing" enabled?
3) have you highlighted the text and changed the font? (I have had issues with certain font types before)
4) was the original file imported from another format, or was it created from scratch?
If you want to submit a clean example, open a new "blank" file, and copy/paste the objects over, and save it. Even a screenshot might jog some collective memory on the list...
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I guess the challenge is, fundamentally speaking; is whether or not a "label" can be linked to two or more objects to obtain info about the different objects. I don't suspect that to be possible given what I have seen with VW. Perhaps more of the programmers and custom PIO people know if this is true or not.
A workaround could be adjusting the "Gross Area Modifier" by 100 percent (or by whatever percent is relevant), thus doubling the gross area. That way you can use the existing space labels and know that the gross area is properly adjusted. I believe you could create a custom "Label" as well which says exactly what you want it to say.
hope this helps.
Matt
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Don't remember the last time I used it, but is it possible to use the command twice, select the interior walls first, then select the exterior walls next.
I know it's a "workaround", but I don't recall the command is that sophisticated.
Matt
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One possibility could be that you could have the stamp already nested inside your current title block, but have the bitmap be on it's own "special" class which you turn on or off as needed. I guess it's possible this will get screwed up upon exporting to anything other than a pdf.
In general, it is my understanding that symbols take up less space than repeating a group or a singular object. Referenced images might be different, however.
matt
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I "think" I know what you are asking, but do you have an example of what you would like it to look like, ideally?
I guess; simply overriding the classes in the viewport isn't giving you enough flexibility, right? I know for our wall styles, we always had a few viewports off to the side with modified class settings in them, to change the appearance of our plans. We typically used them for schematic design.
Matt
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If you only have Fundamentals, you can set up one single Sheet layer viewport but under the printer settings and set the page size multiple sheets.
Since our office only deals with small projects (residential remodeling), this is how we have set up our projects for many years now. We have single sheet layers for the different printers we use (or sheet sizes.)
I'd be happy to go into more detail if you are interested.
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I think I recall exporting to 3ds works pretty well (as long as the "merge coplaner faces" option is checked in sketcup.)
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Hi Bill,
As far as shortening or "cutting" a line by a specific length, I select the line, then type "-2" in the Object info palette (after making sure the proper segment position is selected.) One of the nice features of the "OIP" (as it is referred to), is the ability for one to use "+, -, /, and *" to change the length or size of an object. In other words, if you had to make a line on third shorter, you just need to enter "*.666" in the length field of the OIP.
As far as a parallel line, I typically drag a copy of the existing line, and type in the displacement while dragging (kind of like an offset.) I don't know (or have completely forgotten) if there is a way to start a new line a fixed distance away from a specific point (like in autocad.)
hope this helps (and makes sense.)
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Peter,
Where did you get that tree object in the foreground? Is that one of the provided ones?
Matt
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As much as I applaud the feature suggestion of position locking,or improved associative dimensioning, I'd more prefer a bug fix from NM and a "promise" for walls and dimensions to stop moving around for mysterious and unknown reasons. When I draw or dimension a wall on velum, it takes a lot of effort to move it, but I can sure trust that it won't move on it's own.
I don't ever remember experiencing lines (or "sticks" as I called them) moving in AutoCad, or walls moving in ArchiCad - even when dimensions were stuck to them.
Loosing "trust" in a product is the kiss of death, in my opinion. This should really be looked at by NM.
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Position lock only... I get it.
That would be very cool indeed. Of course that doesn't address why they are mysteriously moving in the first place.
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Oh, I realize you already asked about locking. "File/Modify/Lock" I put in in my right click menu because I use it often for all sorts of objects.
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I could also speculate that it was "operator error", but there is no way to know when or how that might of ever happened. If I were to ask all our design assistants in my office if they have ever seen a wall "move" out of place without them actually doing anything, I am sure they would all raise their hands, even if it might have been borne out of their own devices. With all the automated features of VW, I personally have experienced "wierdness" right in front of me as well.
Regardless; to help with prevent this in the future, once certain "control walls" are established, why not lock them? That way once a wall is locked by someone, others will know it's importance? If someone needs to mod it, simply unlock it.
Of course you may already do this....
Good luck,
Matt
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You are certainly not the first one who has asked for this, and likely not the last. I found an earlier thread on this:
http://techboard.vectorworks.net/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=19744
There is a response within the thread where someone offered an eloquent "Autocad to Vectorworks translation".
