digitalendeavors

Dave, Could you please expand on this? Is VW 12.5 a 32bit or 64bit app and how about VW2008? Would RW have any advantage on a Mac Pro w/ 32Gb of memory or is 4Gb sufficient? Furthermore what is the advantage of multiple cores in VW 12.5 vs. 20008. Is RenderWorks using all the cores and memory available?

I'm having trouble using the custom tool/attribute tool to define wall scripts. Thus far I have the following 'customized' script generously supplied by someone on the VWuser list, which controls the wall thickness and class: Procedure CustTool; VAR Name:STRING; Result:BOOLEAN; BEGIN PushAttrs; Result := DeleteAllComponents(nil); Result := InsertNewComponent(nil, 1, 6", 0, 0, 0, 2, 2); SetZVals(4", 8'0"); NameClass('A-Wall-Mason-Block'); CallTool(-208); PopAttrs; END; Run(CustTool); With regards to the line "Result := InsertNewComponent(nil, 1, 6", 0, 0, 0, 2, 2);" What do each of these values mean?? Also, how can I specify the wall height and z-values for the wall in the script? And how about the Wall Style? I've tried a few things but the setting always get overriden by the wall tool preferneces which are set to an "unstyled" wall. Any help is greatly appreciated! Andrew

Looking back at my old post I see that I was mistaken, its not possible to select more than 1 symbol and select "Break Reference". Karen "Break Reference" only exists in VW12. Runtime error is referring to having the same file appear in the list of the VWG dialog. For example the file name "Plan" with "layer 1" selected. And then adding another reference to the "Plan" file and linking with a different layer say "layer 2". After tracking those reference down it did not work for me. Heres my current solution, turn on all WGR layers, select all and unlock. Delete all objects. Note that layers of different scales will need to be repeated. Now purge only the symbols . Make sure all the symbols you have problems with are deleted from the file. Now update the reference. Because the symbol doesnt occur in the file you get the most up to date version and all the layers and class settings should be intact. It would be nice if the folks at NNA changed the WG reference feature so that symbols are ALWAYS replaced, regardless of VW "thinking" there has been no change to the symbol.

I too have encountered this problem. It seems as if VW "thinks" there has been no change to the symbol, therefor it doesn't update. I also noticed that if you make a change to the "master" symbol such as cut and paste-in-place an object in the symbol it will update. If you have a lot of symbols this would take a long time.... I already attempted EJs suggestion with no results. (Note hes using VW 11.5 - Im using VW12). My symbols did not update. Then I tried selecting all the symbols in the resource browser and selected "Break Reference". When I updated the file again it finally replaced the symbols. It would be nice if the folks at NNA changed the WG reference feature so that symbols are ALWAYS replaced, regardless of VW "thinking" there has been no change to the symbol. A Neilson Mac G4/OS 10.3.9 Designer 12

When using the Navigation palette one can right-click or control-click on the majority of items and get a contextual menu. On my machine I've discovered that control-click with the caps lock engaged will not bring-up the contextual menu in the navigation palette. Maybe some setting on my machine, or maybe a bug? Andrew Neilson VW Designer OSX 10.3.9 Tibook

Thanks for following up Robert. While I still have your attention, I may have another bug for you.... When using the Navigation palette one can right-click or control-click on the majority of items and get a contextual menu. On my machine I've discovered that control-click with the caps lock engaged will not bring-up the contextual menu in the navigation palette. Perhaps there was a purpose for this, maybe some setting on my machine, or maybe a bug? Overall Congratulations on VW12. I really like where things are going with the program. Andrew Neilson VW12 Designer Mac OS X 10.3.9 Tibook

