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How to get textures to OIP from Resource Browser?


taoist

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

Hi Taoist

To use textures from the Resource Browser that have not been imported into the file yet, select your wall, right-click on the texture in the RB and choose Apply. Note that the texture will be applied to Overall (which in a Wall is the Top surface. On the Object Info palette, click on Render, choose to Render the Right and Left parts separately and apply your texture from there. The texture will appear in the list as it's been imported into the file by the first 'Apply'.

Hope that helps

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Taoist,

I posted this response Sunday but removed it because it was a little too confusing. I thought I'd re-write it when I had more time to investigate all the wall texturing options, but that ain't gonna happen anytime soon ... so here it is again. And sorry about the negativity at the end. I really do love VW. But sometimes, I really hate it. It's just part of the deal.

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I'm not sure I understand what you mean by get textures into the OIP. You want them in your Resource Browser, and from there you apply them to objects. Walls can be very confusing, as there are 3 or 4 ways to apply a texture to a wall. Maybe even more. I would suggest you read up on Wall Styles in the manual. I don't have my copy of VW accessible right now (it's tied up in a render) so I'm just going by memory, but in general, if it is an unstyled wall, you can either assign a texture by class, or by component (click on the "Components" button), or through the render tab in the OIP. Just select the wall, switch from the Shape tab to the Render tab, and there will be drop downs that you can use to assign textures to different parts of the wall. For Styled walls, it is similar, except you can't assign a texture directly by class or via the Render tab. It is all done through the components dialog. I think. Here it gets confusing because there are several ways again to assign textures, either via class of component, or assigned directly to the component, etc. I can't remember the exact choices. But fool around with them. I find assigning "by class" to be the most flexible for me. But there are some times "by component" fits the situation better. Also, I believe the settings in the Wall Style dialog over-ride the Render tab of the OIP, which can lead to confusion. I'll check when I get a chance. I'm just learning about wall styles myself. I worked through it a few months ago and settled on a work flow that was best for my needs and I haven't revisited all the transmutations since.

Best of luck. You'll find Wall Styles very confusing at first, but very powerful. I think they're great. Although they are a perfect example of how excessively complicated Vectorworks has become, although in this case it may be necessary complication (it's been about ten years since I've used VW regularly, and man have they done a number on it. I used to be their number one fan, and even taught it as a grad student in Landscape Architecture. It used to be a very intuitive program, and a pleasure to learn, and use. Now it's just a chaotic mess. I think they hired too many ex-AutoCAD programmers to write it. And it shows. It reeks of AutoCAD un-intuitiveness and the AutoCAD "let's do everything the hard way" philosophy of programming) Sorry for the side rant. I just miss the old MiniCAD/Vectorworks I used to love so much.

Monadnoc

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Thank you. I will re-read your post in more detail to make sure I understand it.

What I was was trying to convey was, I know textures and (just about everything else) are in the resource browser. How to you get these texture in the Render Tab of the OIP.

How do textures get in the Render Tab of the OIP to begin with?

taoist

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I started with MiniCad 7 years ago.

As is usually the case, there is more than one way to skin a cat.

I can see the advantages of class assigned textures, as you change the class, the texture changes.

But when one is doing some prelim work you want to be able to change on the fly.

Trying to figure the best way to do this and not just for walls.

I have found that if you use the cabinet tool and assign textures at creation using classes for Style-1 etc. works smoothly.

I hear in VW2011 that you can name the "Styles" whatever you want, YEAH!

However, how do you get more textures to show in use at creation?

TO me, you should be able to right click (or edit) an object or wall, and change the texture on the fly.

You should also be able to control specular, diffuse, opacity, emmitance, etc. from the same menu.

In other words, a one stop location for textures and their parameters.

taoist

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I figured it out somewhat.

Select textures from Resource Browser and import.

Textures now show up in Render Tab in OIP.

This is great for walls.

Resource Browser works great for floors (extruded) and such.

This will help keep file size down I assume. That is, not to have textures in OIP.

Still can't get textures from Resource Browser to apply to walls.

Will keep trying.

Any way to have default textures not show and use what I import from Resource Browser?

taoist

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Ray, Thanks.

How do you remove imported textures from the OIP?

For some reason, textures from Resource Browser (apply) seem to work on walls now.

Must be me.

I still have to go to OIP Render Tab to change which side of the wall receives what texture as that is the only way I know of to edit the wall on the fly.

I suppose I could go to classes and change the Use at Creation textures, but that would change the system (default) settings.

taoist

Edited by taoist
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Taoist,

Sorry for the confusing post. It looks like you figured most, if not all, of it out anyway. To answer some of your questions:

?How do textures get in the Render Tab of the OIP to begin with??

