klinzey

Yes, I ran into the same issue. It's not documented but try using {$IFX ...} rather than {$IF ...} It was implemented for 2025 but I don't know if it was ever fully tested. Additionally, {$IFX ...} would not function in older versions so it probably would not help in your case because 2024 and prior would not understand the {$IFX ...} directive. You can try conditionally include functions with matching parameters. I can't remember if this worked or not when I tried it years ago. The functions do nothing but would allow the compiler to resolve the names but because of the if statement would never be accessed.

@Arleta PDF editing is restricted in the student version to prevent the removal of the educational watermark. Opening the PDF for editing is not permitted, but you should be able to combine the PDF into another document. Indesign is likely trying to open the PDF for editing. I'm not sure why you are having issues exporting to DWG, Exporting to DWG is allowed in the student version.

I gave the script a quick look and it looks like you are storing the path in the dialog control and no where else? In your Dialog_Handler procedure you need to react to the events that happen in the dialog. https://github.com/Vectorworks/developer-scripting/blob/main/VectorScript/pages/Creating a Custom Dialog Box.md#handling-dialog-box-events In your case when the user clicks the OK button you need to get the values you stored in the dialog and save them somewhere. The values in the dialog are only available while the dialog is open. You can either assign then the a variable in the scope of the main object and/or the paths as parameters of the plugin object. If you store the values as parameters of the plugin object they will be available the next time the object is reset. https://github.com/Vectorworks/developer-scripting/blob/main/VectorScript/pages/Plug-in Parameter Types.md If you want to have the object reset automatically when moved you will need to enable the property in the plugin editor for the script. https://github.com/Vectorworks/developer-scripting/blob/main/VectorScript/pages/Object Events.md#enable-script-specified-events

@BillW That parameter type is a little deceiving, it's only used to store the Material value, you need to use other mechanisms, such as a dialog, to set/get the value. The same thing applies to the other types like Symbol Definition etc. These parameters are usually hidden in the OIP and managed by the plug-in. These types are used to make sure the Material, Symbol, and other resource types, do not get purged, will be copied to a new document, follow name changes tracked, etc. For Materials you will usually use this if your object needs to support more than 1 Material. If you simply want your object to support Materials like the Rectangle, you need to enable the extended property in the script. ... kObjXPropSupportBuildingMaterialInOIP = 86; ... vsoGetEventInfo(theEvent, theButton); CASE theEvent OF kObjOnInitXProperties: BEGIN bool := SetObjPropVS(kObjXPropSupportBuildingMaterialInOIP, TRUE ); ... (I haven't tested this portion but that is how it should work.)

@LMorga is correct but there was a bug there moving the XY origin would effect the how the Trim Height is reported. Your method of copy and pasting into a new file likely fixed the problem because the user origin was not moved in the new file.

Have you moved the user origin? Are you using the latest service pack?

Correct. Save just saves the current settings, it does not close the window. You still need to click on OK to exit the dialog.

Some distributors use different levels of protection for student versions as part of their restriction and protection mechanism to prevent student work being used by professionals. The US (and some other countries) student version and professional version can not open these protected student files. I would try contacting your local distributor support directly to see if anything can be done.

Which preferences are you trying to save? Some of these settings are saved with the file others are saved with the application.

It's still possible to select a projector from your active document. Once the resource selector opens navigate to the currently open document and select the projector. You can also add any file to the Video Screens folder to have it show automatically in the resource selector.

Take a look for at something for your 3D printer rather then trying to model the wood texture in Vectorworks. I don't remember the details, someone showed it to me at one point, but there is a something you can do to the 3D printer when printing that creates a wood grain texture. One way varies the temp and the print speed to make a wood grain. The other way uses a modifier file that is applied to your geometry before the model is sliced.

Some sort of status indicator is on our wish list for a future feature. You need to have either a Fixture Mode (Vectorworks proprietary format) or a GDTF Fixture Mode set in order for Showcase to know how to control the light. We try to set the Fixture Mode automatically but that's not always possible. We do not include GDTF files with out lights because they are kept in a central repository, https://gdtf-share.com, and are frequently updated or improved directly by the manufacturer, so we want users to get the most current version from there. You will need to import the GDTF file into the document if you are using GDTFs. See Attaching GDTF data for the various methods. Showcase will use the Fixture Mode if it's set and available, otherwise it will use the assigned GDTF Fixture Mode if the GDTF file is available, but you must set either the Fixture Mode or the GDTF Fixture mode.

