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Is there anything you like about VW v9


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Accually, there is lots of stuff we like about 9.

1. The ability to move the printable area without disrupting WGR and Linked layers

2. The space bar pan / boomerange mode for tools.

3. Print current view.

4. Door sizes linked to Record information

5. Faster RayTrace rendering

6. Increased precision

7. Better texture controll and creation in Renderworks

8. Spell Checker

9. Modifier keys for keyboard short cuts so you can use shift command and option command etc.

There are lots more. In addition we use Macs and have started to use the 9.5.0b5 in OS X . If the final release of VW 9.5 lives up to the promise of the beta I will be very happy.

I'd say if your on the fence, wait till the final 9.5 release. Order direct from NNA and use the 90 day trial to assess the changes before making your final decision.

Good Luck and feel free to ask specific questions about the changes.

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As I've said a few times on the message boards, another thing to remember is that these boards, as with most message boards relating to products, are generally visited by users who are having problems or questions about their product. When someone is not having any problems or choose to contact Technical Support directly, you will not hear from them generally. Happy users tend not to visit a message board, therefore you will see mostly "negative" posts.

Please understand that only a very small fraction of those who have purchased the program have ever posted. This isn't an attempt to put a positive spin on anything but rather point out the facts. There are lots of people who just devour message board material and respond to those things that they feel they should. A perfect example is MikeB. He has probably the most posts of a single user and yet he very rarely has an actual problem with the software, but rather shares his knowledge with other users.

Mike and I have communicated via e-mail and I can tell you that he is an avid user who does not think the program is infallable, but I believe he likes it very much. He is probably one of the best resources for information outside of anyone affiliated with Nemetschek for information as his firm uses both Mac and Windows, VectorWorks, Architect and RenderWorks.

By the same token, I'm sure that everyone in business has encounted the customer who just simply likes to complain, or the one who wants a product to be something that nobody else has but yet complains because we don't have it. As we try to keep the message board open and not edit any posts, some users do take advantage of the situation to intentionally muddy the VectorWorks product name.

If you are waiting for a software program that does everything you want it to do, is completely bug free, has no limitations and runs instantaneously and never has a glitch... it's going to be a long wait. There never has been one and until some omnipitent being writes code somewhere there never will be. There are limitations due to hardware capabilities (The fastest cpu on the market is equivilent in process speed of an intellectually challenged 4 year old child) and programmers, no matter how much we feed or pay them, are human (again, haven't met an infallable human yet).

My recommendation is buy the product, give it a test drive for 90 days and decide for yourself what you think.

[ 10-29-2001: Message edited by: Brian O ]

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  • 2 weeks later...

Brian:

Is it too much to ask for a program that is at a minimum stable? 9.01 ran wickedly slow in win 98, now seems to be unstable on win 2000? Does it run better on a mac? Does xp fare any better?

All I want to do is get my work done without having to either wait for the machine or worry that I'm going to lose my work. Every other command should not be ctl S.

The basic premise of the software should at least be that it function as it is defined by the manufacturer. Whether one agrees with how it works is another discussion. When 9.01 can't even do that, there is a problem. To deny that 9 has been a disaster is unrealistic. I have been using this software since minicad 7. No release since then has been as problematic as 9. You suggest that one does not hear from the legions of satisfied users. Where I live there are also many users who do not post to the message board who are frustrated with the program, but don't complain. They're just looking to switch to other programs.

You are right that the program cannot be all things to all people, however it needs to work for those that you choose to market towards. Right now its not. Perhaps the company would be better served by narrowing its focus to just a few lucrative markets instead of expending engineering energies all over the place. The Russian army learned this the hard way. They built lots of tanks poorly and were subsequently annilated by american built tanks on the battlefields of the mid-east during the 70's.

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rolleyes.gif" border="0 I don't know if anybody really

realizes how much time, day after day, I've saved for the past 2-3 months since I’ve upgraded to VW Arch 9.0.1 just because of all the keyboard shortcuts.

I gain time for every tool I use compared to 8.5.2.

