C. Andrew Dunning

Happy 2021! We trust that you are doing well and that you're finding ways to see “positive” in the new year. Here, every day finds new ways to be grateful for things that were so easily taken for-granted a year ago... If you're like us, you appreciate the "Bottom Line Up-Front" approach. So...here you go: Yesterday we released version 2.5 of SoftGoods 2. If you're already part of the Landru Design tool family you will be receiving upgrade information shortly. If not, you can stop by our VW Plug-Ins page for more info on our tools. Now, for those who like such things, below are some general details about SoftGoods 2 version 2.5. Every one of the things below are in direct response to input from users like you. Is one of your requests on the list? 1) The weight estimating system that was introduced in SoftGoods 2 version 2.3 has been significantly refined. For example, the raw material specifications used by the tool to calculate Total and Distributed Weights are now managed through the “Raw Materials Options” dialog, allowing you to edit them on-the-fly. 2) You can now use SoftGoods 2 to create double-wall Pipe-and-Drape runs. You’ll find that all of the familiar "single-wall" 3D options are separately specified and applied for each wall. Also, the tool accounts for the limited slider hanging points of the real-world hardware. 3) The Pipe-and-Drape mode now offers additional hardware options, allowing you to do things like model layouts in which Pipe-and-Drape is to be placed along walls or situations in which uprights and/or bases are not used. These new features will also help you in easily placing secondary Pipe-and-Drape runs on other runs’ bases. 4) The SoftGoods 2 3D Options system has been improved. You can now specify hardware color and textures that used to be hard-coded. Also, the approach for specifying "By-Class"-driven textures has been greatly simplified. 5) The SoftGoods 2 embedded text functionality has been expanded. Adding to the "Bubble and Leader Line" and "Round Off Dimensions" features introduced in the last release, new Pipe-and-Drape labeling is included, allowing you to label drape "sides" and/or double-wall drape lines. 6) The SoftGoods 2 Object Information Palette has been refined. In addition to new fields being added ("Sandbags," "Drape Clips," "Pipe Note," "Container ID," "Vendor," and "Cost"), if you use Vectorworks® 2021, you’ll have the ability to “collapse” parts of the OIP you may not often use. If you'd like more detailed information, you can download a copy of the manual, HERE. We hope you are as excited about the new features as we are!

Well-explained... 3 things: There is no reason to delete the XML file in the main Application folder. In fact, once you've added any elements to the tools' Library/Catalog, the tools ignore that file and use one placed in your User folder. And, if you delete the XML file in your User folder, you'll lose any elements you've already added. Changing the Units to mm only applies if a) the "source" Symbols were created using an out-dated Record format (w/o Units) - or, if the Symbols were never updated to the current format - and b) mm were assumed when those Symbols were created. (The Record format version issue is where 99.999% of users have problems.) Both the 2021 version of the tools and the Landru Design version (for any VW version 2018 or newer) give you the option of inserting Symbol geometry directly in addition to or instead of adding Symbol data to the Library/Catalog.

No question. This one is on The List. 😉

You can add additional bumpers. Simply select the bumper instead of one of the speakers in the "...to Add" List Browser in the "Array" tab of the Config dialog. The 1 caveat is that the main bumper and the additional bumpers will all be the same type. We don't have a secondary type yet. Until we do, a way to "trick" the tool is to use bumper geometry as 1 of the 3 speaker types.

My pleasure. Feel free to ring back w. any other questions...

This isn't a bug. When Speaker PIO objects have Tilt values other than 0, the Symbols contained in the PIO "wrapper" are no longer seen as Symbols by the rest of Vectorworks - and, therefore, by the Worksheet system. So, your best bet will be to create a Worksheet based on Speaker instances instead of Symbols. Does that make sense and/or help?

Use the LED Screen tool (or, our VS4-LED) and choose the "Vert. Strips" "Base Structure."

100% my pleasure!

Bingo!!

Mark - The "LYON-W" Symbol (the one NOT including the pull-back - in the file you sent) contains both Generic Solids and the embedded "Rigging Frames" Symbol. It is that Symbol that is causing issues. As to "non-Hybrid," the tools should throw errors w. that...

Mark - I found the issue in the file you sent: The Symbol contained an embedded Symbol (the rigging frame) and AutoHyrid was failing at that. I converted the embedded Symbol to a group (Cmd-K) and all worked beautifully. Now...rendering/regen time w. something that detailed is another story, entirely...

The Autohybrud system might not be sure what to do w. some elements. Shoot me a copy of the file and I'll take a look.

DEselect all geometry. See the latter pages of the ATS manual for more detailed info on the data Symbols need and the correct formatting.

Mark - At-present, the tools only recognize the 3 speaker types and a single bumper type. That being said, you CAN trick the tools by creating a speaker Symbol (w. all data attached) that is actually the pull-back bar. That Symbol would then become one of the 3 types in your array.

Your signature says "VW 2019." Would you confirm that that is incorrect? (The stock Spotlight audio tools earlier than 2021 don't support Symbols...)