eric.rktek
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Posts posted by eric.rktek
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If you are still interested in upgrading your plotter, here is my two cents. We went through a lot of research and came down to with the Epson 7800 or the HP 130. We opted for the HP 130 because it was cheaper. It works really well most of the time. We gets some plots with some skewed graphics every now and then when printing pdfs. If we re-rip a VW file into PDF at a higher quality settign, the problem goes away. Otherwise, we have been very happy with the machine.
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This won't help with your immediate problem, but one long term way VW could handle this would be to offer more controls over layer linking in the OIP. Ideally, you would be able to select a layer link and have some similar controls as a viewport- like the layers and classes buttons, and ideally a crop option. This would give you the ability to turn on and off classes specifically to a layer link, and not effect the whole drawing.
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Hmm.. I'm pretty sure I had those options selected, but I can't verify because now the sheet file (where the site plan is referenced to) crashes when I try to open it. Three times in a row. I can option up the base file and plan to covert the plant objects to symbols. Is there a known bug with this or is this something. new? It's pretty disappointing if these plans don't work.
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I second (third, fourth...) the need to improve 2D rotation (and improvements to layer links). I can only imagine how happy I would be if NNA were able to get these issues fixed in an upgrade to VW.
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I just upgraded to Designer and started using the place plant tool. It all looks very nice, until I brought my site plan into the viewport. All the plant objects are only showing up as 3D loci. I have checked all my classes (they are on), and tried making a new file with a new viewport. The problem happens it the new file as well. Any advice on how to fix this?
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Ditto on the ability to use the measure tool in the stacked view.
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I've had this issue pop up in the past as well. I think it happens less when I use the higher quality print options in Acrobat Distiller.
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select the link, go to modify->unlock. You can now move, rotate, mirror, or delete a layer link(s) as if it were a group.
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Matt,
I have run into trouble getting symbols to update in ref files occasionaly. I have to delete the referenced symbols in the target file and then do my WGR update. That forces the symbols to update. The problem seems to come up if a base file containing symbols is referenced to oter files that are subsequently referenced into the target file. This situation ends up with the symbols hanging out in a couple files. VW seems to have trouble tracking down the master symbol def. as part of the update process. I'm not sure why you're not seeing the layer you need under the WGR window though.
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Distiller works well because I have the option to choose the level of compression, etc. that I want to use to make the pdf (which is what I usually can do from the Print dialogue). I'm going to try a little experimenting with a few files to see if I can isolate the cause of the problem further. Thanks for the suggestions in the meantime though.
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I used that, but the resolution wasn't satisfactory. I was able to use the "save as postscript" and control the conversion through Acrobat Distiller. It just seems wierd though. I managed to pin down the fact that I only have the problem with certain files in VW. Some files have all the print options working fine, with other having the problem- open at the same time. I'm not sure if it is a font issue, or if it is related to files that came from original VW 11 files,etc.
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I have run into a problem printing with Adobe Acrobat 7.0 and want to see if anyone else has run into this. When I go to print a VW sheet, I can select the Acrobat Printer, but the pull down menu does not have the typical PDF Options under the pull down menu. When I hit print, it immediately starts spooling the print file with out asking me for a file name or location. It only appears to be doing this on VW documents. I checked other files, Word, Firefox, etc, and they seem to print fine from the pdf printer. I tried printing on two different machines, and they both responded the same way in the specific VW file, and were fine with other docs. I'm on a G5 mac, X.4.6 system software. I tried rebooting the machine, and reinstalling the printer driver with no luck. I tried using the mac print to pdf button in the meantime, only to find that it did a bad job with the graphics in the file. Any help is appreciated.
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got it. thanks for the update.
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I have just run into a problem (bug?) with the stair tool. I have added handrails to a couple stairs with extensions at top and bottom. When I select the stair break option, the handrails disappear. I have tried changing classes of the rails with no luck. Deselecting the stair break brings the rails back. I need to be able to show handrails and have a stair break at the same time. Thanks.
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Another minor tweak I'd like to see. It would be great if the Resource Browser opened up into the current file instead of the default favorite file that always comes up on my machine.
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Sounds like a great idea.
I find that moving walls with the connected mode can act a little fidgety with snaps, etc. I usually use the polygon edit "fence stretch" feature when shifting several walls (and any other items that I want to move with them.
