The Company Builder

Does anyone know of a plug-in that anyone has created that allows VectorWorks users to assign a cost to all objects in a drawing? I see costs associated with plants, but not with anything else (as far as I know). If so or if not, let me know. Thanks for your swift response.

Has anyone ever tried to print large drawings (say, 24x18, or 36x24, etc.) to smaller paper without having to change the viewports, drawing borders, etc.? In my line of work, I have been creating drawings at 30x42, but have had to print them out on 11x17 paper for review. Is there any way this can be done? Please let me know at your earliest convenience. Thanks in advance for your answers.

To all out there that are still interested in this topic, I wanted to address the people who use AutoCAD and were considering VectorWorks. I have used AutoCAD for the past 3+ years, and I'll have to admit that VectorWorks completely runs circles around it! Let me explain: 1. Price. My company now has VectorWorks Designer with RenderWorks, and for the price, this software is a steal compared to AutoCAD! I think a standard version of AutoCAD 2005 now runs for about $4,000 (give or take), and to get the rendering capabilities that are at the quality of VectorWorks, you also have to buy 3Ds Max to add to AutoCAD (for another $3,000+). Also, if you wanted to lay out parking lots and plants, or things that generally have to do with Landscape Architecture, you have to get Autodesk Land Development (which is another $3,000). So, by the time you finish getting all those products to get even close to the same features as Designer with RenderWorks, you're out of more than $5,000. VectorWorks Designer with RenderWorks costs just over $2,200, and you can even find it online for less than that.... 2. Hybrid Design Environment. This is the primary reason I chose Designer with RenderWorks. With me being an AutoCAD user, I'm used to drawing everything in 2D. But with this, I can design in 2D, and then switch to another view to see what I have created in 3D. This helps immensely when doing landscape designs, as I can see what I'm putting on sites in 3D as I draw. 3. Rendering Capabilities. For the first time ever, I was no longer constrained to working in just 2D. Now, I can create 3D perspectives with RenderWorks while I'm still drawing in 2D. I no longer have to print out a section of a site, and then hand-render it or apply the colors in Photoshop. Also, the rendering capabilities of this software is simply off the chain! When you have assigned textures to your drawings, and you render even with the Final Quality RenderWorks features, they really look realistic. This one feature alone will save me at least a day's worth of work in creating perspectives for clients.... 4. Unlimited Design Creativity. The biggest advantage of Designer with RenderWorks is that you don't have to be constrained to only designing a landscape or a building, or a machine as other programs would have you do. Instead, one day I could design a complete landscape plan, and on the same day, I could create a building from scratch. 5. It Just Works. I'm in the middle of completing a tutorial that shows me how to design a house from scratch (from the book, Step By Step with VectorWorks Architect), and it has not crashed on me once. This software is rock-solid, as far as I'm concerned. If you want serious flexibility, and want to create plans that are unconventional from the norm, get Designer with RenderWorks. Believe me, you won't be disappointed!

Thank you Peter! It worked exactly as you said. I turned on the roof class, and it worked! Thanks so much for your input. If I have any more questions, I'll definitely let everyone know. Thanks again!

Yes. It's the same dialog box that was in the Step By Step book. Below are the settings I specified: Constrain Tops of Walls to 3D Geometry is checked. Fit to Geometry On: Mod-Roof Wall top embedding depth", and I leave that at 0" as specified. Constrain Bottoms of Walls to 3D Geometry: Unchecked Curved Wall Fit Interval: 1'6" (this was unchanged) Wall Fitting Reference: Center (this was unchanged)

I purchased the Step By Step with VectorWorks Architect book. I'm about halfway done with it, but there is one part that I haven't had any success with so far. When it tells me to perform the AEC/Fit Walls To Roof command, I do exactly what it says, but nothing happens.... I have been following all instructions in the book exactly to the letter, and everything else that I have done in the book has worked except this command. I made sure the Roof and Wall layers were at the proper heights, and tried to look for anything else that I might have done wrong (including retracing my steps), but have had no success. Is there anyone else that has had this problem? If so, how did you resolve it? Let me know at your earliest convenience, as I am trying to finish the book before the week's out. Thanks in advance for your swift response.

Does anyone know where I could get some already-created textures of more items outside of the standard VectorWorks package? Thanks for your swift response.

Y'all are off the chain! I didn't think anyone would answer this question.... I was asking about it because I plan to lay out the Company's first-ever housing community, with many more on the way. The main reason I went with Designer more than AutoCAD (which is what I use daily for now) was because of Designer's ability to create things in both 2D & 3D at the same time.... Speaking of which, I was just attempting to create a 20-story building from scratch when I checked y'all's responses. I already went through the Create Standard Viewports and all the other commands in the VectorWorks Document Setup area. So, are you all saying that the only thing that is needed to properly construct a building is to make sure the Z values correspond with each floor correctly? And thanks for the reference to the manual. I'll be sure to get it soon.

Does anyone out here have an example cadfile that you could be generous enough to lend that shows a two-story building? I have been using the training CDs, and they have a one-story example, but they don't have a two-story example. If you have a cadfile that contains a building that has at least two stories in it, let me know. Thanks for your time.