eamon

Hi Yes, the mac is a wee bit old but it is still a trusty machine. I did not look at the min specs for vwx 2020. I upgraded as soon as it came out and it is only in the last month these problems have started to appear. I will get around to updating to mojave but just not the time at the moment.

Hi Tamsin I have received an email from Vectorworks Uk and forwarded the requested information this evening. To confirm, my graphics card is Intel HD Graphics 3000 512 MB graphics Thanks for coming back to me. Hopefully they can track the bug down. Will update the sig too. Eamon

To add to this, in a trial, I can crash the program & screen within 2mins! Just tried a file that I will need in the next month and voila. Eamon

Hi all I have being experiencing a great deal of crashes with VWX 2020. On its own, the programme seems fine but whenever I open an existing show file from an earlier version it tends to have a major stroke and then crashes. The crashes have occurred with plans created/modified in vwx2019. The plans are all "simple" geometry and are all venue based drawings with some being Autocad, Vectorworks, PDF hybrids etc. The crash seems to specifically happen when I open the earlier version file in 2020. The program will run fine for 5-30mins and then the screen will crash and the fans go into overdrive. At this point, a force re-start is the only option. I was teaching a class and the computer crashed at least 3 times in the space of 20mins. At the moment, vwx 2020 is unusable for the mixtures of venue files I possess. I have not narrowed it down to a particular file but have found it seems to have across any file edited/created in vwx2019. I have a great deal of work on an upcoming tour with older version plans and need to do an updated lighting plan for each. I will have to revert to 2019 to play it safe. I am on a macbook pro 2011 c/w SSD & 16 RAM. I am currently running High Sierra. I will upgrade to Mojave but not really wanting till December. Too much work on etc. If Mojave is required to cure this ill, I will take the chance! I am on the latest version of VWX 2020 SP1 Does anyone have any pointers or would this be classified as a bug report? Eamon

Hi While more of a lurker than a poster, I would like to echo the sentiments expressed by other users in the announcement of Jim's departure. It is Vectorworks and also these forums loss with the exiting SR of Jim. I have often felt that he has flown the company flag in the face of user frustration and ire. Jim has, to me, being a talisman for thes forums and seemingly managed the expectations of both sides. It will be awhile before I encounter the supervision and dedication to a company forum as personified by Jim. The new moderators have big shoes to fill and I hope they can rise to the challenge. Best of luck with pastures new. Hope life will treat you well. Eamon

Hi Pat/Gadzooks Many thanks for the pointers. I went with the option of Convert to groups and so on aka Pats method. I did not think of AC blocks as becoming the symbols in my drawing but that makes sense. I checked the file in autocad but it read oddly. I am not as good with AC as I am with vwx. The convert to group worked perfectly. Thank you very much for the help and the solutions. Eamon

Hi I have been sent an autocad file for inspection and work etc. I have imported the file and all seems fine on the outside. On closer examination, all the items in the drawing have been classed as symbols. I wish to edit the multiple parts of the drawing as normal but each item is listed as a symbol and all the sub items are noted as a symbol. I know I can manually copy & paste the file the old fashioned way but I am wondering is this a quirk of the import and more importantly is there a sensible way around this. I am looking a days worth of re-doing plus the issue of my making a mistake rectifying this file. I am wondering does anyone have any pointers. I have seen this before and I cannot remember what I did to "cure" the problem. Eamon

Hi I can take a look; I cannot guarantee success but I do understand the frustration of others making "hidden" changes and the time taken to fix things etc. If you wish, you can send it on. eamondofox at me .com Cheers eamon

Hi all I have had the following message come up on my computer screen a couple of times lately. I suspect this is due to some "house keeping" that has gone awry.... Message: "Vectorworks will now quit because this license is in use elsewhere" I have recently moved stuff from one laptop to another and put in a new SSD drive as a clone etc. Somehow I think that I may have messed up the seat count for my license...?? I am wondering as to how to stop this. i have uninstalled vectorworks from one of the newer machines but to no avail. I am intending to upgrade to 2018 and have put it off due to this issue and too much work on my part... I do not wish to proceed and lock myself out of the program! What is the best way to proceed....? Thanks in advance Eamon

