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VW 2008 Plant Database not opening


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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

Hi

From the Landmark menu, choosing VW Plant Database. I get the dialogue box which asks me where i want to store the resulting VW data and I choose the first option. Then click OK, then nothing happens. No error message, no crashing. VW keeps running, but no database appears.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Tamsin

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Then click OK, then nothing happens. No error message, no crashing. VW keeps running, but no database appears.

This is exactly as it should be. Sorry, I meant to say "as it is". There is a database, but the Plant Database does not actually access the database. It just creates a bunch of text files they call "the database". The entire system is a sorry excuse for a database.

You can open the "actual" database, too, and edit it. Unless you tell VW to regenerate the text files, the plant tool has no idea of your editing efforts. (Mind you, it is very easy to end up with any number of versions of the said text files, but without any idea which version the tool actually uses. My last count was 8 data sets in different locations.)

A total dud.

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

Hi Guys

Thanks for responses.

Jonathan - I just wanted to look at the Filemaker Pro database, but it wasn't opening.

Petri - I understand your frustrations, but the whole thing is still a HUGE LOAD better than it was. And better than hand drawing which is what my clients are used to. Yes filemaker pro is a relational database - whilst VW still has to access data through its text files. But at least it is now easy to create subsets of that data which makes the whole plant selection process much easier. I know the difference between a database and a text file (I spent many years working for Oracle as a database specialist).

Anyway, before I get carried away down that route, in case anyone else is looking on the forum for a solution to a similar problem, the system was NOT working "as is". My filemaker pro database was failing to open - that was the problem. When choosing Open VW Plant Database from the Landmark menu, Filemaker Pro should have been starting up, but it wasn't.

However, that universal fully tried and tested method of "re-install" fixed the problem and all is now working fine.

Cheers

T

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Then click OK, then nothing happens. No error message, no crashing. VW keeps running, but no database appears.

This is exactly as it should be. Sorry, I meant to say "as it is". There is a database, but the Plant Database does not actually access the database. It just creates a bunch of text files they call "the database". The entire system is a sorry excuse for a database.

You can open the "actual" database, too, and edit it. Unless you tell VW to regenerate the text files, the plant tool has no idea of your editing efforts. (Mind you, it is very easy to end up with any number of versions of the said text files, but without any idea which version the tool actually uses. My last count was 8 data sets in different locations.)

A total dud.

Landmark>VW Plants Database gets us to the database

The Text files are defined within the Database under GENERAL INFORMATION - Broad Catagory and here you can create your own, or add to the existing

Having done that File>Create Vectorworks Plant List creates the new Text File and you can name it again

It then lives in your User Folder - in the Plant Database Folder

I am still playing with it.

Confusing though as within VW with the Plant Tool one can utilise the Text Files and use that info to create new plant definitions or create new plants there that have no relationship to the database via the OIP which are stored elswhere

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Perhaps a wish list item - an option should be when defining a new plant in VW itself with the OIP - a choice to be able to send that information back to the File Maker Pro database

The plant tool in VW 11 was poor - 12.5 better by leaps and bounds - 2008 - for me I have to use it for awhile to see how it interacts with my work flow.

The database itself as a stand alone tool - I do Arborist Reports and see potential to utilise information from it for that purpose. Would need though my own copy of File Maker Pro.

Makes one wonder about VW and its abilities to interact with external databases as such

So what is the go there?

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Makes one wonder about VW and its abilities to interact with external databases as such

So what is the go there?

Good question. Some 10 years ago the Benelux-distributor Design Express wrote an SQL-extension to MiniCAD, but I gather it was not considered as useful at Diehl Graphsoft.

At present, there is no mechanism for accessing external databases.

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