Changing object types

[Nedly]

New here, patience appreciated. 1.) Is it possible to convert a polygon to polylines, and if so, how? 2.) How does one 'undo' an extrude - I've got one that I want to undo (other than using the undo or control z function - I've gone too far forward).

Thanks in advance

pc VW 2012

[Benson Shaw]

For the Polygon to Polyline, see if Decompose command does what you want. It's in the Modify menu.

For the extrude, I think you want to retrieve your original 2d object that was extruded. dbl click it to enter the edit mode. switch to Top/Plan view if it's not there already. This presents the 2d figure from which the extrude was made. If you don't see anything, use the View menu>Zoom>Fit to Objects. Copy to clipboard. Exit the extrude. Paste or paste in place.

Post back if it's not working.

-B

Edited December 18, 2014 by Benson Shaw

[Nedly]

Thanks for the assist B, still not having luck with what I'm trying to achieve:

I'm drawing a corrugated metal floor pan over which I want to draw and place a 6" thick concrete slab. I want to create these as two separate objects, but show them as one (the slab laying on top of the metal pan). I've drawn the metal floor pan (63'0 3/8" long x 30' wide (corrugation parallel to this direction) x about 3" high) with one continuous line, with space of 1/16" apart (thickness of metal pan material). I've also made the concrete slab (same dimensions) to 'nest' into the metal pan. I want to lay the concrete slab into the metal pan, just as in real construction. Now, my goal is to 'cut' a cylinder out of the pan and slab (solid subtraction) for an elevator. Both the metal pan and the concrete floor are indicated as 'Extrudes'in the OIP. Just can't figure out how to do the solid subtraction...

Perhaps I should send the file for review??

I really, really appreciate assistance as I have looked everywhere and not found this particular situation (plus, as you can tell, I'm new to VW (but love it))...

Thanks again.

[Benson Shaw]

Nedly

Lots of ways to do this. Here's one:

Set up the extrudes as shown.

Select both polys and extrude. They make a single Extrude object.

Cut the hole with the Push/Pull tool (3d Tool Set) in Sub Face Mode.

Good Luck!

-B

Edited December 20, 2014 by Benson Shaw

[Nedly]

Benson, this is fabulous! Thanks so much. I'm very excited about getting into this in the next few days and will of course let you know how I fare. THANKS!!

[Benson Shaw]

Hope it works for you!

Just to be safe, explore this in a new file with just a few objects to get the hang of things. Maybe even create the objects you need in this new file, then paste them into your project file.

Post back with successes and further questions.

-B

[mjm]

That's a wonderfully clean & concise visual description of how to accomplish a task in VW I have seen in some time Benson. Thanks!

[PVA - Admin]

Benson knows his stuff. He puts me to shame regularly

Thanks again Benson.

[Benson Shaw]

@ All

I'm blushing! Thanks for the strokes and you are welcome.

This user board is a fantastic resource for all things Vectorworks. I'm honored to give and to receive.

-B

[Nedly]

Thank you all, and I concur that Benson's description is very elegant. I am working on his concise directions, but just in case...How does one attach a file to these posts?

Thanks!

[michaelk]

Click on "Switch to Full Reply Screen" below and then click on the File Manager link.

mk

[Nedly]

Thanks!

[Benson Shaw]

After some further thought and offline communication with Nedly, I'm proposing revised workflow. Even after all that proclamation of excellence.

Problem

If the Concrete and Pan profiles are extruded together, cutting the hole results in a solid subtraction with an overall attribute - it’s all one color and cannot be reset to two colors. The source attributes are replaced with the active class attribute. The two source attributes cannot be expressed by editing the new object.

Solution

Extrude the two profiles separately.

Cut the hole through each object as a separate operation.

Cutting can be accomplished with PushPull (Sub Face mode), Solid Subtraction (requires creation of cylinder or other cutting object), Project Tool (Trim mode - requires switch to Top/Plan view), and maybe some other ways.

-B