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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee
What type of objects can be converted into Sub-D objects?

just wondering if you could convert then use the Sub-D tool as an interactive 3D scale tool?

For the most impending update I believe it will allow 3D objects made up of flat surfaces or properly triangulated meshes (youll be able to subdiv and modify those meshes you get when you import sketchup and other 3d formats) and the makeup of the object you converted will make up the new cage of the subdivision object.

But YES this would effectively give you symmetric, asymmetric and more advanced types of scaling that you couldn't previously do with the Scale command.

You will also be able to stitch multiple subdivisions together so that you can make a complex shape without having to manage the WHOLE subdiv cage which can be visually confusing at best.

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The crazy level of engineering hiring we have been doing is starting to bear fruit.

Please please please, can you try and make sure a portion of those engineers are working on making existing VW features work properly, before they are let loose on new features.

And actually properly try to understand how architects work once designing anything beyond a 1:50 level of detail, and recognise what the limitations of 3D modelling are when you get to this stage, and design something that lets us use 3D more but also takes these practical realities into account.

It's rather less glamorous work for the software developers, perhaps, but it's the stuff that actually makes a really big difference for those of us trying to use VW for messy, real world projects on a daily basis.

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee
The crazy level of engineering hiring we have been doing is starting to bear fruit.

Please please please, can you try and make sure a portion of those engineers are working on making existing VW features work properly, before they are let loose on new features.

And actually properly try to understand how architects work once designing anything beyond a 1:50 level of detail, and recognise what the limitations of 3D modelling are when you get to this stage, and design something that lets us use 3D more but also takes these practical realities into account.

It's rather less glamorous work for the software developers, perhaps, but it's the stuff that actually makes a really big difference for those of us trying to use VW for messy, real world projects on a daily basis.

A lot of the newer engineers are being assigned to the flashy new stuff intentionally to give the more season ones time to work on their own tools. A lot of things are getting serious attention, but yeah the "reengineering" tasks rarely get so much fanfare in our marketing material.

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Resource Manager! Bye bye Resource Browser.

-Drag/drop organization

- Expanded, large working area for easy visibility

-Easy subfolder views

-Full library search as well as searching within a single library with results that appear as you type.

- Direct access to online libraries as well as your locally stored libraries.

- All resource types can be organized into folders.

- Larger preview thumbnail with direct control of the previews rendering mode.

This is good news - the resource browser is one of my most hated parts of the VW interface!

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Please please please, ....

Oh, I'm not the only one.

Something is holding me from getting excited about shiny new features as long

as I have to fight with the legacy stuff.

A lot of the newer engineers are being assigned to the flashy new stuff intentionally to give the more season ones time to work on their own tools.

That makes me a little afraid that quite an amount of older issues will stay.

I had done it completely the opposite way.

Giving newer engineers with new ideas the older tools to completely revamp and

free the more season ones from the same work, they have done over and over

for 30 years, for motivation.

EDIT:

No, I think mixing new with experienced would be better.

2D graphics speed was not at the top of my list as I had no problems but welcome though,

(EDIT: Now I remeber ...., yes 2D Display speed is an important feature)

same for SubD improvements which may make me finally use them.

My clear Highlight so far is of course the Ressource Browser with Tree and Preview.

Not my biggest, but a very important issue finally adressed.

But still very excited about those smaller changes, not worth being presented, that may

be leaked in the future.

Edited by zoomer
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Is there some way we could have a thread, or wiki, or something, where we could try and make a list of relatively basic things that don't work at the moment, or alternatively, seem to be designed to work in a way that doesn't reflect how people actually want to use them?

While it's really good to hear that some investment is being put into the development of the software, and that this includes for looking at improving older functions as well as introducing new ones, it's also really important that the people working on that actually know what it is that doesn't work and why.

This implies no disrespect to the people working on this stuff - I can't begin to imagine how complicated it is to keep something like VW running amidst continual changes. It's also natural that if your main job is developing software then you don't necessarily see how that software actually gets used "in the wild".

Maybe this already happens, but they should be working and communicating with a range of people who use the software in their daily work. Not, say, just with people who have transitioned from mainly doing architects to maily doing CAD consultancy. And with a proper cross section of the user base. So not just people who design newbuild office complexes or traditional style private houses in the US countryside, but people that do small projects and highly bespoke projects and projects involving old buildings and projects on awkward urban sites and so on and so on.

And also VW users who aren't inclined to hang about and comment on forums!

The plan for the "analytics" sounds interesting. If I understand correctly this is a way of recording how people actually use VW. I'd put some money on people at VW HQ being surprised to see how many of their users spend most of their time dealing with basic lines and polygons and have never even used the stair tool, say.

