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panthony

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Everything posted by panthony

  1. If this is one single wall height than your wall texture is smaller than the wall is high. Try and resizing the texture resource and see if that helps. Pete A
  2. Daryl, The defaults are hard coded....so you have to make the tool work for you with the way it is configured. I have not found it to be in need of any parameter change. What is it that you would like the roof face tool to do...maybe it could be a wish list item sent to VW developers. Pete A
  3. Jonathan Pickup has by far helped hundreds of VW users novice and expert with his tips, tricks and tools. I held onto every word he documented when I first began using VW and continue to keep an eye on his podcasts. Keep up the good work JP. The streets of VW can use a few more pimps to supply us johns with quality strange.
  4. Go to this thread...several explanations on roof construction Roof construction links
  5. Mac, First, thanks! There comes a time and you are more than likely at this point where you are contemplating spending time in the model or in 2D drafting and you are pulled in different directions because of an investment of time and resources. Because VW is an excellent tool for both modeling and drafting the decision is that much harder. However, VW adds to the equation...intellegence through worksheets and material tracking in the building information model. You can still attach data to 2D graphics but working things out in the 3rd dimension adds credibility to design in that you build a virtual structure with height, width, breadth and cost. Take an accuratly built model and the presentation possibilities are guided only by your imagination. Time vs. revenue. This is where you have to make the decision that is best for your application. With me it is more about what I think the presentation should be rather than the revenue...but that is my personal conviction (OCD). My involvement in this thread from the beginning was to say that VW can do what they say they can do...and there are folks out there like Tad Damon who set the standard really really high. We can only hope to catch a little of what they can do in building a 3D model. I am going to keep trying. Pete A
  6. It is easiest to render a small area of your model on screen so you can see the render results quickly than go to File->export image file and change settings there to increase the pixel image resolution to the desired level. The higher the res the longer it will take to save the file. Make sure you remeber where you saved the file in order to retrieve it for manipulation in PS. Pete A
  7. Pat you are correct...and I do use foreground and background with multiple overlays to achieve different results. This way I can break up the amount of data in a viewport which can speed up the update process (sometimes) but mostly using multiple viewports along with foreground and background in elevations along with a slight offset makes the hiddens appear with a shadow.
  8. In order to get the layered look you need to overlay the viewports the bottom one is the final quality renderworks and the top is hidden line. Even with a stand alone hidden line and if your model is precise and accurate you should never see a random line show up that must be traced over to hide. I moved away from hidden lines and hatching a couple of years ago as it seemed to take just as long to fill in the hatching as is does to build an accurate model. The best way to create the viewport is once you have the model complete render the elevation and select view->create viewport and place the viewport on a pre-defined sheet. By messing with the render prior to making a viewport all that is left to complete is the notation and dimensioning. Samples of viewport overlay and utilizing foreground and background options for hidden line. Water Tank Detail Drawing HIDDEN LINE OVERLAY VIEWPORTS Water Tank Order Sheets HIDDEN LINE OVERLAYS There is another item that I learned in building models. I keep emphisizing accuracy and precision. If things don't line up in your model hidden lines will not look good. One way to get things to line up is spread out the data across many classes. This way you can isolate specific 3D data and work only on the active class making snapping much quicker. Plus and this is a big one.....INCREASE YOUR TOLERANCES OUT TO THE 10 DIGITS BEYOND THE DECIMAL. This will make the system force you to drawn more accuratly. My dimension tolerances are set to the 64th. High tolerances will catch data that does not line up...especially when you are measuring out to ten digits. I can't help it, my OCD makes me do it! The colors I use in my elevation renderings where chosen specificaly to provide a clean and ledgible print copy. I suppose other colors would work as well but I found browns gray shade better. Pete A
  9. Have you attempted to use the Print Screen key on your keyboard. I use this PC based tool often when I want to quick copy a screen image to the clipboard and then paste into a windows based application. Pete A
  10. There is no way you can expect any tool, whether a Stanley block plane or Vectorworks Architect, to provide expected results right out of the box. Neither can you expect any tool to perform unless you take the time to understand how the tool performs. VW, just like a block plane requires work on the front end to ensure that it will perform to your expectations and they both require upkeep and maintenence to continue performing at the expected level and beyond as the user improves in skill and technique. I have not had to modify an elevation adding lines, hatch or anything other than notation and dimensions for over two years. VW modeling can and has performed to my expectation as I have learned (the curve) to make it work for me. Lets just say I have sharpened VW to my expectation of what a CAD program should perform. And as I spend more time with the program I continue to learn new techniques that improve the presentation of my drawings. Following are a few of the elevation PDF files that come straight from VW with overlay viewports of Final Quality Renderworks and Hidden Line with only notes and dimensions applied to the Hidden Line viewport. Elevation 1 Elevation 2 Elevation 3 Elevation 4 Elevation 5 Elevation 6 Elevation 7 Elevaiton 8 I can understand user frustration while learning the program but as you become aquainted with the tools available with the system your frustration will be replaced with pride over your presentation. Keep at it...building a precise and accurate model is clearly the way to go. Pete A.
