Dimension text manipulation.

[VincentCuclair]

From Revit....non the less it should be an obvious option......this has nothing to do with difficulties in programming or scripting it's about common sense and intuition (one of many).

A pity that a program like VWs is starting to lag behind when it comes to this, this has always been one of it's strong points and been the main reason it has been able to compete with the 'other' as it has.

Edited April 5, 2012 by Vincent C

[Chris D]

Are you asking for the above/below additions? This would be handy.

[VincentCuclair]

Well yes and the custom text, related to this:

http://techboard.vectorworks.net/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=168613#Post168613

But mainly a wish for some more common sense and well thought out functionality in all tools and PIOs etc.

If AutoDesk is capable why not NV even more so?

I'm starting to get a little frustrated with all the half baked solutions that VWs now consists of.

Edited April 5, 2012 by Vincent C

[Christiaan]

+1 for this. We need to be able to do it for each separate dimension of chain dimensions too.

[VincentCuclair]

Basic half baked essentials:

We now have a slab tool that can be associated to some walls in some situations.

We have window and door PIOs that work well in plans and elevations but not in schedules.

We have 3 stair tools that sometimes work in certain situations.

We have drawing coordination for sections but not plans.

We have a roof command that does only 3 types of standard oldfashioned (Macmanshion) roofs. + Roof face command as an 2nd rate enhancement that doesn't work with skylights, windows, no gutters etc.

We have walls that can have a texture and fill but not a hatch on the surface.

We have walls that are vertical and straight or round no more no less....with autojoin capability but in most situations need to be unjoined and joined anew in a very specific fashion to work and move one of them means starting all over again.

That basically encompasses all basic BIM elements...not one is simple, complete and intuitive.....what gives?

Edited April 5, 2012 by Vincent C

[Christiaan]

You are sounding like me!

[Chris D]

Basic half baked essentials:

We now have a slab tool that can be associated to some walls in some situations.

We have window and door PIOs that work well in plans and elevations but not in schedules.

We have 3 stair tools that sometimes work in certain situations.

We have drawing coordination for sections but not plans.

We have a roof command that does only 3 types of standard oldfashioned (Macmanshion) roofs. + Roof face command as an 2nd rate enhancement that doesn't work with skylights, windows, no gutters etc.

We have walls that can have a texture and fill but not a hatch on the surface.

We have walls that are vertical and straight or round no more no less....with autojoin capability but in most situations need to be unjoined and joined anew in a very specific fashion to work and move one of them means starting all over again.

That basically encompasses all basic BIM elements...not one is simple, complete and intuitive.....what gives?

I've been using Vectorworks since 2003....ten years next year. The slow pace of change I've witnessed since then (glacial) needs to be remedied if VW is to become a BIM application (it is NOT yet).

It is crunch time. Make or break time. Either VW improves quickly or we will be forced to look for alternatives...painful as that will be.

NV Inc is small and they obviously have a small pool of software engineers who can only bite off small chunks each year. They need to pool their resources with the wider Nemetschek group to improve their efficiency and speed up the improvement.

[AndiACD]

Can i also add to Vincent's List the "Eternally Half Baked" and never really finished, just included to preview what's going to be possible if they're ever completed:-

Extrude Along a Path

Loft Surface

Multiple Extrude

Tapered Extrude

Shell Solid

Chamfer Edge

Fillet Edge

Push/Pull

i could go on . . . . .

These all work, just about, if the request is simple, VERY simple, but after 20 years these Tools should be able to Sing and Dance AND Make the Coffee and take us for a quick vacation to the South of France while they are doing it without breaking a sweat!

Nuf Said! Well for 5 Minutes anyway.

[VincentCuclair]

You are sounding like me!

:grin:

The slow pace of change I've witnessed since then (glacial) needs to be remedied if VW is to become a BIM application (it is NOT yet).

Well actually I wouldn't go that far, I think it is a BIM application however it is more a question of time taken......I have been willing to put up with an increase of time taken of about 25% because I 'like' VWs + in many situations not directly related to drafting it is better = faster so I win some time there. However the scales are now starting to tip in the direction that all other apps (including a combination of shareware) are getting the job done much faster in a more logical and intuitive way and that in its turn means using VWs simply is not justifiable.

Edited April 5, 2012 by Vincent C

[Chris D]

It would qualify as a BIM application if out of the box you could build a relatively simple building model in 3D, using architectural objects, and get both 2D drawings and intelligent data out at the other end.

It wouldn't qualify as a BIM application if the architectural objects are so limited that you had to model a majority of the building in primitives because the architectural objects are half baked, therefore the objects are dumb and the data attached (if any) is useless and your 2D drawings still require more than a modicum of manual drafting before issue.

For me, it seems the balance is still with the second of these options at the moment.

[Christiaan]

NV Inc is small and they obviously have a small pool of software engineers who can only bite off small chunks each year. They need to pool their resources with the wider Nemetschek group to improve their efficiency and speed up the improvement.

Sure, but they also made a strategic error in my opinion. i.e. in thinking the primary component of BIM is interoperability, sharing geometry and data with other members of the team.

The primary component of BIM is being able to produce your geometry and data economically in the first place. It's so obvious it seems silly to write it down.

When the decision to go BIM was made there should have been a gargantuan effort put into this goal. Especially when you consider that creating the geometry and data is the main learning curve for their customer base; we could have been upskilling our modelling for years (and producing our 2D data from a single co-ordinated model). This would have been very useful to all customers. And yet, for us at least, BIM interoperability is still not required and won't be for another 4 years potentially.

[Kizza]

Guys, will you stop complaining!

I'm trying to sell my licence :)

[Kizza]

Biggest hindrance to VW development in my view, is lack of native mac alternatives. Sure there is Archicad, but it's under the same umbrella.

[AndiACD]

Guys, will you stop complaining!

I'm trying to sell my licence :)