I'm happy to see that a lot of the problems with VectorWorks 9 were corrected in 9.5. But I'm still not using it for actual drafting because of the problem with the Nudge feature, which is much faster and easier to use in version 8. I use Nudge a lot, and so for me that one problem still outweighs all the advantages of version 9 over version 8, except for printing, exporting, and the availability of the VectorWorks Viewer to share drawings with non-users.
Those key-combinations are the problem. They're okay for an operation that's not used very often, and if the combination keys aren't too far apart. I have no problem with using Ctrl-S for the Save command. I only use that once every few minutes. But the shift-arrow combinations are hard to do with one hand. They take a lot of time, especially when changing direction, and they cause pain in my fingers and wrists over the course of a work week. Taking my left hand off the mouse every time I want to nudge is also too slow and distracting.
Nudging is a great feature of VectorWorks. It allows me to move an object like a table or light fixture, or anything that doesn't correlate to a Constraint point, to exactly the right spot in a drawing. I do that a lot, all day long, and especially a lot during the rush period just before print-out, for placing texts, reference symbols, etc, on a crowded sheet and keeping them out of the way of drawing elements. And each nudging session involves lots of keystrokes. In version 8, it's nice to be able to just hit an invocation key once (I use the BackSlash key, which on my keyboard is right next to the arrow keys, and which is mapped to Ctrl-N via a keyboard macro program) and then arrow up, down, etc., as many times as needed and as quickly as the computer can take input, until I find the right spot.
And the new system isn't flexible. I can't circumvent it. I can't afford to map four different function keys to the Nudge utility. There are too many other Commands that I use repeatedly throughout the day. I would have to use the arrow keys themselves to execute the shift-arrow combinations. But then I would lose the arrow-panning feature (which has become even more essential in version 9, since the pan-while-dragging feature no longer has the natural feel it had in version 8), and I would lose the ability to move around in a text while editing it.
If I could use the left mouse button, or a third button, as the shift key, that might solve the problem, but VectorWorks won't let me re-assign the left button, and none of the mice I've seen support Shift as the function of the third button. Moreover, the choice of a mouse for CAD already has a lot of constraints. I would hate to have to choose between a good mouse and one that can replicate the shift key.
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jan15
I'm happy to see that a lot of the problems with VectorWorks 9 were corrected in 9.5. But I'm still not using it for actual drafting because of the problem with the Nudge feature, which is much faster and easier to use in version 8. I use Nudge a lot, and so for me that one problem still outweighs all the advantages of version 9 over version 8, except for printing, exporting, and the availability of the VectorWorks Viewer to share drawings with non-users.
Those key-combinations are the problem. They're okay for an operation that's not used very often, and if the combination keys aren't too far apart. I have no problem with using Ctrl-S for the Save command. I only use that once every few minutes. But the shift-arrow combinations are hard to do with one hand. They take a lot of time, especially when changing direction, and they cause pain in my fingers and wrists over the course of a work week. Taking my left hand off the mouse every time I want to nudge is also too slow and distracting.
Nudging is a great feature of VectorWorks. It allows me to move an object like a table or light fixture, or anything that doesn't correlate to a Constraint point, to exactly the right spot in a drawing. I do that a lot, all day long, and especially a lot during the rush period just before print-out, for placing texts, reference symbols, etc, on a crowded sheet and keeping them out of the way of drawing elements. And each nudging session involves lots of keystrokes. In version 8, it's nice to be able to just hit an invocation key once (I use the BackSlash key, which on my keyboard is right next to the arrow keys, and which is mapped to Ctrl-N via a keyboard macro program) and then arrow up, down, etc., as many times as needed and as quickly as the computer can take input, until I find the right spot.
And the new system isn't flexible. I can't circumvent it. I can't afford to map four different function keys to the Nudge utility. There are too many other Commands that I use repeatedly throughout the day. I would have to use the arrow keys themselves to execute the shift-arrow combinations. But then I would lose the arrow-panning feature (which has become even more essential in version 9, since the pan-while-dragging feature no longer has the natural feel it had in version 8), and I would lose the ability to move around in a text while editing it.
If I could use the left mouse button, or a third button, as the shift key, that might solve the problem, but VectorWorks won't let me re-assign the left button, and none of the mice I've seen support Shift as the function of the third button. Moreover, the choice of a mouse for CAD already has a lot of constraints. I would hate to have to choose between a good mouse and one that can replicate the shift key.
[ 08-01-2002: Message edited by: jan15 ]
[ 08-01-2002: Message edited by: jan15 ]
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