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Screen Plane only (Please!)


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In VW 2016, I pull down the "Screen Plane Only" from the menu, but it keeps changing. I'll be working along when things start going a little crazy, objects don't snap, rectangles and drawn and disappear, etc. I look and notice that the selection has changed to one of the others: "Working Plane only" or "Screen Plane or Working Plane." I do not nor will I ever want to use anything other than Screen Plane Only in Vectorworks. Is there a way to erase the other two options or otherwise lock it in to Screen Plane only? Thanks for any help on this.

MH

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MH, You can lock it on a per document basis under File>Document Settings>Document Preferences on the Plane Mode tab.

Alan, I work almost exclusively in 3d and mostly use Screen Plane only. The snaps are just too unpredictable in 2d views (Front / Side / Back etc.) in any other mode. Until this gets fixed, Layer Plane and Working Plane are really only useful in 3d perspective views.

Kevin

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^

You mean that screen plane only will reliably keep you from accidentally drift in

the third Dimension when snapping in 2D views - even with move by point or

tape measure tool ?

Edit :

That seems to work.

In 100% of cases I want "Screen" Plane mode in Top/Front/Back/Left/Right View.

In 100% of cases I will never ever have a "Screen" Plane in any non planar Views

like Isometrics/Perspektive/Custom Views but Layer or Work Plane.

Where Layer Plane for 2D Elements in 80% means that I want Z-Depth where I

start drawing and 20% only on "optional" Layer Z=0,00

As for snapping problems, could be that Z Depth snap is deactivated in snapping

settings.

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You mean that screen plane only will reliably keep you from accidentally drift in

the third Dimension when snapping in 2D views - even with move by point or

tape measure tool ?

Yes.

In 100% of cases I want "Screen" Plane mode in Top/Front/Back/Left/Right View.

Pretty much in my case. If I'm working in this view I often draw 2d construction lines using 2d tools to lay things out. Then I want to snap between existing 3d geometry and these 2d guides.

Its because VW "Planar Objects" are essentially a workaround (documented in other threads. they used their existing 2d tools and added the ability to assign the geometry to a plane so they could implement it quickly and keep up with the market). VW is also missing 2.5D snapping that many other packages have and does what I need. I would have been much happier if VW had made a full transition away from 2d geometry (i.e.. so lines, rectangles etc. were 3d curves like in Rhino).

My workflow works fine but I'm essentially working around the VW workaround. In other packages (ie. Rhino, C4D) snapping works predictably and as expected.

Kevin

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Then I want to snap between existing 3d geometry and these 2d guides.

Which does not work for me as VW Snap refuses to use mixed 2D/3D intersection points.

Pretty much in my case. If I'm working in this view I often draw 2d construction lines using 2d tools to lay things out.

Its because VW "Planar Objects" are essentially a workaround (documented in other threads. they used their existing 2d tools and added the ability to assign the geometry to a plane so they could implement it quickly and keep up with the market). VW is also missing 2.5D snapping that many other packages have and does what I need. I would have been much happier if VW had made a full transition away from 2d geometry (i.e.. so lines, rectangles etc. were 3d curves like in Rhino).

My workflow works fine but I'm essentially working around the VW workaround. In other packages (ie. Rhino, C4D) snapping works predictably and as expected.

Kevin

++++++1

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Alan, I work exclusively in 3D, but working in 2D is the easiest way to keep things precise. I work pretty much like Kevin, drawing data lines to help me keep things neat. Also, like Kevin, I'm stumped by the inability to snap at ALL intersection points: 2D and 3D "hybrid" snaps, included. Everyone has different ways, I suppose, but Vectorworks's strength for me has always been to work in 3D by carefully limiting one's self to using two dimensions at a time. That doesn't mean I don't use some of the added features. Some of them are great. Since I've been using this app for over 20 years, however, I've gotten picky about which "features" I feel are worthy. Thanks for the tips!

MHBrown

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I wish there could be a setting whereby 2d objects showed up as a different color than 3d objects. Because there is no indication other than the pulldown menu for screen plane/working plane, often times the user inadvertently builds in the wrong plane.

If users felt comfortable as to what plane they were in 100% of the time, then they would manage the transition between 2d and 3d much better.

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I wish there could be a setting whereby 2d objects showed up as a different color than 3d objects. Because there is no indication other than the pulldown menu for screen plane/working plane, often times the user inadvertently builds in the wrong plane.

