solid lines not appearing on screen

[prototypepdx]

I am just learning Vectorworks, so I hope this isn't a completely inane questions. {I've used Autocad for 8 years, so am familiar with CAD programs].

When I set a class to have a 'solid' line, and I draw a line on the screen, the line doesn't appear. Only the endpoints do. If I change the class setting to 'dashed,' the line appears.

Help!

[Guest]

What color do you have set for the pen color?

Do you have it set to none or solid?

Are you working on a white or black background

[prototypepdx]

I'm working on a black background.

The pen is set to solid.

I've tried numerous colors and none seem to appear.

[Guest]

What version of VW are you using?

[jan15]

It sounds like you're drawing in black on a black background, or possibly drawing with thickness zero or with pen type "None", and when you think you're changing the color of a line you're really changing some other color setting that doesn't pertain to the line, and when you think you're just changing the line from solid to dashed, you're really changing something else, and that something else happens to change the color of the line to white or the pen type from "None" to "Dash".

Another possibility is that you're confusing "Pattern" with "Dash". A "Pattern" line has two colors, so if the foreground color is black and the background color is anything other than black, you would see something when the line is "Pattern" but not when it's "Solid".

The only thing I can think of that would yield exactly the effect you described is if you draw a white line, then duplicate it in place or draw over it, and the second line somehow is black, so that when you change its line type to Dash, parts of the white line underneath show through. But that seems very unlikely.

I can't tell exactly what's going on from what you've written, especially given the extra complication of assigning dash style by Class. But here are some things to consider:

"Attributes", including color, dash style, and thickness, are controlled primarily by the Attributes Palette, and only secondarily by class. An object will only have an attribute associated with its class if that particular attribute of the object is set to "Class" on the attributes palette. For example, a line in a red class will only be red if its color is set either to red or to "Class Color" on the attributes palette. That's the same as in AutoCad, where a line only has its layer's color if the color of the line is "Bylayer".

When an object is selected, its attributes are shown on the Attributes palette. When no object is selected, the palette shows the attributes that will be assigned to any new object drawn. That's similar to AutoCad also.

A different system is used for Classes and Layers, not similar to the Attributes Palette, and not similar to AutoCad. The Class and Layer shown in the Data Bar at the top of the screen are always the "active" class and layer, not the class and layer of a selected object. To read or alter an object's Class and Layer, select it and use the Object Info palette, or right click on it and select "Properties".

Then there's that business of "None", "Solid", "Dash", or "Pattern", which appears to be an attribute, but which overlaps various attributes, so that changing it changes them, and vice versa. That can get confusing, especially when you try to control attributes by class.

You might do well to avoid using class attributes until you become comfortable with the whole attributes system and the more graphically oriented user interface. It's pretty easy once you get the feel of it. I'm sure that any experiened user could tell you in a second what the problem was if we could see your computer.

You might also consider switching permanently to assigning thickness and dash style directly to objects, rather than by class. VectorWorks has a lot of features that make it unnecessary to use class attributes. I myself never use them.

[prototypepdx]

I'm using Vectorworks Architect 9.5.1 on a Mac with OS 10.3.

I've checked and rechecked the settings and I'm definitely using a colored line on a black background. I've tried numerous colors. The pen is set to 'solid.' The only way the lines appear is if I change them from 'solid' to 'dashed.'

Yes, I'm setting all this up in the classes settings. Just like Autocad. I understand that I probably should set it up a little differently, but I'm not familiar with Vectorworks enough yet to understand why I would set it up differently.

Well, the really weird part is that I copied and pasted all my lines into a new file and they seem to work just fine right now. I've compared all the settings between the two files and can't find any differences. So maybe there was something messed up with that one file?

Is there a way we can post files to this discussion board? I'm sure if someone who understands Vectorworks looked at it, they could probably figure out what is wrong...

[Guest]

That's the problem.

You need to update to VW 9.5.3 to work with OS 10.

Anything you've drawn in VW 9.5.1 under OS 10 will need to be redrawn.

[Guest]

http://nemetschek.net/downloads/index.html

Scroll down to the VW 9.5.2 section.

Download and update that, then run VW to make sure it updated correctly.

Then download and run the 9.5.3 updater.

[prototypepdx]

Can I upgrade online?

Can you send me the link?

Thanks!

L.