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David,
I agree what you are suggesting will work, but we just switched from that approach to putting all plans in one file. One reason is that we found it reduced the extra work having to reference multiple files to get an entire building into different files. Not that that's the end of the world, but one complaint we have is how much setup work goes into referencing and layer linking to get different things coordinated in different files. We also don't currently use a full BIM approach which hopefully would simplify this. We are strongly considering moving that direction.
One suggestion for future improvements to VW would be the ability to lockoff or reserve a layer in a file for someone else to work on. That would probably be the most understandable way to handle it, and allow for a more usable interface if an entire building/project is to reside in one file.
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Robert,
That tutorial was really helpful.
I think the winder tool could be tweaked to allow US code compliant stairs if there were a little more control offered as it relates to the length used by the winders at the inside face of the stair too. Hopefully, this can make it into a future improvement of the stair tool.
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Oh yeah, and easy UCS/Workspace rotation would be really great too.
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A quick comment on the BIM issues. We have a new guy in our office who used to use Revit (BIM software). We have been discussing the advantages and challenges of the BIM approach. One core capability that he described in Revit (and I think ArchiCad has it too) is the ability to partition off part of a model/building/file for an individual user to work on while other people have access to other parts of the file. We work on a range of project sizes, and there are reasonably often occurrances when this would be an important, if not crucial capability we would need in order to use the full BIM approach.
My other comment is regarding the referencing capabilities that VW offers. I feel that they are really geared towards projects that use a BIM approach that VW is trying to promote. While I respect and understand that approach, one thing I have always appreciated about VW is its flexibility. More robust file referencing controls would allow users the capabilities to setup and handle projects in a variety of fashions, some much more similar to Autocad's typical method. While it is not for everyone, the flexibility would be really nice. I also think the increased functionality would really benefit users that work in other setups. I have a hunch there are many VW users who don't know what they're missing in terms of some of these issues because they either have never had the option presented to them, or have integrated workarounds into their practice without ever realising they're workarounds.
I don't want to position myself as some kind of CAD expert, but I have work for several years on both Microstation and Autocad. I have also used VW for several years before and after those stints. I have always tried to voice my thoughts of how VW could and should consider helpful features of competitors' programs in order to make VW a continued outstanding product. Referecing still remains one crucial area where great strides could be made to assist in handling bigger, more complex, and or more repetitive projects in VW.
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While I understand Katie's point, one way to bridge a middle ground would be the ability to have the option to open up the original reference file to edit. This would be very similar to the ability to enter into the design layer in a viewport option. We still origanize our projects in a manner based on an Autocad approach- with base files and sheet files. I usually just end up with an 'xref' file and a 'sheet' file open when I am updating notes, etc. on a detail drawing. Autocad provided a feature to allow you to make these edits in a sheet file and 'force save' the changes back to the original doc. I never really took advantage of this feature when I was using that program. Sometimes it would be nice to enter right into the design layers of the referenced file instead of having to track it down. Anyway, I still feel that layer linking is a workaround when VW really needs some more robust refercing capabilities to fully compete with the other big alternatives. This ability listed above is one of many potential improvements that the program could benefit from. Xclipping, easy Xmoving, UCS rotation, are a couple still on my list.
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Quick Question. I am using the Door PIO and have selected the parts feature to include a threshold. I would really like to have the ability to have this threshold show up in my 2D plan view. I have Sills class on, and don't see the threshold. I also checked the class feature for special parts and saw that the threshold was listed as the None class, which is also active. Is there a bug with this, or a I missing something?
Thanks for any suggestions.
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We sprung for the VectorBits Magic Wand tool. It has several really nice features that include selecting by class, line weight, etc. etc. A lot of these things can be handled by macros, but it is nice to have it all bundled in one tool.
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I use the Position Button to tweak door and window locations relatively often. I think it would be helpful if the Position feature allowed the option to get the distance to an edge of the symbol, not just the midpoint. I am often measuring the distance to the jamb when laying out as-built and putting that nfo into the computer.
Thanks.
Minor Architect Improvements
in Architecture
Posted
Two suggestions for minor improvements to a few Architect tools. When using the shower PIO, I rarely need a side shown on all sides. Typically I only need a ledge on one of the sides that you enter in on. The other sides are typically walls. It would be great if the tool could be slightly modified to have the option for selecting which sides are to be shown.
The second suggestion is regarding the bipart doors. It would be really, really nice if the astragal came up as 0" as the default, or providing a way to allow users to make 0" the default.
Thanks.