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I must be dense, because I don't see anything in preferences that's related to screen tips. Would you be more specific?

That's what it's supposed to be, but it doesn't work on any of our Mac Pro, Macbook Pro, or Windows 7 desktops or laptops.

What is the procedure for turning OFF screen tips in 2012?

Our office upgraded to VW 2012 last week and updated to SP 4. Our office style for drawing labels is a rectangular bubble enclosing the drawing and sheet numbers to the right of the drawing title, however, we can't get either the rectangle or the rounded rectangle bubble style to display correctly (see attached). This is occurring on both or Macbook Pro/OS X 10.5.8 and Dell Vostro/Windows 7 laptops. Is this a setting issue or a bug? Thanks.

Sketchup materials can be extracted by changing the file extension from .skm to .zip and unzipping. The texture is located in the "ref" folder.

From the error message and the behavior (can't move, delete, overwrite, open), it sounds like you're on a mixed OS X/Windows network and that the files are served by a Windows computer or were open on a Windows computer when your computer crashed. Be that as it may, a few things to try: A) What happens of you hit "OK"? If it opens a copy, you should be able to save it as a new file. B) Check Ownership and Permissions in the Get Info panel for each file. They should be set to "Read & Write" for Owner. If they're shared files, they should also be "Read & Write" for Group. C) If you turned on automatic backup in VW preferences, you should be able to recover most of your work by opening the backup file and saving it with a new name. D) Are the files stored on a local drive or a network drive? (Since you mention restarting multiple computers and nobody else having the files open, it sounds like you're on a network.) If on a network, the server may be reading the file status as open, particularly if the file is stored on a Windows computer. Try restarting the network server and/or the computer the files are stored on. (Also disconnect and reconnect your computer from the network.) E) If you're NOT on a network or the files are stored on a local drive, try repairing permissions in Disk Utility.

I'm calling BS on both assertions. First of all, the Broadcom gigabit driver is installed by default by XP. If you can't wrap your head around clicking the "install" button, then you probably should not be using a computer in the first place. Secondly, the Red Hat, Debian, Suse, or Ubuntu distros DO NOT include a Broadcom gigabit driver; those distros install the Windows driver and ndiswrapper. Unfortunately, that combination works with only a limited number of Broadcom chipset/mobo combinations; if you don't have one of those combinations, you're SOL.

Um ... last time I checked, rotating a rectangle converts it to a polygon, which can be edited with the 2d reshape tool, just like any other 2d object.

Unless I miss your meaning, I believe the "Rotate" tool allows you to rotate rectangles just fine. As long as we're comparing apples to apples: additional cost of fsung's solution: $0; additional cost of Raymond's solution:

Not necessarily. The graphic in the TN showing two threads is for illustration purposes only. The Apple-specific OpenGL APIs provide the option for sharing data between any number of contexts. You can create a separate thread for each context that accesses the shared data, so while there are practical reasons why developers haven't yet gone beyond two cores/cpus, in principle, MT OpenGL can have as many threads as there are available cores/processors.

Actually, OpenGL has supported multi-threaded since 10.4.7, but only ONLY on the Mac Pro platform (so not on Intel iMacs, Minis, MacBooks, or PowerPCs), and ONLY in applications that are written to support the feature. In other words, it's an opt-in technology rather than a core OS technology that developers specifically have to chose to support. I don't have a Mac Pro, so I don't know whether or not VW already supports OpenGL multithreading, but my guess is it doesn't. I haven't seen any reports or suggestions that Leopard will bring multithreaded OpenGL to Powermacs or non-MacPro Intel Macs, so I suspect that it will be an opt-in technology until well into the 10.5.x development cycle. IIRC, at this point, radiosity is still only single-processor aware. Given a choice in the matter, I'd vote for multithreading radiosity before OpenGL rather than vice versa.

Clicking the Browse button in the General tab opens the "Select a Stair Configuration" dialog, but changing the stair type (from circular to platform, for example) and clicking "OK" crashes VW. The stair file (14_Stairs Imperial.mcd) opens fine.

