taoist

vray has some really great renderings. taoist

Mitchell, Thanks for the reply. You bring up a valid point. What I need / want depends on what style of flutes I need at the moment as all fluted stock is not necessarily through flutes. Would be great to have a library of these or plug-in that would allow to set the parameters. Good point! taoist

Jamie, I appreciate your opinion. VW needs to be more up to date with it's libraries of symbols / objects It is surprising the range of focus between VA & CA. If VW gets up to speed in certain circles with CA (or others) it will be unbeatable. VW has made tremendous strides forward with 2011 release but could make certain items a lot easier in the roof dept., Int. & Ext. trim Dept. to name a few. I would love to be able to go to Maryland ans show them what else is out there for Software and what they could utilize to better their Product. Formal invitation is being notified here. I do not have version 2011, but plan on upgrading before the year is out as I am 3 versions behind. taoist

Benson, All software (within reason) should be fairly intuitive to use. If we have to spend money for training videos or ask all kinds of questions because the manual does not give real world examples, then the vendors have failed in my opinion. I can understand for specialized training the need for videos. All software should come with some sort of training include as to how to use their product with real world examples. We as end users should not have to go to Forums (bless them as they are here) to figure out how to do what in our industry is a basic need. That is, draw a house or building.... complete. Outside to inside. Turnkey. That is what we expect to be able to do as well as our clients. Make changes on the fly. This is after all 2011, not 1980. I love VW but it is lacking in areas. Imho taoist

The question you need to ask your self is what are your needs. CA has always been a pain in the editing dept. VW is (if I may) way more flexible than CA. You can create or draw to your standards or anyone else. No one software package has or does it all the way we want. For really professional looking plans and such, VW is the way to go. CA has never had the professional touch Imho for ConDocs. VW has a finesse (for lack of a better term) that CA has never had. VW is not as automated as CA but I feel as though one looses something with that. Edit ability is everything regardless of Software Vendor. VW will do things you did not even think was possible due to its wide range of tool sets. The key is knowing which tools do what and with the least amount of effort to achieve the desired results. As with all CAD Software, there is always more than one way to solve the problem. Again, only you can answer what your needs are. Do you have a need for adhering to IFC? Do you have a need for free form 3D modeling? Do you have a need for NURBS? Do you have a need for Push/Pull like Sketchup? Do you have a need for classes and layers? How much control and edit ability do you need? These are all important questions that only you can answer. I am sure that others on this forum (or others) can chime in as well. Chief Architect is a great product, but does it meet your needs? Imho taoist

Mike, Thanks for the information. I knew about ArchonCad site. Did not know about the 3D power pack taoist

It would be a tremendous help if VW would produce How to videos of real world articles on how to use VW. The manual does not cover the "Black Book" information everyone wants/needs to know. Example: Extrude Along Path - Tells you what you need to use the command. Create path which to extrude along, create/select profile to use for extrude, select both the path and the profile, make sure path is selected for extrude. It should really give a real world example, say baseboard, crown, window and door trim, countertop edge profiles, banding. Just one example of many. Imho taoist

Michael, Thanks for all your help today. I learned a great deal. You also answered a lot of my questions. We really need a book of how too's besides the manual. taoist

My observations of the two products. This is a very short comparison. I suggest downloading both products and see for yourself. VW will produce and do things yo can't do in CA. VW has more design freedom than CA. For mouldings (door, window, baseboard, etc...) CA is easier. Cabinets (sinks)and appliances, go with CA. VW is still a convoluted process to do what should be automatic. By that I mean when one inserts a sink it should auto cutout the countertop. VW does not, although you can cutout for the sink. Should be able to select edge profiles for countertops on the fly and click to apply. VW does not, although it can be done. Should be able to click on window trim change profiles on the fly. VW does not, although it can be done. VW could use some lessons in this Dept. For 3D, trim, shutters, interiors, CA is faster to produce. CA is more automated then VW. Which Software you use depends on your needs. I do not mean to come across as a basher against VW. Just an end users point of view. I have and will continue to use VW. I will also use my other software (not CA) as well. taoist

EAP seems to be the McGiver of tools for VW. Should / needs to be easier than this. Create a profile of what you want. Make sure it is oriented correctly Save to Profile Symbol Library Enjoy the fruits of ones labor taoist

Horst, Unfortunately there is no custom profile option in VW 2008. Another reason to upgrade! taoist

Horst, Thanks. Did a search on the KB and they suggest for a Hybrid symbol (what I need) is to create the 3D version 1st then the 2D in Top/Plan view. Use Tool> Align command > Select All. Switch to 2D plan projection. Run the Create Symbol command from Organization menu. The hybrid symbol will now be available in the RB. taoist

Horst, I am using VW 2008. It won't open your file. Can you save as VW 2008 as that is what I am using till I upgrade? taoist

Horst, Thanks again. Trying to get up to speed ASAP with VW. Has been quite awhile. I never did learn to use the tools as I should have. Time to get up to speed. Love those jpeg images. Pretty cool stuff! taoist

OK Where do I find this? taoist

OK. How do you get to create / customize using this tool. No option for profiling it. taoist

Horst, Thanks for the reply. Need to have for use in 2D and 3D. Framing member tool? Do you mean Create Joists from Polys? Is that not a simplified way of extruding and duplicate array? taoist

Need to create 1x4 thru 1x12 fluted flat stock to show in 3D. Do I create this in 2D then extrude? Create in 3D? Save as symbol? Need to be able to understand this so I can create custom objects for re-use. taoist

Need to create 1x4 thru 1x12 fluted flat stock to show in 3D. Do I create this in 2D then extrude? Create in 3D? Save as symbol? Need to be able to understand this so I can create custom objects for re-use. taoist

OK Thanks. So I need to import (1) image at a time. Use RB to select new image. Once I have all the images I can then save in a blank document, name it and I will have the images for future use. Then create texture resources of these images for a more realistic look. I should still be able to apply the imported image(s) to a 3D object. May need to use bitmap tool to get mapping correct. Need to use for renderings for kitchens and bathrooms as most of what I do is interiors. taoist

I appreciate the info. I still need to know how to import images to create the libraries. I will try out pixplant. taoist

Example: Need to get an image of a tile from DalTile for project I am working on. Do this a lot as we show our clients as much as possible in 3D for visualization. What is the best way to go about this and save the image to build a library file? taoist

Resource Browser only recognizes .vwx or .mcd files. Is there a way around this? Do I have to import all the jpegs (in my case) to a blank document and then save, then open the file and "import" into Resource browser one at a time then save to a .vwx file so the images show in the Resource Browser? Seems like a convoluted process to me. This definitely needs to be simplified. Is Tech Support aware of how long this takes to get external images / textures libraries built using this method? Am I missing something? taoist

Would be great if we could save entire image / texture library files or import them. Current method of one at a time is old school. Besides, takes too long to import. How about using the Resource Browser to import or reference these saved jpeg or otherwise library files. Imho taoist

That double hip that bc is showing, is referred to in some circles as a bullnose hip. taoist