Jump to content

new to VW...


Recommended Posts

I am very new to using VW 12...and am running through training files (Residential Product Tour for VW Architect 12), where the dialog box does not look the same.

The training file is obviously a windows based version while I am using a Mac, but...

Here's the question, I was simply editing a wall type but noticed that I don't have the ability to define the texture as is shown in the video...but the video indictaes that you can. Did I miss a basic setting?

I have 'wall definitions', 'insertion options', 'data fields' but nothing on textures. If not here, is there somewhere else to go?

Thanks in advance...continuing to move 1 forward and 3 back! blush.gif

Edited by John Thomas
Link to comment

John, Question: did you purchase RenderWorks? If not then you cannot apply textures. If so, then is sounds like there is a possibility of it not having been properly installed (and you might want to do a re-install, or tech support if that is the case). The "rough", "careful", et. are Sketch Styles not rnederworks textures.

Link to comment

Thanks Peter. No...I did not...for some reason I thought you had the ability to apply basic textures...at least colors...w/ the VW architect design series. I want to be able to modify the appearance for simple openGL rendering in order to differnentiate materials...windows, stucco, trim, etc.

Link to comment

I'm not sure I wan to spend much more money here...I went down this road (purchasing VW 12) essentially for a one off assignment (my home) and have found the program to be much less intuitive than I had hoped.

I grant you that I don't have any classroom instruction in this program, but I am continually surprised when things don't work the way you would expect (or don't work the way they did when running through a tutorial!

Sorry for the rant...

Link to comment

Hi John, It sort of amazes me that you (or anyone) would spend the money to buy a high-end program like VW's and expect it to be simple. It's like expecting your skill saw to follow the line on it's own, or your car to drive itself down the freeway. IMO VW's is not intended for "hobbyists". It is a serious 2d/3d CAD system intended to be used by professionals. And to use it properly requires (at least some) professional training....

Link to comment

True enough, Peter...however, I am a Civil Engineer, and can draft well enough in AutoCad....but decided I wanted to try this type of CAD program after seeing a friend do a complete design using Chief Architect...with NO formal training, no engineering or architectural training, and do so essentially with the training demo's the program came with and their online forum. I would have gone w/ that program myself, but I had switched to Mac a year or so ago, and was bent on using s/w that would work on that platform.

It is obviously a capable program, I am simply saying that it is NOT intuitive, even to someone with a good number of years using autocad...and who is pretty good with computers in general, be they Mac or PC.

Couple all of that with the going rate for home remodel designers in my location, and the investment in this program or CA is cheap...by a long shot...and I am talking a factor of 10-20:1

Link to comment

John, I agree that there are some aspects of the VW's paradigm that *require* the user to learn what amounts to a new language. In addition to my design practice I am also a VW's trainer (not affiliated in any formal way w/ NNA) so I see this a lot. Especially with people who are coming from ACAD. I 'll bet if we could spend about 8-10 hours together I could show you the fundemental stuff, and from there you'd take off running, or maybe even flying!

Link to comment

I wish I could take you up on that. In my case, I am simply looking for a guide to walk through a simple residential design. I downloaded the product tour mentioned above, and it is great, but my installation gave me an unexpected result when inserting a door in an ext stucco wall. The insertion worked, the wall was cut, the trim pieces show, but the door swing won't show.

I am sure it is something simple...I inserted a garage door in a different wall, and the outline is correct...it's just an irritation that will take a while to figure out. I can only get to this when I'm home at night...or on weekends, when the kids aren't around, so my time is often limited...

I know...not the way to tackle something like this!

Link to comment

Peter, I think we have lost touch, a bit, with the experience of users new to VW. Having come up through the upgrades from MiniCAD 4.0, it is difficult, at least for me, to appreciate how much less intuitive VW is now than it was. Having to know you need to turn on the "sills" class to get a basic thing like door swings to show is a perfect example of the trend towards bureaucracy that the development of VW has taken.

John, so you know, this thing with the "sills" class is a new development, which makes it possible to have a reflected ceiling plan from the same objects that display a plan (sills and doors swings have in common the convention that they are not shown in a RCP). Changing class visiblities makes this possible, which helps the professional architect with his workflow, but can drive the new user crazy.

By the way, as one of those unaffordable(?) Bay Area architects, I have to throw out the response that being an architect takes a lot more than knowing how to use a CAD program. Most architects earn their money the hard way, and are generally underpaid (that comment, of course, assumes that the reader would agree that architects, like everyone else, deserve to make a living).

Link to comment

Pete (et al), Yes I agree that VW's has become a more complex and (therefore) much less intuitive program. I have tutored new users and have seen first-hand how baffling it can be. That said, if new users are willing to *learn* the fundamental paradigms then the rest *becomes* intuitive. Like any specialized language there is specialized vocabulary and a specialized set of rules. Once the user understands and accepts these the rest of it will start to make sense. -P

Link to comment

I agree with Peter Cipes as I have been working thru this very process for the last three years. Things are improving for me as I learn the CAD vocabulary and conventional processes and VW's idiosyncracies and sometimes oddly limited functionality. All these factors combined with program complexity suggest that it's time to throw out the word INTUITIVE.

To say that something becomes intuitive to the initiated is self-contradictory.

I like this program and NNA propensity to improve it. Thanks to you, Peter and the many other positive posters for enhancing my learning experience.

Link to comment

Pete and Peter...you were indeed correct, sills was the answer to that question, and I certainly agree with you on the value of architects. I work with them daily, through the good and the bad, but I do so on mega projects in the hundreds of millions of dollars, and in a position where I am responsible for their performance.

In this case, I hired a friend who is an accomplished architect to vet several concepts and who added a few of her own. I didn't try to tackle this unaided. Further, as we have owned this house for more than a dozen years, we had a pretty good idea of how to improve things overall. Since I was planning on doing the structural design in either case, it made sense (to my pea brain) to pursue the drawings myself.

Frankly, my house lends itself to a rather simple addition which completes the original design intent.

In any event, I had no intent to suggest anything other than my frustration for running into (and not understanding) little roadblocks like the sill issue, and seeing no clear notations in the manuals or training CDs to expect that behavior.

Programs aimed at one market can do that, become intuitive that is. I realize now that VW aims to be much more, and is consequently more complicated...I still think, with some assistance, that I can complete what I set out to do.

You guys who dedicate time to these boards are invaluable in reaching that goal...and I thank you very much for your help.

At this point I am looking into getting a few hours of 1 on 1 training to help me over this hump.

Thanks again.

john

Link to comment

Hi John, That sounds great! In case you didn't find it on your own, there is a list of trainers here California VW's Trainers . Also, you might check the website for official NNA training. They travel around the country at various times. Who knows, perhaps you will end up liking VW's so much that you'll end up using it in your day-to-day engineering practice? At the very least you will be able to advertise to potential clients that you own and know how to use it :-)

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...