willofmaine

This is fixed in 2012, too. Nice! Is this applicable for solids, too, or just walls?

Hi Dave, Thanks for confirming that area lights are no longer directional, and for confirming/explaining their "splotchiness." It seems they're no longer really suited for windows?... I did stumble upon the Glow Reflectivity shader a little while ago, but it also doesn't seem ideal for windows because, as far as I can tell, the geometry of its polygons will block the views through the windows that they're located at. The HDRI approach seems ideal, especially if it means not having to create a "lit" polygon in front of each window. But I'm having trouble getting the HDRI to work well; it seems there's maybe too little light? See attached image. Not only is the light limited, there are no shadows, such as ideally would be cast by the chair and table. If I increase the ambient lighting, the subtle lighting on the ceiling is lost. I've used the default White HDRI, which is at 100% brightness and saturation. I've tried 4 bounces for the indirect lighting, which seemed to make no difference at all (according to Help, HDRI backgrounds only bounce once, anyway?...). I'm kind of at a loss... Thanks! Will

It's about 3" from the wall. I've moved it to about 21" away, which seems to help (see attached). But in the case of the window (which is where the area lights want to be...), it's just in front of the sash. If it's moved too far from the sash, then the wall either side of the window picks up light, and shadows of the casings, which of course isn't desirable. Previously, area lights were directional, which I think would resolve this by making it possible to only emitting light into the room, and not back onto the window. But I think I read somewhere that they're no longer directional? And I can't find the "show direction" setting... Thanks, Will

Ideally the program would be written so that an edge coincident with a plane wouldn't produce a line in a hidden line drawing. Also, ideally, it would be written so that where two planes intersect, a line IS produced in a hidden line drawing. Maybe someday... The middle gable doesn't have the same problem either because something is ever so slightly off, or, more likely, tomorrow when the Moon and Sun and Stars and what not are aligned differently, it'll have the problem and the lower roof won't! So, yeah, best to preemptively give "all those situations special, extra, detailed clipping and fudging work."

In top/plan view, you could clip each of the two little lower roofs, by something like a sixteenth of an inch (by the length of the overhangs), where they intersect the main roof plane. (If you clip them along their entire ridges, you may end up with vertical (miter) line where the rakes meet at their peaks). HTH, Will

Why do area lights cast such a splotchy light?? See attached. Any thoughts greatly appreciated!! Also, as far as I can tell, an area light with "Cast Shadows" selected can't be within the geometric volume described by the sashes of a PIO window; otherwise, it won't emit any light... Not a big deal, except that it took quite a while to figure out, and it doesn't seem to make any real sense (if "Cast Shadows" isn't selected, it will emit light from within the sash no problem, and with "Cast Shadows" selected it will emit light through from the outside of a window, no problem...). Thanks, Will

This might be helpful to you: http://techboard.vectorworks.net/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=160605

Try adding a SUM icon to both your Width and Height columns, as well as to the door sizes column. I think this will resolve your issue. Doing this is probably very logical mathematically (I've yet to work through it...), but intuitive it is not. Unfortunately, you can only use the SUM icon for three columns (unless you're using VW 2012, in which case I think this may be unlimited) so a lot of your other columns, such as door thickness and jamb depth, will remain problematic.... HTH

You can take any view (top/plan, top, side, axonometric, perspective, etc.) and convert it to lines, which creates a group that is a 2D line drawing that can be exported to DWG. To convert to lines, select Modify > Convert > Convert Copy to Lines. This can be done either on a design layer or with a rendered viewport. (If you don't select the "Copy" option, your original 3D geometry will be deleted). To export to DWG, select File > Export > Export DXF/DWG... HTH

Okay, thanks, and thanks for all the info. Hopefully ADC will be expanded with 2012 SP1...

Is there any way to simplify and reduce the number of polygons in a mesh? I've imported a Kohler sink that has over 17,000 3D polygons... Also, at least for some meshes, the Mesh Smoothing in Document Preferences doesn't seem to have any effect, but I can't find any difference between the meshes (other than their geometry; I mean differences in settings)... Thanks! Will

Hi Robert, I took a quick look at the Space object; it looks like it has seen some nice improvements, particularly with the ability to use symbols for the label. However, it looks as though the sheet & drawing numbers need to be manually entered for the label? So, unless I'm missing something, that's not ADC. You said above that ADC is currently only available for section viewports. Presumably there are plans to expand the ADC concept to include all keying types, ideally done in such a way as to offer users the complete flexibility to create custom keying... Thanks! Will

Nice; I was pretty sure it could do this. I guess I just wasn't hovering long enough and/or looking for the red square. Also, I guess it won't work with edges, just points. Thanks!

