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C. Andrew Dunning

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Posts posted by C. Andrew Dunning

    Schematic View vs Plot & Model View

    in Entertainment

    Posted

    9 minutes ago, Mark Aceto said:

    @C. Andrew Dunning I'm all good with truss and lights (and 3D objects that aren't hybrid). It only seems to be an issue with stage objects (which I guess I've never tried before) or other hybrid objects that aren't lights.

     

    You can add those things to DLVPs already raked but you are correct in that you can't adjust rake for DLVPs containing those objects.  This is not new.

    Schematic View vs Plot & Model View

    in Entertainment

    Posted

    3 minutes ago, Mark Aceto said:

     

     I tried rotating a DLVP with stage objects but I get the ole "hybrid objects can only be rotated... " error message. Maybe I'm missing something?

     

    You have to have at least one Lighting Device in the "source" Design Layer.  Insert a "Dummy" fixture and hide it.

     

    Audio Tools' Symbol Mode

    in Entertainment

    Posted

    Posting this in multiple places as I'm getting repeated inquiries regarding this...

     

    Many users are having issues with certain bumper and speaker Symbols when used with our Audio ToolSet 2 tools and the stock Vectorworks® audio tools - mainly, when building arrays. They're seeing things like arrays with HUGE spacing in-between elements, guide-lines being WAY longer than the bumpers and speakers of which they are part, and Symbols in the Array Config dialog preview boxes displaying at a fraction of the desired size. (Sound familiar??)

     

    The problem is that in very early versions of the "__ATS-BumpModData" and "__ATS-SpkrModData" records the different dimension fields ("Front Width," "Depth," "Thick," etc.) were defined as "Number" fields defined as Dimensions. This was all well-and-good as long as "Imperial" Symbols were never used in "Metric" models and vice-versa. When this happened, Vectorworks® got confused and did things like thinking 520mm is 520'. This was fixed several years ago but some of the content in Vectorworks'® catalog has not been updated, yet.

    So...if you're seeing this sort of thing...while the file containing the Symbols you wish to use is open...:

     

    1) In the Resource Manager, right-click on either the "__ATS-BumpModData" record or the "__ATS-SpkrModData" record and select "Edit..." In the dialog that opens, all of the entries in the "Type" column should be "Text." One-by-one, select the entries that are not and click the "Edit..." button. In the "Type" Pop-Up, select "Text." Click "OK," fix the next one, and so-on. When finished, click "OK" to close the "Edit Record Format" dialog.

     

    2) Still in the Resource Manager, right-click on the problem-child Symbol and choose either "Edit 2D Components" or "Edit 3D Component." With NOTHING selected (click in open space), click on the "Data" tab of the Object Information Palette. Either "__ATS-BumpModData" or "__ATS-SpkrModData" will be in the "Record Format" window. Select the given record and check and/or correct the dimension values that will be in the lower part of the OIP. MAKE SURE EACH VALUE INCLUDES THE APPROPRIATE UNIT MARKER (',",mm,m, etc.). As mentioned above, you might find things like 520' that should be 520mm. When all is correct, click the "Exit Symbol" button in the drawing space.

     

    Save your file. All should be good - though you might have to click the OIP "Update" button for the different object instances in order for the changes to take effect.

     

    I hope this helps some of you...

     

    • Like 2

    v2021 - L'Acoustics Bug (and workaround)

    in Entertainment

    Posted

    2 comments / bits of info:

     

    1)  The record attached to the bumper in the demo file was an old version, one in which the different dimensions were held in "number" fields.  When switching back-and-forth between Metric and Imperial (or, using Symbols created using the other unit convention), VW got confused and tried calling Metric dimensions "Imperial."  The new Record format changed those fields to "Text" to fix this sort of issue.

     

    2)  When using these fields, the units marker must be included so VW knows what the number means when translating it from text.  The dimensions can use whatever length units are desired - as long as the unit marker is included.  This will allow, for example, "Metric" Symbols to be used in "Imperial" files.