Hi all I have finally gotten round to getting a home computer. I normally run vwx on my mac laptop and am looking to install the 2nd seat (standard e license with 2 x seats). As I have a mac installation current and my new home computer is a PC, is there anything I need to do re installing the 2nd license? I have yet to do this but do I just access the service select menu or do you need to go back to the dealer for the download link? I had a look but I dont think I am using the right terminology with what I am seeking? Eamon

Hi JIm Thanks for the answer. That is what I figured. I have an old license of 2012 and this allowed me to jump the file down to 2010. He is not looking for all the bells and whistles etc. The process worked and I have passed on a v2010 version. Thanks for the pointer. Eamon

Hi all I am currently using vwx 2016 and all is fine there. I run a theatre venue and do all my plans native to this format. I have recently upgraded from 2012. A client coming in is still on vectorworks 2010 and has requested a copy for this format. I have recently upgraded the plans and do not have a working 2010 version that is accurate. Is there a way to achieve this file version to help him out? Many thanks Eamon

Hi Josh A big thank you for pointing me in the right direction. It works! Thank you for taking the time and explaining how the LSM works. I do and don't like the tool but your guide made me sit down and look at my workflow. I think I did the classic trick of just barrelling in with approx 30 plus plans to draw and a lot of other work too and did not grasp how the LSM works. Some what a case of RTFM. Please excuse the lateness of my reply, the aforementioned work thing is this week a bit time consuming... Eamon

HI Josh Cheers for the tips and heads up re the LSM. In typical fashion, I am still having the sames issues. I cannot seem to resolve the conflict of the symbol name. I have tried your suggestions and I cannot see any change. I also use lightwright 5 and I have noticed I have a plethora of names for some of the units. The lightwright file can show a different name whilst the vectorworks key shows another! I have changed the Par 64 MFL to be a Par 64 CP62 in the instrument summary. Lightwright shows a Par 64 CP62 whilst vwx shows a Par 64 MFL; all are attached to the same symbol. Some people here will wrongly debate that MFL refers to CP61 etc. Sometimes easier to put CP62 in the name etc.I accept that I have changed a name type somewhere and not being consistent. Kinda makes me laugh and cry in the same breath. I accept that my process and some of my symbols are at odds with the new (to me) way of using the LSM. The frustration is almost leading me to go back to 2012. I have a license on a second computer etc. Just for the time being to get by the plans I have to draw and the oddities of all the symbols. I am unsure how to proceed as the symbols are a mixture and maybe my symbols are somewhat corrupted. I plan to update to 2017 in a few weeks but am waiting till I get past this trench of work. I do not wish to discover another quirk. Please do not take this as a criticism of the new tool; it works somewhat and is a good idea but it is dragging me down. thanks for all the advice. Eamon

Hi Josh I think I might have an idea as to why I am suffering... Having been speaking to Steve Shelley today re a separate manner and another friend who is well versed in vwx, I think the reason I am having problems is that I have only recently upgraded to 2016. I was running 2012 prior to upgrading circa August. I have not done much with vectorworks in the last few months but now typically I am flat out. The below quote is from Steve re a query I had for him: "in 2014, Vectorworks added the Parts record, so that 3D lighting devices could swivel around and point at Focus Points." Could it be that I skipped all versions from 2012 and jumped to 2016, that my symbols are not "referencing" the parts records properly? I use a mixture of generic, old white light (uk) symbols and Steve Shelleys field template. Some I just prefer and some are just for the scale. Some of these, I have had for over 10 years etc. Sometimes I change them out for 3D stuff etc. I did attach a light record via Tools etc and nothing changed in terms of useage. Also, some of the symbols will not allow me to edit or enter any changes when I got to change stuff in the LSM menu. I do not know if the issue is a mixture of me just missing the point or there being a glitch etc. Probably me! I will upload a touring version of the lighting plan in vwx 2016 just so I can show what is happening. Re the plan, the cyc floods are intended to be Starlette floods and I am using a symbol from another library. Even changing the name of the house PC lanterns to R/juliat 329 PC from 329PC is not working etc. Many thanks for any help possible. Eamon Nutcracker_An_Grianan.vwx