Mac OS Permissions Problem w/ VW Files

[Ed Wachter]

When I use the Finder (in the Mac OS) to make a Vectorworks file Read-Only, that file cannot actually be opened. Instead, I get the option of opening a copy of the file. I often want to have two different versions of the same VW file open, one for reference, while I’m editing the other (active) file. But I have to be careful to avoid editing the reference file, since it looks nearly identical to the active file. The copy of the reference file that opens can be edited and saved.

 

Shouldn’t we be able to open a VW file for reading only, and get an error message if we accidentally try to edit it?

 

Is it possible that this OS "permissions" setting does not work correctly with VW files?

 

Is there a setting within VW that affects this? 

 

Thanks,

Ed

[Pat Stanford]

VW does not have a "read only" mode. It assumes if you are going to open a file it is because you want to edit it.

 

Three possible "work arounds"

 

1. Accept the Open a Copy. Use it as you need to and then close and click the Don't Save Changes button if you accidentally changed something. In my really quick test, this did not save the copied file to disk.

 

2. Open the file in the Vectorworks Viewer App. This will let you view the layers and classes the same way as in VW. But it won't let you copy/paste if that is what you need.

 

3. Set your Layer and Class options to Show/Snap/Modify Others, Select All, and choose Lock from the Modify Menu. This will let you open the file normally, but make it much harder to make accidental changes.

 

HTH

[Ed Wachter]

Thank you Pat. You mentioned that VW does not have a read-only mode. I was thinking that the Mac OS Permission settings should be able to put any file into that mode. For example, when I set a Microsoft Word file to read-only (in the OS), the file opens but will not allow me to edit anything. Perhaps the software application must also have a read-only mode built in.

 

I've been locking everything in my reference file as you suggested. Yes, it's pretty easy to lock all the building geometry. But then there's all the viewport annotation, so I also kinda need to lock all the VPs.  I had not tried VW Viewer app. That might be the best.

 

Thank you!

Ed

[Ed Wachter]

I tried Vectorworks Viewer. It also does not really provide a "read-only" file. It allows me to move and delete objects in the file as much as I want; it just won't save the changes when I close the file. What I was hoping to find was a method of viewing files in a locked mode, so it would not allow me to change anything, while I'm looking at it. I wish Viewer was really just a viewing application that contained no editing tools at all. 

 

Thanks for the ideas Pat.

Ed