willofmaine

Hi - When I reduce the size of a rounded rectangle set with symmetrical, non-proportional corners, the radii get smaller. I would have expected them to retain their size, as happens with a filleted rectangle (where the radii only get smaller if the size of the rectangle is reduced too much, and which go back to their original size when the rectangle's size is again increased enough...). Am I missing something, or is this a bug that anyone else has experienced? (Unfortunately, the filleted rectangles seem to only have corner grips for changing their size, and not for moving them, otherwise, I'd use them). Thanks!

Ah, so dimensions are unique, and are not controlled by Auto-classing. And walls are likewise controlled by their insertion options, rather than Auto-classing. So it's just PIOs like windows, and spaces of course, that are controlled by Auto-classing. And having just done a little experiment, I see that for windows, as with spaces, when they're pasted into a file with Auto-classing enabled, sure enough, they go to the Windows class, and their class can't be changed unless "Enable Auto-classing" is unchecked. Thanks everyone! -Will

Thanks, I'll try that. But my bigger question has now become... what is "Auto-Classing"? With or without it enabled, things like dimensions still automatically go to the Dimensions layer...

Why not use a symbol to create the opening? A symbol of any shape will automatically cut an opening for itself in the wall, and can have any representation you want in the 2D plan view. In the plan view, loci can be used to determine where the wall breaks (so that, for example, casings can be shown wrapping the wall at the jambs). In cutting openings, I think sympols do have a shortcoming in that they will not cut 'concavities' - in other words, a five-pointed star will cut a pentagon hole in the wall, not a star shape in the wall. But an arched opening should not have that problem. I'm pretty new to VectorWorks, but those are my thoughts, hope they're helpful...

Thanks everyone! I'll go ahead and update QuickTime.

I'm relatively new to VectorWorks. When I installed 12.0, I remember reading that QuickTime should not be updated. I don't remember reading a similar statement (in the "ReadMe" file, I think) when I upgraded to 12.5. Is there still an issue with VW 12.5, or can QuickTime be updated to it's latest and greatest version with 12.5? Thanks!

I guess I figured it out. I had "Auto-Classing" enabled, so it was pasting the spaces into a VW created "Areas" class, though I'd think one would still be able to move the spaces to another class once they're pasted...

When I copy Spaces from one file and paste them in another, they are placed in a non-current, non-relevant class, and I can't change them to the class that they should be in. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Ah ha! The "Wall Insertion Mode" tool not only makes it possible to engage a symbol or PIO in a wall, but it also makes it equally possible to disengage the same symbol or PIO from the wall. So, disabling that does the trick, and my windows now stay in the wall when I move them about! I'm tracing from an AutoCAD underlay drawing, thus, the Position Button isn't very helpful, though I have used it before. But thanks for the explanation! At least I now know what a 'PIO' is! I didn't realize you could use the 2D shape to move symbols in a wall. It's especially useful because you can move more than one symbol at a time, and especially because the entire wall doesn't move (as it does when you select a symbol and use the Move command). Interesting that sending lines to the back prevents them from disengaging symbols from walls; I'll have to play with that a bit more. Thanks all for the excellent information! -Will

Is it possible to move symbols, particularly plug-in objects such as windows, in walls and snap them to lines (such as one might use for reference, for the edge or center of the window)? Sometimes it works, but more often the symbols become 2D symbols, rather than remaining as a "Symbol in Wall." Thanks.

Excellent, thank you Peter, that did the trick!!! -Will

When I do Final Quality Renderworks, the resolution of the on-screen display is about 72 dpi, and this low resultion is obvious when images are printed, even though in Document Preferences I have both resolution settings (PDF & Print) set to 300. How does one increase the resolution? Thanks!

I have just upgraded to 12.5, and when I insert symbols, there is no preview (so that, for example, I have to flip doors to get their orientation correct after they're inserted). Is anyone else experiencing this, or am I missing a setting?... Thanks!

Okay, well that is all very interesting, indeed... Explains why my Open GL suddenly started working properly when I updated my PC's graphics card, and it seems consistent with NNA's recommendation that the graphics card won't make much of a difference when 'rendering,' if he'd assumed I'd meant Renderworks. My understanding is that the OpenGL is just a quick, cursory form of rendering, to preview things & work in 3D (where it seems to continuously update), before doing final renderings with Renderworks... so, aren't we all relying on Open GL, at least to that extent?... Thanks!

