Plant symbols

[JEA]

Is there any way to make ?global? changes to plants defined in the default ?plant symbols? file? Such as changing the tag type? Changing easch plant is tedious.

[Guest]

If you use the settings available in Edit Plant Definitions the Styles can be turned off View/Show/Show or Hide Plant Styles.

If you put your Plant Tags in a Class of their own Edit Plant Definition/Tag Class you could turn off that Class and they would all go or change the Class Attributes for colours fills etc.

The Plant Tool has improved greatly - lets hope it continues along that path.

[JEA]

I agree the PLANT TOOL has greatly improved to he point I actually use it now. I would like to see a qiuck way to make global changes and also more functionality and control in placing and manipulating plant tags. It would also be great to create a plant on the fly and quickly add it to the PLANT SYMBOLS for future use.

[Guest]

I agree and there are lots of Landscape Architects and Designers out there that would agree too - would have to help the product a great deal.

I picked up some tricks from Jonathon Pickups manuals and did some online traning with him - that helped me heaps too.

He is at http://www.archoncad.co.nz

[Thom]

I agree. I am in the process of rebuilding all the symbols along the lines of what Jonathon suggests.

[JEA]

Darell and Thom,

Which Jonathon Pickup manual helped the most? (i assume the landscape one)

[Guest]

Go to Jonathon's web site http://archoncad.co.nz

I have his Essentials Manual and Landscape Manual - they really have helped me.

The Essentials Manual covers basic VW stuff and I found it really helpful then I moved on to his Landscape Manual.

Remember too he does online training - send him an email when you are on his site and ask him about it.

Jonathon is well respected and a nice guy.

[Thom]

Actually, I think some suggestions / creative discussion might benefit us all. As I have played with defining the existing symbols and creating new ones, I have found that placing the symbols in a defined class and then creating a class that is a plant graphics class in itself that contains the fill data that is used for a graphical presentation works fairly well. (OK, bad english/wording, but it is late)

The main issue is relearning what the graphic attributes one can assign with the supplied plant elements and how they affect the recreated symbols.

It would be nice if the existing tools would allow the graphic attributes to be assigned to a common class that then could be turned on and off at will. This would also allow for one symbol to be "reused" within a common dwg at a different size, allowing for more flexibility. I have some time used several layers of graphics to create a certain graphical look. (Gradient & hatches partially overlaying each other) It also would make it easier to work on presentation dwgs. by not needing to wait for the graphic attributes to regenerate every time a modification is made.

Comments

Edited November 29, 2006 by Thom

[JEA]

Thom,

I work along similar lines.

I have custom symbols with color graphics in their own class (P-color). The black and white graphics are in (P-plt)class. Plant tags are in (P-tag) class. The only graphic I use with the plant tool is to mass perennials when placing. I have found this gives me the most flexibility for the way I work. I can render the plants by activating the class. I am a big proponent of using software not letting it use you. I sure there are many other ways to get plant information into a drawing. Its what works best for you.

I would be curious to here from others.

[Thom]

It would be nice to have the tag be independent of the symbol so if additional classes are added to the symbol, the tag could be turned on or off depending on what is being presented.

Presently if the symbol classes is turned off, then the tag is off even if the tag class is on.

[Guest]

I have been trying to look at this but have just been too busy to get to it. What I want is I think straight forward - a nice looking symbol for 'pretty stuff', a simple circle for say 'construction' drawings where things get busy and we just want simplicity, the ability to turn tags off when I want too and switch between the other two when I want to also.

[Thom]

Well said

[Guest]

Thom,

As I said yesterday really busy at the moment but I think I may have it -

Try this -

In Vectorworks/Libraries/Defaults/Plants - 2D Symbols/2DPlantSymbols.mcd where our 2D Plant Symbols live before we define them as Plants be in None Class and build a new 2D Symbol as follows -

Place a Plant Symbol - a pretty one and assign it to Class - Plants-2DPretty, Insert a Circle - same size and assign it to Class - Plants-2DPlain - assign both to their respective Classes in the Attributes Pallette - remember keep the drawing in None Class. Then insert a closed Poly say a Circle and make it just a smidge larger than the Circle and Symbol and in the Attributes Pallette give it NO Fill and No Line - make certain you send it to the back and that it lives in None Class.

Then Save the 2DPlantSymbols.mcd file. Open a new drawing - Set up a new Class say Plants-2DText - Plant Tool - Select a Plant - in Set Default Plant Tool Options - Edit Current and Select the 2D Plant Symbol you just built. Also in the Tag Class select Plant2D-Text and place the plant.

If it works - in the Navigation Pallette you should be able to turn off or on each of the three Classes Plants-2DPretty - Plants-2DPlain and Plants-2DText.

Another thing though if this does work - the Circle size which was sent to the back with no fill and no line I think defines the size of the Plant when we give it a Spread. I think I have got it too work - will continue to fiddle with it.

[Thom]

Darrell

I have experimented with what you suggest. Unfortunately, it puts us back to vs 9.5 with creating indiviual symbols for each plant.

I would like to find a way to have a simple construction symbol, overlayed with a graphic symbol. I like the way the existing tool works, but would like to have a couple more options, such as being able to use a gradient with hatch on 1/2 of the symbol. Probably asking too much. I sometimes use a additional class overlay over the large tree symbols to add another graphic dimension to the symbol.

I also would like to be able to totally separate the tag control from its assigned symbol. Yes, the tag class can be turned off, but if the symbol has additional classes that one might want the tag 'on', but the primary symbol class is turned 'off', than the tag is also off.

Maybe someone from VW can respond, how is the tag associated with the symbol. Is there a way to separate it from the primary class, and or is there a way to associate if with addtional classes that may be added to the symbol.

[Guest]

Thom,

Maybe someone from VW can respond, how is the tag associated with the symbol. Is there a way to separate it from the primary class, and or is there a way to associate if with addtional classes that may be added to the symbol.

And maybe put all of this in simple point form of what you want and create a Wish List Item - again if the Plant Tool was improved along these lines - it just should happen.

Another thing from a previous persons post a couple of weeks back - the software also requires an ability to produce a report where photos of plants and Data from the Plant Database could be included either within a drawing or to an external document.