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Diamond

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Posts posted by Diamond

    Template Verification – Very Slow

    in Troubleshooting

    Posted

    Hi,

     

    I am upgrading our Vectorworks 2016 templates to 2017. When I attempt to create a new file from a template, the opening (verifying) process can take a very long time. Any clues?

     

    I am running a MacBook Pro Late 2011 macOS 12.1 with Vectorworks Architect Australia SP1.

     

    Thanks.

    iMac or Mac Pro

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    19 minutes ago, JimW said:

    I had actually hoped that Apple would opt for sticking a real GPU inside a Cinema Display as an external graphics option to test the waters, but they seem to be moving away from displays and instead partnering with other companies. However, if cross platform external GPUs make it to the market, it solves a lot of headaches for me. Optional bolt-on power is a big deal for the longevity of pro hardware. There are a few out now but a lot of them are model restricted so far.

     

    Given that many people keep displays for more than 5 years, I would think Apple would see an added GPU as having

    limited value.

     

    Yep, with machines having fast SSDs, and fast IO, bolt on options are going to become more common.

     

    iMac or Mac Pro

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    22 minutes ago, Tom Klaber said:

    I am with you on UI design, which makes me surprised you are not giving W10 its due - it is a very well designed system regarding usability and graphics.  Being cross platform and using both every day - W10 is more fun and easier to use than OSx.  That was not true with W8 or XP, but they got this new one right.

     

    I am disappointed that Windows mobile tanked. I like it much more than Android.

     

    I have not tried Windows 10, and yes I hear good things of it. And whilst there are great edge cases for combining touch and a desktop OS (for illustrators, their desktop surface), having used both iPad and Wacom for a number of years, they are different paradigms. 

     

    But no matter how much I try to ignore it, Windows is still Windows underneath. And I don't have a UNIX command line. Does Windows have simple visual scripting tools like services and Automator these days?

     

     

    Design Layer Referencing – Storey Level Stair Glitch

    in Troubleshooting

    Posted · Edited by Diamond

    8 hours ago, zoomer said:

    If I remember correctly I had the same with Walls.

    So that nothing in DLVP will adopt to Story Levels. Is this correct ?

    Yes. Objects will adopt the base story heights, but not intermediate storey levels.

     

    But the reason I don't want to use DLVPs is because when I create section VPs of the DLVP, and render in Hidden line, due to some bug, I cannot override the line weights of objects beyond the section plane.O.o

    iMac or Mac Pro

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Possibly the only way I would ever use a PC is if I only used C4D (for example), and had a Mac sitting right beside it. If I break macOS, I know how to fix it. On Windows,  not a clue (even though I am no Luddite, and have used and dug into the windows OS's over many years). 

     

    I am obsessed with interface design, in all things. If I am going to use something all day,  I want it to be good.

    I have an Estwing hammer because it is weighted beautifully. It may not be the biggest hammer, but the sum of its parts make it better for most tasks.

     

    Some Macs may not have some of the specs of certain PCs, but if I am excited to wake up everyday and use a tool that is beautifully crafted, both inside and out, then I am going to end up getting more work done.

    Similarly, working on my iPad may not be as fast as my Mac, but it often feels nicer to do certain tasks. That sense of accomplishment really adds to work satisfaction, and therefore is more productive in the long run.

     

    As designers, the feel of something is often more important than ticking of requirements. We are engaged in creating experiences of wonder and excitement for our clients. I want that experience while working as well. 

     

    The point at which experience alone does break down for me with Macs is in the area of video cards required for external rendering solutions. Unless a person is literally rendering Renderworks viewports all day, a Mac for Vectorworks is more than capable. And according to IBMs recent info on their usage, cost less than PCs over their life.

     

    But if I am motion or 3D designer, and I need to use honking fast graphics cards for external render solutions, then, at the moment I don't have that option.

     

    The thing Apple does have in their favour is that nearly every Mac has Thunderbolt. Laptops will never be as fast as desktops, but with Thunderbolt as a super fast IO on almost every Mac (& Thunderbolt 3 coming as soon Intel can get their act together), you are already seeing external enclosures with racks of video cards doing that external compute.

