Jeffrey W Ouellette

Deleting any data columns SHOULD NOT terminate the connection. Maybe submitting the file to Tech Support for more help would be in order?

Topsnack, WGRs are setup within the "target" file (the one containing the WGRs). If the WGR source file (the one being referenced) moves locations, then that path must be re-established. Not knowing how your setup has changed from the original setup, you could experiment with the use of a relative path rather than an absolute path, or vice versa.

lucylou, Did you designate classes to these various parts via the "Special Classes" under the "View" tab of the window dialog? If so, you just need to verify that these classes are on/visible in the VP (viewport) in question. Hope that helps!

Jodyb17, When you use the database capabilities of the Worksheet tool, it is a one-way connection, that is, the worksheet database reads the parameters and data fields of the plug-in objects. So, you are unable to edit the data of the cells directly in the worksheet. Instead you must return to the item and change the paraemters in the OIP or dialog Data tab. Be aware of a quick shortcut, that is soon to be fixed in the next maintenance release; With the worksheet open, select the row number of the door or window you wish to change. Whe the row is highlighted, use a right mouse button click to bring the "Select Item" popup. Whe this is highlighted, left-click on it. The drawing space behind the open worksheet will change to the appropriate layer and zoom to the corresponding object AND have it selected for you. Please note that the layer must be on, though not active.

Or, you can take a look at the new BIM sample file on our website. http://www.nemetschek.net/architect/bim.php

I think, what is important for everyone to understand, about the IFC framework/data format, is its role as a means to control/harness all the data associated with the design, construction and occupation of a building. IFC - see http://www.iai-international.org/ and http://www.ifcwiki.org/ifcwiki/index.php/Main_Page - is just a part of the overall BIM (Building Information Modeling) concept. The bigger picture of BIM (VDC, buildSMART, Virtual Building, etc. call it whatever you want) considers that buildings need to engage design, fabrication and inventory technology in much the same way automotive, aerospace and other manufactured goods have been for the last 30 years. Why? Money. The adoption of advanced data technologies in other manufacturing processes have proven to make such resulting products less expensive to make and own. The technology streamlines the way data needed for production is handled from initial concept through to ownership. Every time a set of data (i.e. design drawings) needs to be re-interpreted for the next stage in a product's cycle of existence, time, and thus money, is spent/lost. For many arguable reasons, the building/construction industry, as a whole, has been extremely slow to catch on to this trend. There are parts of the industry (small, but growing) that have incorporated advanced technologies to get either large quantities of building done (i.e. manufactured housing) or large, complex projects done (look at some of HOK's project, for example) or to provide components/parts for any building project, large or small. The concept and argument is that there is a growing need, by the owners of building projects, for the building to be conceived and executed as efficiently as many other products. The demand for narrower cost margins and higher values, by owners, drives the need for all the players of the process to participate in a common method, analogous to an assembly line of televisions, for example. BIM provides a framework for this participation. BIM demands that all the players, from the Owners to the Designers, the Regulators, the Builders, the Fabricators and the Facility Managers, participate in the process with technologies, processes and data standards that can be shared with, or interact with each other in a more fluid way. IFC is a component of the data standards piece of the puzzle. IFC is a data file format that is vendor-neutral. This "data" is the description of a building and all the pieces that make up the construction of the building. The data can be geometrical (2D/3D) or informational (text/numerical). In the end, the IFC Model is a virtual description of the project/product that can be viewed by all parties. Right now, the IFC Model is more about sharing this information than it is about creating a "round trip, directly editable" model. Some players don't need access to editing capabilities, but require access to the results of other players' editing, quickly and easily. IFC is an open format. No single vendor can dictate its requirements, nor control its development. The development of IFC is dependent on the needs of ALL the players in the process, thus all the players have a voice. More and more government entities are requiring IFC compliance because it eliminates their need to manage different file formats from different platforms. The IFC Model is potentially smarter than drawings, giving regulators a single point in which to examine multiple aspects of a building design, like energy analysis and compliance, as well as explicit building code compliance. The ICC is working on a program to automate code compliance checking by examining an IFC Model, further streamlining the regulatory process -see http://www.iccsafe.org/news/102006smartcodes.html. More commonly, at his point in time, you will see submissions made with a PDF component, as well as an IFC Model component. Why? Less actual paper, yet the provisions for some type of document "trail." Conceptually, over time the need for explicit traditional documentation will become less important as the technology of the model grows more sophisticated and complete. Drawings will become a product on an "as needed" basis, rather than being the basis for the building process. Each player will be able to extract drawings/views of what they need, when they need it, if they need "drawings" at all. Right now, IFC and the other BIM standards proposed by groups like the IAI (International Alliance for Interoperablity) and NIBS (National Institute of Building Sciences) - see IAI International and NBIMS Publications | National BIM Standard http://www.facilityinformationcouncil.org/bim/publications.php - are the roadmap for the future of Architecture and Building. How fast we get there and what it looks like in the end is anyone's guess. But, by engaging and participating in it now (or as soon as possible) Nemetschek AG, NNA and our users have the opportunity to be a part of a global, and seemingly inevitable, direction.

