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Aligning and hiding objects


Pep

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Hi to all!

Well, I'm new to this forum and Vectorworks so don't blame me when I'm asking some stupid questions.

I'm working with VW for over a month now and really quite like it. I am used to work with ACAD and SU but my new employer works with VW.

I've two questions:

1) Is it possible to hide objects like in SU? Or do you first have to make a class-object to hide it?

2) When I'm aligning two objects, I want one object to stay in place and the other object to align with the other (it's hard to explain). Is this possible?

Thanks in advance!!

ps: By the way, if the VW developpers team 'copies' some of the SU interface....it would be the ultimate draft- and modeller!

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Hi Pep

Can answer question two easily. You can lock any object in a drawing. See lock under the edit menu. You'll know when an object/s are locked the selection handles at each corner turn from solid black to grey.

Also check out align under the tools menu.

As regards question one I think you are right in your understanding of how to hide objects

Alan

[ 11-03-2005, 04:26 AM: Message edited by: alanmac ]

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Pep

My pleasure.

Note also that when you create a guide, (and anything can be turned into a guide), as well as changing into a guide and taking on your chosen guide colour, this is automaticly set to the "locked" position, but can be unlocked, then moved , locked back again or deleted if required.

Alan

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Pep

You could use layers to hide/see objects but that may prove cumbersome depending on your drawing set up and complexity. So draw items you want , say furniture on its own layer, same with other objects on their own layers and use layer visibility options. But as i say it depends on your requirements of VW.

Some even use a combination of the two, class and layer visibility to structure their drawings. My heads swimming just thinking how many different permutations you could have.

Thank goodness my drawings are much simplier. But thats the beauty of VW, you can work at all levels of complexity with it.

Alan

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Taking the 'hide & seek & show' concept further ... we can hide all our symbols & images & textures and entire drawings all over our harddrives and even all over web servers and then seek them out via the Resource Browser and Work Group Referencing and show then as required on our active document ... gadz ... the possibilities ... makes me wonder how much of what we do is actually original content.

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Meaning that there's so much available stuff out there. VW ships with tons of textures and images as do most other apps. The CADworld is a wash in symbols. When Autocad users send me a DWG it is packed with symbols & hatches & objects of one sort or other.

For example imagine having a single source Universal CAD Symbols & Details Server which you could link to via Resource Browser for retrieval of your symbol libraries which you can build on the same server from server available components. Ditto for textures, Images & Objects... even completed Designs and Details. If you require a special Structural Connection detail ... bingo ... the server has it for you...

How about the Infinity Edge Pool and the Mechanical components ... or the HVAC Chiller Vibration Dampeners ... or the Fire Suppression Control Pumps ... or the Elevator Panel Assembly ... The Security Cam Support Brackets... the list is endless and all avialable somewhere on the net ... but not all in one easy to find place that I'm aware of... !

Or is there ??

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Yes EJ

But what leap of faith in computers, your telephone lines etc to put all your resources on some distant server.

Come the day you try to connect and either somebodys put the bucket of a digger through your local phone lines or the server suffers a major hardware fault or worse a hacker attack and that utopian dream will seem more like a nightmare.

I think I'll always like to keep those precious resources close to hand, personally.

I'm an old dinosaur who given the light to be able to work could still be productive with pen and paper even if the 'puter threw a wobblier.

Have a good weekend.

Alan

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