C. Andrew Dunning

Mickey - I own a licence of Vision. Pretty amazing software! The VideoScreen objects export from VW and into Vision just fine - but only as "dumb" objects. We haven't tried anything more than that...yet.

Good morning! If any of you are current or past VideoScreen customers and did not receive an e-mail regarding this new version and our free upgrade offer, please contact us as soon as you can. The e-mail went out to all of the addresses that we have in our records but, judging from some of the e-mails we've gotten, a few of you are not getting that message. You may have changed addresses or used an address for the order other than your usual address. Have a great day!

Christian - Thanks for the correction. Pesky periods...

Greetings from Nashville! We are excited to announce that work on VideoScreen 2.0 is completed and the PIO is now ready for download! VideoScreen 2.0 is a VectorWorks tool that allows users to insert video devices, like projection screens, plasma televisions, CRT monitors, and LED arrays in their drawings. This tool was inspired by the many projects that I've been doing that involved projection screens. I was dealing w. many "what ifs" w. my clients: "What would video screens look like on my show?" "Where would the projector need to be placed?" "What would plasma screens look like in this situation?" "Will 4:3 or 16:9 work better?" Sound familiar? I was more than happy to give my clients what they wanted, but a lot of this was proving to be fairly time-consuming. W. needing to modify masked light sources, change images, and correct screen borders, a simple size change might have taken 30 -45 minutes. No longer. Now, changes are possible in less than a minute. Things to look for in this new version: - We've re-written major portions of the manual. - Minor installation changes were made to adapt to changes made in VectorWorks? versions 11.5 and 12. - The 2D screen texture is now changeable through the Attributes palette. - A multiple projector option has been added. Projectors can either be stacked or placed side-by-side. - RP and FP screen formats now have a FastFold leg option. Included with that option is an toggle to draw a standard screen dress kit. - The method of placing projectors for the FP and RP formats has changed. In addition to the previous method, users now have the option of specifying one of the included stock floor stands (scaffolding, AV carts, tables), placing projectors relative to desired flown trim heights, or aligning them with the tops or bottoms of their screens. - 3 ?caged? projector types have been added. - RP screens now show the reversed image on their back sides. - Options have been added to place different PIO text in the drawing: screen dimensions, lens rating, distance to the screen from the lens, and projector ID. - A ?Hide Screen? option has been added that will place projectors and draw the projection cones, but will hide the screen geometry. For more information, please visit http://www.landrudesign.com/VWPlugIns.htm. Best Regards -

Me again... So, if Chord = 2*((Sin (Angle/2))*Radius is the proper way to find the angle Angle = (ArcSin(Chord/Radius*2))*2 ?

Many thanks! One of those cases where I wasn't sure what simply to look up.

Thanks... The degrees and radians part, I found (and, understand). It's the Inverse Sine function that has me stumped...

Good morning! I'm trying to have VS calculate an angle (A), based on my knowing a chord length (S) and a Radius ®. I know how to rearrange the formula "S = 2*r (Sin (A/2))" and to get the value on a calculator using the Inverse Sine function. How do I do that in VS? I can't seem to find the call for that function... Thanks!

Charles - Thanks for the follow-up. Yes, I have tried different trouble-shooting tests. I've also relayed my question to NNA and I may have found a bug. That's why I asked about the work-around...

I like using something other than "none" and using the toggle because it takes a step or 2 out of the process to edit the crops. Just my reasoning. In fact, I have several such toggles that have taken the hassle factor out of a lot of my drawing. Have you seen Panzer's ViewPort Pack yet? One of the tools generates crop object(s) on the related design layer(s). Very useful if you're wanting to adjust drawing geometry to fit a particular VP. Take a look @ www.panzercad.com.

Try the script below. It came from Vector Depot... {From Vector Depot} {Patrick B. McConnell} PROCEDURE toggle; PROCEDURE doit(h : handle); VAR hVport : HANDLE; BEGIN hVport := GetVPCropObject(h); IF GetLS(hVport) = 0 THEN SetLS(hVport, 2); IF GetLW(hVPort) <> 0 THEN BEGIN {alrtDialog('Not zero');} SetLW(hVport, 0); END ELSE BEGIN { alrtDialog('Zero');} SetLW(hVport, 12); END; END; BEGIN ForEachObject(doit,((SEL=True) AND (T=122))); END; RUN(toggle);

Charles - 1) If I REM out the subtraction, I can do the subtraction manually. 2) The value returned is "0" (success). 3) I believe the LNewObj handle is valid. I've built a stand-alone script to seperate this block from the rest. Here are 2 observations and a question I have when trying different things w. the "test mule:" 1) If I REM out the subtraction and if I explode the 3D part of the object and look at the curtain part it is a solid addition (according to the OI box). If I ungroup the addition it is 3 parts: a large central panel and 2, smaller "sliver" ends. Their widths seem to correspond to the width of the "tail" I add to "wrap up" the curtain creation. This leads me to wonder if I'm creating the curve correctly. 2) If I "unREM" the subtraction line, explode the PIO, and look at the resulting objects, I get 2: One is a solid addition that is in-essence the 3-part group mentioned above. The other is a solid subtraction that "contains" my extruded rectangle and the left-hand "sliver" of curtain. Question: As a workaround, how can I "get at" just the central panel and subtract from that? The rest of my code dictates that my subtraction window will never get out as far as the 2 "sliver sections. Thanks!

