Mr. Roboto

Hi, Our office has a few people using different workstations taking turns working in a group of related files that are referenced together. It seems that some of the notes, bugs, and other text objects are changing font depending on which user opens the file. This is messing with our layout for obvious reasons. Is there a way to fix the problem and make sure we don't get into the same mess again in the future? Maybe there's a default font setting somewhere? Thanks!

Anyone know if it's possible to reference a door schedule? Our office has one file with our floor plans and, to allow multiple users to work on the same project simultaneously, we have a separate file with schedules, etc. I was hoping to create a door schedule in the plan file so I could use the VW "VA Create Schedule" command and then copy or reference the schedule into the second file. When I try this, even using a Design Layer Viewport, the door schedule comes in with only the database header. All the other information disappears. Please share your tricks if you've got 'em. Many thanks!

Anyone know of a revolving door tool or a symbol that will create one in a wall?

I've been blithely clicking along using design layer viewports (DLV) to reference survey topography into my architectural drawings. This is great, I can keep all those confusing surveyor CAD classes from cluttering up my documents and by using the class overrides I can change the visibility of the survey drawing elements for easy viewing, e.g., turning all the topo lines from red to a subtle and pleasing gray. Here's the problem: when I create a sheet layer viewport (SLV) and attempt to show the referenced DLV information, all of the DLV class visibility overrides disappear. My referenced, gray topo lines turn red again and there doesn't seem to be any way to change their appearance to something more appropriate for printing. As I understand it, the whole point of DLV referencing is to make it possible to link files and save me the labor and confusion of importing all those topo lines into my architectural drawing or changing their appearance in the original Surveyor's file to match my printing standards. And the whole point of SLVs is to provide flexibility between how my drawing looks when I'm working on it and when I'm printing it. But this apparent flexibility breaks down if I have to alter the Design Layer appearance of every referenced file to match the SLV appearance I want for printing. Have I misunderstood the VW workflow? Or is there a way to adjust the appearance of referenced DLVs when shown in SLVs? ps--I'm still running VW 2008....

Is there a way to allow more than one person to work on the same file at the same time? For instance, if we set our files up so that we have all the elevations and all the plans in another, what are our options if and when we'd like to have multiple users working on two details if all the details live in one and the same "details" file? I don't think it's possible. For that reason, it seems as though it's probably safest to have a separate file for each drawing. This is onerous because of the hassle of managing and updating file references and design layer viewports, not mention the crops and view settings for layers and classes. We always seem to get particularly mixed up when producing different versions of the same drawing, for an elevation study, for instance. There's only two of us, but I'm surprised at how often we find ourselves wishing that we could both work on two separate floor plans of the same project simultaneously. It seems as though having a tool or mechanism for creating a "master" file to organize the multiple drawing files would be helpful, especially for projects involving multiple users. This file would presumably contain all the sheets and allow for management of the various references. Maybe it's a subject for a separate thread, but I'm curious about how multiple simultaneous users can make use of the BIM modeling capabilities of VW. Is this possible?

You can also use the "Detail Cut Wood" tool found in the detailing menu. It's not the greatest but it's sometimes enough to get the job done.

So in my case, it's possible that someone (likely me-whoops!) changed the name of the "Sills" class to "Floor Plan Only" and now the sashes turn off with that class? This is making sense. The real lesson seems to be that if I use the VW window objects, I'm exchanging the ease of window creation and editing for flexibility of classing that I might be able to retain if I used window symbols that I create myself. In that case, I think I can live without seeing the sashes in my RCP. As an aside, I wonder, are there dire consequences to pay for meddling with the names of the VW-created classes? Now that the "Sills" Class has been changed (or maybe deleted), will it be created anew if I make a new window object? Thanks so much for the help!

Thanks, Pat, but I'm still confused about how the sash/glass ended up on a different class than the window plug-in in the first place? And why isn't the sash/glass on one of the "style-#" layers? Actually, my burning question is how can I make the window plug-in and all its parts the same class again?

Can anyone enlighten me in the ways of manipulating the classes of window object parts? The problem: the windows in my walls are in "window" class but the glass/sash seems to be in my "floor plan only" class. When trying to set up my RCP view, I need to turn off the "floor plan only" class but then the glass disappears. The question: How do I make changes to the class of sub-objects(?) in plug-in windows? (Note: I noticed that the "view" tab of the window editing window has a "special classes" area that seems to allow the user to change the class of window parts, but it only lists "style-x" classes as options. Is this useful for anything? What is "style-15" anyway?) Thanks!

Also, if you used a rectangle to create the crop for the original viewport you can use it to adjust the crop for the viewport. The steps are simple. 1) In a design layer (not a sheet layer) draw a rectangle over the area you want to appear in your viewport. 2) In the "View" pull-down menu, select "create viewport." 3) A window should pop-up asking if you'd like to use the new object as the crop for the viewport. Click "Yes." Once you've created the viewport, you can adjust the crop by double clicking it and selecting the crop option. Remember that the class of the crop object (the rectangle you used) has to be turned on or the viewport will disappear, a frustrating experience when it happens. Good luck!