Window/door schedules using Worksheets & Image Function

[Christiaan]

Has anybody been using the Worksheets + Image Function to create their window/door schedules in medium to large projects?

How is it working out for you? How, for instance, are you dealing with the limited space on a sheet to show a window type on each row of a Worksheet?

[Ozzie]

Sorry I just could not resist so here are some tips:

1. Make sure the images you use in your Worksheets have a high dpi

2. Put an extra row on the bottom of each Worksheet saying something like:

"Best viewed on a Retina Ready Mac" - could also help with your feelings of well being and needing to spread the Mac Vision

3. And another row under it saying "And be prepared to zoom right in to view Windows and Doors"

4. Sorry; but another row with - "Hey if you print this and wish to look at the piccies of the Windows and Doors in this Table ( I find lots out there just do not get the Worksheet thing) prior we suggest buying a really powerful magnifying glass

5. Finally maybe also another row with:

Warning do not use magnifying glass on a hot day with the sun behind it

[Benson Shaw]

LOL

(and a row for have your eyes examined)

-B

[AlanW]

When you place it in a viewport you can scale it up to whatever/ Also you can print it on an A4 sheet as a document.

HTH

PS you can also change the image size by editing the spreadsheet and edit cells and in the image section you can rescale the image and in this one I set the image to be 1:500 from a 1:100 original drawing.

Need to format the print area so it all prints on 1 page width.

Edited April 25, 2015 by Alan Woodwell

[Christiaan]

Here's my problem. Manually drawn (actually viewport elevations of each window) on the left. Automated schedule on the right. On an A1 sheet.

Perhaps an A4 booklet is the way to go then?

[AlanW]

you can click on each window and go AEC and create windoor Elevation and it will create an elevation that you can put in a row and then dimension them, or you can crop viewports of the windows and place them in a row that way they will always be the actual windows. but this is what you are doing, are they manually drawn of form the 3D model?

Must be a better way but at least you don't have to draw them again.

We normally have them like you show on a sheet.

Edited April 28, 2015 by Alan Woodwell

[Christiaan]

you can click on each window and go AEC and create windoor Elevation and it will create an elevation that you can put in a row and then dimension them

really don't like this method because it simply creates a group of static lines that you then have to regenerate for any window you change along the way.

or you can crop viewports of the windows and place them in a row that way they will always be the actual windows. but this is what you are doing, are they manually drawn of form the 3D model?

Yes this is what I've done (section viewports for each window), although it's turned out to be a pain in this instance because we ended up rotating the model. It's also still mostly a manual process. We need a fully automated process.

We normally have them like you show on a sheet.

This is what our contractors prefer too. They prefer to sit down and to look at one sheet rather than flipping through multiple A4 sheets.

This part of Vectorworks could really do with being driven more by architect's needs and less by programming compromises.

[AlanW]

Agreed. Need on the wish list Please.

[John Meunier]

I have found a hybrid system works well. But it really depends on your work flow. I have attached an example of how we do our schedule. The attached example was for a townhouse project, similar ones for apartments.

The file titled "Window/Door Schedule v2015.zip.vwx" is a zip archive, just delete the .vwx from the end then unpack the file. The .vwx file is approx. 5.8mb.

Don't know why, but you can't upload compressed files with the file manager, this was my work around.

[AlanW]

That's a nice trick to know the export zip file!

When I open this it all seems to be drawn rather than coming straight from a VW generated file like records create window schedule.

What you have drawn is the way we do it at our office but I think we are asking VW to re work the system to allow us to generate what you have show with a little more automation.

Nice work though.

Edited April 29, 2015 by Alan Woodwell

[John Meunier]

Yes it is drawn manually , its fairly quick because we select the wall with the windows in plan, change to a front view and convert to lines, it renders the 2D front version. We then dimension it up.

We have also done it in the past were the windows are in plan and a VP is created on the sheet for hidden line renderings of the front view, all notes are then on the sheet in annotations. This works well if you think there are changes to the window design.

[John Meunier]

Yes it is drawn manually , its fairly quick because we select the wall with the windows in plan, change to a front view and convert to lines, it renders the 2D front version. We then dimension it up.

We have also done it in the past were the windows are in plan and a VP is created on the sheet for hidden line renderings of the front view, all notes are then on the sheet in annotations. This works well if you think there are changes to the window design.

[VincentCuclair]

I find that the most effective/automated and controllable way to do it in the end is to create symbols of all window/door types in the project, create an empty new Layer and put one of each type there in a long row or in a long wall.

Then create a viewport for Top/plan on a sheet, crop so it fits, duplicate and set view to front with hidden line, and annotate.

This way any information specific to that object or any change on the door/windows will reflect in the schedule symbols and the table. (unfortunately dimensioning isn't auto in hidden line front views.....

Unfortunately worksheets can't be created with a horizontal layout (this I have wished for MANY times) so I resolve it with a readable table instead, this is not really according to local building standards but still quite readable/understandable and least prone to error.

Don't forget to exlude the window/door layer from the count btw!

Edited April 30, 2015 by Vincent C

[Christiaan]

Yeah that's a nice method Vincent.

Here're a couple of examples of things I've tried. The door schedule is a similar John's hybrid method.

The window schedule is one I'm working on now. It's made of Section Viewports of each window in the model. The difference from previous schedules I've done (using the method you mentioned) is that I've sacrificed grouping the windows into types for automated numbering.

The reality is, for this sort of thing, we shouldn't need to do anything manually. This should all be a one button process.

[gester]

thanks guys for useful tips, a really great forum

i think the way is to improve the schedules' imaging, all manual actions are counterproductive.

christiaan, are the bottom parts of w04 and w09 not fixed?

rob

Edited May 3, 2015 by gester

[Christiaan]

Ha, yes thanks Robert!

[VincentCuclair]

christiaan, are the bottom parts of w04 and w09 not fixed?

See, now that wouldn't have been missed if window/door schedules were more automated...... :grin:

[Christiaan]

exactly my thoughts