Jason-Baeri

sent!

thanks pat! Unfortunately I can't post here (NDA) but i can DM you a file the process is evolving but a script that did the step above would save me hours and hours of work. I've been grabbing all groups, convert to groups -> convert all sub objects, so it leaves me with a pile of groups and a pile of generic solids. then i repeat the steps above. Even if there's no way to convert the whole file, being able to select each group and hit the script would save me bunches of time.

Hi All, so I'm still battling large scenic imports from DWG. No way to have the exporting company simplify them for me so it's on me to do in cad. Right now the best proces I have is: Edit the 3d symbol convert to group ungroup -> this produces a bunch of nurbs objects select all stitch and trim - > this produces a generic solid, which is the end result. The file when importing is thousands of these 3d symbols that that are made up of dozens of symbols inside them. They are all unique so I can't just do the process to one of them and have it help me with the whole drawing. Is there a way to automate this process? A script or custom tool that could either do this to an individual 3d symbol or to the entire drawing? thanks!

I work with a scenic company that produces incredibly detailed construction drawing in Autocad. Every nut, bolt, screw, everything is in there when they send me a file. When importing it's just a mess of classes and millions of millions of objects that add gigs to my files and make it impossible to navigate. usually when they send a file, i take a little time and explode as many symbols as I can, add solids, convert to generics, and that helps a lot. With the current file, it's so large,. I can't even do that without it taking days of just exploding/processing time. I'm wondering if there's a way to automate the import process to reduce file size or if anyone has any other tips for making a super detailed DWG more manageable? thanks!

HI is there a way to embed a layout in a title block border? right now i have my title block border with a blank space in it, and then i copy the same layout (which is my key) to each sheet layer over and over again. I'd love to embed that key layout into the title block, but i can't seem to find out how. I get an error that says "viewports cannot be pasted to design layers". is there a way to do this?

legend, i'll try it out tomorrow. It's all one scale (metric to imperial) where it is scaled. owe you +1 beer

Gotcha, thanks Pat. The problem is that its in a file that has scaled and unscaled symbols, and then symbol is made up of other hundreds of scaled symbols, so sounds like theres really no way around it. right now my fix is just to trace it and redraw it every time but i lose about a day doing that. thanks for the help!

so the scritp works to descale scaled symbols, but it blows them up to the unscaled size, so now they're all 3 x as large as they should be. Is there a way to apply the scaled size to the objects rather than unscale the objects? thanks in advance!

Hello All! I have a series of documents I get from one company as DWG's and when I import them, they always import as "Symbol - Scaled" with a scale factor appropriate for converting from metric to imperial. The symbols are made up of other scaled symbols nested inside them. Is there a way to convert all to "actual size" so the symbols are no lobger scaled at all? thanks!

Hi All, I'm trying to rneder a scene using final quality renderworks and it's giving me the same limitations as OpenGL - whenever I turn on more than 8 lights, it turns off the first light. the more lights I turn on, the more it turns off other lights. What am I doing wrong?

Thought I'd check in for my yearly update. Nope, Vectorworks 2018, still no easy way to do an angled truss that presents a clear flat hanging view for my electricians prepping the gig while simultaneously allowing me to view the hanging angle correctly in 3d. And no, Plot and model view is still not a good solution because it destroys my class/layer setup that allows the easily print a view that's, say, just truss, or just a certain fixture type. Maybe next version...

Thought I'd reignite an old thread seeing as it's been a few years and there's still no good way to do this in VW 2016. Anyone at VW still looking at this or is this one of the "sure kid, we'll consider it" wasteland objects for the 2096 version? Plot and model view is still a clunky, ineffective, and destructive-to-workflow solution and doesn't really address the needs of modern entertainment designers. It destroys the layer/class structure that a user may have for a document and it breaks the ability to see the 2D nature of a hybrid object if that plot and model viewport is rotated. I say this as I'm currently re-drawing a perfectly good layout of over 300 fixtures on a vertical wall in plan view (read: drawing the same thing twice in the same drawing), so you'll have to excuse the vitriol. Just to be clear, the request/need at years and years later is still: - add a property to truss objects to allow them to be rotated about the XYZ position form a single point in space in 3D view while retaining their flat plan hanging view in 2d views and - add a way to view label legend information in 3D views so we don't have to draw things multiple times. Anyone else still frustrated by this? Thanks in advance for hearing me out again VW. Could really use some attention on this after all this time.

