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Vectorworks 2016


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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee
Vectorworks doesn't play well with multiple displays even with adequate graphics hardware, especially at resolutions higher than 2K

Is there a reason why VW doesn't like multiple displays?

I certainly don't believe it's intentional, but from what I understand it has to do with the palette system which is on track for upgrades, but no specifics are available yet.

Could this be why the fan on my MacBook Pro runs all the time whenever I use VW?

That's happening because Vectorworks is accessing your dedicated GPU, which on most modern MacBooks will kick the fan on right away, even if its not working it extremely hard, which Vectorworks often is.

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

While it is still a Subdivision object, the texture mapping is limited to automatic and you can not adjust it, mainly because the "shape" of the object is completely fluid until editing is over. If you convert the object to a solid though, you get all the separate mapping option types and attribute mapping tool control.

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thanks.

Is there any chance in 2016 that the SketchUp texture map can be exposed?

It currently sits in the background and works great especially when scaling the SU object but it is not editable (we can't see it). To be able to edit this map would be great.

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Jim-

Once you convert a Subdivision object to a solid in order to have better texture mapping control, do you lose the ability to make any further subdivision modifications?

If so, it seems like UV mapping (as previously wishlisted in other threads) would be a worthwhile addition to the Subdivision object (and VW in general)..

Additionally, can you 'control' Subdivision objects with Marionette?

Thanks-

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

Once you convert a Subdivision object to a solid in order to have better texture mapping control, do you lose the ability to make any further subdivision modifications?

Yes. The INSTANT I saw Subdivision objects for the first time I immediately submitted a request for conversion from generic solids back to subdivisions. ;)

If so, it seems like UV mapping (as previously wishlisted in other threads) would be a worthwhile addition to the Subdivision object (and VW in general)..

I agree, rather than trying to add a new method just for Subdivision objects, an overall texturing solution that works on all kinds of 3D objects would be preferable.

Additionally, can you 'control' Subdivision objects with Marionette?

I am not sure, I checked through Marionette's components and I don't see mention to it, (I am not versed in anything related to scripting yet at ALL) but I will ask someone better qualified to give a clear answer and get back to you.

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Project Sharing:

As you said - it is a little hard to follow. At first I thought it was just a comment system - but on rewatch it seems to suggest the long awaited - 1 project -> 1 master file system.

Is that what I am seeing? If so - that's no bling - that is a fundamental organizational shift in how the software works and a complete rework on how projects are managed.

Can you share any narrative that will shed some light on what is going on in that video?

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Hi Jim,

In addition to Tom's query regarding project sharing, whilst it seems to have considered the most important requirements of sharing, it looks rather complicated for the average user.

-Could there be different levels of sharing for different sized projects?

-What considerations have been given to sharing remotely, and file size?

Thanks.

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

Project Sharing:

As you said - it is a little hard to follow. At first I thought it was just a comment system - but on rewatch it seems to suggest the long awaited - 1 project -> 1 master file system.

Is that what I am seeing? If so - that's no bling - that is a fundamental organizational shift in how the software works and a complete rework on how projects are managed.

YUP! One file is all you need to manage, double clicking that file will open the prompt letting you select what portions of the document you are going to be editing and lets you add a comment about what you intend to do with those portions that all other users will be able to see, as well as track in a change history log.

The demo shows 3 users other than the documents creator logging into the file and starting out all as Read Only (The default state set for that file, but you could set the defaults to let everyone read/write/change anything, if you wanted, the defaults are controllable per-file so you choose the security level that you want.) then the Administrator user sets the permissions for each of their coworkers, depending on what they need to do.

It'll then show you a list of users that have touched that file, even if they have just double clicked it to access it and hit the read-only wall, and then the administrator can alter each of their permissions individually or by groups.

Project Sharing determines who you are by your OS login, so users will HAVE to use proper logins on their network, can't be used in a setting where everyone is "User" with the password "Password" or something like that.

Once they have their permissions, the other users work on their portions, then save/submit changes, which then get pushed to the file. If they didn't commit the changes, nothing would change in the file. Upon committing changes, you also receive any updates of the file that were done since the last time you opened or committed.

In addition to Tom's query regarding project sharing, whilst it seems to have considered the most important requirements of sharing, it looks rather complicated for the average user.

-Could there be different levels of sharing for different sized projects?

-What considerations have been given to sharing remotely, and file size?

