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viewports & saved sheets


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I've just started playing with viewports in VW11. Having used AutoCAD, I'm familiar with the sheet layer/paper space idea, but believe the saved sheets setup in VW is a superior method of controlling print layout. It seems that Nemetschek's incorporation of viewports is a strategy to convert AutoCAD users, and a good one I might add, but it seems that "save sheets" and viewports overlap a bit in their functionality causing some confusion to me as to the best drawing setup (for architectural anyway). So the real question here is what is the best way to set up a drawing for dimensioning, particulary to deal with consistent font sizes. Putting dimensions in design layers that are full scale results in small fonts in reduced scale sheet layers. Not only that, switching from a sheet layer at say 1/4" scale back to a full scale design layer means having to zoom out and in a lot. Putting dimensions in sheet layer annotations won't let me custom select dimensions if I want to change the dimension font sizes (a big issue if I have 100 dimensions) . My biggest annoyance with AutoCAD was dealing with dimension scale and font sizes when dealing in paper space. If I decide to put multiple viewports at different scales on the same printed sheet, as I understand it, I'd have to calculate the font sizes if I wanted all dimension fonts on the sheet to be the same size (assume dimensions were on design layers), a huge turn-off with AutoCAD. It seems the only way to get consistent font sizes (for dimensions) in different scale viewports is to put them in the "annotations" section of the viewport. But if I do that, I can't turn them off in the viewport by turning off the dimensions class, nor can I select them globally as mentioned above. An input as to an organizational strategy would be welcome.

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The Advanced Properties button in the OIP has a text scale option.

You can use this to scale the text in the viewport that has been created on the design layers. You even get a Preview button, so you can see what the result will be before you commit to the changes.

It would be hard for me to tell you which way to use. I suggest trying it both ways to see which way is more effective for your purpose.

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Ok, I've come across the "advanced properties" button on the object info palette that lets me adjust text scale from design layers. This would still require calculations for different scales though, not a big problem, but a "concession" to using viewports I'm guessing. Annotation strategies using viewports is still welcome though.

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

quote:

Originally posted by tom kyler:

Thanks Katie, looks like I got it about the same time. As a clarification, whatever is put into the "annotations" section of a viewport has fixed visibility and can't be turned on or off using classes, am I correct in that assumption?

Not quite. The visibility of annotations in viewports is determined by the global class visibility settings, not the viewport's class visibility settings.

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I use both VW and Autocad extensively and am quite familiar with modelspace/paperspace, however the use of paperspace in AC is by no means universal. VW direction is somewhat confusing to me in this regard as there exists many ways to achieve the same result now, which probally is multi-scale drawings on one sheet 95% of the time. Embarking on 1:1 model layers, etc..seems like AC confusion and hassle all over again and too much like why I don't like AC now.

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