Have you imported and assigned GDTF files to the fixtures in Vectorworks? From the description it sounds like there is no GDTF file or mode associated with the fixture in Vectorworks and the MVR export is generating a proxy fixture for the MA3 to import. This will create a basic fixture with default attributes like color and dimmer so the MA3 will see the fixture in the patch but not really control it till you assign a proper fixture mode. Can you post the file?

The help does not cover specific console setup because they vary greatly and, as Josh pointed out, manufactures update their software and interface independently of Vectorworks. The Previsualization forum is the best place to get the latest information on how to connect a console to Showcase.

All of this is for mostly information only. "Model Name" is usually the full fixture name as specified by the manufacturer "Inst Type" is usually a sorter version of the model name, or a common name of the fixture Frequently for content shipped by Vectorworks these are the same. "FixtureID" is used to determine the default Showcase or Vision mode. Frequently this is also the same but sometimes the name used for the fixture profile in Showcase/Vision is slightly different so this allows more a more precise match without the user having to select the mode. The Copy All Types to Model Names button is a very old feature requested by users before we implemented content creation guidelines. Now that content is more consistent this button is really obsolete. Update all lighting devices is a very important feature to use and understand. Lighting symbol maintenance When selected, the symbol definition edits that have been made affect all existing and future symbol instances in the file, potentially changing existing lighting devices in the drawing. Deselect the option to only affect future symbol placement.

You can right click on the lighting device and select edit light. From there you can enable the use emitter option and set the color temp. As a warning when you do this you will NOT be able to set the color of the light, which is why we do not allow this by default. Depending on your version of Vectorworks this setting may only apply to Renderworks modes. Note there is also a setting in Vectorworks to set the white point, so you may need to adjust that to render the relative color of the light source.

Check your Spotlight Preferences, you may have changed the setting so that Accessories not have a unique Label Legend. The Accessory column should be checked in the Use Legend row to allow accessories to have a unique label legend.

Accessories and Static Accessories can have unique information assigned to them including a label legend. In the OIP select the accessory in the "Edit Accessory" popup and then set the "Use Legend" filed to "<None>" Set the "Edit Accessory" popup back to <None> to edit the data on the light.

All the default user fields in the Lighting Device are text fields. You may need to use the Value() function to convert the text to a number if you are using greater than or less than criteria.

And Wall Thickness. You have your wall thickness set to 0, and EN-AW-6061-T6 is standard aluminum tube. It's important that we have all this information, not just the weight, as it may be used for structural calculations. Are you using a material that is not listed?

You need to add a dialog handler. Check out this thread:

The way we currently recommend using the "Additional Default Records" option to copy the data from the records to the lighting device. We recommend creating your own user record rather than addling a field to the Light Info Record so you don't have to deal with the record conflict dialog appearing every time you import a new symbol. https://app-help.vectorworks.net/2025/eng/VW2025_Guide/Setup/Spotlight_preferences_Lighting_Devices_Parameters_pane.htm A video should be posted soon of Vectorworks University that covers this topic. It's not there yet so keep checking the University for new content.

On the Mac your user folder is located at: /Users/<USERNAME>/Library/Application Support/Vectorworks/<VERSION NUMBER> By default the folder is hidden. See Resetting the Vectorworks User Data and Preferences Folder for details on how to locate and reset your user folder.

Are you using ETC Eos nomad on the same computer as Showcase or a different machine? Which protocol do you have ETC Eos nomad configure to output ? ArtNet or sACN? Are you connected to a network? Did you make any special configurations to the network settings on either Machine? Have you disabled the firewall or granter permissions to Showcase and Eos when asked? Have you tried using a 3rd party ArtNet or sACN viewer to verify that the ETC Eos nomad is outputting data?

Labels can be grouped in the label legend and additional text can be added to the group. Both 2D and 3D labels can be grouped and then moved by a single control point. Additional text objects can be added to a group of labels. For example, add a prefix, suffix, or separator. To avoid overlapping text, set the Horiz. Align/Vert. Align to adjust the label insertion point of the labels. See Item #3 in the Formatting the label legend layout section in the Vectorworks Help.