Jump to content

Curtainwall Tool - Aligning Mullions


cberg

Recommended Posts

The edit curtainwall function is kind of a pain to work with. Does anybody have a good way to make sure that mullions are aligned with reference points in plan?

The videos seem to show most of the editing in 3D, but that makes it tough to align with a grid, or something 2D. It's very easy to make angled mullions, but hard to move them to set points of reference.

For that matter. If I want to add a horizontal mullion at 36" above finish floor, can I just type it in somewhere?

Thx

Link to comment
  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

If its an even spacing grid, you can select all the frames, position the first and last in the intended spots then use Distribute to space them all evenly. There was no functionality included to align objects to a 2D grid or snap grid.

Link to comment

Okay. So I'm not crazy.

I figured out the even distribution thing. It would be very helpful to be able to align mullions or snap to something measured or measurable. I found myself having to eyeball the mullions in plan, and I kind of gave up on trying to figure out the section.

It would also be helpful to be able to duplicate the mullions by a specified distance. You can duplicate by holding down an option key. You can move by a set distance. But it doesn't appear you can do both.

:\

Link to comment

Move by points tool does not appear to move an individual mullion in a curtainwall edit mode, at least on my computer.

If I am in a curtainwall edit mode, and highlight the selected mullion, once I hit the move by points tool, the selection mullion is deselected and the entire wall is selected.

I do see that you can edit the grid manually by hitting the curtainwall grid dialogue box. So theoretically you can enter the dimensions manually.

Link to comment

cberg,

I have been having the same problem with the mullions deselecting when you click the move by tool and actually created a curtain wall system today. My process was to view the model in open gl front view, scroll in so that I have the mullion I want to move and the object I want to snap to on the same screen (door, line, whatever) then to select the curtain wall, then select the edit curtain wall tool, then scroll over the mullion till it turns red, I then roll over and snap to the edge of the mullion while making sure it is still red, click at that point, keep the mouse button down to drag and snap to the desired end point.

Hope that helps!

Link to comment
  • 5 months later...

Has anybody found a workaround for this? Over a year and one new release since I asked about best practices for aligning curtainwall mullions in plan/elevation. It doesn't appear that anything has changed or improved in the tool... In it's current state the curtainwall is pretty limited and practically useless. Paradoxically, the old window wall tool has more functionality.

I struggle with aligning mullions to plan regulating lines, since you cannot move mullions by points or snap to guide lines.

I struggle with how to how to enter the horizontal mullion elevation of a given mullion section.

The curtainwall tool needs to be able to be inserted into a wall, since that is how storefront works in the real world.

Rather than developing "cool things" like point clouds which very few people use, I really wish VW would focus on improving basic things in the program.

Link to comment
  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

Has anybody found a workaround for this? Over a year and one new release since I asked about best practices for aligning curtainwall mullions in plan/elevation. It doesn't appear that anything has changed or improved in the tool...

Could you please link me to your wishlist request? I searched through previous posts and could not find one, apologies if I missed it.

Link to comment

I wasn't entirely sure it was a missing feature or whether I was missing something... How do people align mullions in this tool? Does anybody use it?

How would you set up a curtainwall where the mullions were aligned to the third points of the column line grid?

What if you needed to move or copy a mullion by a given increment?

What if you wanted the elevation of a horizontal set a door height? How would you enter this? or if you wanted a horizontal set at a given elevation?

It does appear that you can do this if you awkwardly hold down a bunch of keys and hit the tab key, but it takes a few tries...

I surely can't be the only person to ask these questions, however.

Link to comment
  • 5 years later...

Has there ever been an update to this? It's maddening! 
Also, IU cannot for the life of me select more than one mullion at a time. Or only rarely and seemingly randomly. In the Edit Curtainwall tool, I select a mullion, hold down the shift key, and it deselects the first when I click the next. I have been having this problem for months.

Link to comment

I use the curtainwall tool a lot to create my windows.  Most of our projects use storefront windows. 

 

What I do is create my curtain wall then group it.  Enter the group and go to a front view of the curtainwall.   In the 3d modelling tool group use the set working plane tool to set the working plane to face of the curtainwall.   Then I draw a horizontal or vertical reference line at the edges of the curtainwall,  offset the lines to the center point of where you want your mullions.  Add or Select a mullion, if you look at mullion there is a plus sign in the center of it, select the mullion at that point then drag it to the reference line.  It will snap to the line.

I also wish that you could just specify the distance of the mullions by clicking on them.  So far though this is the best way I've found to do it.   If someone has a better solution I would love to hear it. 

Also the reason I group the wall is so that I can turn off show other objects while editing it,  and so that I can place it into a window or door opening in a wall. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
  • 1 year later...

Exactly the frustrating problem I was seeking answers for in this "Knowledge Base".  SEVEN years of this question sitting out there not being addressed.  Can't say as I totally understood the grouping method.  My solution to get vertical framing on either side of a 6' door opening is to create a new Wall Style with 6'2" spacing for the verticals and center the wall install where I need the door to be centered.  Oh, but we have Point Cloud and Marionette...Attend to the Basics people...This tool needs an overhaul. Oh, maybe it will be fixed/updated in VW2023? Any bets?

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...