Space Tool Object - rectangle containing the Room Number

[doughd]

Since the Space Tool object cannot be included in the Vectorscript Plug-in Editor, could it be put into consideration with the engineering team to reduce the size of the rectangle that contains the Room Number? (or allow the user to change the size in the OIP) The problem is it?s not the same size as the rectangle on the Room Name Simple Tool, and when you add other text to the Space Object (i.e. area, room dimensions), one whole side of the rectangle is missing when I print. And why would it be a different size than that of the Room Name Simple Tool?

[billtheia]

...And why would it be a different size than that of the Room Name Simple Tool?

Because that tool was developed by a team that didn't have any drawing standard to work from. There are MANY examples of this lack of coordination/consistency in VW, section indicator vs. VP section indicator, base cabinet options vs. wall cabinets vs. countertops, stair handrails vs. handrail tool, etc. It feels, to me, like VW is developed by teams that don?t talk to each other and don?t have a single, unifying vision.

NNA gets close with many of VW's tools and then moves on to the next thing. It often seems that tools work just well enough to show in demos and brochures but not quite well enough to work well in the real world - Marketing driven software development.

Look at the stair, door, and window tools as an example. These tools were developed several releases ago but they have not been further developed (or finished, some might say) since their release. If you search this forum for problems with these tools, you'll find that they go back YEARS.

Many of these "productivity enhancements" go unused because they don't quite fit the bill for actual production. How many VW users actually use the task manager, auto-classing, model setup, or create new viewports? Very few because these tools either have some fatal flaw or they are not sufficiently flexible to accommodate the varying needs of their users. Again, these tools sound great in the brochure but when one tries to use them on an actual project, they turn out to miss the mark in some way and the user has to fall back on the OLD way of doing things.

I'm not saying that VW is all bad. I have been able to complete several projects using it in the past 9 months. BUT I have also been extremely frustrated at times that some of the most attractive VW tools let me down.

I, for one, would really love it if NNA would spend some time finishing the tools that we have so that we can actually use them without funky work-arounds. I know that this isn't the way that software development typically works (see microsoft) and that this approach probably won't help meet someone's sales targets but it WILL keep me with VW rather than looking elsewhere when it's time to upgrade to VW2009 (oh, and thanks, NNA, for "helping" me plan my annual software budget - wait, I didn't have an annual software budget.)

OK. End of sermon.

Man, I think I was channeling Petri there for a minute.

[boxjoint]

Thank you Bill for saying so many things that I've wanted to say for a long time.

Because that tool was developed by a team that didn't have any drawing standard to work from. There are MANY examples of this lack of coordination/consistency in VW...

It has seemed that way to me too.

NNA gets close with many of VW's tools and then moves on to the next thing.

.... If you search this forum for problems with these tools, you'll find that they go back YEARS.

Which is particularly frustrating since NNA specifically ASKS for input. I realize that every request for a new tool can't be added, but there is no excuse for NOT fixing a current tool that does not work as it is supposed to, or in a way that users expect.

Many of these "productivity enhancements" go unused because they don't quite fit the bill for actual production.

...the user has to fall back on the OLD way of doing things.

Yes. Or devise some clever workaround to achieve what the tool was supposed to do, AFTER spending hours searching the manuals, online help, and forum for a solution or someone else's workaround. How many man hours go wasted every year by multiple users searching, searching, searching for the answers to the same questions. Then to find out it's a 'known bug' or worse yet, 'the software is performing as designed'.

I, for one, would really love it if NNA would spend some time finishing the tools that we have so that we can actually use them without funky work-arounds.

I, for two, agree completely. It's bad for those using the software daily, but even worse for those of us who don't. It's infuriating to come back to VW after a week or two of doing something else only to realize that I've forgotten that little trick or workaround that I discovered but neglected to write down. Or some tool that I thought I had mastered has me stymied all over again by it's unnecessary complexity or lack of documentation.

I've forgotten how many "seats" VW has out there, but I seem to recall it was a couple hundred thousand. There seem to be about 200 fairly active members on this board. If you figure it's a random sampling, then one forum member may be speaking for 1,000 users. Someone should be listening.

[AndiACD]

NNA gets close with many of VW's tools and then moves on to the next thing. It often seems that tools work just well enough to show in demos and brochures but not quite well enough to work well in the real world - Marketing driven software development.

Look at the stair, door, and window tools as an example. These tools were developed several releases ago but they have not been further developed (or finished, some might say) since their release. If you search this forum for problems with these tools, you'll find that they go back YEARS.

Unfortunately, it seems, this is all TOO often the case with much of the NNA toolkit. "It sort of works, almost! Let's move on."

Rotate, Rotate, Rotate!

[jbrhwy]

While they are at it please fix the arc polyline tool, after 10 years of submitting bugs etc, it still doesn't work without a lot of workarounds.

[doughd]

10 years of submitting bugs for that problem??!!!

That is insane! How rediculous is that? Can we please get some REAL human beings at NNA that actually listen to and fix our complaints? I would bet that NNA loses a customer every day that's probably been with VW for years! I am NOT recommending this software to anyone, until they fix some of the sh@# that's been screwed up for years...

Maybe if we start a strike, they'll actually do something...