Damon

As a follow up, I deleted the landscape area tool from my migrated workspace, then added it back. That seems to have solved the problem, but it still seems like a glitch in the program. Migrating / updating workspaces is a factory option; the 2017 installer offers it as a selection, so it should work thoroughly and completely, without owners being required to monkey around with their customized workspaces or even worse, recreate them altogether. At least it is is fixable, and I'm happy for that.

I'm not sure if this is an issue, or a change in V2017, but my landscape area tool is also faulty- as far as I can tell. I am working in a custom workspace, migrated from V 2016, but the landscape area tool falls out after being selected. There is no descriptive text in the little tool tip box. Even drawing a polygon, then using the 'create objects from shapes' is only semi-functional; no settings are available in the first settings window. I have to go to the object info palette to change the segment length and thickness. Using the stock Landmark workspace, the tool doesn't fall out prematurely, but the settings are still not as accessible as they were in 2016. I believe this is a bug, as V2016 also had a crashing problem with this tool when importing V2014 or V2015 files. I do not know how I would remove a factory tool from the tool palette, unless I do that in the workspace editor. If so, that is not something that should be needed for a single tool, unless it is a problem in the application.

Jim, I have been working with my VW provider, and with my drawing file and crash log he has been able to reproduce the problem. Nem. has also been able to recreate the crash. It appears to be related to drawings with elevations and wall heights set for design layers; in this case, a file I received from an architect had some likely unintentional elevations set. Some were negative. For whatever reason, the landscape area tool did not like this, even when drawing on new design layers I created with an elevation of 0. Nem. is going to correct this in the next SP release. Thanks for your help.

Jim, The crashing persists, and is consistent, even when the two design layers I created are imported, with the items/ objects, into a new blank file. Further, If I delete everything from the drawing; all design and sheet layers and all classes (except 0 and dimensions, of course) and do a complete, scorched-earth purge and then save the drawing with a new name, I still get an immediate crash with the landscape area tool. On the wiped-clean drawing, I get the settings/ option dialogue box before the crash, but the crash occurs every time. If there are no objects a drawing, and the only design layer has the default name, I don't see how a corrupted object can be causing the crash. My brief optimism in my post above was also faulty. Any thoughts? Any interest in a crash log?

Jim, Wellll, it sort of helped. I started a new drawing file, and imported only the design layers I created, using the layer import method you referenced in your link. The plant area tool still crashed the program. I opened another blank sheet, adjusted the scape and copied and pasted my two design layers (the same two design layers from the same source drawing) individually onto new design layers. In this file, the plant area tool does not crash the program. There must be something, some feature that is causing the problem, but it remains true also that V2014 is fine with the file and plant area tool, and 15 & 16 are not. I've had about 10 crashes this afternoon with this tool, and I'm likely getting sloppy in terms of keeping clear track of what I'm doing. I'll have another go at it tomorrow. I'll report back when I've gone over things again.

Hello All, I'm having consistent VW crashes in VW 2015 and 2016 when I use the landscape area tool on drawings that I've brought forward from their original 2014 format. It has mostly been with files from an architect that has worked in 2014 or earlier, but it has also happened from files from a different architectural source. My local VW reseller has not been able to help; they were unfamiliar with the landscape area tool altogether, which was a disappointment. I've tried deleting all of the imported information and the crash still occurs. I've covered all imported symbols to groups. I'm working on my own layers, created in V2016, so not on imported layers. If I save the drawing back to V2014 and open in V2014, the crashing stops. It would be nice to be able to work in 2016. I recognize that this may be a problem that originates with the architectural file, but it is this tool only that crashes. And it must be something in V2015 & 2016 as using V2014 on an imported V2012 file does not have this behaviour. Any similar experiences or thoughts about the cause? Thanks very much.

Would this weirdness have anything to do with V2015 losing my keyboard shortcut for 'Pan', which I had set to be the space bar? It is, or was, saved in an edited workspace, and it disappeared today. As well, I can't seem to assign the space bar to Pan anymore. Which is a bummer. Pressing the space bar sometimes gets a flicker of the hand icon, but it won't stick. It seems to have disappeared from 2014 as well. Thoughts? Thanks

Hi, I've looked for info on this topic, and asked other users for help, but no luck so far. Here is the issue and the question: I am doing work for a Municipality, and I need to provide them with a autocadd/ dwg file that is referenced to their coordinate system (presumably a world corrdinate/ northing & easting) system, and one with a Z value for some points or objects. I am not a user of the 3D capabilities of VW so I accept the problems there. However, I hope that if I import a survey dwg file that has the 2D coordinates and the Z values that this data would be preserved, especially if I kept things at 1:1, and used the 'world coordinates' button instead of 'centre after importing'. I would think that if I did some new linework, and somehow managed to get things at the correct Z elevation, that my file would still be referenced to the coordinates of the original survey. Does anyone have any experience doing this sort of export? If I cannot export a VW file to dwg and retain that coordinate info, I'll have to hire someone to do this drawing in acad. And that won't be much fun. BTW I'm on a mac, and I don't know if the file format differences btw mac and windows would by itself muck up the data or database components of the original survey. Thanks for any help.

