willofmaine

I'm working on setting up what I think should be a simple draped paving Hardscape style for our template. And I'm also trying to keep our template classes to a minimum. It seems that default Hardscape objects generate a myriad of classes for this, that and the other thing. While I can understand a notes class for controlling the display of slopes and whatever other information may be applicable, what otherwise is the benefit of most of these classes, especially when all of the attributes can be controlled by the style itself? And assuming the benefits of so many classes don't outweigh the disadvantages of their management, how do I make them go away?!? In the file in which I'm developing the Hardscape style, I've attempted to set everything as <Hardscape Class> and I'm able to delete all of the hardscape-related classes, but when I try to implement the style in a brand new, blank file, a bunch of hardscape classes are yet again created. (Process is import the style, draw a polygon over the DTM, and use "Create Objects from Shapes..." to create the hardscape and apply the style). VWIS247

Overall, I want to say things are much improved, especially when using tools such as the Move by Points tool. But just now, working with 3D polygons at varying Z heights (contours) in Top/Plan view, I'm getting inconsistent results when I draw a new polygon started by snapping to the end of one of the existing polygons. Sometimes the Z elevation is maintained; sometimes subsequent vertices drop down to the ground plane. If snapping is suspended, they seem to always drop to the ground plane. I can find no rhyme or reason for this behavior...

@Pat Stanford Thank you for the clarification regarding plug-ins. My "knowledge" had been based purely on observation (that being just an occasional quick glance inside the Plug-ins folder and only seeing some .vsm files for plug-ins that I'd added (and those mostly your creations, as it turns out...)). I just make the .xml files available for team members so that they can put them in their own User Folders. Then, as @Tom W. suggests, they're only updated via Vectorworks. While one's main User Folder and the additional "user" folders, such as those shared via Dropbox, are created by Vectorworks with what appear to be pretty much the same sets of folders, it seems preferences and settings and that are in their counterpart folders in those alternate "user" folders simply aren't recognized by Vectorworks (???)... ... ...

@Tom W. Gee, why didn't I think to look there? My (evidently erroneous...) perception that Plug-ins are third party. Either way, found it, so thank you! I'm guessing that the "GraphicProperties.xml" that's also found there is associated with the Site Model(?)... @Benson Shaw Ha ha, yes, I've done the screenshot thing, for things such as eyedropper settings and Vectorworks preferences (though more recently the .xml files for the eyedropper, but even those still need to be manually implemented). For the Site Model, I've "simply" created a place-holder DTM in our template in which, as you suggest, the source data is simply replaced with project-specific source data.

So... is there no way to make it so that settings for things such as site models are automatically or readily available for use by all members of a project team?...

Is there a way to share, ideally centrally, saved settings such as those for the Site Model, or other tools such as the Eyedropper Tool, so that everyone on the team has access to and can use them? I'd assumed that the Site Model settings, in particular the graphic properties, and of those especially the contour attributes, were file-specific such that they could be "baked" into our template (.sta) file. But unless I'm missing something, it seems that the site Model Settings are actually computer/user-specific. And unlike the .xml files for the Eyedropper Tool found in the User Folder, which can be distributed for use by others, I can't find any .xml files for the Saved Site Model Settings there. And, also, when I put the .xml files for the Eyedropper Tool in the appropriate folder in our shared "user" folder (in Dropbox), they don't appear in the Settings: > pull-down menu for the Eyedropper Tool, which I was kind of expecting. Any thoughts? Thanks! -Will VWIS245

Thank you! That did the trick, including the ability to ultimately put the files in Dropbox. Thank you.

I have about 30 library files, containing all of the content and resources that I've developed. They've alway sat on my hard drive (and not in the default VW library folders in Application Support). Recently I moved them all to a similar folder, only within Dropbox (still on my hard drive, and just mirrored in Dropbox). But then, suddenly, I couldn't import resources from them, and after I re-started Vectorworks, all of these files, which had been Favorites, entirely disappeared from the Resource Manager. I've since moved them all out of Dropbox so that they're just only on my hard drive again, but unfortunately it seems they can no longer be added to Favorites. Unless I change their file names, by at least one character; then they're recognized and can be added. What's the deal?? Any thoughts? Thanks! VWIS243

Got it (I think...). Thank you!

In the "Favorites" Folder in our shared User Folder in Dropbox (Dropbox > User Folder > Libraries > Favorites) I have placed a subfolder, and into that Mac aliases to our content Library Files. Unfortunately, it seems these aliases are not recognized by PCs. If I replace the aliases with the actual files, these actual files are too easily deleted by anyone that removes them as Favorites, via the Resource Manager on their own computer. Is there a way to have these centralized, shared Favorites files without the risk of their being deleted?

Ha ha, holy cow, you are absolutely right! I was more out to lunch on this than I thought. Good thing I haven't been using VW for more than a couple of weeks, otherwise this might have been embarrassing... ... ... Okay, so the improvement you're suggesting is being able to create the placeholder text directly within the Title Block Layout, rather than via the Sheet Data fields? That would be great; it's what I originally tried to do.

Try as I would, I could not replicate the issue in a brand new, blank file... until I both cropped the PDF and set the Design Layer opacity to 33%. Then it would disappear when zooming in. @Jonathan Pickup turning off "Accelerate graphics" does indeed resolve the problem. At least when it comes to PDFs, there seems no advantage to using "Accelerate graphics:" it doesn't seem to facilitate faster zooming or panning, and things are blurrier when zooming and panning...

Boy, I don't know what I did. My File 01, labeled as VW 2024, is actually a VW 2025 file. My File 02 is also VW 2025, as expected, but there's no title block placed on Sht-1, as expected. I did rename a file while it was open and then tried to save it... I thought I'd successfully backtracked, but maybe not... Anyway... In File 01, the "sheet title:" and "sheet (number):" are not populated as expected. If I create another sheet (with default "Sht-1" & "[Sheet Title]") and place an instance of the Title Block there, those fields are populated, as expected. But oddly, when I return to Sheet A-1, the Title Block has entirely disappeared. If I place a new instance, it then works as expected. A corrupt Title Block instance?... In any case, when I edit the title block style in @Pat Stanford's file, I don't see any text in the "Sheet Title:" or "Sheet Number:" fields... which threw me at first... until I went ahead and added some text to those fields myself and, voila, visible "placeholder" text when I go to edit the Title Block Layout!! Which perfectly resolves my original issue, thank you Pat! @Nikolay Zhelyazkov it seems Pat indeed had the solution for my issue. I'm not sure if you maybe misunderstood my issue and maybe identified another issue? Either way, thanks to both of you!

Fifteen minutes into using VW today I've got my PDF underlay situated and ready for tracing. I zoom in and, huh?!? It disappears. After wasting some time to see what the deal is, it looks like cropped PDFs disappear if you zoom in on them close enough to see what you're doing. The benefits of the VGM continue to elude me. VW 2024 Update 7; VWIS242

The project I'm working on is in VW 2024. The problem appears to be with Sheet data (as opposed to Project data). Within the Title Block Layout the text blocks are present (they highlight when hovering or marquee-ing) but they are not otherwise invisible. In VW 2025, the problem seems worse because the Sheet data automatically linked to the Sheet (Title and Number) doesn't even display with the Title Block when not editing the Title Block Layout. When I start from scratch within the Title Block Layout with new text (text blocks with text, randomly placed in the drawing areas of each title block) the problems persist, and I still can't seem to achieve any kind of "placeholder" text. 2024 and 2025 files attached. Thanks!... VWIS241 01-Title Block Invisible Text-VW 2024.vwx 02-Title Block Invisible Text-VW 2025.vwx