     

    Once again, we are in an odd PC moment because of all of the tech pushing and pulling on each other, struggling to make sense of itself (retina vs pro GPUs, CPU raw speed vs power consumption per watt, and so on). By next year, with the Skylake transition over, many of these limitations should be mostly sorted out, and we should see the cohesion in Apple's lineup return. 

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Design Layer Referencing – Storey Level Stair Glitch

    in Troubleshooting

    Posted

    Hi,

     

    Any idea to get around this?

     

    When I reference design layers that are set up to use Storeys and  Storey Levels, Stair objects (set to Storey levels in the referenced file) break, and I get a red cross in a rectangle. To get around this problem. I have to override the stair object to take their height 'By Value' and not by 'Layer Elevation'.

     

    Is there anyway I can fix objects within referenced design layers and level heights attached to Storeys? Thanks.

    Section Viewport – Objects beyond Section Plane

    in Troubleshooting

    Posted · Edited by Diamond
    Design Layer Ref note

    Hi,

     

    When I take a section viewport of a referenced design layer viewport, I am having a challenge overriding the linework of object beyond the section plane. Any I idea what i am doing wrong? When I section 3D geometry on a design layer, I don't have seem to have the same problem. Any idea at what I am doing wrong? Thanks.

     

    PS Okay, it does appear to have a similar issue for design layer referencing.

    iMac or Mac Pro

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Back on topic, yes I am extremely partial to the Mac. My first Mac was a Wallstreet Powerbook. I still pick up my MacBook Pro the wrong way because of the apple logo on the front.

     

    I have had to use PCs at a few points in my career, and I am at the point now that I would quit a job, rather than transition to PC. Same if my work transitioned away from Vectorworks.

     

    Some people are indifferent to what OS they use. For me, it is more important than hardware, especially with C4D render farm solutions available. Apples SSD speeds are second to none. I love Retina, and can't wait for my next Mac to have it. I can do things faster on macOS. Okay that means GPUs are not great, but I have never been a gamer, and Apple seems to manage the limitations of their hardware pretty well. A great example is my current work laptop. A late 2011 MacBook Pro. Yes, it has been running into limitations, but then I am running 400MB+ project files.

     

    Now onto the Spring for new desktop Macs. The night is darkest before the dawn…

    iMac or Mac Pro

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Diamond
    typos

    This is getting onto another topic. But yes, we have found that as well. Certain people can have a sense of entitlement, and they need to kept at arms length.

     

    The other is to break up IT from Vectorworks and other software support.I  have mentioned this elsewhere – IT and Vectorworks used to be my job. Now just Vectorworks. We have a director who heads up It (10-20% of load), and an external IT company who looks after the server and obscure issues that pop-up. The IT person is n the office for a couple of hours per week.

     

    Vectorworks support is a job unto itself. If you have key team members as the support people for individual apps, you can share the load. 

    • Like 1

    iMac or Mac Pro

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Yes, I agree.

     

    I think if there was an area that Apple really missed, it was the CUDA GPU revolution. Whist they did get into OpenCL with the Mac Pro, not updating GPUs that supported CUDA in all of that time really hurt them in the pro space.

    referenced layers spontaneously move origin

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    On 15/11/2016 at 1:22 AM, Art V said:

    Rule of thumb for working with georeferenced files... make sure all origins of all documents are aligned with the internal origin and then leave it alone, that should prevent shifts of the origin, especially if you are referencing files."

     

    I keep the site files set to survey origin, but each building has it's own origin and it asserted into the site. Our studio employs designers and architects, and wherever I have worked, these types generally struggle with drafting technique. Drawing at right angles is angles is a challenge, and so working to obscure rotated angles may be a bridge too far.

    iMac or Mac Pro

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    On 15/11/2016 at 3:51 AM, JimW said:

    At the end of the day, I recommend to users the hardware that best fits their needs on the day they ask me about it, and currently I have to push them towards Windows to get the best bang for their buck.

     

    Until they have to shell out for ongoing maintenance keeping their PCs operational.

     

    Let's get some real world feedback over the next year on these devices. People have been saying this about Apple's laptops for years, and yet we keep buying them.

