lucylou Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 Hi, i recently discovered the layer link tool to enable me to view my model in 3d wihtout having to create viewports and re-render everytime. I like this tool as it allows me to zoom around my model in 3d. As soon as i discovered Layer link... stack layers was introduced and EVERYONE is raving about it saying its much better than layer link.... but i have now realised why layer link is better... when you have (in architecture) a house with two floors and a roof all on different layers, you want to sometimes see the whole house as a working model, so turn on stack layers, turn on all the layers and you can see the model. BUT when you then want to change something in the plan, you have to then physically turn off each layer and stack layers. Whereas with layer link, you create your model on a separate design layer so when you want to switch from model to plan, you just have to view a different layer!!! much quicker and easier! Am i right? or am i right??!!! Quote Link to comment
mike m oz Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 Lucylou, if you have VW Architect you can achieve the same result with a whole of model Design Layer Viewport. This method has the advantage that you can manage the visibility of the different Layers and Classes via the OIP. If you use Saved Views you can quickly switch between a Stack Layer view of the whole model and individual working Layers. Quote Link to comment
lucylou Posted October 16, 2008 Author Share Posted October 16, 2008 must admit, havent attempted design layer viewports yet... but doesnt that mean you cant move around the model, as it becomes effectivly a 2d image that you have to re-render everytime? not used saved views either, will give that one a go, as that sounds like the way forward! Quote Link to comment
Jeffrey W Ouellette Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 Lucy, Design Layer Viewport (DLVP) functionality is a replacement for the Layer Link command. IT is meant to combine the power of Layer Link and Workgroup Referencing in one place. DLVPs are single "objects" that the user can manipulate to a far higher degree than Layer Links and ARE NOT limited to 2D. Quote Link to comment
lucylou Posted October 16, 2008 Author Share Posted October 16, 2008 Right, have just tried design layer viewport for the first time and seems to be the answer... although... when i was playing around, turning layers on and off in the viewport, it didnt seem to remove them. hmph... Quote Link to comment
Bret Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 Let me just stick my head in here briefly to lobby for design layer viewports to be built into the Fundamentals package as well. I can see why things like object libraries and advanced rendering features would be held aside for Architect users. However, I think it's odd (and disappointing) to see NNA deprecate basic tools and yet leave Fundamentals users stuck with the old ones and limited interoperability. Our structural office won't use 95% of the tools that come with Architect, so it's probably never going to be worth the cost of upgrading everybody. Still, there are a few tools we'd like which seem, well, fundamental for general professional use, and we've often wondered why they're not in the Fundamentals package: the aforementioned design layer viewports, batch plotting, etc. Now back to your regularly scheduled discussion...thanks. Quote Link to comment
quigley Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 Bret there is a groundswell of users after this as well. If the DLVPs are intended as replacemnets for layer links then they should be in all products IMHO. But the real issue I feel is that the whole relationship with layers having their own views needs to be sorted if Vectorworks is to really progress and build on what VW2009 brings with parasolid. I've used VW and Minicad before it but have never understood the logic of having different layers with different views from a 3d modelling point of view. I can understand it from a presnetaion drawing point of view before we have sheet layers and viewports, but not now. Just my opinion. Quote Link to comment
Tom G. Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 (edited) Layer Links (via the Model View Tool) versus Stack Layers can be thought of as the difference between the process of developing your drawings and displaying your drawings--potentially two different things--which means that layer linking is not entirely obsolete. Edited October 20, 2008 by tguy Quote Link to comment
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