Is there a way to snap to a point between two other points without having to first draw an object between the two points, such as a line, and then snap to its midpoint? Thanks!

Hi Robert, I actually find crops easier to use than the Extent functions in the Advanced Section Properties dialog box (especially now that everything can be seen while in crop mode, a nice feature!). Also, with 2008, section VP's weren't updating properly, and tech support suggested using an infinite Length, which resolved the issue (and necessitated the use of crops anyway). In any case, I don't think crop vs. extent addresses the coordination question? If I need a zig-zag line to generate my interior, and if the "Elevation" configuration can't zig-zag, then the marker needs to be at one end or the other, not in the middle where it wants to be for an interior... I think what might be ideal, ultimately, is some kind of function that can be linked to specific drawings (viewports) that displays their number and/or sheet; something that could be activated for Reference Markers, Section-Elevation Markers, and also that could be incorporated into custom symbols. Often I'll have a single key in the middle of a space for it's interiors (see attached). The sheet number and each of the drawing numbers could each be an instance of this function, included in the key symbol. In the meantime, my symbols system for keying actually works quite well... Thanks! Will

When I select the zig-zagged section line and change it's configuration from "Section" (it's default configuration at creation) to "Elevation," all of the zigs and zags disappear to be replaced with a single straight line, to which the 2D reshape tool won't add any breaks. I did not follow your last sentence regarding the extent of the line itself being important, as I just use a VP crop to define the extent of the IE, regardless of the length of the section line itself. Thanks! Will

Actually, what I was about to say was that today I had an interior for which the section line zig-zagged all over the place. But it seems the "elevation" configuration can't do that?...

Ah, okay. Is there any way to make the line itself disappear? When I tried to drag it's ends to the marker symbol, it worked on one side, but then on the second side the symbol jumped over and there was a short line off to one side. I found that if I draw a very short section line (just a couple of inches at 1/4" scale) I can get it to work. However, an interior I did today had ............ never mind! Just select "None" for pen style in the attributes palette and, voila, only the marker remains visible! Great! And I see that I can even create a diamond symbol, or similar, for individual interiors. Excellent! Thanks, Robert

Great, thank you. I'll remove it from my list of bugs to maybe someday get around to submitting... "(and functionality)" ... you don't just want the checkbox, huh?

Hi Robert, Okay, thanks for confirming this. In my experience, interior elevations aren't typically keyed with a section line, but rather with a single reference marker in the center of the space. Exterior elevations often aren't keyed at all on the plans, but if they were, again, I think it would be with a reference marker rather than a section line. Hopefully the ADC will eventually include reference markers! I love it for the section viewports. In the meantime, I'll continue to use my symbols-based keying system for the other types of drawings. Thanks! Will

Hi Judah, Excellent, that's good to know. In the meantime I'll just patch them; not a big deal. Thanks! Will

Not to be nitpicky, but... when it comes to the grab bar object: Why does the pipe get thicker as it goes around the corner to return to the wall? The outside radius should be the inside radius plus the diameter of the pipe. Square pipe with chamfered corners in 3D view? Square pipes for interior elevations? No escutcheons at the wall? Maybe I'm just missing some settings for this PIO...

Thanks Peter for checking this out. Your "fix" a) is (I'm sure you'll agree...) far from ideal when it comes to actual execution, especially with lots of interiors, and b) can get a bit tedious when it comes to drawing hatches around all the various plumbing fixtures (even with the fill tool) especially when changes are made. I tend to resist too much 2D drafting after creating a 3D model! It's probably what I should do, but, what I've done in the past that has worked reasonably well is to actually just model the tiles (a symbol for a tile, a symbol for a vertical column of tiles, etc.). What I really wish is that hatches could be an integral part of textures. They could display in hidden line drawings, while of course the image components of textures would display in Open GL and Renderworks... The image and hatch could be edited together for coordination of, say, a brick hatch with the image's mortar joints. Thanks again! Will

It appears that automatic drawing coordination is only applicable for section viewports, their section line instances and their drawing labels, and the sheets they're on (title blocks). It seems that drawing labels and reference markers for other types of drawings (in regular viewports) such as details, partial floor plans, interior elevations, etc., are not in any way automatically coordinated. Is this correct, or am I missing something? Thanks! Will

Hello, On a design layer I have created a rectangle just in front of a wall, and filled it with a 4" square hatch pattern to create a tile wainscot. When I ask for a hidden line rendering, I can see the tile hatch as expected. However, when I create a section viewport to make an interior elevation, the tile hatch (as well as its rectangle) do not show up. Any suggestions? (a new, empty file with all classes & layers turned on) Thanks, Will