Thanks hippothamus, I'm just doing a referenced viewport of another 2014 VW file. It is a house, and the drawings are at an early stage, so the files are not large or complex. I re-created the viewports, and each time they come in to my drawing, the destination file, way out in space. I will look into the origin issue. It is odd, however, that the 0-0 origin appears correct in my drawing, and in the architectural drawing. The screw up occurs when doing a referenced viewport. I did ultimately delete my design layers that were the location for the referenced viewports. The new layers performed correctly, so there must have been some problem with those layers. But the 'why' is still open for discussion.

OK. Searched with no success. I have a drawing that I have been working on for about 2 months, with no problems and no crashes (on this file). I have created two design layers, and referenced architectural and survey layers from another VW file. Today, I edited the architectural source file, saved it, and when I updated the reference in my destination drawing, the viewports with the referenced information became blank; they appeared to have no information in them, even though layers and classes were checked. When I deleted the viewports, and created new viewports, the new viewports come into my drawing with crazy coordinates: 2,703,363,600'-0" away from the 0'-0" of my destination drawing. That 2.7 trillion feet away. Literally to the moon and back just about anywhere in orbit you are when you leave. The new viewports are correctly aligned to each other, but still off by this amazing distance. The source file shows all its information in the correct, and logical, location, around the 0'-0" origin. This is a real problem. Any thoughts?

Jeff, I use VW on a 27" iMac 2.66 4/ 1TB and a 24" iMac 3/320 GB. The 27" is three years old and the 24" six years old. Both run 2012/2013 very comfortably. I don't do 3D but I do use lots of hatches and symbols. I don't think VW supports multi core machines, so there is likely little benefit in getting a new Mac Pro (though they look very cool). Any mac can have a separate partition and run windows natively in boot camp, though I don't see the logic unless there is some excel thing that office on the mac won't do; I rarely use office. If you're buying an iMac, I'd definitely go for the 27" as VW palettes take up a lot of space IMHO. Or a 21.5" and get a second monitor and do screen spanning.

This is great fun! Seriously, I do appreciate all the contributions, suggestions and cautions. I've been talking to someone who is using an 11" mba with an external monitor to run PowerCadd, and reports it to be fine. I personally have no idea what the demands of PCadd vs VW are, so it may or may not be a relevant bit of information, but it adds some interest to the discussion. Tamsin: thanks for the info on the other architects. I wonder why they use, or continue to use, mb airs for their work at all? I'd expect stipples and hatches to place a greater load on graphics than color or number of drawings. bcd: thanks for your thoughts. I'd get the 1.7 processor if I decide to try this setup. As Kevin notes, I'm not looking for an everyday VW machine, but a competent, portable tool to do some cad work. ... yes, I appear to be a special case...

TS, I believe you, really I do. I also have seen software work on computers with less than the 'recommended' hardware spec. I'd like to know what your clients are doing with VW when it struggles. Curious mind, and all that. But no matter. I'll keep snooping and report back either way,

Hmmm, I sort of feel the same way; if a 10 year old imac can run VW, I would think that a modern laptop could, though again, even an old iMac would have a separate graphics thingy. I'll call my Cobble Hill contacts and see if they have any insights. I just don't want to lug a 15" around if I don't have to.

Thanks Kevin, I don't do any 3D, and I have an iMac that does most of the work. I'm looking for an occasional VW tool (and PowerCadd, etc) and specifically, I want to be able to respond to work issues while I'm away; going to Italy for three weeks in Sept, so really, I'm hoping that someone can help me understand the real-world VW performance on a more limited machine. A MBP has a separate graphics processor, whereas the MBA & MBP13" don't. That, unfortunately, seems to be the important difference. Poop. Otherwise, I'd be surprised if 2014 shows any significant changes; Personally, I don't see any significant refinement since 2011. But that's from a VW amateur, and I complain a lot. But nice to have a reply from a local.