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Reliability of VW2017 - share your experiences


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I haven't yet updated to VW2017, waiting to hear how it's working for others. If you're using VW2017 already please share:

Did the installation / upgrade go smoothly?

How is it working w/ your v2016 and/or earlier files?

Does VW2017 seem stable enough to trust your workflow to?

I did already see the separate thread on Renderworks changes & related issues in VW2017. No need to recapitulate that here.

Thanks!

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EDIT: Whoops, I don't know how this was posted under "Buying & Selling LIcenses". I had meant this post to go in the General forum.  Mods, if you see this please consider moving this entire thread to the main / general VW forum. Thanks.

Edited by Gilbert Osmond
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Installation was smooth.
Workgroup Folder conversion went well, but I excluded Workspace conversion.
Will do that manually from scratch as my 2016 custom Workspace was somehow ... strange.

Project conversion, so far :
- Renderings will look again different > changes in Specular Channel.
- Slabs changed, > new features

Stability :
Quite strange, no crash at all so far

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1 hour ago, Gilbert Osmond said:

I haven't yet updated to VW2017, waiting to hear how it's working for others. If you're using VW2017 already please share:

Did the installation / upgrade go smoothly?

How is it working w/ your v2016 and/or earlier files?

Does VW2017 seem stable enough to trust your workflow to?

I did already see the separate thread on Renderworks changes & related issues in VW2017. No need to recapitulate that here.

Thanks!

Installation was easy. I didn't use the Migration Assistant and rebuilt my workspace from one that shipped with v2017 however. No trouble with v2016 files that I've seen. No crashes so far (in use since Tuesday evening). Its definitely more nimble... rotating into 3D from top/plan using the flyover tool doesn't have delays like it did in v2016. Two favourite unsung changes - all drawing numbers for SLVP can be edited via the OIP now / updated UI for Data Tab of the OIP.

Kevin

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42 minutes ago, Kevin McAllister said:

Two favourite unsung changes - all drawing numbers for SLVP can be edited via the OIP now / updated UI for Data Tab of the OIP.

Thanks for your all's replies so far. Is there a published *complete* list of all the little "Easter Egg" improvements that have been made?

For example in another post someone mentioned that the Property Line tool underwent extensive renovation & improvements. It'd be great to see a complete list of every  improvement in all the user-facing areas of Vectorworks. If JimW has access to such maybe he can post it somewhere?

Such a list would help people find the little goodies that may help their personal workflow a lot, which they otherwise might not run into for weeks, months, or longer.

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EDIT: Here's a complete list of new & improved features in VW2017

Edited by Gilbert Osmond
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17 minutes ago, zoomer said:

Install 2017 in any case.

The complete what's new is in the online help. Very interesting. Jim linked it somwhere.

Thanks, here's a comprehensive list of new features & improvements, big & small, in VW 2017. (From the online help.)

I used to be an early-adopter of everything but with age & a little patience I've seen there's really not much percentage in it for me. If a lot more people post positive experiences I may hop aboard but proably I'll just wait for SP1.

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I've just started playing with VW 2017 Landmark. My observations on a few files which I converted from VW 2016 files are, that they are more stable and run better. I was having some issues with two files, trouble selecting plant list worksheets in the design layer as well as some video issues (lossing color fill). So far these issues have disappeared. It should be noted that I had to upgrade my OS from OSX 10.9.5 to 10.11.6. Also what about that resource manager? What a feature. Really pleased so far, I think at this point this is the best upgrade I've witnessed.

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23 hours ago, Gilbert Osmond said:

EDIT: Whoops, I don't know how this was posted under "Buying & Selling LIcenses". I had meant this post to go in the General forum.  Mods, if you see this please consider moving this entire thread to the main / general VW forum. Thanks.

@JimW- can you move this thread to the 'General Discussions' forum? Thanks.

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My experience hasn't been quite as positive. Stability is much better and the programme seems to be "snappier", particularly the 3d wireframe and Open GL which is great. Sheet layers are still as cumbersome as ever though which is a big disappointment.

The Spotlight Instrument Plug-in has seen some small and very welcome improvements in terms of reporting angles and ESP Vision compatibility , but there are bugs now where none existed regarding XY rotation of symbols and also how the Spotlight plug-in responds to classes. Some new tools have been added which are welcome additions.

The big worry from the outset was that one triggered an instant crash when changing any object's layer. This was due to a plugin being corrupted for some users on installation and has been fixed for me by tech support - but all this has left me very wary. This is because (as with plug-in bugs/changes) that drawings created in 2016 and opened in 2017 now show geometry differently. In my case its the Spotlight Instrument.

I have carefully looked through the list that JimW provided of the changes made to VW 2017, but I wonder if there is a more detailed list of changes that show all the more subtle tweaks? It would be good to see what has changed so that there are no surprises down the line, particularly when I start to create new projects with the software. 