Can you imagine in a medium-big office such is the one I work in, how much time people save not having to readjust the origin ,layer links, references, every time we move the page? Do you know how it feels when we receive huge site plans from consultants done in AutoCAD, to see that our cad reads with the same precision every inch at the edge of the site, instead of acknowledging a discrepancy? What about pasting text in Word to check the spelling? Scaling the hatches instead of redrawing them? Win 2000/XP and a lot of memory will make it decently fast and reliable.

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My situation in brief.

As a PC user for 12 years i grew up from window 3 to win98 while studying engineering.

I've kicked, spat and shouted at the ever falible windows environment and listened to the stories of joy from the land of Apple users.

I've been designing a wheelchair product for the last year and took an autoCAD course to produce some drawings and thus became used to the environment (having previously used TurboCAD).

I had however alway meant to move to the apple platform knowing that AutoCAD and Mac's are no friends.

I now have my Dual 800 G4 (3 weeks) and Purchased Vectorworks9 as the recomended and indeed superior alternative.

Unfortunately, i must say, even as a fairly fledgeling CAD user, i am somewhat disappointed at my initial findings.

2 points stand out.

1st. I am not at all impressed at the reading of the AutoCAD2000i DWG/DXF files i have and it looks as though i will have to redraw everything unless i am doing something blatantly wrong

2nd. It comes as a major shock to find that i am unable to produce even the most basic of 3D renderings without purchasing an entirely new product at a cost as yet unknown to me. why is this so? i know of no one who wants a CAD package but doesn't want to to at the very least produce a basic 3D solid image.

other small point add to my disappointment such as it not being native OSX, but that is a point i did not enquire of originally so it is hardly the fault of Nemetschek.

I am 1/2 way through my 30 day guarantee and am looking for some assurance etc as to whether to stick with VW9, or maybe enquire of the OSX ready ArchiCAD. Is there an OSX Vectorworks immenent? will VW9 upgrade to or be replaced by it? perhaps someone can tell me the uk price of Renderworks and what i can expect from it

I just want to make a balanced decision on a CAD package i can work with for many years as i work and learn the Apple system

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Dellboy,

Just so you know, Renderworks only gives you the ability to creat and apply textures either through shaders or image mapping. All of the 3D capability is incuded in the base VW product in terms of creating and manipulating 3-D objects. With out RW you can only render in Open GL and some other primitave modes, but this does not limit the ability to create geometry.

Renderworks also has a raytrace rendering engine based on the Lightworks products that will render textures, transparency, reflectivity, and cast shadows.

In regards to OS X you may want to download the 9.5.07b beta from the NNA web site. It is a native carbon application, and seems to run well. I've been using it for several week and I am very pleased.

Good Luck

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Dellboy,in reply to your problems inporting ACAD files, you must be doing something wrong. at our firm, interchangability with ACAD is a must and we exchange files every day with consultants across the country using ACAD.

when importing, be sure to set the size of the page first. i use 30x42 when i don't know what the sheet size is that is being sent to me.

when you begin to import, in the Primary Settings tab; Model Space Scale, do not use the setting for the Fit To Page. i use a generic scale depending on the drawing (i.e.- if it's architectural, use 1/4" scale....civil, i use 1:30)

for 2D and 3D conversion; if it's a construction document, use 2D only.

this is just my practice and may not work for you but, i suggest you give it a try.

good luck!!!

by the way, VectorWorks stomps the crap out of ACAD!!!!!!!! grin.gif" border="0

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dellboy,

Could you give me some more details about what happened with the installer? I will try to help you out as best as I can. I need to know the following:

1. Are you using the full single file installer (about 130mb) or the web installer (downloads as you install)?

2. Which OS are you using?

3. At what part does it give the error?

Thanks!

cool.gif" border="0

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I went to check on the error message line of precedence and lol and behold the thing decided to start working (dont you just hate it when programs just do that?).The native OSX platform seems user friendly except of course i had to have a dongle protected program so i can really work in the enviroment as all progress would be lost at switch off!

As for my DXF transfer, a lot of my Drawings are made up of 2D circles which i extruded to produce meshing gears running in bearing housings. My help file tells me that extrusions are one of the commands that do no cross platforms so readily. How scared should I be?

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  • 2 weeks later...

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