G_Hannigan

Katie, The restrictions of VW's 2D environment seem to be inhibiting the development of some features (3D dims & text) that users have been asking about for some time. The earliest post I could find on this subject is dated 01/05/00. http://techboard.nemetschek.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=7&Number=6601&Searchpage=2&Main=1677&Words=%26quot%3B3D+dimensioning%26quot%3B&topic=0&Search=true#Post6601 George

Unfortunately, the converted dimensions lose their VW properties. They become a group of 3d polys - not exactly what we're asking for.

Petri,give the "Point Men" some credit. They're exposing the incompatibilities the rest of us are worrying about.

I'm at a dead end - don't have 2008 to refer to. Are these items present in their normal position in the menus at the top of the screen? I guess there are two scenarios: 1. 2008 takes away some features. 2. There was a problem with your installation that left some things out. Could someone from NNA hop in here or another 2008 user check this.

Actually your input & openness is appreciated.

I'm not suggesting that they add ALL the Arch Industry stuff, but there are some functions held out of Fundamentals that arguably should be included.

Bruce, It may be different in 2008, but in my 12.5 WS Editor, Add & Clip Surface are in the Modify & All Menus lists on the left side. When I expand the Object Context (right click on object) on the right side, I am able to drag the Add & Clip Surface items into the list. The Add, Subtract Solids, etc are on the left side under Model/Solid Operations. You have to drag the Solid Operations header to the right to add them, they can't be done individually. George

Charles, This complaint appears frequently. Perhaps the marketing gurus at NNA would consider a low cost add on as an option for Fundamentals that contains the features many users want, but don't need all the other Industry stuff. Currently it's like having to buy an option "package" from a car dealer when all you want is the sun roof. George

Bruce, You should be able to add them to the Context Menu with the Workspace Editor. George

You may have tried this already, what about Workgroup Referencing, then delete the Reference and keep what you want in the second drawing. Can't figure out what is causing the problem you describe. George

Christian, They can be unlocked, dimensioned & relocked. In 12.5 the dimensions remain associated through the process. Tedious, but it seems to work. George

What happens if you reverse the procedure? Instead of importing the CLASS into the second, try copying the TEXT, then use "Paste in Place" in the second. When I do this in 12.5, pasting the text in the second drawing preserves its size, location and creates the class as well. George

Cinema4D

Richard, The second part of your question: Once you have created a Working Plane on the desired face, you can draw with the NURBS arc without having to reorient the view. Select the NURBS arc tool & start drawing, it should appear on the new working plane. Take a look in the VW Help file under Working Plane for a lot more info. George

Chris, I think bsp is looking for something different. A quick Vectorscript can be used to toggle from B&W to color (SetPref(9, NOT GetPref(9)), but I think bsp wants to turn combine a B&W view with color for markups to have them standout. Robert Anderson provides a useful list of Boolean prefs here: http://techboard.nemetschek.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=7&Number=78069&Searchpage=7&Main=17284&Words=Black+and+White+only&topic=0&Search=true#Post78069 George

Shaun, "With the Spring, 2000 merger of Diehl Graphsoft Inc. and Nemetschek AG of Munich, Germany into Nemetschek North America (N.A.), the company entered a new era. As Nemetschek AG's largest US subsidiary, Nemetschek N.A. joined the parent company's network of more than 40 branches and subsidiaries throughout Europe." Despite this description of the relationship of NNA & Nemetschek AG on the NNA website, the comment by Robert Anderson seems to more accurately reflect how the subsidiaries interact: "Christiaan, you have your preferences, I'm not going to beat that dead horse here. George, it is simply not our role to communicate *anything* on behalf of another company. It is the role of the third party company to talk to you (their customer) as to the state of their development. To do otherwise is simply bad business. We were or are not aware of any particular problem on the part of C4D or Abvent. Those of you who have chosen to use a third-party add-on for rendering for whatever reason (and I'm sure your reasons are valid for you) are welcome to do so. But this inevitably entails becoming your own "technical support provider" from time to time. Now is one of those times. As we say, "You pays your money and you takes your choice." We happily assist either Abvent or Maxon with tech support when they so request in the process of making their port. All I'm saying is, you shouldn't expect us to go overboard in promoting a competitor's product. _________________________ Robert Anderson VP Integrated Products Nemetschek North America " http://techboard.nemetschek.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=65896&page=0&fpart=1 George

No. 2D objects in VW are just that. There are threads on the forum devoted to this limitation especially regarding 3D dimensioning and text.

Andy, I'm confident that they will maintain the link to VW. The question I have is whether they will enhance it, or just repair the link when needed. George

While NNA & Maxon may be part of the same parent, they view each other as competitors. This Plug In issue resulted in a very clear statement last September from Robert Anderson regarding NNA's position on the subject. http://techboard.nemetschek.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=65896&page=0&fpart=1 While frustrating to user's of C4D & Artlantis, it makes sense that they would chafe at promoting someone else's rendering solution. George

True, but neither party seems very enthusiastic about improving the exchange plug in. The addition of C4D Architecture Edition, (dwg & Allplan support), doesn't make me optimistic about VW Exchange's future development.

New versions of C4D & VW will probably break the plug in. While C4D provides the plug in, I think it is created by someone else. If broken, I'd expect a delay of a month or more before a new plug in appears. I usually give Maxon tech support a call.

Katie, Nothing personal, I was expressing disappointment in the way this new feature was presented. There have been posts over the years by users stating that they would like to see stability and speed take precedence over new feature that are not quite "ready for prime time". I also understand there is pressure to add features to make a new release sound irresistible (not unlike a new car). As a long time VW user, I'd like to see new features clearly defined on NNA's website. In this case a couple of quick sentences clarifying what was meant by "support" would have prevented this misunderstanding. George

Christian, The SN does exactly what you describe in C4D. I think that the restrictive hybrid 2D/3D environment in VW will limit the usefulness of the SN. I have reconsidered and feel that my earlier comments were fair and this comment makes me think twice about upgrading soon. "The time allotments for features vs. movies is completely different, and done by completely separate teams."

Further thoughts: 1. Purchase for VW only? No, since it only works as a flyover/walkthrough tool. If you use Cinema4D, Google Earth, yes. 2. I think the reason that I am able to pan & zoom where Christian is not is a Windows/Mac issue. 3dconnexion provides a legacy software (3DxOffice Plug-in) for Windows only that allows pan, scroll and zoom operations for "2D" applications. These functions would probably have to be added by NNA.

Perhaps it was not a fair statement on my part, but I would rather have a clear description of what I'm getting. The word support can mean different things to different users. It seems that the lack of a complete description of how VW works with the SN has led to some confusion on the part of current or potential users. Is it limited to the three functions described in the movie and is there any way to modulate its sensitivity?