If users felt comfortable as to what plane they were in 100% of the time, then they would manage the transition between 2d and 3d much better.

Another reason why I have my drop to Screen Plane only unless I intentionally set it to something else. (I wish there was a setting for Screen Plane unless I choose an Automatic Working Plane. I think using Screen Plane and being able to select/release an Automatic Working Plane on the fly would be my ideal.)

KM

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Regardless of how I set my preferences, it still switches from Screen Plane into other planes without my doing anything. This is looking like a bug since the Document Prefs clearly says "Screen Plane Only," yet it changes anyway. I sometimes glance to the info palette and it will say 3D instead of Screen. Then I know I'm in trouble.

I think the poor snapping of VW2016

is partially attributable to this, but it's hard to say for sure.

MHBrown

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  • 2 weeks later...

Same issue here..randomly switching over to layer plane when I need to keep text objects in screen plane.

The ability to set a class to conform to a particular plane would be nice.

Half the time I'm copying text around I find it has switched to become layer plane and becomes mirrored after flipping a plan. I then need to use the select similar tool to select all the text and change the plane, in object info, to screen plan to prevent the text from printing mirrored/as a 3D object.

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rDesign, this is a bug that occurs whenever you edit a crop in a viewport. You have to toggle the preference back to "Screen plane only" whenever you edit a crop. Already reported as a bug, and there may be other operations that cause this.

Alan, I've been doing 3d in VW for 25 years, and I NEVER use layer plane objects. Never saw the need for them, given that we can create 3d polys that are much more versatile, except for not being able to show 2d graphical qualities. I can't foresee ever needing that. Screen objects are much more useful, given that they are aligned to the screen regardless of your point of view, and as I've pointed out before, screen plane 2d objects are part of the original unique genius of VW when it was MiniCAD.

Edited by P Retondo
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rDesign, this is a bug that occurs whenever you edit a crop in a viewport. You have to toggle the preference back to "Screen plane only" whenever you edit a crop. Already reported as a bug, and there may be other operations that cause this.

P Retondo: thanks for clarifying this as I did not know about this bug. I'm glad to hear that it's not just me.

All of this layer -vs- screen confusion just leaves us with uncertainty about correct object snapping. Hopefully Vw gets it sorted out.

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  • 2 months later...

Thanks, Alan, but it doesn't make curved solids, as the wall tool does (the curved wall tool). My request is a basic, basic tool that has never been added. I make curved solids all the time. There are clumsy workarounds that I use, but a tool that can make linked curved and straight "double line" solids is way overdue. I'm unimpressed with the unnecessary features that bloat VW and other software while fundamental tools are ignored. Oh, well, I'll keep asking. It took a couple of years to have a "distribute objects" button added to the align feature way back when.

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So you're wanting a double-line polyline tool..... +1 for that.

(Its not clear to me why the 2d polygon and 2d polyline tools aren't merged. Frankly they could be merged with the NURBS curve tool as well since they're just curves with either a degree of 1 or 2. The double-line polygon and a new double line polyline-tool could be merged as well.)

KM

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MH,

These shapes have been created with the 2d polygon tool, extruded and used the 3D deform tool only.

This can give you a lot of scope with curved shapes.I know its not as good as 3D max or other 3D programs but this is probably the simplest way to make these shapes in VW.

Each were created by the same double polygon parallel line.

Deform tool is great for doing curved door and drawer fronts.

HTH

Edited by Alan Woodwell
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  • 1 year later...

OK everybody. I am still on the case with this one and have just re contacted VW UK about it. The reason I do not want VW opening in layer plane as a default is because you don't notice or dont notice when it switches from screen to layer and end up having eg 2d lines and dimensions created as layer plane or 3d plane objects. It clogs the files up when you are doing 2d detailing work. It's quite annoying! What I have discovered in the last week is that if I open VW (even if I open our template) it opens in Layer plane.( I dont remember it always doing this btw. ) If i go to File/document settings & preferences/Plane mode and switching to screen plane it maintains the file/ top plan/ revert to screen plane: If I spin a model it will revert to layer, but revert back to screen in top plan. Phew, Yay!

BUT if you do this from the command below it is less stable and still switches…..bizarre as it’s the same command!

image.thumb.png.ba191ec8811873312af5a372c5707f54.png

 

I would be interested if anyone else has the same experience. There are quite a few discussions on this topic I think

 

Cheers

David

 

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