     

    See attached.  Same bumper in each array, one defined using Metric dimensions and the other, Imperial.

     

    Audio_Units.vwx

    • Like 1

    Landru Design Tools Updated!

    in Entertainment

    Posted

    A regular question...which I received again yesterday...is along the lines of "With the release of the new VW version, what is different in the Landru Design version of the tools?" I'd offer 4 things, 1 regarding all of the tools and 3 regarding specific tools:

     

    1) All of the tools work in all versions of VW, 2018>2021 - whether you own Spotlight, Designer, or Fundamentals. This means that, as long as everyone on your team has current licenses for our tools, instances of our objects work equally well, regardless of everyone having the same VW version.

     

    2) All of the video tools offer 3D Text blocks, meaning you can display select data (like LED array size and make-up) superimposed over the array's image.

    LED-Text.jpg

     

    3) VS4-LED includes on-the-fly weight estimating, allowing you to input a single panel's weight and get an estimate of an array's overall and distributed weight.

    LED-OIP.jpg

     

    4) SoftGoods 2 has a "Weights From Raw Specifications" mode that allows you to enter spec. for fabric, pipe, chain, track rollers, etc. and be given an estimate of the curtain's an array's overall and distributed weight - both of which change as you re-size the object. Also, SoftGoods 2 has the same "Text Bubble" feature that some of you have seen in the audio tools.

     

    SG-OIP.jpg

     

    SG-Text.jpg

     

    I hope this helps those of you who are asking...

    • Like 1

    Landru Design Tools Updated!

    in Entertainment

    Posted

    Happy September 17th!

     

    We are happy to announce that all of our tools have been updated to make them Vectorworks 2021®-compatible.  In addition to getting things ready for Vectorworks 2021®, we've been working on the usual "under-the-hood" refinement and on adding a few features.  Here are a few things to note:

    • All of the tools run in ALL "flavors" of Vectorworks® - not just Spotlight® or Designer® - 2018 > 2021.
    • Several of the tools have new data fields, like "Position," "Purpose," and "Drape Clips."
    • The OIP "lb" and "kg" weight fields have been replaced with the easier-to-use Structural Units fields.
    • The VideoScreen tools and SoftGoods 2 are now Braceworks®-aware.
    • SoftGoods 2's "Raw Materials" weight system has been greatly simplified and a new "Raw Materials Options" dialog has been added, enabling raw material weights to be managed much more simply and resulting weight estimates to be seen more easily.
    • The Audio ToolSet tools' "Symbol"/"Library" system has been refined, making the feature much more straight-forward to use.
    • The tools now take advantage of the Vectorworks® Resource Selector, allowing you to download and use Cloud-based Resources (like speakers and Textures) on-the-fly.

     

    For current license-holders, updates are available free-of-charge for licenses purchased on or after March 1, 2019.  For older licenses, we believe that you'll find our upgrade offers to continue to be quite generous.  All license pricing (new and upgrade) remains unchanged relative to last year.

     

    See our VW Tools page for more info..  Feel free to Message me directly if you have questions regarding the tools.

    • Like 2

    PIO String Values

    in Vectorscript

    Posted

    Question:  If a VWR file needs to be stored in a folder other than "Plug-ins," what is the correct path syntax to use with GetVWRString?

     

    (The WIKI page makes reference to the path but doesn't provide this info...)

    Plugin to Red Symbol doesn't work elsewhere?

    in Vectorscript

    Posted

    13 minutes ago, SamIWas said:


    @klinzey  I completely misunderstood how those worked, which makes all the plug-ins I've built useless for plans which are sent out to others (and stops ones I'm currently building).  I guess all the red symbols included with VW have a matching plug-in buried in VW somewhere? 😨

     

    Food-for-thought...:  might you be open to sharing those PIOs w. others on your team(s)?  For me, outside of my commercially-available tools, I've got several simple PIOs that I frequently include when sharing files.  That may or may not make sense for you depending on the tool(s) but is at least worth considering.