Greetings! In a larger script (a point PIO), I am trying to subtract an extruded rectangle from a lofted surface, but am not having any luck. Below is a snippet of the code. Can one of you give me some direction? Thanks! LftCurtHnd := CreateLoftSurfaces (PreLftCurtHnd, False, True, True); BeginXtrd (ScreenBottom-PIOZ,(ScreenBottom+ScreenHeight-PIOZ)); Rect (-(ScreenWidth/2),6",(ScreenWidth/2),-6"); EndXtrd; ScrnRectHnd := LNewObj; SubStractOutcome := SubtractSolid (LftCurtHnd,ScrnRectHnd,FinalDrapeHnd);

quote: Originally posted by mickey: I take it from the lack of response that either nobody knows what I'm talking about or it didn't get fixed. IMO, what is needed is a "mirror duplicate" tool - a tool that mirror-copies symbols, but places the copy "non-mirrored", instead of mirrored, as things are now. I regularly use a somewhat modified OLD version of just such a tool that came w. the Theatrical Lighting Toolkit a few years ago. Seeing that the code already sort-of exists, adding this tool to the current VW shouldn't be all that big of a deal... Kevin?????

FWIW... When creating booms and other, occasionally, "different-to-explain" positions, I use a combination of 2D-Only (including a 3D locus) and hybrid symbols. The 2D-only symbols contain data and the hybrids contain none. A quick "demo" is @ http://www.landrudesign.com/public/FresnelDemo.JPG. The "ghost" fresnel is the hybrid symbol and the one w. the text is the 2D.

Sorry, not a fixture I've drawn/used yet.

Are you having trouble opening the files in 12 - or are you having trouble, when in 12, importing the contents of the files through the Resource Browser? I've double-checked and have no problem opening the files in 12 (though, depending on VW settings, VW may want to append the name). If you're trying to do the latter, VW will not do that. Resources need to be in the same "whole-number" version of VW that you are running. In case you're still having difficulty, I've posted a VW12 file of the Pixelline symbols at www.landrudesign.com/public.

If you're still wanting the Pixellines, try again. I had no problems, but have refreshed the file on the server. Regards -

I have a 1044 and a 552 posted at http://www.landrudesign.com/Downloads_Main.htm, if you're interested. As to the lamp bars, don't you want to keep the fixtures as seperate symbols so that you can patch and focus them in Vision?

Thanks for the kind words. Only too happy to serve...

Here is my approach: All of my project geometry exists on a single design layer. Drawings/plates are created using ViewPorts that reference the geometry/project elements. The ViewPorts "live" on Sheet Layers that contain title blocks and borders. The only difference between my different Sheet Layers are their intended final drawing size. I control ViewPort visibility using class visibilities and Saved Sheets. The title block is a symbol and the same for each instance (each Sheet Layer). Therefore, things like the project name and other details are the same, regardless of the sheet it is on. Within the title block symbol are text elements that "live" in different classes. Therefore, by changing class visibilities for different saved sheets, I am changing the specific drawing name (rigging, scenic, lighting, etc.), its plate number, and its scale - as shown in the title block. I have scripts that automate this a little, including getting the scale of specific ViewPorts. Forgive me if I've confused you - or muddied the waters more than you'd wanted. This is simply the way I've grown to like working. If you're interested, I have a sample template file posted at www.landrudesign.com/Downloads_Main.htm. It might give you a rough idea of what I've tried to describe...

Raymond - You are a gentleman and a scholar. That is exactly what I needed. Thank you!

Good morning! I'm attempting to use a script to reference an already-existing arc to place a path PIO. I'm having a problem getting dimensions from the saved/referenced arc. I've tried GetSegPt1 and HCenter - and GetArc and Get2DPt. The problem is that the PIO is seeing the referenced object as a group and is returning the same values for both the starting point and the arc center - though the start and sweep angles are accurate. Doing the math means that the resulting radius is 0. Do arcs not remain arcs when used as profiles? How can I get the script to "see" the arc correctly? Thanks! C. Andrew Dunning Landru Design - Nashville, TN - cad@landrudesign.com www.landrudesign.com

I have a script that is being turned into a Path PIO. It (in theory) uses these 2 polylines to produce a Loft surface (after grouping them). The catch is that the Loft surface is not being created. In a Path object, shouldn't this work? In a "one-shot" script that does the above w/o creating a PIO, things work just fine. Thanks for any tips...

Back w. ideas... Though not something that I need every day having a curved curtain tool was interesting enough that I posted a question to the VectorScript mailing list. Thanks to some pretty big "get me started" help from one of the other "listers," Eric Torola, I now have a basic Curved Curtain tool. Of yet, there is no error trapping and it is a one-time Arc -> Curtain "transformer" that lets the user set the pleat depth, pleat segment length, and overall height. If you're interested, I've got what we've done so far posted at: http://www.landrudesign.com/public/CurvedCurtain.txt. The next step is figuring out how to make this thing into a PIO, with a few adjustable parameters. As w. a number of other things regarding this idea that I've had to learn, this will be part of my learning curve, as well. I'm open to any ideas... Regards -