We didn't want to go halfway in the feature set on this one, so yes it CAN get complicated, but this is mainly because of the example showing a handful of users all descending upon the file at once. You could set this up just for 2 or 3 users with everyone having access to everything, and rely on personal discipline instead of the permission system in a tight knit office if that's preferable, while still getting the simplicity of one file and seeing others changes on the fly.

Sharing remotely should be no issue for a setup like a VPN, but for now users MUST be on the same logical -if not physical- network in order to use Project Sharing.

Delayed-update file sharing utilities like iCloud, OneDrive, Google Drive or DropBox would not work with this, as they could cause you to get out of sync with the original because of their own sync schedules. We would need to directly implement APIs in order to support things like DropBox and Drive sharing, which may occur in the future.

As for file size, only what is changed is passed over the network, not the entire file each and every time, unless the entire file had changed since the last commit.

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

Also important to note, in order to not disrupt current workflows; Project Sharing does NOT replace Workgroup Referencing, which can still be maintained and used. You can use whichever system you like or if you want to get even more intricate, a combination of both.

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

The file is unaffected other than at the time of commits. If you had autosave going but weren't committing those changes (Theyre still working on if autosave will also be "autocommit" or not, or an option) then any changes made since the last commit would be lost.

One user crashing can never damage the file itself. They've been testing trying to interrupt the network connection during the commit as well, and it seems solid. Connecting to the network again lets the user re-commit and the changes then appear in the file as expected, and even then, thats a pretty rare circumstance in most work environments.

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Jim,

Following up from Tim's post (and your reply), BREEAM is not the UK Government approved tool for demonstrating compliance with the Building Regulations - The UK tool for domestic buildings is SAP and for non-domestic it is SBEM, neither of which are mentioned anywhere.

BREEAM, although a very good tool will not tell you whether your design complies with the relevant regulations (neither does Passivhaus - for the UK anyway).

Can you expand what you mean by the compliance presets?

If ENERGOS is meant to give an idea how energy efficient a building is, it has to be against a benchmark that is recognised. For the UK that is SAP for domestic and SBEM for non-domestic.

Interesting what you are saying about the xml files - Will the energy model be able to export the xml data in an approved format (my energy design program imports from an xml file).

Kevin.

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee
Jim,

Following up from Tim's post (and your reply), BREEAM is not the UK Government approved tool for demonstrating compliance with the Building Regulations - The UK tool for domestic buildings is SAP and for non-domestic it is SBEM, neither of which are mentioned anywhere.

BREEAM, although a very good tool will not tell you whether your design complies with the relevant regulations (neither does Passivhaus - for the UK anyway).

Can you expand what you mean by the compliance presets?

If ENERGOS is meant to give an idea how energy efficient a building is, it has to be against a benchmark that is recognised. For the UK that is SAP for domestic and SBEM for non-domestic.

Interesting what you are saying about the xml files - Will the energy model be able to export the xml data in an approved format (my energy design program imports from an xml file).

The XML files I was referring to was what controls the standards that Energos will be benchmarking against. Energos does not export XMLs that I am aware of in the same fashion as a full energy design program. This tool is more intended as a reference to use for a preflight check before the model is moved into a dedicated energy design package.

Specifically whether those standards will be added by us or not, I don't have details on yet. However, the intent is that users be able to add their own standards compliance sets from what I have seen so far, and apparently adding more standards to the default list will not be difficult in the future.

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

As a side note: I want to blab about everything. I really do... BUT:

The MAIN reason features aren't discussed early is because of the fluid nature of development right up until release. There may still be features confirmed or dropped from the list right up until about a month before release in some cases, regardless of "feature freeze" dates. Anyone who has worked in anything related to software development can attest to the seeming random nature of these changes.

The features in the start of this thread are guaranteed to be in the Vectorworks 2016 release, all other features on my little list here currently may meet a different fate depending upon development progress and time constraints. (Though there are plenty other large and awesome features, rest assured.)

Ask any questions you like, by no means do I want users to keep their thoughts to themselves, but I don't want to make any promises I can't keep if at all possible. The world has enough of that. ;)

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Jim-

Since Rhino's 'Grasshopper' has been around awhile there are plenty of examples and tutorials for how to use it.

Short of being able to import a Grasshopper .gh file (which would be great...) would we be able to manually replicate any example Grasshopper scripting steps in Marionette to achieve similar results?

Thanks.

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

I know Grasshopper was used as a competitive comparison item during the creation of Marionette, but I do not know how comparable the two are. I have not used Grasshopper personally and I don't know if skills learned in one would translate to the other.

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