Bob Holtzmann

If you give PC guy a USB drive with files on it, tell him to ignore those funny little finder files that Mac OSX makes.

If it's a draped fabric you want, I would try making the under surface shape with solids, and then use the Model command "Create Drape Surface..".

http://www.vectordepot.com/older_plug-ins.html The Truss Tool still works with the current version. Another great Command plug-in I can't do without is Merge Text. And stay away from Exhibit Hall - I think it crashed Vw the last time I tried it.

Is this a wood burning fireplace? The masonry and concrete would have to be fire resistant, to prevent cracking.

I was checking out the reactions at the Autodesk forum, and there is bleak disappointment there. No one asked for sketchy lines - clients don't even ask for them. And their wish list items, such as using tabs for simulated text tables, goes on ignored. One Revit user pointed to an article over how Autodesk is screwing around with their money.

Just a tip for bay windows in residential construction - there should be room for a couple of studs (i.e. 3") between each window unit. This is so because window units generally are shimmed and screwed along the jambs of the rough window openings. Windows can then be removed and replaced in this manner, during the lifespan of the house. So in Vectorworks, the bay windows will be placed in the bay walls and have 3" between them, especially at the corners, where the wall framing would be supporting the bay roof.

I've noticed at least one black rectangle showing in the finder file preview in Vectorworks 2014/RW - but I am running it on OSX 10.8 Mountain Lion, with a recent update.

I see a question mark on the chart for running Vectorworks 2013 under OSX Mavericks - I will need more info, since I need Vw 2013 for my recent projects. This will make me hesitate on doing the OSX update (which I was going to do on a whim because it is free).

It always helps to avoid converting current project field to the new version, but instead finish the project in the old version. Then later on, when the first and second service packs arrive, there is plenty of time to start new projects in the new version. Only then would I do the batch conversion of the old files.

It's also helpful to know that the Mac version of AutoCad LT ($900) is favorable to some, but to others is not very highly rated. I'm surprised to learn that it does not allow copy/paste between files, as in Revit. There was some talk about a desktop Mac version of Revit a few years back. I'm guessing that Autodesk will never release one, because Windows Boot Camp has done the job for them. It is possible Autodesk may be ditching the desktop for a web-based Revit app, run by paid subscription like Adobe Creative Suite. It seems likely, because Revit already has a web-based rendering service. Autodesk's Green Building Studio is also web-based subscription. I don't know if Windows 8 has anything to do with this, but it seems that MS Windows software is moving away from the desktop computer. All opinions stated above are based on my perceptions of reality, distorted though it may seem.

I generally like to keep standard sizes on the doors and windows, and the Object Info is good at keeping that under control. Chief Architect is great at cabinets and counters - when I saw it stretch a counter, along with its base cabinet, I knew that Vw could not compete with that. 2D drafting in Vw is reliable and easy to manipulate. The Add Surface command gets the most use for me. And a 2D polygon can be converted to lots of 3D objects - floors, slabs, roofs, among other things. I've seen lots of new features in Vw 2014 - better stability is one you might like.

To better manage your "chalk lines", I would recommend using the "Make Guide" menu command. Guides are just lines and objects individually locked on the Guides Class, that don't print. And it's easy to unlock them, edit and lock them again.

The Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse has done well for me. It has lots of adjustments with its Preference Pane. I used the mouse's extra center button for Vectorworks to click and hold down an object. I did have to put an extension on the USB wireless transmitter to get a better signal to the mouse - the USB plug is on the left side, and I use the mouse on my right side.

The Create Roof does make an easy-to-manage object. And it takes little effort to go to a side view, use the Move by Points and with the roof ridge point, move the roof object to a different height.

The Create Roof command can't do this, but the Roof Face can. Just use the "draw roof axis" part of the process to draw a line along the roof ridge - the up arrow will be placed outside the roof face's surface. This will set the roof ridge to the layer elevation. The Axis Z in the object info can adjust that. Then just mirror the roof face for the other half of the gable roof. The Connect/Combine tool can then be used to extend to roof edges to intersect.

My understanding is that a split level is always associated with the story beneath it. It can never be a story of its own, but rather offset from it as an associated layer. The ceiling in a two story space would be entirely associated to the upper story. It's easier to think of a split level as a "mezzanine level" above the lower story.

That's good news - multithreading hidden line rendering. Up to now, every time I tried to render a hidden line elevation, it's always been "you've got to be kidding - it's taking this long?" It seems "home brew coding" saved the day for NVW.

I've had success making schedules for doors and finishes, and simply referencing the schedule's layer into another Vw file. I wanted to do this because the floor plan's data and the schedules could work two ways only if they were in the same file. A possible cheat would be to have two separate schedules referenced into a file, make viewports of each on a sheet, and use cropping to align them side by side.

Thanks Robert. Usually wireframe view is hard to work in for me, because the individual objects become a visual jumble of lines. I guess it can work if the individual wireframe objects can "auto-hilight", so we can perceive the outline of the object. Auto-hilight makes selecting objects fast and easy. Up to now, I've had to use the new Clip Cube to get behind walls, so this X-ray selection tool looks like a time-saver.

The "exploded 3D view" can be done in Vw by using Design Layer Viewports, one for each layer of the view, and separating them in the Z axis in the Unified Layer mode. Usually this type of view is for machine assemblies. Or in architecture, if you're going to have large prefabricated building assemblies brought to the site. As for any of the other new Revit 2014 features, I wish Vw 2014 had some of that "Snappier and Smoother Performance"!

I agree about the impression of the X-Ray image, SBG. It reminds me of the Life magazine illustration showing the nuclear bomb shelter inside the building, or even Superman's X-ray vision. It will take some figuring to effectively use this in construction drawings.

True, Ralph Grabowski is a bit of a loose cannon on the CAD scene.

Clipping capabilities and 3D rendering in views seem to headline the new features of Vw 2014. An X-ray 3D viewer adds an interesting function. So far all I can see now, until Sept. 17th. http://worldcadaccess.typepad.com/blog/2013/09/heres-some-of-whats-new-in-vectorworks-2014.html

Vectorworks Architect does not have rounded cabinets (in the toolbar), so that video must be using a custom add-on. I hope I get some advanced notice on Vw 2014, having just renewed my VSS. The Service Select site does not have any material on it right now. A good sign we'll be seeing the new version very soon.

Chief Architect is a great home building design platform, but it lacks IFC export, so it will most likely stay in the cellar of the ranked BIM platform popularity trends. And who's at the top? Not Revit, but Autocad, by a ridiculously large margin. Autocad does export to IFC, and costs around $5500. Thanks for the tip on the pricing, DWorks, I might just stay in VSS to save myself from any price increase.