9.5.3 files in 10.1.2

[TMcP]

I have been looking through my old lighting plots with the New spotlight 10.1.2. I seem to be having a problem. If i pick a symbol and place it in the drawing using the symbol placement tool, and then decide that it needs to be a lighting device......I find that I am unable to change it to a lighting device. Using the add instrument tool works fine.....but not the spotlight/define/convert / lighting instrument.

If i start from scratch, with a new file, I can do this procedure the way I always have. Only files from a previous version of Vectorworks seem to be affected. It isn't just 1 file, it seems to be all of my old lighting plots.....some of which I need to modify and update.

Anyone else having a similar problem?

[Swift]

I didn't have exactly your problem with 10.1, mine was that I couldn't convert lighting instruments to multicircuit units. The problem was (and it could be with you) that after converting an older drawing to 10.1, the entire key block, which is a group, was selected. You can't immediately see this. You need to double-click on the key block to enter [group edit], then click in blank space to de-select everything, then [exit group], select your instrument and try to convert again. This worked for me.

[TMcP]

Thanks for the direction.......it does seem to be the key block indeed. I don't have it set up as a group.....but I do have them all "locked", as just symbols. I'm not sure why having these instances of the symbols locked would make a difference....but it does. Unlocking these symbols then allows me to work with the Define/Convert to instrument.

[Jim_Allen]

Could the problem be avoided by not inserting, or deleting your existing key block, until you have placed and converted all the instruments - then place a new key block? I haven't uped to V10 so I haven't tried to convert a 9.5 plot yet.

[TMcP]

The problem seems to be related to layer properties. When it is set to show/snap/modify other layers......it doesn't work properly. When set to just show/snap others....it works fine. Now...let's be clear....some of these plots are 5 years old....and have some legacy....LD assist stuff in them. So there are some other things going on. Lots of classes....and lots of layers. I have found ways to work around the problem I'm having...but it is a little cumbersome. I'm contemplating cleaning all the plots up and updating them new in 10.