Gytis

For all the options you desire, you may wish to look at a plug-in to VW called interiorCAD. InteriorCAD home

Not really bugs... To return to 4 handles, VW Prefs>Edit>deselect "8 Point Handles" NNA doesn't recommend using Intel Macs yet-see many posts or: NNA Knowledge Base

Taproot- Just wondering, and can't find in Help, other than command-period, what are abort keystrokes?

Subzero has newly available 3D CAD drawings of their product lines, which is great. SubZero CAD Downloads However, I'm having trouble with some of the files. When I try to import into a blank VW file, it just hangs indefinitely on a Spinning Beachball Of Death, with no progress indicated in the progress bar. Based on earlier posts, I've let it run for several hours, B4 having to force-quit. It happens whether I try batch or single import-with single, it never gets to import options--with batch seems to be same no matter what I set. All 2D files seem to work (and always have), and some 3D files are OK, like the very complicated and large PRO 48. The particular ones I am struggling with are 700BF Freezer Drawers and 424 Undercounter. Any advice is much appreciated.

Problem maddeningly persists, and interiorCAD guys don't recognize the issue. It was also occurring with VW11 and IC 2.0, so not a beta issue. Specifically, the palettes stop responding, though sometimes data can be entered by offsetting the cursor a few lines. Originally, only the OIP and Resource Browser seemed vulnerable, but now all palettes are affected. Of course, I have run numerous disc utilities numerous times. I have tried to observe a pattern over a long period of time, but cannot really discern any. Sometimes it is fine for a long time after a restart, sometimes trouble comes quickly. No particular action triggers the freeze, though Sleep periods might do so more often than random. Fresh installs also do not alleviate issue. Any advice is appreciated.

Jim, I'm curious though-your original question seemed to be referring to different textures on each face, not simple primitives. Rare or otherwise, a cabinetmaking plug-in to VW called interiorCAD makes a lot of use of groups of 3D polygons to create all sorts of detailed "real world objects," among them cabinet cases, doors, drawers, hardware, etc. In this particular case, there are dialogs to choose textures for each face, as in one kind of edgeband, another kind of cabinet interior, then yet another kind of cabinet exterior. The objects are not "decomposed," (just as an extrude will not decompose, but convert into 3D polygons)--rather, it is another way of modelling. Mass doesn't matter to a processor, only to our sense of the world. It is quite effortless to texture various facets, though I realize this is a specialized application. For more basic rendering, I think some tutorials are in the VW Help files, and also in various Nemetschek support discs. And yes, PIO is plug-in object. Gytis

In addition to islandmon's always informative answers, and in reference to the second part of your question, you can also convert an extrude to 3D polygons, which leaves you with a group of 3D polys, and then depending on complexity of the object and your patience, map textures on each face, as defined by single 3D polygons.

Go to VW Preferences, Edit Tab, deselect "Mouse Wheel Zooms"

I have same problem when switching from NEC monitor to PB only. Not a great solution, but I go to Window>Use Full Screen--then I end up with view bar but lose title bar.

Anyone have any tips or ideas on efficient creation of interior drywall soffits and fascias with wall tools? I hate resorting to extrusions in combination with the lovely walls of VW12.

There are a lot of nice wood hatches to download from Vectordepot. http://www.vectordepot.com/Hatches1.shtml

I haven't noticed any pattern to the actions I am taking before the freezes-certainly no single action. I will monitor. I have interiorCAD 2.5beta and Renderworks 12 running alongside VW. Similar occurences with interiorCAD 2.0 and RW11. I regularly restart about once a week, and repair permissions every two weeks or more frequently.

Although it probably doesn't make sense for the palette alone, there is a View palette in the cabinetmaking plug-in to Vectorworks called interiorCAD. It offers exactly the handiness Hugo wishes for...

I started experiencing occasional freezing of palettes (but nothing else) in 11.5, and now has continued to 12.0.1. Routine disc maintenance does not alleviate the problem. OIP and Resource Browser seem particularly vulnerable. Any similar experiences or tips?

I add my voice to the chorus of "Please keep these functions!"

I've been using Vectorworks with a 15" aluminum PB for some time, and recently with Tiger. I think the most important consideration is screen size-for CAD with all the palettes I think 15" is bare min., so that even 14" iBook pushes limit. In the office I hook up to a 21" monitor. My next PB will definitely be 17". The performance is also an issue, especially if you use rendering. Tiger is great, a little speed improvement. Spend the extra bucks-in the long run you won't feel the money, but really appreciate the other stuff.

Thanks for the replies. I erred in writing Paint Overlay--it is simply in Paint mode. I would describe it as less a percentage of visibility than some objects come through fully and others don't. I specifically am trying to depict veneers over substrates, and when I zoom in on a section, the veneer still "stands higher", even when thin. Another interesting symptom is that although properly depicted in a close-up iso, as I zoom out, the underlying objects pop through. Kevin, if you would like a file to play with, I could email you. My feeling is that my struggle is due to limitations of OpenGL, as Delmer suggests, and I've been pining for Renderworks anyway, so here's a concrete rational to buy.

A thin (1/16) extrude shows some transparency to other 3D objects in the same layer with Paint Overlay, no matter what sort of fill is used. Interestingly, transparency reduces as thickness increases, disappearing at 1/4. Also, only some lines of some objects come through. Any diagnoses or hints?