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Files open on dual monitors


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I'm on a PC for this project. I have been able to drag files from a Mac laptop onto an external screen no problem, having two files open on each of the screens. I guess there is a difference between how the Mac and PC version of VW handles this? Please explain.

Thanks for your help.

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It sounds to me like you had two instances of Vectorworks open, not one version with one file per monitor, as I'm sure all files are constrained visibly to the workspace.

Whilst I've never tried this, I understand its possible to open two instances of VW when using a Mac but not Windows. This was mentioned in another thread in relation to working in VW whilst waiting for VW to render something complex.

So that I think would explain it.

After thinking about it you may well be able to open two instances on Windows. Worth a possible experiment.

If you have more than one drive on your computer or a drive partitioned you could try installing the copy on the other drive and open it from a shortcut directed at that drives exe file, as just hitting the program open button twice just reverts back to the one "open" copy.

I don't know if such an action is contrary to the license agreement, best check.

Alan

Edited by alanmac
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Thanks for the info Peter.

Although I have a G5 in the office at work its only hooked up to one available monitor so I've never know this "plus" feature of the Mac.

Got two at home though on the Windows set up.

Must remember to add that to my pros and cons list when it comes to upgrading the home rig and making the OS decision.

Cheers

Alan

P.S. Can you also drag an object from one file/monitor to the other file/monitor or am I getting to ambitious?

Edited by alanmac
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Let's ask Katie.... Katie, are you there??? But JIm, I have a question for you: you say you cannot "open two instances of VW's". I'm not sure I understand what you mean. Do you mean that a) you cannot open two VW files, b) you cannot open two VW's versions (eg" 11.5 & 12.5) or, c) you cannot open two VW's files AND have each one on it's own display? I'd guess your answer is "c", but I'm not sure. Just FYI, I think that this is an OS feature (as opposed to an Application feature), therefore there *might* be some setting in Windows that allows this, or perhaps the new version "Vista" might make it possible. But like I said, since I don't use Windows I'm not the best one to ask... So Katie???

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Hi Peter

Thanks for your reply. I didn't even know you could have two files open side by side on the same display in Vectorworks on the Mac. I'm in the office tomorrow I'll give it a try on my work G5.

Of course, you can have many files open in Windows OS but you have to access them individually via the "window" menu at the top of VW or use a shortcut/key combination.

I'm not sure it is an OS thing though, as in Photoshop I can have many files open, viewed and I can do as I asked, drag an image from one file to another, hence my question regarding objects.

I can do as you noted in the Windows OS, drag palettes to the other screen to give me a greater uncluttered workspace on the other.

I tried my possible workaround and copied the VW file to another partition. Got a message saying files are not associated with this copy, did I want them to be, but upon trying two instances of VW I still got the one, so I deleted copy.

Ah well, nice to know I can do it easily if I go all Mac later. May even pop it on the wish list here for Windows users if no answer of a solution from the good NNA folks.

All the best

Alan

Edited by alanmac
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on a pc you need to check your dual screen settings in 'control panel - display - settings - advanced' it should not be "cloned" but rather something like "dual view" <nvidia driver's term>.

then you can open two files in the same instance of VW and drag an "un-maximised" view window across to the other screen.

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Hi Gideon

Well, you learn something new everyday, thank goodness.

The answer was in the "un-maxised" bit. I've always, since using VW, worked with drawing Maximised in the workspace window. I guess with a 15" monitor you need the drawing as big as possible, ah happy days !!. So never changed as I moved up the monitor ladder, forgetting completely the drawings come in "maxed" all the time.

With two drawings "un-maximised" I can see each, sitting side by side or whatever.

I have an ATI card (not nVidia), with desktop set to span two monitors. By dragging VW over to the left hand one then extending it via the resizing feature(bottom right corner of VW) I was able to drag VW to fit across both monitors and have one file on one and one on another.

Does look strange with the commands on the left monitor and just this long menu bar on the right monitor but I guess you'd get use to it.

Is that how it works in the Mac OS Peter? VW stretched across the two monitors?

I tend to use VW in one screen with email, web browser in the other as I get emails constantly from the office.

I think we got there in the end Jim.

Regards

Alan

Edited by alanmac
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Gideon, Alan, and friends,

I have my graphics card configured exactly like you said: dualview, not cloned. I tried "unmaximizing" my VW window and even the files' individual windows, I did all this from the beginning, even before the post! It is as if I cannot tear the file window away from the workspace window. The file window is confined to the VW workspace window and I cannot drag it outside of this area. I can drag tool palletes indipendent of the main window, but not individual file windows. I can drag VW to either monitor, but like I said, I cannot drag the individual file window form the worksapce window.

I have an Nvidia Geforce 7950 GX2 Graphics card running 1 Apple Cinema display and 1 Apple Cinema HD monitor. I have been through the Nvida control panel and my dispaly panel in windows, I have looked in my VW preferences for some way of enabling the file window to drag outside the main workspace window, but it just won't work.

Thanks for all your help,

Edited by gym1339
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Hi Jim

no you can't drag it out of the workspace window, that's what had me wondering what to do. What you have to do is stretch VW, in other words the whole workspce over the two monitors then you can have the room for one on each monitor.

As I said move VW to the left monitor then drag the program from its little indicator in the lower right to resize the program window, in doing so it will give you a bigger workspace window.

I think the fact the palettes can go beyond the program window serves to confuse people, so they think of the file being able to do the same. That's how I see it anyway.

Try it and let me know. As I said its strange for me because now all the commands are on the left monitor not my right. I work sort of off centre. One monitor directly in front, the other to one side at an angle reading mail etc. I'd need to change this to both face on to work comfortably as it appears others do.

Regards

Alan

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I thought of this and turned "docking palettes off" but it still confines my file to the VW workspace window. I was just able to do what Alan described, but this is different than working on the Mac. By dragging the workspace window across two monitors, this allows you to open two files and resize each, manually, to fit on the screens. This is certainly better than nothing, but not really ideal. I like the way on the Mac you can have two discret file windows open and maximize each for each screen. Of course you still only have the workspace on 1 monitor, but with key shortcuts, this really doesn't matter.

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I don't have dual monitors in a Mac set up, its not here anyway, so I can't tell you if the file is confined to the workspace area in Mac the same.

To know the files are in the right view aspect, each file in the workspace windows should display the same blue line as Windows gives you on the program top, that's what I grab and drag the file to left or right with. If the three symbols are in the grey surround of the VW's program they are maximised and won't allow dragging. I'm sure you know this anyway.

VW itself as a program should not be in maximised view either.

The resizing part for VW is three little diagonal lines in the very bottom right corner of the program window not the workspace area. Your mouse should change to a two way arrow cursor once you go over it.

Alan

Edit ....Ah, you beat me to the post. It's a workaround I know but then there are things the Windows version does that the Mac does not.

Try opening a file you have saved on a CD. Windows will open it, all be it as a copy, Mac will fail to open it at all giving you an error message and you have to drag it onto your machine to open it.

It's back to the old pros and cons list.

All the best.

Alan

Edited by alanmac
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but this is different than working on the Mac.

Indeed. Windows-windowing is counter-intuitive and counter-productive. In my (short and unpleasant) Windows-days I grew to hate it: trying to hit the right menu bar of the right application window with the jumpy and inaccurate Windows-mouse gave me the carpal tunnel syndrome in a couple of months.

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