Where is there a good tutorial for Site Planning?

[spudule]

I'm starting to use vector works and I have the hang of the basic controls, but I would like to a set of video tutorials (or written tutorials if need be) that go from start to finish of an urban planning project.

In fact any video tutorials that cover an entire project would be nice.

[Thom]

See Jonathan Pickup`s website. His stuff is the best. Keep in mind that one can accomplish most anything, but often the way to get there is not obvious.

[Jonathan Pickup]

Thank you, very kind. You will find links to my web site under my signature

[spudule]

Ok will do. Thanks for the tip, and thanks in advance for the guidance

[spudule]

Should have suspected as much, yours is a commercial site and I haven't been able to find anything regarding the use of the road tools in the free sections. (Although what I did find was useful nevertheless)

Surely there is some community available information, this sort of thing is easy to come by for AutoCAD, sketchup, 3dsMax etc. so why not for Vectorworks.

A complete tutorial or set of tutorials for the Site Planning tools is all I ask for.

[mike m oz]

ONLINE VIDEOS

- 2009 Landmark Overview: http://www.nemetschek.net/library/index.php?movie=overviews

- 12 Product Tours: http://www.nemetschek.net/library/index.php?movie=tour

- 2008 Feature Demos: Improved Digital Terrain Modeling : http://www.nemetschek.net/library/index.php?movie=12movies

- 2010 Feature Demos: New and Improved Parking Tools: http://www.nemetschek.net/library/index.php?movie=2010movies

- Video Case Studies: Sustainable Design Tools: http://www.nemetschek.net/library/index.php?movie=presentations

TRAINING GUIDES

- Getting Started with Vectorworks Landmark 2010: http://www.nemetschek.net/training/free_resource.php

- Vectorworks Landmark Tutorial Manual, Second Edition: http://www.nemetschek.net/training/guides.php

TRAINING DVDs

- Vectorworks Landmark Learning Series: http://www.nemetschek.net/training/trainingcd.php

- Vectorworks Landmark Learning Series Bundle: http://www.nemetschek.net/training/trainingcd.php

[spudule]

Thanks Mike, but I was aware of all of these things and your post doesn't really answer my question.

Some google statistics:

First Search:

autocad tutorials

Results:

4,660,000

Top Ten Results:

These sites have clear video examples that take you by the hand from your first ever session with CAD, all the way up to the advanced stuff. They are also free.

Second Search:

vectorworks tutorials

Results:

156,000

Top Ten Results:

(this post is at number 7!)

Either the original nemetschek tutorials OR a rehash of the nemetschek tutorials.

Nearly all of these ONLY give tutorials regarding the latest features.

There is no guidance for a beginner who wishes to learn the individual tools step by step.

OR the tutorials cost $50 or more.

My conclusion:

AutoCAD is a clunky outdated piece of software, but it has an active and helpful community.

Vectorworks is a more interactively intuitive piece of software, but there is a long way to go before Vectorworks can compete with AutoCAD in terms of its community input.

It was not my intention to drag Vectorworks through the mud, but I'm quite frustrated by the lack of online documentation and assistance.

[mike m oz]

The Getting Started DVD comes with the program when you purchase it and has an Introduction to Vectorworks section which covers the program basics. That is where new users should start. They should then follow up with the Getting Started guides for their particular discipline.

There aren't individual videos for each tool but if you go to the Help menu and click on What's This and then click on a tool it will go to that section in the program Help. Reading that material and then a little experimentation with the tool is usually all that is required to understand how a tool works.

I'm not aware of any training resources for Urban Planning as such. Probably because the breadth of it would make it a quite difficult area to cover. At a macro level I would use 2D shapes and turn them into floor objects. The Massing Model tool could also be used for buildings. At a Micro level I would use the Architect capabilities.

[spudule]

Ah I see, I wouldn't have gotten that DVD, because I'm a student. I'll just RTFM.

[Rossford]

A little OT, but has anyone bought the land planning module from Software Customization Services and how does it work?

http://scs-inc.us/default.php?page=products