dunsterville

How do I access the Plug-in files, VW tells me that I can't open or import them, and I can't see them displayed in the workspace. They look like they could be really useful to me. So, for instance if I do an 'Open' all the files in the plug-ins folder are grayed-out, the same goes if I try an 'Import', and I'll get an error message if simply double-click these files. Another issue I have is the browser-based VW Help ? the 'links' just hang (at least, they do in Safari).

Hi Christiaan, thanks for reminding me about paste-in-place ? it does work in some cases. Thanks NickB, I'll read up on W G Referencing. To me, the main issue is all about a complete copy of a layer (complete with its base height info). By the way, I'm glad to see that not everyone in London uses AutoCAD ? sometimes it feels that way !

Hello. Does anyone have a method for merging two or more VW documents? : I need to import specific layers, but the only option I see (copy and paste), isn't acceptible because the objects lose their original positions. If there was an 'import VW document' alongside Imports for DWG, SAT, IGS, etc? it would be really handy. Regards, Guy

Well I hope someone gets to see your queries, I'd be interested to see what they say, I'm phased by this too.

Does this mean that you are on a PC? That info might help the people here. I've just had a call from a client with a problem with DWG/DXF files I made for him of my VW drawings, being without autocad, I have no way to check these exports : Plug-in object and symbols, eg wash-basins, toilets, etc have taken on the colours I've used to denote water-mains and hot-water. To cap this off, I just did an import of a DWG to see what would happen, and vectorworks has made all of the line-weights .35 ? nearly unreadable! Does anyone have an answer for these two problems? Thanks

I'm glad you agree on the 'Actions' idea. I can see how your approach could work, I just don't have much time to do the work!

VectorScript is obviously very powerful, I've had good results with it even with being a time-strapped one-man band, but I'll be learning it forever . . . How about making a pallette/portal for VectorScript in the same way as Photoshop's "Actions" pallette works which remembers a sequence of clicks and paths, which would simplify a whole bunch of batch working? Eg: Today's job of exporting a .DWG, a .DXF, and a .PDF of 114 VectorWorks files would have been a breeze. As it stands, I tried setting up a VectorScript but I couldn't get it to remember which boxes should be ticked, etc. The same with Apple's "Automator". Which leads me to the next: Is "Automator" only for the interoperability of Apple products? If not, could there be a patch to make the most of it?

In England the 'imperial' system still hangs on in silly ways, like for instance in a timber yard standard length are in length of 300mm ? which is basically a foot of course. I was born into a metric world, but on the jobs I do in restoration for the National Trust, I've saved an awful lot of time by biting the bullet and setting my units to Imperial fractions: It allows a sense of logic to proportions, and as for the clunky look of converted dimensions ? although it is tedious to have '2.5' instead of 'quarter', base10 is great for most things, but base4, 8, 12, or 16 is very useful. Is it just me or does anyone else think the portico on the Whithouse is badly proportioned (that's gotta be 'the American system'!) ?

I understand how this little tool works, but I need to get rid of the white bar. Its OK for hairline pen-sizes but for a .35 its too noticeable, does anyone have way to get rid of it? Thanks in advance, Guy

Yeah...I guess....not elegant but yeah! I made a symbol which will no doubt come in useful in other schematics:

Thanks, that's got it. Why would this option be useful in the first place?

When I've set up a specific lineweight/colour Class, why does VW act like it doesn't believe that I couldn't possibly want to really really use want these settings!: After I've set the line to use in the dialog at the top of the page I'm on, I go to draw and it enters the default > black and 0.05. Aaargh! Can someone please stop me getting irritated, any brainwaves?

Yep, its those little things that make it a pleasure use VW! The sort of functions you look for are known as 'bezier' in other programmes: Illustrator, Eovia Amapi, and Maxon Cinema use beziers in the way you'd like ? but these work very differently in VW, not sure why.

This is a very interesting discussion. As a pretty new user, I'm very open for trying to come up with a variety of approaches to get what I want to see regardless of what is optimal. 'anchor points' would be a simple standard to adjust what in other programs is known as 'tensions'. The biggest trouble for me is when I make an 'offset' that has to be altered with all those extra points ? offsetting a cubic spline especially so.

That is done, I could swear I just heard the dialogue just cussing under its breath . . . . I'll test all the tedious other things like 'Word' in the morning. Thanks!

Beats me too! As a sole trader, I'd love to know how to make the most of a feature that promises as much automation as possible. Perhaps we could have some downloadable tutorial videos?

I'll look into that, thanks. Indeed I'd not even thought of changing the Class. Regards

Thanks, setting or overwriting the 'default.sta' has worked on both problems. Producing "virtual printer" PDFs from the new document now produces no extra blanksheets too. Thanks also goes to Mike Now I've got figure out a plug-in title block that I'm pleased with. Guy

Hi, whenever I print an A4 or A3 drawing I have to always have to make sure that there are at four pieces of paper in the printer's tray. And this is after I've set all preferences to the right output, rather than the stupidly preferred and dreaded 'US Letter'. This is exemplified when I save as a PDF from the print dialogue: it produces a four page doc ? one has my work on it, and I have physically remove the three other totally blank pages. (I've basically had enough of US measurements, this goes for the default new page that comes up unbidden every time I open VW) When we load VW for the first time, perhaps it would be nice to be given a global and permanent choice of Metric or US, so that non-US users don't have a number of tasks before actual work can begin. Regards, Guy dunsterville@mac.com

I'm having no luck at all when it comes to unifying the style of my drawings. Despite following the recommendations, such as specifying font at the very outset of a project the VW default fonts over-ride my preferences. Therefore when I customise plug-in title blocks, which I set up to contain as much (or little) detail as the project requires, will 'refuse to' use another font, such as Futura, Century Gothic, or Gill Sans. The same goes when it comes to dimensioning my work Any ideas will be gratefully received.

If you have the old VW11 cds there is a collection of fully three dimensional threaded objects instead of the more vague 2D-ish things in VW 12. These should be in the much vaunted Machine Design package but aren't. a tapped hole option would be nice. And on another subject, I'd love to have an 'unfold' tool.

Hello, I'm trying to find a quicker routine than I have right now. . . Does anyone have a good way of turning a Wall Object in VW into somthing that has a Brick texture on one side, and rendered Plaster on the other side? Maybe I'd be able to use it in the AEC/Select Wall Type dialogue eg: Is there a way of splitting a wall down the middle, during the Wall preferences setup allowing different Materials to be assigned? Do I cheat inside Cinema instead by changing the textures depending on whether I am rendering the inside or the outside? I do an Offset for all the exterior walls, in which case how does that affect a Window or a Door in the 'enveloped' inner wall ? Any ideas would be gratefully received. Best wishes (and a prosperous new year), Dunsterville

I spoke to the UK supplier a few weeks back, he was vague to say the least! He started off by asking me if I know of a good application for Macs that works like MS Access as he is using a G5 to run his set-up: I should have said I'd withold any information until his company support Apple computers. I wasn't hugely impressed with all the implications of this strange conversation. These devices might be cool to use (we wouldn't really know would we), but from what I've seen is that they are a pretty basic concept which I can get by without for now.