JeffPPI

THanks Kevin, I will try that in the future. I was able to recover my uncorrupted file from a system backup, and only lost about 3 hours worth of work. I thought that my sheet layer/viewports had become corrupt, and had given up on finding the problem when I searched out my backup.

Thanks Grant, Usually when I run out of memory, it tells me that. This is just kicking me out of vectorworks with no explaination, it just closes the windows and I'm staring at my desktop again. Usually, i can make the adjustments you've suggested, close VW, restart VW, and go about my business. Not this time though. even after a computer restart, still had the same effect.

Hi all, I'm still in the dark ages with '08, but I'm having a problem that I didn't have yesterday. I have a fairly simple model, lots of truss and textures, and whenever I tell it to use renderworks in a sheet layer viewport, it does the geometry, then sits for a while, then shuts down without any error messages. any thoughts? Thanks!

Also, I don't put viewports into design layers, since i only print viewports from sheet layers, so that confusion has never come up for me.

To input my two cents, I've solved this particular class issue by creating a class called vports and a keyboard shortcut to get me there. when I want to use a viewport, i use my keyboard shortcut (in this case ctrl+shift+alt+V) to get me into vports class. Then, I draw my viewport, hit alt alt v to get into the create viewport menu, put it on whatever sheet layer i want, and done. vports class is always on, since i only draw viewports in it. I have it set to create objects with 0 line weight and no fill, so that if i try to draw in my vports class later, i can't see what i just drew. (my crop object is still highlighted orange so i can see it after i've made it if i don't select anything else). then i call myself a bonehead and switch classes. since you only need to double click an oject in your viewport, not the crop, this gets me invisible crop objects without going to edit crop all the time to set my line weight to zero. Andrew, you don't have to be disciplined, you just have to get into the habit of doing it. way quicker and way less frustrating this way, imo. HTH, Jeff

Hi everyone, I'm trying to match a pantone color from my book to a pantone color in my color manager. I've found the color I want in the book, DS 225-6 C, but no such color exists in my Pantone Colors in the color manager. I don't need it to be an accurate match, i.e. I'm going to tell my printer the Pantone Color Number, but i'd like to get close. IS there something I'm missing, or should I just look up the RGB conversion and create custom colors? Thanks!

Un-install then re-install, see if it keeps happening.

Hi all, Sorry if it's a stupid question, but is there a way to use the 2010 viewer to convert a newer .vwx to an '08 .vwx? T I A

be sure to save your workspace too, then you can just load it up if that happens again.

Can you still click the objects? If you can, and they become highlighted, then you do have too many lights all on at once. If you have the "Lit Fog" box clicked in the OIP, turn it off and see what happens. If you've put the lights in different classes, turn the classes off and try rendering again. This will confirm the "too many lights" theory. If you've got a couple hours to spare, try running a radiosity or FQ Radiosity. This usually takes my computer a while to finish, but renders lighting very accurately. Did you put side walls on your theater? if you're just using keyboard shortcuts to view FQRW and FRW, then you'll just be looking at the sides, front, back, etc. of your building. Try using a renderworks camera. I've also found that it helps (but not necessary) if everything is on the same design layer. good luck!

Hi all, I'm trying to get a curtain to behave itself. I can create, render, put in openings, etc. just fine, until I change a basic object attribute, in this case line color. then all heck breaks loose and my curtain object "explodes." see image files for reference. The left curtain is straight up using Spotlight's curtain object tool. The right curtain is the same curtain, only I tried to change the line color to black. Anybody experience this? I know i'm still using 2008, but I won't upgrade until 2011, so... thanks!

I agree with Peter, you could use front view extrudes and the champfer the edges to get the look you want, it should render cleanly. like this.

I've found RW to be adequate, except for a few renderings which I touched up in Photoshop. My main disgruntlement is the time it takes RW to achieve the result, not the result I get. (I can't drop 5G's on a render farm, tho. It really does depend on what you want for your end output. I do renderings to give the craftsmen in my shop an idea of what the final outcome of the project is, more than just 2D build drawings. I also do the occaisonal rendering of a project for a client, which go into far more detail, but RW does just fine. I'm not making movie quality renderings, but I don't need to.

If you have renderworks with your VW,(I use Designer, I'm not sure what fundementals carries), use a Renderworks Camera. (Visualization pallet) with this, you can play with persepective rendering, focal points, etc. Plus, you can create a viewport around your camera view and put it on a sheet layer for presentation. A good way to make sure you're always looking at your model from the same point or same multiple points. If you don't have Renderworks, get it. it's awesome Sorry I can't be more helpful.

that's true about the super-imposed objects, and sending forward/backward would be a way around your problem. also, in the preferences, is a snap/selection tolerance. adjusting this might solve your "cursor not near it" selections, unless the thing you're selecting is across the screen. Also, if your objects have any sort of fill (tough to tell if your objects are white and you use a white background), clicking anywhere inside them will select them. Make sure you're drawing empty(no fill) boxes/circles/dodecagrams. HTH,