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VW for the iPad


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where are we with this? just down loaded "TouchDraw" & "iDraw" for the iPad.

both are well organized

iDraw seems more for the arsty crowd

TouchDraw if geared for technical

both apps have some missing items that i would consider as basic

was not looking for wall, window & stair tools etc in an iPad app but just something that other members on the team can lay things out w/ symbols i provide.

just 2d work. I'm getting a lot of sketches on graph paper and want to say "get this app and email me the file"

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

They're working on things similar to that in Vectorworks Nomad. The problem is that iPads, Android tablets (and until very recently, the Surface Pro series) are nowhere near powerful enough to just port Vectorworks to them directly, so if we wanted some kind of drawing app it has to be made from scratch.

They're starting with markup and notation with an eye toward seeing the kind of reception the ability to actually draw Vectorworks objects via a tablet would get.

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ok, i think we need to stay away from VW for the iPad in the sense that its the whole program. i use 2 monitors as it is just to be able to keep up with the program and would not think it would be wise to have the whole program on the iPad.

the thought was is to have a simple 2d cad similar to "TouchDraw" (or contact him for fine tuning of his app) that would allow team members who are not cad savvy, nor do they want to be, a way of using symbols and templates that i set up so they can convey their ideas to other team members.

symbols created in VW would be read in "TouchDraw" etc

it has to be a simple app

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

Oh yeah you'd never be able to cram all of Vectorworks into a touch interface, it really just wasn't designed for it. The key idea is to have an app that will allow you to work ON Vectorworks files, or be able to push changes and notes to VWX files, but it will always be its own app.

(I can't speak to the partnering with other app developers directly, its way outside my paygrade, but I will pass this info and TouchDraw onto the dev team.)

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

What other kinds of things would be useful to have your clients or coworkers be able to do?

Maybe taking pictures of existing construction and have those as some kind of reference? If you haven't seen "MagicPlan" (iOS and Android now I believe) give it a look too. It lets anyone take pictures of an existing room or building with a UI that creates a simple floorplan directly, with no actual drawing required, just a bit of auditing when the software doesn't guess correctly.

This seems like it would be extremely useful as a starting point.

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  • 1 year later...

magicplan is great, but we're talking about a full-fledged bim app for the ios. and ipad pro is already strong enough to handle it, right?

the only issue is the completely different cursor pointer situation for a mouse and for the pencil or a finger.

Edited by gester
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I know this is an old thread that got revived, but I'll add my 2 cents.

What I always hoped for in an iPad version of Vectorworks was simply the ability to open the file and view it, better than I could with a PDF. The ability to turn layers and classes on and off, along with saved views, would be a must.

And a spectacular feature would be to edit information on symbols (record formats or other OIP info), place symbols already in the file, and add text for notes. Actual drawing, or placing walls, windows, etc, is far beyond what I think a mobile version would be capable of.

But i'm not sure what even that simplicity would require. I used to use an app called AutoCAD 360, and would export my Vectorworks drawings to DWG, then open them in that to view them. Worked OK.

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There is a utility you can get for the iPad from Bosch. This utility connects to their measuring device, and you can use it to draw plans and export them to Vectorworks. Unfortunately, this doesn't answer your question, as this utility only exports in PDF. I did look at this utility in my manual for alterations and additions

http://learn.archoncad.com/2016/03/27497/sst_1603-alterations-and-additions/

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What would be great for an iPad is a VW utility that could take measurements from a bluetooth EDM in the field and convert it to plan geometry in a .vwx file.

What you're requesting sounds like the Room Planner from Chief Architect app for specific Leica LDMs via Bluetooth.

Again, not what you're asking for, but there is the OrthoGraph app (iOS / Android) which will export DXF or IFC files. It's not cheap, though.

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iPad should never be more than a viewer for Vectorworks. The screen-space issue alone is a show-stopper. Add in the lack of pointing devices, lack of CPU/GPU/RAM, for doing additions/edits/deletions to objects & settings it's a non-starter.

There is however a great need & future for iPad as a viewer & possibly even annotator of either native or iPad-specific-format VW files.

Edited by Gilbert Osmond
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iPad should never be more than a viewer for Vectorworks. The screen-space issue alone is a show-stopper. Add in the lack of pointing devices, lack of CPU/GPU/RAM, it's a non-starter.

There is however a great need & future for iPad as a viewer & possibly even annotator of either native or iPad-specific-format VW files.

I agree completely, a perfect example of the required functionality and navigation capabilities can be found in ArchiCAD's BIMx app:

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iPad should never be more than a viewer for Vectorworks. The screen-space issue alone is a show-stopper. Add in the lack of pointing devices, lack of CPU/GPU/RAM, for doing additions/edits/deletions to objects & settings it's a non-starter.

There is however a great need & future for iPad as a viewer & possibly even annotator of either native or iPad-specific-format VW files.

I think a viewer with ability to turn on and off classes and layers, and call up saved views would be a fantastic start. But, I'd still love to be able to edit the information in record formats and the OIP. Being able to move a symbol, such as a lighting fixture on a spotlight lighting plot would be fantastic.

But drawing tools are certainly out of the question.

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