     

    If none of us buy it, they will have to change tack. Remember the Cube?

    iMac or Mac Pro

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Diamond

    I think you will find people will move on to something else to complain about. No doubt they are expensive. But between the trade-offs of portability, battery, and retina graphics, Apple thinks these provide the greatest blend of value to most people. And yes, whilst I would like to feel better by having the option of more RAM, I think the mix is generally right.

     

    I am disappointed they have not updated their iMacs or Mac Pro though. If Apple had have released update iMacs and Mac Pros I think most of the negative comments would have be muted. But they are in a weird world with Intel chipsets, and what inputs those chips can provide (USB-C/Thunderbolt). In fact, everyone is. Microsofts Surface was delayed, if I remember rightly. By next year Intel will provide the low power chips they need that do have 32GB. That said, the Skylake debacle has been ongoing for a couple of years.

     

    On 15/11/2016 at 3:51 AM, Tom Klaber said:

    I don't know about that.  I think the software needs to do what the software needs to do.  Of course, it should be as efficient as possible, but I do not think VW should slow development or hobble itself just because Apple has moved away from producing equipment suitable for the industry.

    Actually, in today's market I think you will find optimisation is everything. With CPU speeds topped out for the last 5 years, every app dev should be optimising the daylights out of everything.

    • Why have we seen much of the 3D viz industry move to video card based render? Because GPU speeds have been going up much faster than CPU. That will also top out in the not too distant future, and then all devs will be back to optimisation.
    • Why do we see so many cloud based BIM solutions? Because compute is cheaper in the cloud.

     

    Each pro app is doing so much, it needs to be as efficient as possible. And if it doesn't, it will have it's lunch eaten by another who will. Have a look at Affinity Photo, and look at how much faster it is than Photoshop. And why is the iPhone so much faster on lower specs than most Android devices. Hardware specs are only part of the story.

     

     

    • Like 1

    Walls on angle

    in Architecture

    Posted

    Check it in the AEC pull down menu.

     

    Auto-hybrid is different to a hybrid symbol. It creates an object half way between a parametric object and a hybrid symbol. Very helpful, esp for elements that span multiple stories. 

    Walls on angle

    in Architecture

    Posted

    If the wall is only on one layer, you could create a hybrid (2D/3D) symbol so that it displays correct in plan and 3D.

     

    Alternatively, if this wall spans more than a floor, create a 3D symbol that is placed inside of the Auto-hybrid. Place the auto-hybrid on both layers, with one displaying 2D only, so you don't double up on geometry.

     

    With Vectorworks, there are often a number of ways to get to a solution. Which is great, and a challenge all at the same time. Cheers.

     

    Walls on angle

    in Architecture

    Posted

    Walls cannot be rotated. A long requested feature. But remember we also want them to be viewed in 2D.

     

    For now your solutions are – :

    • You could model it, and then convert to Auto-Hybrid.
    • Or you could possibly use a Framing Member object for each component of the wall. If the 2D display is set to none, you can also convert these to an Auto-Hybrid object.

    iMac or Mac Pro

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    21 minutes ago, rDesign said:

    From this VwKB on Renderworks Hardware Dependencies, it says that Hidden Line uses Multi Cores of the CPU.

    Thanks for that. So I wasn't imagining it.

     

    My site section VPs could certainly use some of that multi-core love! (Still rocking 2016 until the end of current project).

    The navigation seems to mostly use the graphics card. With the age of the graphics card in the Mac Pros, more reasons to wait.

     

    Those links are…

    http://kbase.vectorworks.net/questions/1104/Renderworks+Hardware+Dependencies+

    http://kbase.vectorworks.net/questions/1448/Vectorworks+2017+System+Requirements

     

     

    DOWNLOAD CONTENT - RESOURCE MANAGER

    in Known Issues

    Posted

    I am having a similar problem with the online subscription libraries displayed in the Resource Manager. I cannot right-click or download the individual files, just the resources within the files. Is this the way the subscription component of Resource Manager is supposed to work.

     

    For my studio's Vectorworks setup, I have downloaded all of the VSS files and placed them in the Vectorworks Library folder, so they are available offline. Can I do the same via the Resource Manager? Thanks.

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