Donald Wardlaw

I just let 2015 open a file for the first time. It then asked for my admin password because it "wanted to make changes." What is that all about? Will it make changes that limit by ability to run 2014 on other files? Many thanks, Donald

JImW, Thanks, I'll try that. I read about the signature issue a few weeks ago. Surprised to be tripped up by it now. Donald

I downloaded 2015 3 days ago. Tonight I tried to install. I see a dialogue: "InstallVectorworks" can't be opened because the identity of the developer cannot be confirmed. I'm missing something, right?

You first. ;-) Donald

I think I found the little terrorist. I was lucky, sometimes it can be tedious to find the errant bugger among thousands of others. I started by trying to find out what layer it was on. Once I did that I took the main group of elements and put them in a different file. Then I worked with that file to see if it would collapse. When it didn't I went back to the layer in the source file to see if there were any other objects. First step is to select all and group everything to see if the bounding box goes out of view. That not being the case I did find an object, apart from the main group and by itself which when deleted returned control of my set to me. That still leaves the question of how some object gets to be corrupt. I always leave the Corrupt command out of my workspaces and yet now and again it turns up. Sometimes I'm not sure who is in charge. My two bits. Donald

I think I have a corrupt file, not an incompatibility with 10.9.2. In the past (I've been using this software for 20+ years) such a situation was found to be due to a corrupt object. Sometimes I could find it. Donald

Since upgrading to the latest Mavricks (10.9.2), VW is crashing a lot. 10 times in the last 15 minutes. The file I'm working on seems to have gone bloooey in VW14. I can open the file long enough to export to vw13. If I re-import it into VW14 it bombs. If I launch VW13 it seems to work. This file was working this morning in VW14 but now, it's a goner. I'm using the original release of VW14 which until now for me was rock solid. Donald PS I sent the crash report to tech support along with the file.

I'd like to circle back on my previous post with a detail correction. I can import the color figures from the entourage library but not the black and white ones. The black and white ones come in as a selectable but invisible bounding box. Donald

I'm still on the original release. I tend to ignore the "check for updates" but today my curiosity got the better of me and I downloaded SP2. Glad I checked here before installing. The original release works reasonably well. Using mavericks and at the moment it is mavericks itself that is a bit of a downgrade---in my experience the new memory architecture is sluggish and it takes a lot longer to wake from sleep, and switch between large applications. One issue that remains is that when the laptop goes to sleep, sometimes on awakening I'll get a message that it is time to save a file, I'll click ok, and it will report that the file is corrupted on disk. It gives me a new location which I can save to and no data is lost but I have to trash the old file and relocate the new one. Was same with VW13 and OSX 10.7. Hard drive is new, same behavior. Donald

I've now used 2014 and 10.9 a bit. So far so good except one thing: The entourage figures in the VW 2014 library import fine if I used the 3D figures, but not the 2D figures. With the 2D figures I see only the bounding box handles when selected and nothing when not selected. Selected the object is defined as a picture or image in the OI palette. I use a simple class set up (none and dimension) and both are visible. I have used these previously with 2013 and 10.7.5 without anomaly. d

Thanks to all for the suggestions. I will have to noodle around with this a bit more. The idea to consider it all 1 story is interesting. As a test I was able to add another floor level in the story which I called "Intermediate Floor". So I think having multiple floors and multiple ceilings in a story may work. Donald

The design series manual says: "The layer plane on one story cannot overlap with the layer on another story; therefore, the highest layer in a story cannot overlap with the lowest layer in the story above, and the lowest layer in a story must be higher than the highest story in the story below." So, how does one do a split level model with a two story high area, a second story with a top layer (ceiling) at the same layer as the first, and a floor level between the first and second story with a top layer higher than both? Thanks, Donald

Daniel, Long time no see! Good suggestion, I'll explore that. All the best, Donald

Mike, Thanks. I can get to the contextual menu. My frustration is that there doesn't seem to be any way to customize linear materials to have the graphic nature I want to have. Am I missing something? Is there a way to create my own graphic and make it a linear material? Or substitute it for the graphic for one of the predefined materials?

Well, thus far I've not been able to do as suggested. I really don't get this tool. Is this a tool that is supposed to be used to denote materials in a detail? I'm going to have to put this up there with the edit/create hatch tool. I don't find any straightforward and easy way to edit the linear material. I can see some editable feature in the resource pallet but it seems to affect only the line style of the enclosing lines. Everything else remains inscrutable to me. Donald PS. I don't know what a right click is, but I've tried different modifier key combinations with no revealing result.

This tool is new to me. I'm sure they'd want the graphics for the materials to be user definable because the default graphics are nothing a lot of us would ever use. So, my question is, how to I alter the definition of the defined materials, like "gyp. bd. (detailed)". thanks, Donald

Ok, I accidentally read the license and read me. This puzzles me: "We strongly recommend using the most current maintenance release of the operating system. We do not test and will not support Vectorworks software used with releases of the operating system which were current before Vectorworks 2013 shipped." Something about that last sentence doesn't make any sense.

I'm looking forward to digging into the new version. I'm puzzled, though, by the new meme, "evolve." With the backwards "E". It's ebonical or regressive? d.

OK, I see what is happening. In 2009 and before, to activate a nested tool in the palette one had to simply press and hold anywhere on the tool button. Moving straight to 2012, the behavior is different. Press and hold in the middle of the button give the tool hint. To access nested tools it is necessary to press and hold on one of the four corners. So, all is well. In fact I'd say a bit better than well. For the first time, I've done a VW upgrade and didn't have to spend half a day rebuilding my workspace. Donald

I've upgraded from 2009 to 2012 sp3. Mac. Snow Leopard. MBP 2011 I put my old workspace in the new workspace folder and it works pretty well. Except, that the nested tools in my tool palette can only be accessed via key commands. I used to be able to click on the tool and the nested tools would display to the side. Why is this? How can I fix it? When I go into workspace editor, I can see the nested tools and their assignments. Thanks, Donald

Ok, Problem found. I reinstalled everything and problem seems to center on one font which happens to be Arial. Donald

Well, things are indeed messed up. It is true I can see fonts previously created with Quartz Imaging off, when I go to edit text, I get a white text box. I can't see any of the previously typed text until I leave the text box. If I type into the text box, the letters I type will appear at the front of the text string when I exit the text box. So, I can't edit any particular letter or word because I can't see it. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Regards, Donald

I just moved VW 2009 from a MBP with Leopard to MBP with Snow Leopard. I found that if Quartz Imaging was active, no fonts were visible. Unchecking made them all visible. Am I discovering an old rule of the road? Regards, Donald

OK, Opened a new file. Created a keynote. That created a legend. Copied that legend into the file with the missing legend and it picked up the keynotes. d.

In vw09, I have a drawing with keynotes. It had a legend. That disappeared and I'm wondering how to get it back. The keynotes are still there and if I double click on them I can see the notes. Thanks, Donald 09 sp5. osx 10.5.8.