markdd

Has the Y rotation of the Spotlight Instrument Tool been changed? It now rotates the instrument around the Z axis which is surely what the instrument rotation field is for. This could actually be a really useful addition but could it be labelled Z rotation and please put back the Y rotation to the way it has been working for a few years now. Apart from anything else, this makes the "Create Plot and Model" command far less useful. This is bad news for me if this is seen as an improvement not least because drawings created using it do not display correctly in 2017 and will need to be opened in earlier versions of the software which I am sure is not the point of the annual upgrade. As you can see from the attached file, when drawing a boom of lights it is often desirable to draw them at an angle (say 30°) so that the labels display clearly and the fixtures don't overlap in 2D and it was always possible to adjust the X and Y axis to bring the fixture back to a true hanging orientation like the example on Boom-1. This is now impossible because of this new bug. I would be grateful if this can be fixed. Many thanks Untitled_1.vwx

Thank you Jim

I've been trying to work this out too. I think the short answer is you don't. You can alter the order the items are listed by dragging the list order up and down in the label legend manager. Does anybody know any different?

I had this happen. If you open the file they are saved in and save, VW 2017 regenerates the preview and all is well. Well, for me anyway.....

Do spotlight instruments not export to web view?

I really like the functionality of the Spotlight Instrument being able to alter pen and fill attributes depending on which class it is assigned to. There seems to be an inconsistency to this function’s design though which I find frustrating. Many of us use different lineweights within our symbols and indeed many of Spotlight’s own symbols do as well. When one uses the Instrument’s colour to alter the pen colour, lineweights are maintained as set “By Class” within the symbol which is great, but when one sets the symbol to change “By Lighting Instrument” all the lineweights change to the weight of the active class regardless of the “By Class” settings of the objects within the symbol. This seems inconsistent to me. I’m not sure if this is a bug or just an oversight, but It would be really good if this could be changed on the next update. Many thanks

Yes, this is bad news as I am not going to be able to work with this version of VW until it is fixed. A special update perhaps?

So have I! If this problem persists it will mean that spotlight is unusable for me.

Bottom of the forum list there is a grey area that says bug submit

This has happened to me a few times. I guess the bug submit area of the forum is the place to go.

In the preferences dialogue box: first tab, first item, uncheck CLICK DRAG DRAWING That should sort it out. Mark

First off, I assume you have checked all the opacity settings on both layers and "The" class in the Organisation Dialogue box? Has this only just happened? (can you create a signature for yourself on this forum with details of which version of VW2016 you are using and what OS etc you are using as well) Thanks, Mark.

Thanks Michael It would be really good if you could use the command to convert instruments to behave as multi-circuit instruments without breaking the 3d focussing attributes. It seems ill-considered without this functionality. Mark

Hi Vectorworks is only able to grey out actual geometry. Image files such as jpg's just show what you are describing. Mark

I rarely use the "convert to multi-circuit" menu item as I see no use for it if one builds ones own, or uses multi circuit instruments in the various Spotlight libraries. However today I am embarking on a project that is going to use a lot of 6-lamp pars, so rather than create a 6-lamp bar multi circuit symbol, I thought I would try selecting six pars in a row and use the "convert to multi-circuit" command. This works great, the fixtures move well in 2d and also adopt the multi circuit numbering convention which I really find helpful. What is odd though is that all the 3d pan and tilt functionality is "broken". (SEE Pic. The ones on the left have been converted) So the question is, am I misunderstanding the tool, am I missing out a step, is the tool not fully functional (bug) or, what is the tools's purpose? It would be great if anybody could help! Mark

The only other thing I can think of is checking that Unified View is enabled Mark

Experiment with "centre on objects after view change" in the preferences dialog Mark

An intensity slider, with yes a 100% override would be helpful, similarly, a way of adjusting colour using the colour picker and/or filter number would be a very useful addition. Colour temperature also would be helpful as well. This is just a start though and it would be fantastic to have a complete overhaul of the visualisation palette in SPOTLIGHT. Maybe next year!? There are many features related to this that I long for. (I will start a new thread on the wish list section) Mark

In which case you will need to edit the 2d portion of the symbol to show what you need to see. There is no quick fix, so you will need to actually draft what you want to see in this instance. I often do this. Just duplicate the symbol, rename the symbol (the light info data will remain the same), edit the 2d portion and use it instead of the stock symbol. For symbols that are symmetrical front and back like floods and Molefays, then I often add an arrow to the 2D portion to make it clear which way it is pointing. I hope I understand you correctly. Mark

So you don't want to see the 2d portion at all?

In the object info palette just set a rotation for the symbol. No editing required. In Spotlight preferences you can tell the symbols to rotate to their focus points automatically.

I've had this from time to time. It's very annoying. Deleting the fixture and focus point and reinserting them sometimes sorts out the problem. One of the many annoying quirks of VW that I wish they would sort out. Mark

Yes please

sorry, misread your post Are all your textures set to receive and cast shadows? Does the extruded object have a fill applied to it? Ah, I can see now that it does. Post the file and I can take a look. Mark

Hi For starters, check that the spotlight instrument texture has cast shadows turned OFF.. If you are looking for the lit fog effect then make sure you are in a perspective view. Mark