You obviously are so convinced of your rightness that you're willing to jump to wild conclusions, without pausing to consider the merits of a differing viewpoint. In the first place, I have been practicing commercial, civic, and residential architecture for 26 years in Canada, the US, Beijing, Hong Kong, Taipei, Manila, and Quatar, so I am hardly a novice. (BTW, how many $500M projects have you overseen?) In the second place, you clearly fail to understand the logical proposition known as a "conditional sentence," i.e.,If (x), then (y).[/i] At no place in my post do I state or otherwise sugges that my practice is primarily, much less solely, residential architecture. The example of common non-standard conditions in residential architecture is an example and nothing more. I could just as easily have cited winder and multi-platform stairs in commercial construction, since they are as common there as in residential construction. Thirdly, at no point do I assert or imply that efficiency and fitness for purpose require ready-made solutions. As ErichR observed: In other words, it's about using the right tool for the right job. SketchUp is an example of a progam that is far more efficient and fit for conceptual modelling purposes than VW, Autocad, or Archicad, simply because it is designed to do one thing and to do it well, rather than to attempt to do all things simply adequately. Consequently, it is far less labor-intensive and time-consuming to create complex 3d objects in SketchUp and import them into VW than it is to create them in VW to begin with. Similarly, while it is possible to produce photorealistic renderings and animations in Renderworks, there are any number of alternatives that require far less effort to set up and far less rendering time to produce equivalent or better results, but If someone chooses to continue to limp along in RW, that's his/her privilege.

I've tested the files created in 12.5 by my colleague. For the file containing a stair, I can edit the existing stair and add new stairs, but do not get the Select a Stair Configuration dialog. I can also delete all existing stairs, save the file (both "Save" and "Save as"), quit VW, open the modified file, and add new stairs. Again, however, I do not get the Select a Stair Configuration dialog. The file that does not contain a stair crashes whenever I attempt to insert a stair. Further results: Opening the file that contains a stair and leaving it open then opening the file that does not contain a stair and attempting to place a stair in the second file results in a crash. Opening both files, adding additional stairs to the one that contains the stair, then switching to the one without the stair and attempting to place a stair results in a crash. All of this suggests that the issue is specific to placing the first instance of a stair in a document. Any suggestions on possible causes and to how to fix the problem?

Update: I have discovered that if I import a document created in a previous version of VW that contains a stair object into 12.5, I can edit existing stairs or add new stair objects, though the Select a Stair Configuration dialog never appears, but if I import a document that does not contain a stair object and attempt to add a stair, 12.5 crashes. Also, if I create a document in 12.5 and save it, then quit 12.5, and re-open the newly saved document and try to add a stair, 12.5 crashes. I'm having a colleague create two files in 12.5, one with a stair and one without, to attempt to determine whether or not the problem is specific to the first instance of placing a stair in a 12.5 document.

Sorry to disappoint you, Petri, but I'm a working architect who uses VW and AutoCad on a daily basis. Mabye Finnish law is much more strict about regulating who can and who cannot use the title "consultant" than US and Canadian law, but your failure to grasp why non-standard conditions are the best test not only of a purported "consultant's" expertise but also of a program's purported ease of use and fitness for purpose is simply incomprehensible. The fact is, a trained monkey can follow a script and make a program appear efficient and easy to learn and use. It's the complicated, non-standard conditions that architects and designers confront on occasion that are the test of whether or not a program is as flexible and easy to use as it is purported to be, as well as its fitness for the individual architect's purposes. Multiplatform and winder stairs, for example, are relatively common but non-standard conditions in residential construction in this area of North Carolina, yet in US versions prior to VW 12, there was no provision for either condition. If you wanted to have either a multiplatform or a winder stair, you had to construct the models manually. Consequently, if one were primarily designing custom homes with multiplatform- and/or winder stairs, VW would have been less ideal for one's purposes than, say, Archicad. EVERY commercially viable CAD product these days is able to handle the roughly 95% of standard conditions designers encounter with relative ease. It's the ?5% of non-standard conditions that are the true test of a given program's flexibility, ease of use, and fitness for purpose. Consequently, it is a foolhardy person indeed who would trust the word of a purported "consultant" who is either unwilling or unable to demonstrate those capabilities by going "off the script."

