markdd

This may have been discussed alot before, but I have searched and there is nothing on this forum as far as I can see...... I am starting to draw a square truss for a production I am working on. I do not use the truss tool much as my work is almost all theatre. Is there anyway of drawing realistic corner blocks with this tool or is it best to use the dxf files produced by the manufacturers? Any thoughts would be great!! Best Mark

You are both right! Silly me!! Still, nice to know where I was going wrong.... Thanks alot!! Mark

Done it!! You have to uncheck the "all imported data is on the light plot" button Hurrah! Mark

It doesn't seem to work!! I enclose a screen-shot of the dialogue box when I import. What am I doing wrong! Every blank field from VW is filled with a "-" except the dimmers column which is blank. Vectorworks adds a "-" to the data file for every blank field though!! Any ideas? Mark

Is there a way to export instrument data to LW4 so that blank fields (such as empty gobo fields) are not entered as a "-". It would be really nice to just leave these fields blank Any thoughts/help would be terrific. Sometimes these "niggly" things just get up my nose! Thanks Mark

What is the pipe run tool? Have I missed something!?

This should help you. http://techboard.nemetschek.net/ubbthrea...page=0&vc=1 I had problems about a year ago and started the above thread. By the time you reach the bottom you should have the answer you are looking for!! Hope that helps! Mark

Hello I had this problem recently and solved it with the help of tech support. The answer was to go to your library/application support/vectorworks/ and search for a IP Resources file in amongst the folders. (I can't remember which one it was in) When you find it... delete it. That should take care of the problem. (If you are worried about deleting the file then just make a note of where you found it so you can restore it!!) That is the walk-through that tech support gave me!! Hope that works!!!! Mark

Dear all I would really love it if the Spotlight plug-in had its own set of keyboard shortcuts. Has anybody got a really neat way of writing them for myself. (please be gentle and remember I am a lighting designer not a software designer/engineer!) I would really love to have a set of commands or a pallet with all the pull down menu commads laid out in a way that I could customise easily! Mark Doubleday Lighting Designer UK

Silly me!! Thanks for your help! Mark

Still no luck I am afraid! Let me take you through the workflow.... I have created 3 different symbols that make up a 3 cell strip. I insert each one into the current drawing and convert them to lighting intruments. I delete the label legend that attaches to them by default (I would love to find a way of turning this off so that symbols can be entered without any label legend at all, but that is for another day!) I then arrange the instruments as I needto see them arranged and select the three instruments and convert them to a multi-circuit instrument. I then make a symbol out of the multi-circuit instrument. When I re-insert this so caled multicircuit symbol using the Instrument Insertion tool the symbol is still seen as one fixture as opposed to a group of three that move as one. Is there anything about this workflow that is incorrect. As I said before I have managedto do this on a number of occasions so cannot work out what I am doing differently!! Your help is most welcome! Happy independence day!! Mark

I feel an idiot because I have managed it before, however I am having real problems creating new Multicircuit instrument symbols with the same behaviors as the bundled Spotlight versions. i.e. when you insert as an instrument the component parts each take on individual label lagends etc. Can someone out there provide a basic "walk-through" of this as the manual for Spotlight is shakey on the subject!! I would really appreciate this! Thanks in advance!!

Thankyou. Giving the beam angle a value other than the preset 0? seems to have worked. 1 of the circuits in the multi-circuit instrument had "Light" in the inst type field as well. Do all the values for each part of the multi circuit instrument have to be exactly the same? Best Mark

I have created a Multi circuit Instrument. My problem is that when I move it along a pipe the intrument record changes from L&E 3 Circuit Ministrip to "Light". This is bugging me. Not earth shattering I know but Multicircuit intruments from the spotlight library seem to work fine. What am I doing that is foolish! Thankyou Mark

Edit the shapes in the containers folder in the resource browser so that they are filled with a solid colour. Then away you go!! All you will need to do is refresh the instruments. MD

Yes I found that too incredibly!! I thought that I was missing out somewhere. Maybe I still am! Mark

I recently became a MAC nut but had horrid printing problems because I have an A1 plotter with only PC drivers. Printing from pdf is ok. UP the res to 600 dpi in your sheet layer box and try that. It should help as it makes wapping big files. Alternateivly keep the terrible old PC and use it as a kind of print server and use the vectorworks reader software to talk to it. Hope my tribulations help!! Mark

I don't really understand your problem. In a recent drawing I added channel info to the intrument/s and then when I pair/twofer the instrument by channel, it removes the individual channels from the individual symbol legends and puts the info within the twofer. (I have 11.5) Is that not what you want!!? I have to say I thought it was rather clever!! Mark

Hi Thanks for replies THe ganging tool can turn off the surround feature so therefore this should be available in the label legend thing. Maybe a new update from Nemetchek ! Thaks for your input. So appreciated. MD

No I am afraid not. Why don't you make one!!! I have no knowledge of KINOFLO. Best MD

Have a play with the "duplicate along path" tool and play with the tangent feature. I needed this the other day to put 30 or so fixtures on a ciurved FOH bar and found it very usefull! Mark

Is there a way of not showing label containers when no information for that label has been entered. ie when circuit info is to be entered I don't want to see an empty container! Any ideas would be most welcome Thanks