One of our legacy users (I mean "legacy" in the fondest of terms) showed me an interesting method of 3D hatching of surfaces, in design layers, for hidden line rendering. He actually created a set of 3D polylines on a plane parallel to the objects/walls he wished to "hatch", positioning the plane a fraction of an inch away from the surface of the object to be "hatched". The work is a bit intense, at first, but the results are pretty cool. The "hatching", in this case, brick coursing, was then properly displayed in either orthogonal or perspective views of a hidden line rendering of the model. Worth a try?

www.sketchup.com @Last Software has been acquired by Google. Yes, really. Check it out... Does that mean there will be a Google Earth Plug-In for VW?

Steven, If I recall correctly, Nemetschek does NOT currently support any current version of their software on an Intel-based Mac. They DO NOT have a Universal Binary, nor native Intel-Mac version and DO NOT guarantee any performance under the Rosetta PPC emulation mode. I know the new hardware is waaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy cool, but Apple put out hardware before most large program developers (that is developers of LARGE programs) were able to acknowledge/create compatibility. Nemetschek is not alone. IMHO you're best off getting a G4 Powerbook (17"). It will last you much longer than you might currently think.

cami, The use of the color drawing/B&W printing process has some limitation/conventions. My experience in VW, color fills DO NOT reproduce as "greyscale" fills on b&w printers. The color fills are strictly color values recognized only by color output devices (printers & monitors). To get printable greyscale fills try using the fill patterns and adjust the density of the "screen" pattern accordingly.

For those of you out there operating MacOS machines, please refer to this very helpful article to help clean/tweak your system... http://www.macworld.com/2006/03/features/speedtoptips/index.php

For some of you out there who use the Mac OS, please refer to the following helpful article regarding overall speed.. http://www.macworld.com/2006/03/features/speedtoptips/index.php

But, I suppose you are looking to customize further, so you must appropriate the "Model" field or use the new "User Field" options in the Data tab of the "Settings" option of each object.

Gary, The database header should be "=(Door.Config)"

Jazz Arch, Are you in Top/Plan view for that layer? On the Mac the toggle is "Apple+5" On the PC the toggle is "Ctrl+5"

I must apologize to all for my mixup. We use a 488CA, not a 455CA in our office. The 488CA DOES have MacOS X drivers, the 455CA does not. Sorry for all confusion. Wish I could be more help.

Mike, I believe you should get down and kiss Robert's feet for making such an effort. Robert, You're a prince for going above and beyond in making such a timely effort to this issue.

The HP 455CA will work with the HP MacOS Driver and the JetDirect box. That is the setup we currently have in this office. I the previous office I was in we had a HP500 with an external print server box (Netgear). There was 1 PC and 2 Macs on the network. The PC worked fine with AutoCAD, but the Macs required a third party software solution -ESP Print Pro. It wasn't perfect, it wasn't painless to setup, but it worked. The "new" HP driver for MacOS would not support the external box and required that we purchase an internal I/O card for full cross-platform compatibility. But it also made color printing from the Mac much more reliable and B&W output faster.

The HP internal I/O card has room for RAM onboard and inserts into the back of the plotter. You can add another RAM card for more memory, but it'll cost ya. The additional memory helps upload more of the data into the plotter and off your machine. The HP is slowest in data transmission/translation, while I find the actual printing speed quite acceptable.

The internal card goes into the PLOTTER not the Mac. HP plotters ship standard with USB and Parallel interfaces only.

