Wes Gardner

@domer1322 here's a file with a script in it that flattens peaks. IT was written just before the feature became available as a command. I've back-saved it to 2015. See if it works for you. Wes Flatten Peaks.vwx

If you want to see it, build it...EAP (Extrude Along Path) is probably the quickest. Any repeats can be made into symbols. Have fun! Wes

@MHBrown if considering export formats, I suggest you include .3DM (Rhino) as one of them as this is a very stable, efficient, fully-developed NURBS modeler. Rhino is cross-platform although I've not tried the Mac version as some of the 3rd party stuff is NOT cross-platform. You may also want to consider COLLADA as this exports to SketchUp as well as the old stand-by .dwg. Wes

@ Kohli you can still do this sort of thing where you map the AIA layers and classes to yours. This is under File > Document Settings > Standard Naming. These can then be included in a template for your office standards. Wes

@line-weightIn Vectorworks, you could "Extract Edge", in Rhino you could "DupEdge". You'd then have to trim at each end to get just the segment you're after. Haven't really tried it in VW...do it all the time in Rhino. I DO keep complex assemblies in "Reserve" layers (in Rhino) in case I want to quickly get back to them but for the most part, DupEdge will get you there. Rhino lets you trim stuff in any view and on any layer, the objects don't have to be in the same plane, if you can see it, or set your model in the right view, you can trim it...joining is something else where stuff DOES have to touch. In fact, if stuff is "close but no cigar", Rhino tells you how close and then asks if you want to align them. I try to get my models "waterproof" so the hydrostatic calculations are good. Rhino also tells you if/where there are "naked edges."

Hmmm...I wonder how Rhino pulls it off. Attached is a little project that has a bunch of detail and is of course 100% NURBS as that's all Rhino does. The rendering is done in Flamingo which is one of their renderers, probably took 45 minutes. On screen, in their openGL mode you don't get the facets and motion navigating around the model is pretty fluid...

@line-weight, yes, I tried to NOT get too technical with an explanation of degree, etc. I think for Vectorworks, to keep things simple, the best course is to draw with a Degree 1 curve if you want hard corners, if you want a more free-flowing curve, bump it to Degree 3. I use mostly Control point mode. I do ALOT of Rebuilding curves, both increasing the number of points or decreasing depending on what's needed. I rarely, if ever, mess with the degree of the curve. The segmenting you're experiencing must be a limitation of Vectorworks and you're right, doesn't have anything to do with the "degree" thing. Wes

Hi All, Here's a bit of an explanation as to what NURBS curves are and what "Degree" is. I tried to REBUILD a curve by adding many more points...no joy. Must be a limitation in the program somewhere. Dang. Wes 18_VW00279_Workflow_Doc_NURBS_101_horizontal.pdf

@Lorena Lodeiros, without seeing the file, my guess is that some of the geometry was created on design layers (as it should be) and then maybe some "embellishment" was added to the viewport in Annotation space. If this is the case, select a viewport and then right-click and in the contextual menu, select Edit Annotations. This should get you into the annotation space of the viewport where you should be able to edit the geometry that's drawn there. Wes

@Inspectorjack I'd model the trusses just using simple extrudes and get the top plate of the knee walls correct using the wall tool. You can take it a step further and run the framer. That's what I did for this framing image. The roof over the main house is a combination of stick-built and scissors trusses. Wes

@alfresco, yes Benson means Design Layer Viewports or DLVPs. Wes

Nice model!

@Mojo65 Select the Section Viewport, go to the OIP and down near the bottom, select Advanced Properties and set it up like the image shown. Wes

@alfresco Attached is a file with two buildings with different heights. I've also included a draft explanation. If you go to Tools > Organization > Stories > Default Story Levels you'll see the set up involved. Notice how I've divided the levels between the two buildings. It DOES take a bit to get your head around it! Wes Two Buildings One File.vwx Multiple Buildings One Site final.docx

@MHBrown, another tip when working with lights, if you render in openGL, only 8 of the actual light objects will show any "glow." It's a limitation of openGL. All the lights should show properly in other render modes. I usually select "Only show in Wireframe" for my lights. Wes

@MHBrown, a tip regarding modeling symmetric objects in general, just model half and then mirror it over to the other side. Also holding the tilde key down sometimes "tames" a tool. Wes

@Allen Brown I think I might be tempted to do something like this where the extruded element (with curved filleted "head") is subtracted from the rest of the form all in one operation? I'm sure I didn't get the filet radius quite right but you can play with it. There are a bunch of different ways to approach this...have some fun! Wes panel wg.vwx

@MHBrown you can download the Sketchup model and then either drag and drop it onto a Vectorworks file or go to File > Import and down near the bottom is Import SketchUp. There's only one catch - the model that you download from Skechup MUST be one release older than the release of Vectorworks that you're using. So if you're on VW 2019, you need a 2018 Sketchup model. Wes

@Acadia, the short answer - nope. There is no automated way of doing this. You're probably best off using the Framing Member tool in the Detailing toolset. Here you can use it in wood framing mode and create a 2x header or steel framing mode and define a "W" shape or "L". You can also create custom shapes for it to use to simulate engineered "I" joists... Wes

@PO4, yup, Rhino has some nice features and is a pretty complete modeler! Wes

@milezee, i've also put in an Enhancement Request to be able to import Rhino's layers, similar to how we can import layers from a .dwg. Wes

@Kane - you can also use the "shuttle file" approach where you import the .dwg into a blank VW file, then save that file as "Source". Then open your working file and REFERENCE the Source file into your working file. This way you won't get all their classes/layers in your working file. This avoids having to do any mapping at all. Another benefit is if/when the .dwg info needs to be updated. Just re-import the .dwg into the Source file, save it, then in your working file, update the Reference. Wes

I think of these things as Legends - be they window types, door leaf types, door frame types, wall (partition) types (both plan and section), etc, etc. There is a workflow that uses viewports and places an object whereupon you can both dimension it and add notes (required and something the "Images in worksheets" isn't capable of). It's a bit manual .... It's a good one for the WISH LIST Wes

Now here's the REAL challenge - get the size of the cabinets to display in the format shown above (widthheight) no spaces, no dimension indication(s) Good luck!

@Alan Woodwell, I use the Floor tool which is a hybrid so you can add a fill color wes