Cadplan Architecture

UK regs allow the narrow end of winders to be 50mm minimum, this is allows great flexibility. I still find the VW2011 stair tool clunky though so will have to keep drawing manually in 2D which is a shame as part of my reason to upgrade to 2011 was for better 2D functionality, as well as a quick way of modeling stairs in 3D. Does anyone know if 2012 offers an improved stair tool?

is that with VW2011 DW ?

I'm trying to draw a stair with winders but can't get to grips with the stair tool. At the moment I only need to draw it 2D but I want to be able to vary the position of the winders to try different variations of stairs. This is the type of stair attached, it's really very simple, I can make several versions in 2D but surely I should be able to do this far more quickly with the stair tool??

So simple, thanks! Andrew

I have my electrical and lighting symbols in a grid on a 1:50 scale layer which shows the complete ground floor of a house. If I then just show one room of the house on another layer to 1:25 scale, and import say an electrical outlet symbol it doesn't scale with the layer, in other words it appears too small. Maybe I'm doing something wrong but I thought the point of symbols was for them to be used in this way??

I dragged a door in from the Tool Sets palette on the left of the screen converted to symbol then added the arc as you described but when exiting symbol edit mode the bounding box disappears off screen as the arc increases in size out of view.

great that's exactly what I'm after, but how did you make it. Presumably you inserted the door from the Tool Sets pallete, but to modify it did you convert to group, modify the door angles then convert back to a symbol, as that didn't work for me. Thanks

ok I'm trying to make a hybrid symbol as described in the VW help pages, but in the Create Symbol dialogue box, there is not a Parameter choice to Convert to Plug-in and without this the symbol doesn't have a Settings option when inserted into a wall and also doesn't sit in the wall like a normal door symbol does.

Is it possible to export a 3D model of a building so that when it's imported into ACAD the walls stay as walls and don't dismember as the dreaded polygons?

have you tried ticking Set Vectorworks Units To Match in the Primary Settings Tab of the DWG Import Options box that opens up when importing?

These VW cabinets seem ok,ish but it doesn't seem possible to alter the line stiles of the parts as you can for windows and doors. The corner units show a solid arc for the swing line of the interior tray but I don't want to show these unless I can alter the line weight and possibly the opacity. Is there anyone out there who uses the VW kitchen cabinets regularly who can offer advice?

My clients want a set of French doors set into the corner of where a new extension projects out from the back wall of their house. They want the 180? opening, obviously only one door will fold back 180, the other will only swing 90?. It's easy enough to fit this type of door but can such a simple door feature be drawn in Vectorworks using the door plug-in I wonder. (please don't suggest Windoor though!!)

gr8 thanks!

I've recently switched to VW2012 and my door wall lines are not working in the same way as VW2009. If I insert a door with Draw Wall Lines unchecked it still draws them in. The only way I can turn them off is to go the Settings/Use Part Line Styles & select line weight as 0.00. Windows perform in the same way. Is this a bug or am I missing something? thanks Andrew

re my first post another thing that seems to help is to have an operators chair with height adjustable arms. My RH arm is set just below desk surface height so that i can rest my elbow on the arm and the wrist forward rests on the desk so that I'm not stretching the arm right out to use the mouse. To be honest I fin d that using the keyboard is more irritating for the upper arm muscles. A good mousemat also helps and they should be replaced as the top dimpled surface wears.

I was searching for an ergonomic mouse last year. I tried trackballs but I hate them for CAD. like you I do a lot of scrolling and also move the mouse around with a lot of small movements. Many mice are too small, many are too heavy, I also posted on the forum and someone suggested the Logitech M500. It's a corded mouse so very light, it's also fairly large and fits the hand very well, it has a scroll button with ratchet or 'freewheel', it also has sideways push functions, and a press down function (good for scroll). There are the usual left and right click buttons and also two programmable side buttons , mine are set to clear screen to desktop and reveal open all windows. I can honestly say that this very reasonably priced mouse is superb for CAD particularly if you are on screen for hours at a time. It has an excellent set up utility which you can use to programme all the button functions. Try one and see! www.logitech.com/en-gb/mice-pointers/mice/devices/5743

Does anyone know if the attribute pallet can be customised to make it bigger? In standard form it's very fiddly particularly when selecting lines types and thicknesses, but worst is selecting the line endings, the buttons are tiny.

I quite agree. NNA charge a lot to upgrade but these type of functions should be a fundamental part to make it a truly competitive Architectural package. There should not be a need to have to purchase expensive 'add on' software, or to spend hours on workarounds.

Yes the problem is that the VW2012 files won't open with VW2011 though, I've posted a similar enquiry to the Renderworks forum but not had any response yet so I'll post it here I think.

Thanks Tasmin, I found the guides earlier today but unfortunately the example files are all 2012.

I've just got VWD 2011 and am starting from scratch to learn how to model simple buildings and render them to make realistic visuals. I've got on ok for the first hour but got a bit stuck so looking for advice, perhaps a beginners guide even. The attached jpeg shows what I've done so far and the specific problems I'm having are;- 1) How can the eaves facia be made to appear white? 2) I can only find shingles in the VW library. Are there profile tiles there as used in the UK? 3) Do I have to model ridge and hip tiles independently or is there a function in VW? 4) How can I make a part glazed door? 5) I want the window by the door to be half height with brick under. Do I need to have a window pushed up against a door, or is there a plug-in option to have a door with a half hgt side window? 6) How can I get the inside wall surfaces to appear as plaster (stucco?) 7) Is there an easy way to draw gutters and down pipes? Finally the grass texture is very unconvincing. Sorry for the amount of queries but I've seen brilliant examples of rendered buildings in Vectorworks elsewhere, and I'm keen to do the same now for all my small projects. thanks

I've just got VWD 2011, I want to start modeling my jobs in 3d and showing clients fully rendered views of extensions. I've stumbled straight away as when I apply a surface style to the walls they render as grey. Could someone please either explain in simple terms the basics of drawing brick cavity walls and getting them to render easily, or suggest where I can find a beginners tutorial? thanks

I may be preaching to the converted but after many years of using VW I just came across a handy short cut. I normally press D to copy/duplicate an object but I find that you have to press cmd/D quite positively otherwise it doesn't work. Joy then when I just discovered that selecting an object then holding down Alt and dragging the cursor arrow to one side pulls a copy away. So simple, much quicker as well. AJ

Does anyone know where to buy Vectorworks 2012 on finance as it's a lot to pay out in one go. Apple sell the iMac over 12 months which is great, just need VW now.

just got up and tried it again (7.15am in UK), it took a few tries to get the arrow in the right hand stack but it worked fine. What a brilliant function, I'm going to try making a whole new custom workplace next! Thank U so much for your help & patience & to JL for the cool mouse button tip, it's great to have this forum. AJ