I agree that understanding the logic behind the VW shortcuts is essential toward faster productivity. Unless you were using Architectural Desktop or Revit, the jump from Autocad to Vectorworks is pretty large. You will never forget Autocad, but I suggest to put it's "computer drafting philosophy" aside while learning Vectorworks. You'll end up respecting both programs better that way.
Good Luck,
Matt
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Can you tell me what goes in the Demo layer, is that just for clients, furniture and the like?
Sorry about the delay in getting back to you. Been on vacation (of sorts.)
Anyway,the intent of the "Demo" layer is to have a single design layer dedicated to all demolition work. We initially tried to do demo plans through a modified viewport of the existing floor plan, but it became too cumbersome. We found that simply copying and pasting all the existing floor objects to the demolition design layer, then "turning on" the proposed plan underneath of it, allowed us to then create a quick and clear demo plan.
This arrangement allows us to not worry about messing up either the existing or the proposed plans. If half a wall is to be removed, we simply break it at the point of demolition, and change the class of the demoed wall to the "Demo-Walls" class. We do distinguish between load bearing and non-load bearing walls, and have different classes for those walls, especially since the graphical appearance needs to be different. To make this work for us, we have our own custom wall styles which allow both the "core" of the wall and the outer lines of the wall to be controlled by the class attributes, and not assigned one specific wall component class. Most VW default walls are set up with assigned component classes, so they don't work in our situation.
I must note that the DISADVANTAGE to this method is if someone needs to make a change on the existing design layer after our demo plan is completed. This won't reflect on the demo design layer unless someone reinserts the changes onto it. We have found that this rarely happens, and is not much to worry about.
My fundamental issue with all cad products sold these days is they seem to focus on both what is currently there (existings) or what will be there when work is complete (proposed). There is little attention given to the actual building process. Ideally, I'd love for us to simply be able to take any object in the file, and assign it a "state" (existing, demo, proposed, change order, scheme A, etc.. ) That way, we don't have to create all these extra layers or classes. Given how advanced modeling is nowadays, I'd hope Someone begins to think about this in more detail...
"drip...drip...drip..."
( Not everyone speak at once ;>) )
Matt
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Our firm only deals with existing home renovations, and the following is how we set up our files:
1) We separate existing design layers from proposed design layers. Therefore, we have an "existing" first floor layer, a "demo" first floor layer, and a "proposed" first floor layer. They are all set at the same "Z" and have the same heights, so the objects would occupy the same 3d space if overlaid.
2)Due to the fact that we typically show a mix of existing and new walls together (and illustrate them differently), we also have different classes for existing, demo, and new work. Because we try to keep our class structure as small and simple as possible, we usually only use three existing classes: "Existing-Wall, Existing-Door/Window, and Existing-Misc." If we want to create more existing classes, we just add "Existing-" to the class name.This way, it will show up with all the other "Existing" classes.
3) Until VW can actually handle different "states" of a given object (like I understand Revit can now do), this seems to be the easiest way for us to use (but not over-use) classes.
good luck!
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There is an option under "Tools/Preferences/Session" which allows you to "Log Time in Program". It will create a .txt document directly within your preferences folder.
Personally, I have imported/linked this particular file from various workstations into MS Access where I could view what people were working on, and theoretically figure out how much time was spent in a particular file (if I could create a query to do so.)
This was years ago now, and I would assume others use it more frequently.
hope this helps.
Matt
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What you are wanting is commonly reffered to as "OLE"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Object_Linking_and_Embedding
I used to use it in my AutoCad days, but sadly it doesn't exist in VW.
Question: does your spreadsheet already reference data in your drawing file? If so, I'd go ahead and jump into using the worksheets. VW already has a bunch of default worksheets you could play around with. (Tools/Reports/VA Create Schedule...)
If it is too much of a pain, then just reference a pdf of your Excel spreadsheet. We do this all the time with our general notes and finish schedules, because these spreadsheets are usually created by non-VW users who are involved with the job. That way if you make changes to the Excel spreadsheet (or Word Doc), just re-pdf it and overwrite the original referenced file.
good luck,
Matt
Selection Marquee Keyboard Shortcuts
in General Discussion
Posted
I originally stumbled across these particular snap keys when reading about the "Tool Bar" description, found under "The Fundamentals Workspace" section in the help guide.
Fwiw, I notice some of our 5+year VW users don't even know that these exist, and what they are good for. If I were to sneak up and switch their selection too mode to lasso-mode, they'd freak out.