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Symbol opacity/transparency/fill/stacking issue


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So I'm relatively new to Vectorworks, and I'm hoping that's my main issue, but here's the problem.

I have a light plot created in Spotlight, recently upgraded to v2013. I wanted the ability to be able to change the colors of my lighting symbols to denote changes to the rep plot, and eventually figured out how to do that by going to File>Document Settings>Spotlight Preferences and checked the box for "Modify lighting device color" with the color set by "lighting device". HOWEVER, when I do this it makes most of my lighting symbols... transparent? I don't exactly know how to describe it. The lighting positions now show through the light symbols, obscuring the numbering and anything else inside the symbols. Send to front doesn't work, opacity it already at full, fill either doesn't do anything or won't apply, class settings don't change anything... The only way to make it go back to normal is to undo the "lighting device color" setting, which then leaves me unable to change the color of the symbols. Why can't I have both?

Any ideas?

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  • 3 weeks later...

In most cases it won't let me set the fill to anything except none. I'll click the drop menu and click on "Solid", but it instantly goes back to "None". In some cases it will let me change it, but nothing happens. Any idea why that would be?

A possibly interesting new thing I have discovered, it seems like it might be related to some edited symbols I'm using? Currently on my light plot only the edited symbol units are having this problem (After unchecking "Modify lighting device color"). However, when I go into the symbol editor it still won't let me set fill to "Solid".

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  • 1 month later...

Sorry not to respond for awhile. Kevin, what is a NURBS curve, and is there any way to fix it? Same question as applied to nested symbols?

Upon more experimentation, it does seem to be something about the symbol itself, and no matter what I do it refuses to take a fill, not even with class attributes. More specifically, it seems to be my root Source 4 ellipsoidal symbol, because it affects every S4 degree I have on the plot, but my Par and LED symbols are just fine. No class or label legend changes have any effect. Experimenting with other symbols shows me that their root symbols have solid fills, whereas my S4 one has, and will accept, none.

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Sounds like the symbol was created with no fill. To add a fill:

1) select an instance of the symbol;

2) double-click on the symbol or right-click it and select "edit" in the pop-up menu and select "3D geometry";

3) select the 3d object;

4) change the fill to solid color (I prefer red or blue for testing purposes)

At this point, try rendering the symbol (a simple QT render will be sufficient). If it renders fine, change it to white or whatever you want the final, untextured color to be.

5) apply any texture(s), if applicable;

6) exit the symbol.

All instances of the symbol should now have fill and texture.

Edited by pgym
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