RickR

Now that I've worked with 2013 a while I'm about ready to turn class hierarchy off. I've used real hierarchy before, it's wonderful! Please, please...

How do I change the screen/layer plane setting on the objects in groups? Just selecting them doesn't let me change the setting on objects in the group. I'm importing a lot of PDF/DWGs that then break into groups. Often hundreds of door swings or wall lines that add up to thousands of lines. They all seem to import as screen plane. Editing the contents of every group is not possible. Am I missing something or can a macro/script handle this? TIA

michaelk that looks very close. I found these images of the classic style: [img:left]http://www.firenuggets.com/x_ARDSIllIIlllllIIIllIlIlIIIllllIllIl/metaldeckonbarjoist.jpg[/img] [img:left]http://www.firenuggets.com/x_ARDSIllIIlllllIIIllIlIlIIIllllIllIl/barjoistendview.jpg[/img]. I wish I could buy just that tool.

Maybe one of you geniuses can get me started. Long ago I did some 3D modeling in C++ but to say I'm rusty is to give rust a bad name. I keep hoping to find a 3rd party PIO for a simple bar joist/truss or whatever you want to call it. Perhaps these are in Architect, but I'm pretty stuck in Spotlight. I'm not designing these things so details aren't critical. I just have to model spaces that have them, and naturally they are all slightly different. This is what PIOs are for right? The attached image is of one I made from the Spotlight Truss tool and then cut apart. So I know the math is very possible. I would just a like a few options that have nothing to do with theatrical truss. Sounds like a simple object... Has anybody done something like this that I can tweak? Anybody want to do it and put it up? From my research it would be a popular tool.

Something like this? I left the top as a Lighting Position and the pole as an extrude so you can vary everything fairly easily. I also included some Source 4 Pars with a real dimension body I picked up somewhere. I have to admit this is something I expected to see in the default library. There are also tripod base stands that we use a lot, but are more manufacturer specific. Similarly ladders, booms, side arms and of course vertical truss should all have been in the default library. Just look at the equipment sold to the industry.

I've been using DWG Trueview from Autodesk. I just recently found some minor errors in rendering complex polylines and multi-rotated text. VW tech support says the viewer isn't as good as full ACAD, so my files look OK. In short if it looks OK in Trueview then your good, if not well... It is an important issue. The troublesome objects were the architects logo!

As a lighting designer I do a lot of RCPs. For me it's all about class control. Furniture off, Ceiling on. Sometimes I force wall fills to solid just to make everything clear. Saved views are my most common tool, so I can keep the class sets consistent. Top/Plan is the 2D of a hybrid object and a down view of 3D only objects. Try swapping quickly between Top/Plan and Top 3D views. 5 & 0 on the number pad.

I often have issues with changing lots of fixtures using the "edit" button. They don't all seem to get the changes. Try selecting them all and see if the beam and field numbers show in the OIP. If so then they all have the same values. If you see a blank then some are set to something else...

I wish that worked. Instruments are plug-ins not symbols. In the Spotlight menu is "Find and Modify" it's a bit more cumbersome but will do the job.

Autodesk makes a free reader for DWF. It's not perfect but its there. They also make a DWF "printer" that has been giving me some trouble. Importing in a worst case scenario, you could use the viewer to print to a PDF that can then be converted to lines, or traced over.

Its a very basic function in Acad and most other programs I've used.

Well that was helpful. For those lurking around, I found that Autodesk has DWF printer tool. Unfortunately the output looks horrible. Anybody have some tips on this tool?

A few years ago I posted a worksheet for this and some other basics in the shared files section: http://techboard.vectorworks.net/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=139781#Post139781

Yes F-Keys! I can hear some $*^$& ranting about how they aren't needed and should never have been put on Apple keyboards because they are Microsoft pollution. Etc. F-keys are intended for fast use of application specific functions. We have a few of those right?

You can convert (cntl-K) a PDF. You get a rectangle, a bitmap and/or lines, depending on how the PDF was made. Then it should export fine.

You might note that PDF files (with vector data) can be broken down into lines. VW does this and various converters do too. PDF will prevent accidental editing but not a determined thief.

There is another form of Section Viewport. When you create one select "new design layer" or an existing one just for sections. When viewing just this layer you will have a full 3D but cut section of your model. Section work will need to be done in a vertical view rather than in plan view. Then make viewports of that layer for your sheets. Its much like referencing an external file.

I did some truss with socks by a texture with "glow." I imagine it would work the same on regular truss. The drawback is that you don't have falloff in the light along the truss. The whole surface glows at the same intensity. The benefit is that it is very easy for the rendering engine.

I am being asked to produce .DWF files for a client. I see that "Autodesk Design Review" (free viewer) will print them from DWGs. But that seems the long way around. Especially with a few DWG issues I seem to be having. I don't own any reasonably current Acad products. Any suggestions?

I use worksheets to count stuff all the time. I limit the objects to a class i.e Lights, Positions, Truss Then set the worksheet to only look there. Several years ago I put up file in the resource share of this forum. It has a fixture count worksheet. The attached file is a favorite where I keep my current ones and tweak them after importing to a particular project. You'll need to adapt the Layer & Class names to suit your work.

I've seen this in Windows as well. In 2011, 2012, and maybe even 2010.. Sometimes simply closing and re-opening helped. Other times only deleting the confused lights did the trick. You might try copying the offending lights into a new file and see if they revive. You might also copy everything else into a new file. That can clean up some serious corruption.

Basic Question I know, but: When you edit the DL is the box checked for keeping the view settings? As an alternate method, you could use Section Design Layer Viewports on a new layer and have the sheets come from that. I find it easier to keep all my section information in one place.

You might not need to covert your truss to positions. WYSIWYG strongly prefers fixtures to be on hanging objects. VW really doesn't care much. It's nice to organize your fixtures but you can label the fixtures with a position even if it doesn't exist. Positions do speed placement, but since you're using sloped truss it won't do that much anyway. I've found the more complex and creative work you do the less the automated tools help. IMHO: Knowing when to drop to a simpler method is a key part of learning any software.

With the referenced method you will be dragging the master template file around for every project. If the files never leave the office/network then you're OK. I would be tempted to build a master file so that you can easily delete large sections from it. (I love "Purge") If I were a Vector Script master I would create a script to ask which product to use, delete the rest and save as a new file.

I've also run into another limitation. Using multiple layers in different 3D modes is good for much of a current project. I'm mixing architects drawings and my 3D. Then I put it on a sheet. Sheet layer viewports are forced to be unified views. Or at least I can't find a way to do anything else. Do I have to have multiple SLVPs that I align, again. Or do I break some of my links?