Uh, I believe that all this can be accomplished with VectorScript. Correct me if I'm wrong, but VS should allow you to string together other tools to make a new tool... no?

aaronmason, It used to be that it was necessary to get the postscript option because the plotter manufacturers did not produce MacOS native drivers for their machines. Most, but not all, do provide them now. In your case, DO NOT spend the extra money for the PS. The HP500 will work great for you. But might I suggest that you spend the extra money on an internal 10/100 Base-T card (only way the MacOS driver will work on an ethernet network) and as much additional memory as you can afford. It helps things move faster.

sputnik707, When you open the worksheet (double-click) you have the option to sort the information by a column. There are little icons toward the top of the window that look like cell phone signal strength icons. One is for sort by ascending, the other is sort descending. Drag n drop the icon you want in the column you want to sort by -'Mark' or 'ID'.

I wholeheartedly disagree. IMHO. SketchUp is a completely different program from the major AEC packages with BIM functionality like VW, ArchiCAD, MicroStation, AllPlan and AutoDesk/Revit. It is what it says it is... a 3D 'sketching' program. No more. Because of this, it appears very powerful in the way it delineates 3D forms and provides methods for the creation and manipulation of these rudimentary forms. It does this very effectively. It does it faster and with seemingly more ease than anyone else, because that's all it does. Its code is focused on a narrower scope than most CADD programs. Its code requires far less computing overhead. That's not a bad thing. But, really look at the interface. What does it do beyond the rudimentary 3D form creation and rendering capabilities? Can you produce construction documents from it? Do you have interactive database capabilities for producing take-offs, schedules or reports? Is there Radiosity rendering? Workgroup/X-ref functionality for large projects? SketchUp is a great tool to bring ideas quickly to form and present them in various sexy ways. I like how it produces some very interesting imagery quickly in the hands of an experienced user. Clients like the end results, too. VW can also get the sexy output, granted with a bit more work and user manipulation. But it is a full featured BIM tool. It is a bigger program with code cover a much broader scope of issues. As a result, the code requires more computing overhead. The walls are objects, not mere skins like they are in SketchUp. Window and Door parametric objects have further evolved into representing real world products. Objects have database fields (records) that can be collected and regurgitated into schedules and reports. You can create framing plans and models with a couple more clicks. Now, SketchUp offers itself as an interoperable piece of a user's toolbox of CADD resources. It now offers plug-ins for AutoDesk, VW and ArchiCAD. @Last Software recognizes that it is not producing an alternative to a true CADD program, but that it is a very powerful modeling tool that has the ability to dovetail into exsiting CADD/BIM solutions that have greater functionality. Your AutoCAD quote is another example of AutoDesk desperately scrambling to meet the apparent needs of its shrinking user base, trying to make up for all the other shortcomings of the program. I doubt they will be very successful very soon in providing the same functionality as SketchUp. And at what price? To get the same functionality as VW Architect w/ RW, you must pay US$4695 for AutoCAD Architectural Desktop and another US$1995 for VIZ. A total of US$6690. One seat. No SketchUp. For US$1650 you can get VW Architect w/RenderWorks. For another US$495 you can get SketchUp (plug-in for VW is FREE). A total of US$2145. You can buy THREE seats of this configuration for what you would pay for one seat of AutoDesk products with less functionality (NO SketchUp). I like VW as it is (v12) and where its going, knowing how far it has come (I started in MiniCAD 5, 2D only!). Instead of pandering to the hip new craze, let SketchUp be SketchUp and let VW focus on being the most powerful, economical tool with the greatest ease of use of all the full-fledged CADD/BIM solutions out there. You want SketchUp, buy it, use it. Dovetail it into VW and your workflow. But don't neglect the power already there in VW and its advantages over a less robust modeling program.

Ditto Q4U... The HP500 is the best bang for your buck. It has a native MacOS X driver now. I've used the 42" in the recent past on a mixed PC/MAC network and found it to be a workhorse. The color capabilities are a little more limited than the 800, but it is hard to tell if your just doing the occassional large rendering. I've printed a set of large digital photographs (24x36) showing off previous projects and the clients were impressed by the quality of the images. Like Q4U says, it will take a little bit of tweaking to get the colors just right, but all systems/printers require some work like that.