Refreshing knowledge

[Studio-PM]

As an old independent developer, after years of oblivion, I'd like to refresh my knowledge about the development tools and features currently available with the VectorWorks package. More specifically I'd love to know if the difficulties I've encountered at the time of the Nemetschek transition have been overcome. Therefore I'll be grateful to any good souls telling me something about such topics as:

– Programming languages and features currently available to ordinary users/developers;

– Existence of a vital developers community;

– Upgrading possibility from the “legacy” MiniCAD VectorWorks 8.5 [with VectorScript language]. In case, I'd be interested into an international, i.e.: not-“localized”, edition. Or, if the case, I'd like to be free to buy any such package anywhere I'd like to, and not forcibly from any given distributor.-

 

Anyway, I'll be glad to know what has happened these last years, just as when encountering an old acquaintance about which you'd have mixed memory and feelings, party nice partly bitter.

 

Thanks for you time. Yours,

- P.M.

[barkest]

Programming - have a look at marionette https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/forum/48-marionette/

Developers community - same board and they are beyond helpful

If not marionette then python is worth a look https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/forum/45-python-scripting/

 

No idea about upgrading but I bet @JimWdoes

 

No doubt you will continue to have mixed feeling as we all do about any software but the massive difference you will find are these forums which are without doubt the most helpful I have ever used once again a lot to do with @JimW

 

good luck

Edited August 11, 2017 by barkest

[PVA - Admin]

Welcome back!

 

If you want the non localized version, check with sales@vectorworks.net directly, that's the US sales team rather than a distributor and they can get you the standard English version.

 

I know the upgrade rules changed a few years ago, you might not be able to get as large of a discount since it's hat many versions back, but I would still ask just in case. Towards the end of the year as well as near the time of a new release sales runs a lot of promotions worth keeping an eye out for.

[Pat Stanford]

Vectorscript is still available and has not changes a lot. There are a number of old calls that have been depricated, and a huge number of new things added. Most of the people who were around at VW8 are still around. The developer community is not huge, but it is very helpful.

 

Python is also now an option. It uses the full python with effectively a library into the vectorscript calls. Lots of options if you can deal with Python.

Marionette is a graphical scripting language. The individual nodes are written in Python, so you can extend as you see fit.

 

The full SDK is still in C/C+/C++ etc.

 

It all depends on what you want.

 

I would guess that you could open a VW8 file in VW2017 and get most scripts running in just a few hours. I did something similar for a client a few years ago. Took some research to find the critical differences, but I was able to convert a suite of programs containing about 5000 lines of code in about 8 hours.

[Studio-PM]

Quote

> It all depends on what you want.

[Pat Stanford]

Easily said. To update, if worth doing, a couple of tools I produced once upon a time:

– “Motivo4”, a little tool for generating hatch patterns. Not bad, far from perfect.

– “NeatLine”, a nice hidden/overlapping 2D lines cleaner, geometrically rather accurate.

No idea how useful such little tools could be nowadays. Indeed, it would be nice to investigate the residual usefulness of such tools in friendly “good company”.

Thanks for your time.

- P.M.