Bri

Thank you all - and I swear I searched the help before asking. I see it now and it works (using the @ version).

The short version of what I'm trying to accomplish is to show the absolute value of a coordinate in a data tag (for instance, if the coordinate is -20'0" on the X axis, I just want it to say 20'0"). I'm essentially dimensioning from a 0,0 point and the direction (which would be expressed as positive/negative) is irrelevant. I do this in worksheets with a simple if/else formula: =IF((XCOORDINATE>0), XCOORDINATE, -(XCOORDINATE)) because I haven't run across an easier way. Some spreadsheets have an ABS(value) function, but I don't see this in VW. My questions are: - is it possible to put a a formula such as this in a data tag? I haven't had any luck, it just displays as text, but maybe I don't have the right syntax. - either way, is there an easier way to get the figure I'm looking for? Thanks, Brian

Thanks for the webinar link. That is a good overview of the boom creation workflow, which is similar to how I am creating my booms and schematics. It doesn't specifically address my question, however, which is about the mis-placed labels in the schematic view. The unit number in the schematic, for example, should be in the center of the symbol, but is instead shown at the base of the 2D symbol. When I added the sidearm as a "base" accessory I shifted the light forward (in the Edit Accessory mode) to more accurately show how the light would relate to its insertion point. The label legend doesn't seem to be acknowledging this shift. I know I could fix it by not using the sidearm as an accessory, but instead making it part of the boom, but I was hoping clamps/sidearms/floor plates could all be treated the same in the new accessory workflow. Also, making the sidearm part of the boom expands the positions bounding box, making it harder to move the lights around in the schematic view without actually moving them in the model (because I need to get them outside the bounding box to trigger the witness line and de-associate the move). Does the problem make sense? There is a sample file attached to my initial post.

I'm running into a problem with label legends not showing properly in schematic views. I'm drawing fairly standard US-style sidelight booms (single pipe, using sidearms to hang the units.) I'm using this opportunity to update my symbols to add clamps (and sidearms, and the like) as accessories. Part of the label struggle is related to the 2D/Plan view of the light on a sidearm; I'd like to show the light "forward" of the hanging position, but I don't want a line cutting across the symbol and obscuring the labels. I've arrived at using a 2D locus as the only 2D component of a hybrid sidearm symbol. This gets me close. As you can see, however, the labels are showing correctly in the Top/Plan version of the modeled boom (although this is 4 lights stacked on top of one another and not really readable; & ignore the bottom>top unit numbering). In the schematic, however, they are relating their positions to the insertion point of the symbol-with-accessory, not the layout symbol itself (the light). For reference, here's what I am modeling and how I would LIKE it to look in schematic view. This isn't an actual schematic view; it is a plain 2D-drafted elevation. The version shown above would be acceptable if the labels were in the right spot. I think the label issue may be a bug and I just need to find another solution until it is fixed, but any help or suggestions are appreciated. File attached if it helps. Schematic Labels.vwx

Here's some info on the new GPUs: http://creators.radeon.com/radeon-pro/. Looking forward to hearing how they fare with Vectorworks. I've got one toe in the market, but boy that price tag. I'm sure it would be worth it for a video professional (two 5k displays?!), but what about us lowly draftspeople? -B

Any suggestions why the Plane Mode plug-in won't install for me in VW 2014? I had it back in 2013. I continue to struggle with files from other people that are terrible mixes of layer/screen plane objects, and collaborators who seem not to pay attention, and my own system that seems to occasionally have switched modes without telling me. I'm using the new Plug-Ins Manager, Third-Pary Plug-Ins, Install, select .zip file, and restart VW. No dice. Have others successfully installed it? Thanks in advance for any help, EDIT: I got this to work. The plug-ins manager was copying the files with non-English (I think) characters that VW didn't recognize [Objects to Γ?Layer PlaneΓ?]. Renaming them in the file system fixed the problem. Brian VW2104, Mac OS X 10.9

Hmm, should have said: VW 2013 SP2 (Build 177995) Mac OS 10.8.3 Macbook Pro 15" Core i7 8gb RAM Does that narrow it down at all? Is there a preference I'm missing? Been driving me nuts for almost 6 months now! Thanks, Brian

In previous versions of VW, pressing the key while in the object info palette would move focus back to the main drawing window, allowing another keyboard shortcut to activate a tool. This doesn't seem to work anymore in 2013 - am I missing a setting? I keep entering "x" in fields everywhere as I try to activate the selection tool after editing some information. Thanks, -b