    Speaker Object Dispersion Line Weight

    in Entertainment

    Posted

    11 minutes ago, sbarnesvta said:

    In the first screen shot you can see the line weight change to .5 and it get thicker as expected, but is not make up of a solid line it is a bunch of dots (not sure the technical term on this). In the second screen shot I change to an orthogonal view and it gives me the weight I am looking for, but it no longer representative of the conical speaker coverage pattern in the graphic. 

     

    From the GFX you posted I gather you're meaning the outline of the dispersion/coverage area, right?

     

    If so...in 2D the weight of that line is controlled by the overall object line weight (set through the Attribute palette) -or- by Class Attributes if the object is set to use them or you are Classing parts and the Class for the given Dispersion Range is set to apply attributes By-Class.  The Line Type (what you perceive to be "dots") is hard-coded as "Pattern Type 3" (the 3rd Pattern Type in the Pattern Pop-Up).

     

    So...yes, you can change the weight but the Pattern is fixed.

     

     

    • Like 2

    Assign Texture By Name to Object?

    in Vectorscript

    Posted

    Once you get a feel for things adjusting these basic settings isn't all that bad.  For me, the real trick was figuring out when VW is expecting drawing units and when VW is expecting MM.  Below are some code snippets that might help.  As you look @ them, reference the Image Picker for any of the video tools (Landru Design's or VW's) to see what the code is doing.

     

    kTexturePartID = 3;  {overall object}
    kTextureLayerID = 0;

    SetTexMapBoolN (ObjHan,kTexturePartID,kTextureLayerID,1,TRUE);    {initialize}

    SetTexMapBoolN (ObjHan,kTexturePartID,kTextureLayerID,3,TRUE);    {tile horizontally}
    SetTexMapBoolN (ObjHan,kTexturePartID,kTextureLayerID,4,TRUE);    {tile vertically}

    SetTexMapRealN (ObjHan,kTexturePartID,kTextureLayerID,3,(SCALE/100)*WIDTH/GetObjectVariableReal(TEXTUREHANDLE,511));    {set scale w. 100% matching object width} 
    SetTexMapRealN (ObjHan,kTexturePartID,kTextureLayerID,1,(WIDTH*(SHIFTHORIZ/100)*(25.4/GetPrefReal(152))));    {set amount of horizontal shift IN MM relative to percentage of object width} 
    SetTexMapRealN (ObjHan,kTexturePartID,kTextureLayerID,2,(HEIGHT*(SHIFTVERT/100)*(25.4/GetPrefReal(152))));    {set amount of vertical shift IN MM relative to percentage of object height}

    {
    'SCALE' is texture scale in terms of percentage.
    'WIDTH' is object width in terms of document units.
    'HEIGHT' is object height in terms of document units.
    'SHIFTHORIZ' is horizontal shift in terms of percentage.
    'SHIFTVERT' is vertical shift in terms of percentage.

    'GetObjectVariableReal(TEXTUREHANDLE,511)' returns the Texture's width.
    '*(25.4/GetPrefReal(152))' translates a dimension in document units to MM.
    }

     

     

    Custom lights in a Spotlight Symbol

    in Entertainment

    Posted

    Sam -

     

    The Symbols the Spotlight Lighting Device PIO uses do not contain Light sources - and, yours shouldn't, either.  The PIO code is looking for the 3D Locus that is top-most in the stacking order - more than likely at the fixture body pivot-point - to use as a reference as to where to place the Light source.  (I have multiple Loci in my fixture Symbols - all assigned to the NonPlot-Loci Class - Insertion Point, convenience snaps, pivot point(s), etc. - and all works just fine because of where they each are in the stacking order.)

     

    There really isn't a way around the large lens/small source issue.  Making the lens glow will fix SOME of that but projected beams will still show the difference.

    Boolean Operations w. Data Visualization

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I do have the Criteria box but it doesn't (that I can tell) allow me to do a series of ANDs and ORs like I'm wanting.  I do see a space in the dialog that shows the "long-hand" result of the dialog but I can't edit that the way I could w. Reports.  I was really hoping someone had figured out a way to do that...

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