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee
Is there some way we could have a thread, or wiki, or something, where we could try and make a list of relatively basic things that don't work at the moment, or alternatively, seem to be designed to work in a way that doesn't reflect how people actually want to use them?

While it's really good to hear that some investment is being put into the development of the software, and that this includes for looking at improving older functions as well as introducing new ones, it's also really important that the people working on that actually know what it is that doesn't work and why.

This implies no disrespect to the people working on this stuff - I can't begin to imagine how complicated it is to keep something like VW running amidst continual changes. It's also natural that if your main job is developing software then you don't necessarily see how that software actually gets used "in the wild".

Maybe this already happens, but they should be working and communicating with a range of people who use the software in their daily work. Not, say, just with people who have transitioned from mainly doing architects to maily doing CAD consultancy. And with a proper cross section of the user base. So not just people who design newbuild office complexes or traditional style private houses in the US countryside, but people that do small projects and highly bespoke projects and projects involving old buildings and projects on awkward urban sites and so on and so on.

And also VW users who aren't inclined to hang about and comment on forums!

The plan for the "analytics" sounds interesting. If I understand correctly this is a way of recording how people actually use VW. I'd put some money on people at VW HQ being surprised to see how many of their users spend most of their time dealing with basic lines and polygons and have never even used the stair tool, say.

Yes, that is exactly what the wishlist forum is for.

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Yes, that is exactly what the wishlist forum is for.

Sure - I just think it might help to try and gather together, say, a "top ten" of basic things that don't work properly, that a lot of people have problems with. The way the wishlist forum is set up, issues like this tend to end up as things that are mentioned in bits of discussions here and there.

But maybe I should just start a thread for this purpose.

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"Yes, that is exactly what the wishlist forum is for."

Jim,I respectfully, by very strongly, disagree. The wishlist forum has not over time been an effective way of addressing the multitude of dis-functional quirks that populate Vectorworks.

I really do love Vectorworks, and I work in and with 3D modeling from the beginning to end of my projects.

My frustration, however, has grown in the last few years when I continue encounter time wasting quirks that I and others posted on the wishlist forum (or discussed with tech) years ago...while flashy new (but incompletely implemented or documented) features are added and touted.

Edited by J Lucas
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For the most impending update I believe it will allow 3D objects made up of flat surfaces or properly triangulated meshes (youll be able to subdiv and modify those meshes you get when you import sketchup and other 3d formats) and the makeup of the object you converted will make up the new cage of the subdivision object.

Jim, bear in mind that if you use SketchUp or other imported object and use the Sub-D on them that it will break the link between the object and the uv map. VW has this as an imported texture type so although you will be able to manipulate the mesh it may not be practical to do so

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I think the wishlist could work better if users would use always the search function

before starting a new post (me included). That could keep the topics together and

make the importance, interest or priority better readable.

Of course a hierarchy tree would make search and finding easier.

On the other hand I don't think information gets lost in the wishlist.

I'm sure Jim sorts every request, including recaps, into the corresponding developer

threads of every tool and part of VW. So everything is already there.

At the end it just needs someone interested in reading and willing to fix these things.

If there is any discrepancy about importance and priority between VW and

users, even a nice Wiki would not help.

I really like to have one though. (semi public for registered users)

That would clean up the forum for those that simply need help or answered their

questions how to do things in VW and make it look more positive for public.

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Is there some way we could have a thread, or wiki, or something, where we could try and make a list of relatively basic things that don't work at the moment, or alternatively, seem to be designed to work in a way that doesn't reflect how people actually want to use them?

Take a look at the Needle and Mortar wiki. It is completely separate from these Vw user forums but it exists for the very purpose.

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Is there some way we could have a thread, or wiki, or something, where we could try and make a list of relatively basic things that don't work at the moment, or alternatively, seem to be designed to work in a way that doesn't reflect how people actually want to use them?

Take a look at the Needle and Mortar wiki. It is completely separate from these Vw user forums but it exists for the very purpose.

Yes...I looked at that a while ago but wasn't sure if it was still current or how to contribute to it.

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee
"Yes, that is exactly what the wishlist forum is for."

Jim,I respectfully, by very strongly, disagree. The wishlist forum has not over time been an effective way of addressing the multitude of dis-functional quirks that populate Vectorworks.

I really do love Vectorworks, and I work in and with 3D modeling from the beginning to end of my projects.

My frustration, however, has grown in the last few years when I continue encounter time wasting quirks that I and others posted on the wishlist forum (or discussed with tech) years ago...while flashy new (but incompletely implemented or documented) features are added and touted.

I'm sorry you feel that way, I can not force development decisions. This is why I am working on a forum upgrade that allows user voting to make the most prevalent issues the most obvious.

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