Mark

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4 hours ago, markdd said:

The big worry from the outset was that one triggered an instant crash when changing any object's layer. This was due to a plugin being corrupted for some users on installation and has been fixed for me by tech support - but all this has left me very wary. This is because (as with plug-in bugs/changes) that drawings created in 2016 and opened in 2017 now show geometry differently. In my case its the Spotlight Instrument.

Mark,

What was the fix for this? I submitted this bug and had correspondence with Tech support, but not fix was offered up.

Thanks,

e.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well, another first with VW2017. I used the uninstaller, which I've never done before. After a few weeks of working with it VW2017 developed all sorts of random quirks, the most annoying of which was hanging completely when quitting. I had to force quit after quitting every time. I'd already tried resetting my settings/preferences so I thought I would try an uninstall and re-install of a fresh copy. I don't remember ever doing a complete re-install of a VW version before.

 

Things seem calmer again. Hopefully this time it will behave.

 

Kevin

 

Edited by Kevin McAllister
Grammar
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the install was easy, I did not migrate all file to 2017 & still have 2016 installed. I'm using 2017 on a 4 week job. So far only hassles was with the new Resource Browser. Now they want you to search for a resource instead of opening folders, but in some searches, I have locked up VW to where I had to force it to close. And when searching certain item, like Door Hardware, I get nothing, but I see the folder with the 3d hardware. Also in some searches, I get many different items that have nothing to do with my search. I find it quicker to have like items group in folders. I have been making my favorites folder with all of the line types, & objects I use a lot & just leave that folder open. Also, another small aggravating problem I'm having is being able to enter a number in feet in the Object Info Browser & floating Data Bar, I press the number key & then the foot key, the one to the left of ENTER on the key board, I get nothing, when I hit it a second time, I get what looks like an inch mark & then hit Delete/Backspace once to enter a foot dimension. It works correctly some of the time, but more often it does not. Now this works fine in VW2016 & other software.

My graphics is working fine when set to Good Performance & Compatibility. Better than other settings 

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Migrating to 2017 was probably the easiest yet (the assistant worked and I've had a lot of practice).  I still had to migrate some of my custom plugins manually to the Vectorworks plugins folder (not the User folder).  They either didn't import on their own or their icons wouldn't display properly.  In all but a few cases, moving the plugins solved the problem.

 

The new features work pretty much as designed. 

 

Negatives:

  1. I'm experiencing about 3 crashes a day.  I have my auto-backup set to a short interval and I habitually save before doing processor intensive operations.  It's a nuisance but I haven't found it to be a real problem.
  2. There is considerable lag in opening files from 2016 or before.  Perhaps a minute?  That may be subjective, but it seems like a long time.
  3. The new resource browser makes common 'User Folders' workable for shared office standards and libraries.  We have a fast network, but the response is sluggish.  It's especially noticeable in the attributes pallet when waiting for the pop out 'resource browser' to surface.  ±3 seconds (in 2016 it was instantaneous).  This is undoubtedly the fault of the hardware, but it's still sub-optimal.
  4. Zooming in and out in plan view still looks blurry.  It's better than it was, but from the demo - it sure looked like the 2d graphics were better than I'm experiencing.  Like before, it takes a moment after zooming for the screen to pop back into focus.

Positives:

  1. The docking pallets work great (mac).
  2. The resource browser is a huge leap forward.  I had thought that the pop open feature would be annoying and that I would just leave it open on my second monitor.  But actually, it's intuitive and works well.
  3. Older files brought forward seem to be intact without unexpected changes.  I haven't found any glaring issues (like the window sills going goofy 2015>2016).
  4. The new features that I have tried are fairly mature (not half measures).

Disclaimer - I have a highly customized workspace and templates that have been years in the making, so I'm loathe to start with a blank file and recreate these materials from scratch.  So, crashes associated with 'legacy' items may be partly to blame.

 

 

 

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My personal experience has been pretty bad.  I experience ~5 crashes per day.  2017 seems to have more difficulty handling imported files.  It crashed every time I try to import a second CAD file into a drawing.  The import Revit file is not a very useful tool yet.  I hope this will get better as time goes on.  

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1 hour ago, benboggs said:

My personal experience has been pretty bad.  I experience ~5 crashes per day.  2017 seems to have more difficulty handling imported files.  It crashed every time I try to import a second CAD file into a drawing.  The import Revit file is not a very useful tool yet.  I hope this will get better as time goes on.  

 

I also experience relatively slow imports from VW2016.  ~1 minute to convert a file of moderate complexity. (Single-family home / small garden landscape.) These same files imported from VW2015 to VW2016 in probably 15 seconds or less.

 

Once imported, however, the files are working fine, for which I am thankful.

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