Haich

Can someone point me to the HP Workaround Link mentioned in Katie's previous post? I was unable to locate it using the forum search. -Henry

quote: Originally posted by P Retondo: The only thing ACAD has which VW doesn't is the ability to crop or mask links easily, so that you can insert only a portion of a layer via a layerlink. If VW would implement the masking, then it would actually be even more powerful than an AutoCad viewport (because of the layer scaling you mentioned)- you would actually have the best of both worlds. As it stands now, in order to create a detail plate, I have to perform Mystic Voodoo with layer links and "filled-rectangle" masks. Its slow. Its tedius & it doesn't need to be that way. I can't see how improving a task that many of us have to do on every drawing we create would be a bad thing. Viewports are GOOD ideas- just because AutoCad has them does not make them EVIL! And while I agree that many AutoCad tasks are overly complex, the ease with which it creates multiple sheets from a single drawing is incredible. VW only started "remembering" multiple page locations with version 10 & even still cannot handle two sheets with different paper sizes. Wouldn't it be nice to have the E-Size plot & the 8.5 x 11 detail sheets set up in the same drawing so that once you built it, you never had to touch it again? -haich

quote: Originally posted by Mbuck: 9. 2D User defined coordinate system. This is perhaps my biggest complaint with VW. I know mentioning the word AutoCad around here makes people all irrational & defensive, so I'll compare it to something a little more obvious: VW inability to rotate the 2D view makes it inferior to MANUAL DRAFTING. If I'm at my drafting table, at least I can ROTATE the sheet of paper and draw! Come on NNA- Let's hear a REAL response on this one & stop telling us that we can rotate the grid angle et cetera. Is this BASIC functionality something we can expect in the future, & if not- why? -haich

I have found this behavior as well. As you stated, it is random & unpredictable. I believe that the import process is moving the origin of the drawing rather than importing the file into the wrong place. As a work around, I have started opening the drawings in ACAD 1st & placing a point/locus @ 0,0 so that I can fix things in Vectorworks after the import. That said, this is a huge problem & clearly needs to be resolved soon. -haich

I have the same problem, seems to only occur when opening an existing drawing. Workaround (found here on the boards): before opening an existing drawing, start VW with a NEW drawing (not from a template). Immediately change pen color. You can then open an existing drawing. This solves it for me. Biggest bummer is not being able to launch VW from the document itself. -haich My config: VW Spotlight 9.5.2 AMD 1800+XP processor 640MB Ram Win XP Pro ATI All-in-Wonder Radeon 7500 (current drivers).

Is there a VectorScript function that retrieves the documents current snap & grid settings? -H

jtallen: 1) The user in the first msg. who posted that he was using spotlight 9.5 Beta posted his message in Oct. 2001, back when it was still in beta. I would think he has probably upgraded by now, but I assure you the issue we are talking about still exists in 9.5.2. 2) There are plenty of reasons to export all or part of a plot to DWG or DXF. For example, when I draw a plot in VW, I often export the plot to DWG so that the other members of the design team (sound, video, scenic, technical director et cetera) are able to include a layer of the lighting in their drawings if they are using AutoCad or other DWG/DXF compatible programs. 3) VW is a very good program and NNA has been very responsive to my needs. AutoCad is ALSO a very good program, & AutoDesk has ALSO been very responsive to my needs. The fact remains that both programs have an installed base & that both must not only co-exist, but interact. While I agree that Spotlight is a great stand-alone product, there are plenty of situations where it can't be used that way. -haich

I just ran into this flipped text problem on export problem on a plot last night. I searched the boards here and couldn't find a solution/work-around/response. Is there any answer to this problem other than never using the mirror command? thanks, -haich

I agree with you that the pull-down menu for text editing is lame, but selecting text and pressing CTRL-SHIFT-T and getting the Format Text Dialog is much more useable. That said, a "Format Text Palette" might be a nice addition. Also, it would be nice to be able to save nameable text & dimension "styles" that can be quickly accessed rather than redefining the current text font over and over.

I would love to hear some sort of NNA response to this issue. Either "Its coming" or "Its on the wish list" or "Sorry, its technically too difficult to implement" or something. This question of rotating the 2d Plan View comes up every couple of months and we usually hear some "official" work-around, but not an answer as to whether we can someday expect this rather basic functionality to be implemented. -h

VW not having this functionality in 2D space is my biggest problem with the program. PLEASE implement this in future releases.

I occasionally have the same problem. Re-sending plot prints fine. Win2000, VW 9.5.0/9.5.1, HP Designjet 500 (not PS). -h

AMEN!

It would be nice to be able to select "frequently used" Truss parameters from a drop-down. i.e 12" Box, 20.5" Box, 30" Box. That would be a lot quicker than setting 4-5 or more parameters each time we use the tool for a different truss style. It would also be great to save our own personal truss "styles" into that drop down list.

VW desperately needs the ability to define (& Save & Recall!) an alternate cooridinate system- both offset &/or rotated. VW already has the ability to redefine the origin, but there is no way to save multiple offsets. This really should be a value that can optionally be saved in a SHEET. Also, being able to rotate & work on the 2d View (TOP/PLAN) seems to be one of the most basic needs of any CAD program. Again, this should be a variable that can be stored with a SHEET for quick recall. In AutoCad terms: UCS- user coordinate systems. Also, PLEASE implement the ability to save MULTIPLE SETS of "printing parameters"- i.e. Plot Size, Plot Origin, Scaling Factor et cetera. I should never have to define the same "plot" twice. In theory, this too could be values optionally saved in a SHEET. In AutoCad terms: Layouts. Thanks, -haich

I've been having a problem with inserting instuments using Snap to Grid when the drawing origin has been moved. My preferred way of laying intruments in is to have a 18" Snap Grid & then moving the drawing Origin to the intersection of my hanging position & the Centerline- this gives nice, neat fixtures on 18" centers... blah blah blah. When I use the instrument insert tool in this situation, it appears to momentarily shift the grid back to the "world" origin, insert the fixture, & then shift the grid back to the offset origin. The problem is, the instrument gets inserted "snapped" to the "world" origin not to the offset one. In addition, after an insert the cursor gets "out of whack" and no longer snaps to either snap grid. The (hopefully temporary) workaround I've come up with for this is to insert fixtures with the 2d Symbol Tool & then convert them to fixtures & then assign the Label Legend. Everything works fine this way, but (obviously) takes twice the time & has the further disadvantage of not automatically assigning the hanging position to the fixture. Is there some way I can avoid this behavior when using the Inst. Insert tool?

The feature does work in 8.5.2- its just a bit picky... Select the fixture so that the handles are visible. Each label will have a handle at its Alignment point (i.e. Bottom/Left or Middle/Center et cetera). Click DIRECTLY on that handle, reposition the label & then Click again to release it. Works that way in Windows 2000- I assume its the same for other platforms. [This message has been edited by Haich (edited 07-30-2001).]