Pardon my cynicism, but having dealt with "consultants" in the past, more often than not in my experience?by an extremely large margin?so-called "consultants" are nothing more than glorified salespeople hawking a "magic bullet" that "will make my life easier, make me more productive, solve my problems," etc., as opposed to true consultants who take the time to observe and become familiar with myworkflow, myoffice practices, my productivity, my particular needs, etc. and base their recommendtions on that. In light of that, I think it would be extremely interesting?and helpful?to as the "consultant" what his/her financial relationship is to Graphisoft, i.e., does s/he receive any form of compensation from Graphisoft, either directly or indirectly, if a client buys Archicad? (And will s/he put her/his answer in writing for you to be able to check it with Graphisoft?) Here's a suggestion: take a half-dozen or so unusual or non-standard conditions that your company has encountered on past projects: could be an unusual stair, could be a custom window/door, could be a a multi-level, wraparound deck, a building detail, PME condition, etc.?anything that gets the consultant "off script", and ask the "consultant" to talk you through how to model and document them in Archicad. (The issue isn't, can the consultant do it, the issue is, what contortions will you?and the rest of your office?have to go through to do it.)

This happened the very first time I launched VW 12.5, before I pressed any keys, before I opened Help, before I did ANYTHING except click the Stair tool and try to place a stair. I did NOT modify any workspaces, I did NOT change any defaults, I did NOT add any symbols, plugins, or resources from previous versions of VW or any third party resources, I did not change ANYTHING from the default installation. I simply launched VW 12.5, IMMEDIATELY selected the Stair tool in the Building Shell toolset, and tried to place a stair, and VW crashed, as it has every single time I have tried to place a stair, whether in a new document or an existing document imported from a previous version of VW. I have tried erasing 12.5 and its Preferences file and reinstalling from the DVD, which did not resolve the problem. Again, I selected the Stair tool immediately upon opening VW and tried placing a stair, and again, VW crashed.

I'm using the standard VW 12 workspaces. The most recent error message is as follows: "The application VectorWorks quit unexpectedly." EXC_BAD_ACCESS (0X0001) KERN_INVALID_ADDRESS (0x0001) at 0x7f24cb80 Thread 0 Crashed: 0 FindFileRecordByRefNum(short) + 32 1 FindFileRecord(short, unsigned long, OpenFileInfo*, char*) + 72 2 PBGetFCBInfoSync + 108 3 InvalidateSizeCacheDataForFile + 56 4 CloseResourceFork + 36 5 CloseResFileCommon + 740 6 abort + 792292 7 WWHelp_DisplayHelpNavigation + 3480920 8 IwObject::operator new(unsigned long, IwContext const*) + 2247404 9 IwObject::operator new(unsigned long, IwContext const*) + 2309648

I installed VW 12.5 Architect + RW from DVD earlier today. Figured I'd try out the new stair tool first since the lack of winders and double platform stairs were my biggest frustration with the previous stair tool. Launched VW, selected the stair tool from the palette, clicked in document to place, and *CRASH*! Restarted VW, selected stair tool, selected "straight run" stair type, clicked to place, and *CRASH*! Restarted VW, selected stair tool, clicked on "Preferences" button in toolbar, and *CRASH*! Tried all the other stair types, and every time ... *CRASH*! All other items in the Building Shell palette (walls. doors, windows, window walls, ramps, escalators, elevators, columns, pilasters, drilled footings, chain extrude) work just fine, but if I try to use the stair tool ... *CRASH*! Has anyone else experienced this? Any idea what's going on? VW 12.5 (Mac) w/Architect + RW, Dual 2.0 GHz G5 (M9455LL/A), OS X 10.4.7, 1.5 Mb RAM

Not sure that this is installation related, per se, but since I've just upgraded to 12.5 and none of the threads discussing the stair tool report a problem with the stair tool crashing VW, I figure it could be due to an installation problem. Installed VW 12.5 Architect + RW from DVD. Figured I'd try out the new stair tool first since the lack of winders and double platform stairs were my biggest frustration with the previous stair tool. Opened a new document, selected the stair tool, clicked to place, and *CRASH*! Restarted VW, selected stair tool, selected "straight run" stair type, clicked to place, and *CRASH*! Restarted VW, selected stair tool, clicked on "Preferences" button in toolbar, and *CRASH"! All other items in the Building Shell palette (walls. doors, windows, window walls, ramps, escalators, elevators, columns, pilasters, drilled footings, chain extrude) work just fine; the stair tool is the only one that doesn't work. Any idea what's going on? VW 12.5 (Mac) w/Architect + RW, Dual 2.0 GHz G5 (M9455LL/A), OS X 10.4.7, 1.5 Mb RAM