Cable Path / Multi Runs

[jbielsker]

Hi, 

 

I am trying to use the native cable tools in VWX '23 and I get to the point where I run the multi from the distro, but when I click on the path, it sends the cable thousands of feet away before it comes back to the breakout. 

 

I've placed the distro on the ground, put the breakouts in the truss, the trim is 30', and I have set a Cable Path from the distro to the end of the truss per the instructions in the tutorial from 2022. Now, as I understand it the process of clicks to run a multi is as follows:

 

Click the distro, then select the port

Click the cable path, the cursor will automatically move to the end

Click the truss you're going to run along**

Click the breakout you want to connect to. 

 

**When I click the truss, the cable path is drawn thousands of feet away from where I am working, then when I click the breakout it draws a giant acute angle from that random point back to the breakout. I have checked and there are no objects anywhere out there where it's sending the cable path. 

 

 

Any thoughts? 

[Mike Wright]

I'm also struggling with the cable tool.

 

If I try to draw a multi cable along a path it draws the route from the distro direct to the breakout distro object then back along the path and places the connector symbol at the start of that path.  

 

Sometimes when I've drawn a cable it just ends up being a NURBS curve and not a cable.

 

Reshaping cables seems to be extremely random and snaps to random points especially when there is a NURBS point on it no matter what vertex mode I am using.

 

I'm attempting to learn how to use the tool and although just beginning, I can't attribute these behaviours purely to lack of experience.

 

VWX 2023 SP3 on Windows 10

 

 

[Mike Wright]

I see from other forum posts that the cable tool is another one of those deployed perhaps too early to be genuinely useful.

 

I'll go back to powerpoint 🙂 

[Sam Jones]

9 hours ago, Mike Wright said:

I'll go back to powerpoint 🙂 

 

Cool.  How do you use Powerpoint for cable planning and/or power planning?

[ChollyO]

I am also another that is having issues with the Cable tool and using it with Cable paths.  When I insert a cable it does not join the cable path where I am clicking onto it, it joins ONLY at the end of each path (eg. where it was first started when drawing initially).  Then when I click where I would like to terminate, it instead draws almost an entire loop back to where it started.  

 

This tool is not working AT ALL how it is shown on the VW University "Cable Tool" video.

[jcogdell]

@ChollyO@Mike Wright@jbielsker
The cable path's behavior has changed since the cable path video was created, I will organize getting an updated video made for it.
In the mean time the 2 main changes are that

1. the ability to exit the cable path before its end is now controlled using a modifier key, hold (on PC ) Alt or (on MAC)Option
2. Paths behave much better when you use a single path for each main loom, without connecting branches or multiple paths joined together.

 

[ChollyO]

8 hours ago, jcogdell said:

1. the ability to exit the cable path before its end is now controlled using a modifier key, hold (on PC ) Alt or (on MAC)Option

I can't seem to make this work on my Windows machine.  Holding Alt while entering or exiting a path has no effect.  It will only allow for me to enter and exit paths from the beginning or end.

 

I'm running VW v.2023 SP4 build 693289

 

[ChollyO]

Additionally, I'm going through the "Cable Tools Suite" set of videos on VW University and I'm having trouble locating the "Object Styles" folder in the Resource Manager that is referenced in the "Cable Styles" course.  Has this been moved to a different location?

 

The video also references the "Cable Tools" folder (which I found in the "Defaults" folder of VW Libraries in the Resource Manager), but the items referenced in the video are different than the items that are located in my local cable tools folder.  My folder is populated with Symbol/Plug-In Objects for each length of a specific cable, not the general cable type.  The most noticeable difference is that the items in my Cable Tools folder are black, while what are shown in the video are all red.  I'm assuming this references different types of Symbol/Plug-In Objects.  Am I correct?  Where is the correct Cable Tools folder, has that moved also?

[jcogdell]

@ChollyO
Thanks for bringing this to my attention,
The whole VW library structure was reorganized to make it easier to find stuff and updating the cable tools videos to show this was missed. I'll add it to the cable tools video updates that need to be made

 

11 hours ago, ChollyO said:

Additionally, I'm going through the "Cable Tools Suite" set of videos on VW University and I'm having trouble locating the "Object Styles" folder in the Resource Manager that is referenced in the "Cable Styles" course.  Has this been moved to a different location?

After the reorganization the new location is
Entertainment>Cable Tools (styles)>Cable.vwx
there are 4 top level folders Data, Feeder, Jumper and Multi, each sub divided into specific cable types
 

11 hours ago, ChollyO said:

The most noticeable difference is that the items in my Cable Tools folder are black, while what are shown in the video are all red.  I'm assuming this references different types of Symbol/Plug-In Objects.  Am I correct? 

 

Yes styles are red because styles are classed as plug in objects.

[nakedeye]

On 4/3/2023 at 8:14 AM, jcogdell said:

@ChollyO@Mike Wright@jbielsker
The cable path's behavior has changed since the cable path video was created, I will organize getting an updated video made for it.
In the mean time the 2 main changes are that

1. the ability to exit the cable path before its end is now controlled using a modifier key, hold (on PC ) Alt or (on MAC)Option
2. Paths behave much better when you use a single path for each main loom, without connecting branches or multiple paths joined together.

 

I'm also having issues with this with the modifier keys not working. Even on a very simple path.