Textures only show up in the Render Tab once they?ve been applied to an object (and the object is selected). The Render tab shows you what texture(s) are on the object selected. And also provides a way to adjust mappings, tiling, etc. You apply textures through the Resource Browser for most objects. Select the object, then either double-click the texture you want to apply, or right-click the texture and choose ?Apply? form the contextual menu, or drag and drop the texture on the object. This is assuming you already have some textures in your document. If you don't, you have to import them. It looks like you already figured out how to do that. Just remember, in order to apply a texture, the file has to be both the active file in the drawing window AND the active file in the Resource Browser. Or else you're importing the texture, not applying it. That might have been your original problem.

"How do you remove imported textures from the OIP?"

I think you mean the Resource Browser here. Right-click the texture in the Resource Browser and choose "Delete" from the contextual menu. Again, make sure you're in the active file (the name at the top of your drawing window should be the same name in the pull-down field at the top of the Resource Browser. If it isn't, change it so it is). Unless you DO mean the Render tab of the OIP, then I'm guessing you want to remove the texture just from the object, and not delete it from the drawing file. So just go to the pull-down field in the Render tab where it is listing the applied texture (under "Texture", surprisingly enough), and change it to "none". This will remove the texture from that specific object, but not delete the texture from the file/Resource Browser.

I'm still a little confused on what exactly you're asking/having trouble with. I think you might be confusing the Render Tab in the OIP with the Texture preview pane in the Resource Browser. The Render tab just displays information about the selected objects textures, and provides a way to manipulate it for that specific object. The Resource Browser displays textures for the active document, as well as provides a way to access textures/resources from other documents and bring them into the active document. You apply and edit textures with the Resource Browser, and you manipulate how they get applied to the object through the Render tab of the OIP (although you can also apply and edit textures though the Render tab too, just to make it even more confusing).

Walls and Slabs are a whole different story. Too much to get into here. Just explore the Mode: by Object vs. Component; Part: Overall, Left, Right, etc.; Texture: pulldown to assign textures; etc. all on the Render tab of the OIP.

I hope this helps, and didn't make it even more confusing. It seems complicated at first, but once you get the hang of it, it all makes sense.

Monadnoc

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Monadnoc,

Thanks for the reply.

Need to learn about the Active Document part.

Been perusing the help files about textures.

How do you make any file the active file?

Purging from the OIP is done using Tools > Purged Unused Objects.

This removes whatever you select from the file while retaining the Resource Browser items.

This helps to keep files size down.

Will keep trying.

taoist

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If you have several files open, to make any file the active file as per drawing, it's the standard way, go up to the Window menu at the top of the main Title/Tool bar, and select whichever file you want to be working in. In order to also make that file the active file in the Resource Browser, go up to the topmost pull-down field, under "Files", click and you will see all the open files listed, plus some Favorites, Vectorworks Libraries, etc. Whichever you choose will be the active file just for the Resource Browser, and it will display that files resource contents in the preview pane. It is easy to lose track and think the textures, etc. displayed are in your file, but they're not. They're in whatever file is listed up top. And you can be looking at another files resources/textures even if it isn't open. It can be confusing at first. In 2011 they have a little house icon next to that field, which when clicked automatically syncs the two, and makes the active document in the Resource Browser the same as the active document you're drawing/working in. It's very handy. I don't know if it is in 2008. It wasn't in VW 11.5

The key is make sure the same name is showing at the top of your drawing window and at the top of the Resource Browser window. Unless you are knowingly, intentionally, wanting to be in the resources of a different file. Which you often do. To grab stuff.

One thing about Importing vs. Applying, If you have an object selected while you are browsing/viewing the textures from another document from within the Resource Browser, you can right-click and either choose Import, or choose Apply and it will be applied to the selected object directly, with no need to import it first. But if nothing is selected, you will have to import the texture before you can apply it (it will still give you the "Apply" choice, it just won't do it. It will import it instead).

And again, just to avoid confusion, I think you mean purging from the Resource Browser, not the OIP. You don't purge anything from the OIP, nothing "lives" there, it's only a Palette that gives you Information on selected Objects.

Purge Unused Objects is used to delete a bunch of unused resources at once. But you can also delete specific individual or multiple resources from the Resource Browser by right-clicking and choosing delete. Even ones that are still being used, not just unused ones.

HTH

Monadnoc

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Monadnoc,

The house icon is in VW2008 in the Resource Browser.

I made the drawing the active document by going to the Tool bar > Windows and making sure there was a check mark next to the plan.

Also clicked on the house button in the Resource Browser.

The active floor plan shows in the Resource Browser Title.

I still can't apply/import the textures from the Resource Browser to the wall surfaces left or right.

The only ones that work are in the OIP?

Thought I had this figured out.

Will try again tomorrow.

Thanks for you help.

taoist

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