  11. Mac, Time developing a design can be spent tracing over a simple model in a viewport or building an accurate 3D model which will only require notation withing the viewport. Both methods can take the same amount of time both to create and to revise... however... Building and accurate model allows you to display elevations in plan and perspective with viewport overlays to intensify the presentational aspect of construction documentation. I prefer the front-side model building which can consume time but the pay-off is in the superior presentation it provides to clientele and construction field. Model building also forces you to accuratly portray detail right down to the radius of crown molding and coping detail. VW is not a system to duplicate what other CAD systems do...it's presentational potential is far superior. Pete A.
  12. Charlie, Build the library...as Mike from OZ has suggested above. You can save many hours of quality creative design time by crunching through building your libraries as you design now. Just make sure you create some kind of file system so you can easily access your symbols later on. Hard work + logic on the front end = time off basking in the sun drenched surf where Islandmon spends most of his productive day. Pete A.
  13. Simon, look to this thread...the tools are there. I used rotate 3D tool (Ctrl+0) to position the model in such a way that I can extrude to depth in the correct direction...plus by isolating specific objects to a special class I use to edit them in active class only I can cut or slice through the extrusions to cut compound angles such as what was done on this roof. Sometimes is takes 4 to 5 rotates to get the view you want! http://techboard.nemetschek.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=105174#Post105174 This is the reason I love this program...the tools are there. Pete A
  14. Play around with the Ctrl+0 to see how it behaves from each view...front, back, left and right... You can even pick a 30deg view from plan then pick a second view from there. Pete A.
  15. Vw has all of the tools you should need to construct very complex roof structures with a combination of the roof object and the roof face tool. See Below. Not trying to show off but the tools are there...you just have to spend some intense and committed time working through the curve. Give yourself some time to become accomplished using the VW tools...they really do work. Pete A.
  16. Turn off GDI+Imaging in theTtools > Options > Vectorworks Preferences > Display... This will resolve the text display issue. It's a know bug with certian fonts. Pete A.
  17. David, Thanks... I rotated the model to view the roof surface on edge from the gutter board to the ridge, then drew a poly to represent the standing seam roof profile panel extruded it to cover the distance of the roof plane (plus an extra 1/4" as I would do in the field to overhang the gutter board then copied each panel as it would be installed in the field. Same thing with the rake trim. The ridge cap was done in front view as well as the horizontal soffit or gutter trim. If a client comes along and adds 4' to the width of the structure through the ridge line I can just stretch the walls and use the 3D reshape tool to extend the roof panels back up to the new ridge height.
  18. Here is a cedar shake texture I created with a bump map. Wherever you place the JPG files the texture will need to be updated with location. Pete A
  19. I have found that instead of using extrude along path tool if you rotate your model in 3D (Ctrl+0) you can draw complex 2D poly's and extrude then while in the rotated view. This method of extruding 3D solids allows you to modify the length and 2D planes much easier than modifying an extrusion path. Getting used to manipulating the model with the rotate 3D tool is tricky but when you get the hang of it making changes is quicker to the model. 3D single extrusion solids are editable in both 2D and 3D...modified extrusion require that you edit the modified groups which can be nested when you for example slice an extrusion. Here is an image of a simple structure where I used this method of extrusion to produce the roof, siding, trim, soffiting and fascia in order to create a model of 3D objects with associated data to pull a bill of materials list.
  20. Chad, You stated that the viewport is stacked over new stuff... Bring the hidden line to the front of the stack or send the white line viewport to the back or just delete it and see what happens. You can always undo the delete or moves (make sure to check the number of undo steps set). Pete A
  21. I added the link Ray... Pete
  22. follow this link http://www.steelselect.com/textures.php These guys have a pretty extensive modeling database for steel roofing textures. I have used them on several occasions. Pete A
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