change coordinate system

[Uli]

Hello,

is it possible to rotate the coordinate system in 2D top/plan view. I want to rotate the coordinate system (x/y) and set a new origin 0/0. From this point I want to construct new shapes with relative coordinates.

Up to now I found only two possibilities with the following problems:

1. I rotate the grid according to an existing line from whose endpoint I want to start a new construction as I mentioned above. I am getting the i and j field in the data display bar instead of x and y but I can't set the origin at the endpoint of the line to 0/0 until I push the g key on the keyboard or set the vectorworks preferences to "use floating datum". That is very nice but it keeps the 0/0 origin only for one click and the construction of the next klick of a line is then relative to the starting point and not to the origin I set before.

2. I use the feature "set up an alternate coordinate system in the constraints palette" but I get similar restrictions as listet above.

Because I am used to work a lot with user defined coordinate systems in other cad programs this is very comfortable for my astil of working. I would be very happy if somebody can give me some help to set up a user defined coordinate system related to any object or point I want and the origin stays in place as long as I set a new one.

I think I am looking for something like the working plane from the 3d enviroment in 2D.

I hope my problems are understandable. I want to

get into the vectorworks construction methodes but keep some of my former habits until I am used to new or better ones.

Thank you very much for any advice.

Regards

Ulrich

Vectorworks 10.5.1

Win xp pro

[Uli]

Hello,

I searched some newsgroups and asked there and I called tech support but nobody could give me an answer. So I found also other user who have the same problem as I do? Would anybody be so kind maybe from the tech support to tell me what is the equivalent to the UCS in 2D in vectorworks. It is not my question if this tool is good or not I am just used to it and up to now I did not make any construction differnces between 2d and 3d. I just want to get into the construction methods of vectorworks. Are you workiung mostly with parametric constraints. I just want to set a ucs to any shape and start new constructions with x/y from that rotated Coordinate system.

Thank you for any advice

Ulrich

[Guest]

Uli,

THe problem you are having with the cordinate and the grid is a bug. You were speaking with one of the other techs here, and I helped him with this issue. The engineer is aware of the problem, however we do not have a workaround for the issue at the current time.

You will need to initiate the floating datum, but keying 0 to reset the coordinates in the Data Display bar. This is what you'd need to do anyways if you need to place objects a specific distance away from the origin, or from another object.