Yes, in the instance above I had wgr both floor layers. The first time was in a rather complex project where I had updated all the VW11 stairs with VW12 stairs. Prior to posting I verifed the problem in new files with the following procedure: -New file with 2 layers; 1 at elev 0' and another at 8' -New file with 1 layer named different than the others to avoid any conflicts in wgr. -Wgr both layers from the first file into the second -Stair appears as it should on the lower layer in 2D&3D -Now update the wgr -It doesnt matter what layer is active but you can see the problem clearly when the lower stair layer is active When I recreate this procedure today it doesnt work at all. The stairs simply disappear after the first update. If I make the lower stair layer active and visible in my screen while the wgr dialog is open, and then update, the stair visibly updates then dissapears as soon as the wgr dialog is closed. Thanks for asking Robert, are you able to duplicate this problem? Andrew Neilson VW12 Designer OSX 10.3.9 Tibook G4

I too am seeing the strange artifacts around the window openings when rendered in OpenGL and FQ. I believe that the "halo" you are describing is related to the "Masonry Module" setting of the window located under the "Parts" tab. When the masonry module is set to zero the "halo" dissappears for me. The artifacts for me seem to be the wall appearing through the jamb. This indicates that PIOs have a problem with the 3D locus locations for opening the wall. Heres a work around... Turn your PIO objects into symbols and input the 4-3D loci into the symbol for opening. Note that the same process is required for turning any PIO into a symbol. This is ok for large projects where the PIOs will be symbols anyways, but somewhat annoying for small projects where most windows are 1 of kind. Note: Altough the PIO/symbols have much improved rendering in walls after this process - there still appears to be problems with the window (possibly door as well) frames don't render properly in both OpenGL and FQ. Designer 12 w/Renderworks OSX 10.3.9 Tibook

Forgot to mention... Designer 12 Mac OSX 10.3.9 Powerbook

First i must say the Stair object is greatly improved. Much easier to navigate the settings and build custom stairs.The best feature is having 1 stair object able to show on multiple layers (top & bottom of stair). Works great! The problem I've encountered is using the new stairs through workgroup references. The stairs appear just fine in 2D and 3D when first referenced into the file, but when the referenced is updated the stairs disappear in 2D and in 3D! Even stranger is when the reference is updated again the stairs reappear! I suspect this has somthing to do with the object name that the stair gets by default - and how VW replaces objects in a reference. A fix for this would be much appriciated and if its not to much to ask could the default name be made simple. For example: A stair created in a new file is named: "{1901D358-5BC1-11DA-BDF9-000D93325C1A}" What the ****? Imagine trying to pull info from the stair in a worksheet.

In terms of the current files that you have I would recommend using the same version of VW used to create the files and using VW12 for new projects only. I say this because of the exact problem you've encountered. Generally its not a good idea to use new software with mission critical files. As with any new version it should be tested troughly first, and then implemented. For your files that contain "broken" plug-in obects I would do everything possible to locate your original plug-ins. Perhaps you archived them, or maybe they could be found on a client machine that still has the old version of Vectorworks with the plug-ins intact. Once the plug-ins are replaced the data should appear correctly. If you insist on using VW12 for these files the following method may work for you. - Duplicate and backup your "plug-in" folder. - Use the "Vectorscript plug-in editor" and select the plug-in (lets say its the "Door" object) - Duplicate the door and append VW12 to the name - Delete the original plug-in VW12 "Door" object - Close VW - Insert your old "Door" or your custom "Door" into the plug-in folder Now the VW12 plug-in is still availible through the workspace editor and your custom objects should be editable with the data intact. (Thats if you were able to find a backup of the custom plug-ins). Keep in mind that updates to Vectorworks will likly replace those objects again in the future. The same process would have to be repeated. In the future try using descript plug-in names. ie w/ your firms initials in front. That way they won't get replaced in the future. Hope this helps.

The companion CD does have a movie on live sections but only a general example of using structural and nonstructural groups. It does not indicate what objects belong to which group. Also after using the Live Sections for a few hours I may have encountered a bug. When creating a Live Section from workgroup referenced layers (using the structural & nonstructural option) only the nonstructural objects and objects beyond the section plane appear. The section style class is turned on... but the structural objects are not displayed. I'm using OSX 10.3.9 and VW/RW 12 - AlBook 1.5Ghz Can anyone confirm?

The live sections feature has the ability to separate structural and non-structural objects into user defined classes. Is there a way to control which objects are structural and those that arent? Further is there a way to specify structural and non-structural elements by class?