Thanks Christiaan, I called NNA tech support, and they suggested that upgrading to the X1900 wouldn't make that much of a difference. But I know so little about it, that I may have presented my question poorly! He did mention something about Rosetta, though how that relates to the graphics card I'm not sure. But your link to Apple was certainly informative, and in that context the X1900 looks like the way to go... Decisions, decisions.... anyway, thanks! Will

Does anyone have any advice as to whether or not it is worth paying for and waiting for an upgraded graphics card for a Mac Pro 2.66 GHz with 1 GB RAM? (The ATI Radeon X 1900 XT in lieu of the NVIDIA GeForce 7300) Thanks!

Thanks Pete and Nicholas for your most helpful responses! Turning off the "Snap To Edges" constraint indeed did the trick. But I'm left thinking you can either snap nurbs to corners of 3D objects, or snap other items to edges/centers of 3D objects, but that you can't snap nurbs to edges/centers of 3D objects... Though like you say, maybe a bug resolved in 12.5... But NOW that I can snap to 3D objects, I've found that in creating a solid, if I snap an extrude to an existing extrude, I get an extrude, but if I snap an extrude to an extrude that is a symbol, I get a mesh! But maybe this is another topic, and I've yet to learning anything about meshes, so maybe I should do that next... Thanks! Will

Is it not possible to snap to the 3D components of hybrid symbols and/or hybrid objects? For example, I have a floor object that is a deck on the side of a building. I wanted to snap a nurbs curve (or 3D polygon) to three of it's four edges to use as the path for a gutter/deck edge profile, but when I try to snap my lines go way off the screen, snapping to nothing that I can identify, even when switching to a plan or top view... In Snap to Objects I have "Snap to Edges" selected. VW 12.0.1. Thanks!

Will do, thank you.

I'm using 12.0.1, but I figured out at least half of the problem: I'm using an underlay from ACAD, so I had the wall fill set to "None" so that I could see and snap to the underlay's window locations. Setting the wall fill to "Solid" has (mostly) hidden the lower blue line when generating hidden lines, but, as evidenced in wireframe views, the window's "box" still extends down below the sill, in spite of my settings. So, any thoughts on that might be helpful... Thanks!

I have a simple double hung window with 3 1/2" exterior trim and a 1 3/4" sill. I have both the Sill Lip (1) and the Height (3) set to 1 3/4", and I do not have "Trim Under Sill" checked. It looks as excpected in the window preferences preview, but when I do a hidden line elevation, there is an additional blue line below the 1 3/4" sill; it looks like it might be the "container box" of the window as if it were assuming that the 3 1/2" trim also went along the bottom of the window, which of course it doesn't. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Thanks for the feedback. Making a second symbol for a different color car is reasonable and even makes sense. But I think another reason I wanted to place a symbol as a 2D/3D group was so that I could edit it with respect to itself and/or with respect to other stuff in the file. When editing a symbol, it seems one is limited to working on only either the 2D or 3D component at one time. It seems it would be nice, for example, after making extensive modifications to the 3D component, to be able to snap to it when updating it's 2D counterpart (as you can do when originally creating the symbol). As it is, I guess one can always place/create separate 2D and 3D groups of the symbol, and then work on them, and then re-save them as a symbol. But why can't I place the 3D component horizontally? Generally, it seems there are fewer constraints available when working in 3D... Thanks!

Hi Jonathan, I understand that if you edit a symbol, ALL instances of that symbol in the file, including in the RB, are updated. I thought the idea of converting a symbol to a group (whether by converting the symbol, or by selecting the 'insert as group' option when making the symbol) was so that a unique instance of the symbol, that could be edited without affecting the others, would exist. For example, if I wanted to place some cars and make one a different color, I could do that and still have both its 3D and 2D representations. Or maybe you're going to say that I should just make another symbol, for a red car instead of a blue one. Another example: I went to edit a symbol, but wanted to do it in context. So, I placed it as a group (since when editing a symbol you can only see the symbol itself), and I expected that I'd have both it's 2D and 3D components to work on so that I could then re-save it (and over-write) it's original definition. In any case, thanks for your reply! While I don't fully understand its behavior yet, at least you have confirmed that this is indeed the way it works. Thanks, Will

When I either place hybrid groups (from the Resource Browser), or convert placed hybrid symbols to groups, their 2D or 3D components (depending on whether the view is 3D or 2D, respectively) cease to exist. I'd have expected all of the original components, both 2D and 3D, to be placed. I know it's possible to create a hybrid group... Am I missing something? Thanks!!