Wall Alignment Shortcut

[Tom Klaber]

I used to be able to press the 'U' key to change the wall alignment mid-draw - from left, center, to right.  Now in 2023 - since straight walls and curved walls are a single tool - the 'U' key toggles between straight and curve wall modes.  Not nearly as useful.

 

Is there anyway to change this so it works as it did before?  Is there another shortcut that toggles the second level options?

 

Thanks!

[markdd]

Try “I”. The UIOP[] keys toggle through the mode groups.

Edited February 6, 2023 by markdd

[michaelk]

31 minutes ago, Tom Klaber said:

I used to be able to press the 'U' key to change the wall alignment mid-draw - from left, center, to right.  Now in 2023 - since straight walls and curved walls are a single tool - the 'U' key toggles between straight and curve wall modes.  Not nearly as useful.

 

Is there anyway to change this so it works as it did before?  Is there another shortcut that toggles the second level options?

 

Thanks!

 

There is no way to change it.  And I agree!  I often find out 4 clicks into drawing a wall that I need to change it from left to right.  But I NEVER discover that I need the wall to be round.  If you hit U at that point then all the vertices you've already set disappear and now you are ready to draw a round wall 🙂 

 

I TOTALLY get why they chose for it to be that way.  But my fingers will take another year to learn to hit I instead of U.

[Jonathan Pickup]

you can change the settings for all the mode bar groups, but it will affect all the tools. You can learn to use the i key instead. 

 

[_James]

I agree that it's annoying, but I'm all for the toolsets being condensed and having one "Wall" tool that combines straight and curved walls. I guess it's exacerbated at the moment because it's one of the only, if not the only, tool that behaves in this way but perhaps more will follow suit in the future.

 

I think we could condense a few other tools in this way:

- Constrained/unconstrained linear dimension

- Component join/wall end cap (join the outer component to itself)

- All the screws and bolts to just a "fastener" tool

- All the HVAC tools

 

[_James]

I would also be interested to know whether VW know how many people press the 'U' key to cycle through tool modes compared with those who click with their mouse.

[markdd]

12 minutes ago, _James said:

I would also be interested to know whether VW know how many people press the 'U' key to cycle through tool modes compared with those who click with their mouse.

I do all the time. I'm trying to get into the habit of using the Smart Options Display as well, but I find it too slow due to the animation time that has been used.

[Tom W.]

35 minutes ago, _James said:

I would also be interested to know whether VW know how many people press the 'U' key to cycle through tool modes compared with those who click with their mouse.

 

I use the U,I,O,P keys all the time.

 

I also use Smart Options Display all the time but agree that the delay is incredibly annoying, as is its propensity once summoned to disappear again at the slightest prompting

[_James]

Yes me too, I can't remember the last time I clicked in the mode bar but I think most people in my office click rather than use keyboard shortcuts.

[Tom W.]

Incidentally for anyone who agrees with comment about Smart Option Display animation slowing things down please vote here if not already done so:

 

 

I realise this has nothing to do with the OP + apologise for that...

[Ramon PG]

2 hours ago, Jonathan Pickup said:

you can change the settings for all the mode bar groups, but it will affect all the tools. You can learn to use the i key instead. 

 

 

I prefer the Q key to jump btwn them.

[Jeff Prince]

I wish Vectorworks would quit messing with the UI and just focus on fixing broken tools and workflows.  Changing things like this, color pallets, icons, and tool locations just makes existing users frustrated and confused new users who watch outdated Vectorworks Uni classes.

[_James]

Kind of agree, kind of disagree. A UI refresh would be welcome if done well, but I agree that many existing tools could do with some attention. I don't think it's as simple to say that all the UI engineers should just move onto fixing the stair tool for example. A team of bricklayers can't all lay the same brick.

 

So many issues seem to be tied up with legacy code that then needs to be retained to ensure cross-version compatibility (and then there's the space tool).  Perhaps the switch to subscription, and therefore all users on the same version, will help alleviate this aspect. 

[Jeff Prince]

1 hour ago, _James said:

Kind of agree, kind of disagree. A UI refresh would be welcome if done well, but I agree that many existing tools could do with some attention. I don't think it's as simple to say that all the UI engineers should just move onto fixing the stair tool for example. A team of bricklayers can't all lay the same brick.

 

So many issues seem to be tied up with legacy code that then needs to be retained to ensure cross-version compatibility (and then there's the space tool).  Perhaps the switch to subscription, and therefore all users on the same version, will help alleviate this aspect. 

I didn’t say UI engineers could be repurposed, I said they shouldn’t be doing anything 😉

UI refreshes are a dangerous thing.  They instantly outdate training materials  and cause mass confusion.  And for what?  Aesthetics?  That’s a pretty subjective area.   If I ruled the world, they would only be done to enhance functionality and only released when all training materials had been updated accordingly.  Oh, and I would repurpose the people who authorized and changed the color pallet and selector interface.

 

keeping everyone on the same version is another fallacy.  I skipped 2022 because it was so damaged, moving to it was breaking workflows.  Then, changes to certain object styles necessitate you to completely update your custom libraries, which is not a luxury many can entertain when busy or in a declining market.  Point is, all these changes VWX makes should be thought they from a user perspective before implementing.  Piss your customers off enough times and you start to lose them, not a wise strategy for a platform hoping to grow.

[Tom Klaber]

The easiest tweak to "fix" this issue - is to move the wall alignments to the 'U' position and the curve vs straights to the 'i' position. 

[michaelk]

I originally thought the Curve vs Straight should have moved to the P key.   Just because it is used so rarely, and when it is used it is used very intentionally.

 

But I see why the P key changing modes "before" it would be uncharacteristic.  I get why they made this decision.

 

I make the mistake all the time - especially since I'm using 2022 on some projects and 2023 on some projects.  As the 2022 projects drop away I bet I'll get used to it.

 

 

[_James]

15 hours ago, Tom Klaber said:

The easiest tweak to "fix" this issue - is to move the wall alignments to the 'U' position and the curve vs straights to the 'i' position. 

Agree.

[rayacox]

Where would side effects be to all the tools? Does the change key shortcut definitions need to be through programming? How does the  [mode group] in workspace editor work? The "a" and the "i", upper case of course, are in the mode group shown aready. Does this mean mode group boxes used here are special in some way? 

Edited August 23, 2023 by rayacox

[rayacox]

For twenty years I have used the "U" key to toggle wall alignment only. A VW's update changed that shortcut key to the "I" Key. What is most important lesson learned is, We have some shortcut keys to  make changes specifically to all the mode bar groups.

Changes are hard put it made me learn a deeper understanding about the WORKSPACE EDITOR .