As we approach what I'm assuming VW2014 season in the next few months, are there any updates to this? Is there any hope of a new way to rotate truss without using plot and model view on the horizon? thanks, JB

Hi all, When I try to open the label legend manager, I get the following slew of errors: Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Array ALLOCATE dimension not an INTEGER value: _316 Warning: _2369 _315 - Value will not fit in an integer. Warning: _2369 _315 - Value will not fit in an integer. Error: _2369 _315 - Index outside array limits. It's only happening with one file so I know it's file related, I just can't figure out what it's related to or how to get rid of it. Anybody have any ideas? thanks, JB

Tamsin, I'm sorry if I came across as terse; I appreciate the help immensely and I do respect your experience. The unfortunate answer, however, is that no, VW has not addressed the needs of designers to be able to cleanly draw angled trusses. The plot model view is a workaround to make the drawing look like the functionality is there, but in reality, the program does not support a real function to deal with this. If the lights are at the wrong z height, the feature doesn't work. If I have to still draw a separate set of trusses for my other rigging plates because the lighting trusses are tied up on a definition layer, the feature doesn't work. If I have to keep duplicate layers for renders with the lights on and then other layers outside of my plot layers, the feature doesn't work. Hopefully there will be something in VW2014 but for this year, I'm still stuck with doing things twice. Thanks again for your help, JB

Also with you on this. If it's a lighting position object, it'll only rotate about the Z plane.

Hi Tamsin, Thanks for the reply. While I appreciate the suggestions, I have to agree with some of the other responses that this really isn't a great option. The whole reason behind using layers is to be able to organize your document. If I use the plot and model view tool, I am now managing a layer for my lights, a layer for my overhead truss, and now another 5 layer for each of 5 angled trusses (on this project anyway), plus whatever other layers I have AND 2 more viewports. I get how it works, but it really isn't a good solution for me. What if I have to do a rigging diagram? befoere, where I would just turn off my light layers, now I have to create a copy of the truss anyway and put that in yet another layer. It also doesn't address the actual fixture positions so if I want to turn on the lights, I still need to add yet another layer for the render lights. I haven't done a show in the last 5 years that doesn't have at least 1 angled truss. I know I'm not alone on this and I know I've seen the request a hundred times before. This is a standard nowadays in the lighting industry and VW really needs to address this as a need for lighting designers. Not to go off on too much of a rant, but in 2001 when it was an economic option to autocad that offered some specific lighting tools, I was ok saying "yea, I can do without it". Now that it costs as much as Autocad, I don't feel bad asking for a much needed feature that, while it may be hard to implement, should be added.

Does vectorworks 2013 address the need to have an angled truss that can appear flat on the top/plan view, but angled while in 3d view or do you still have to do the really confusing "Create plot and model view" thing? I'm specifically looking at this to make a plot view that electricians can hang from without having to draw a second set of objects for the 3d view. thanks gents, JB

I am having similar problems where my accessories don't export attached to the light. When I generate paperwork, all my scrolers appear on the top of the list as independant accessories. Does the same thing happen to you?

Just a thought for the spotlight users who have to present 3d drawing to cliets/bosses. a tool that made cornerblocks/adapters/hingeplates would be nice.

Charles, you're the awesomest. Yes, I did remove the group navigation items. I got used to double clicking on groups to edit them so I thought that the menu was useless. Thanks a bundle. IOU -jb

I'm not sure if you're looking for a t truss tool or a cornerblock tool, but i would love to see a cornerblock/hingeplate tool.

Hey Charles, Thanks for getting back so quick. In answer to your questions, yes I have moved, removed, and changed some of the standard group menu commands. I am still trying to teach myself vectorscript so you'll have to excuse my ignorance when I ask about 'what is' and 'how do you' DoMenuText call. thank a million.

I have created a custom workspace that generates multiple vectorscript errors. Most of them are trivial, but as I am a lighting designer, the label legend manager is a critical function of my daily work. For some reason, when I access the label legend manager, the first window pops up without problem. when I click edit layout, I get the following error message: Error: _0_209 - Menu cannot be found. Group Navigation Chunk Seconds to execute: 663.39 I can still access it from other built in workspaces, but when I create a workspace and move commands around to where I want them, the error comes back. So far I have tried: -creating a copy of the workspace and dragging the command over from the workspace editor. -creating a new workspace from scratch -deleting the old label legend manager script from my HDD and installing copying it over from the install cd -completely reinstalling VW. Nothing helped. I am running VW 12.0.1 (53930) any ideas? any fixes? thanks, -jbaeri