Publishing VW files broken

[MHBrown]

I used to be able to export a set of VW saved sheets as a PDF. This straightforward, elegant system has been replaced in VW2018 by what I find to be an awkward and broken "Publish" command. When I invoke this, it neither gives me a chance to name the file nor choose where it goes. It acts like it is printing the file, but it doesn't print (by the way, if I wanted to print I'd choose print!!) When I press "Select Folder," it does not send the file to that folder. I have no idea where it goes, if it goes, or what name to search for (if you recall, there is not opportunity to name the file.) The "File Export Options" does nothing when selected. There is a menu with poorly named choices, but nothing happens regardless to what is selected. I get an annoying message that the Publishing was successful, but it is not. It then automatically opens my Vectorworks 2018 folder. This is a seriously rotten system and it needs to be fixed. It should work like this: 1. Publish (or export) to PDF 2. Choose files 3. Save as a set? yes/no 4. Name set 5. Choose Destination Folder 5. Options: PDF quality 6. Start.

It is pretty simple. Please fix it.

MHBrown

[Kevin McAllister]

It sounds like you're set up to publish something other than a PDF file. When you publish image files for example, it doesn't let you name the files. In the right hand list does it say PDF in the Publish To column?

 

I've had a lot of trouble getting publish to folders to stick. It most often happens if I create a new folder as I'm publishing. For whatever reason, VW doesn't switch automatically to the newly created folder and instead defaults to the folder the new folder was created in. I have to remind myself to reselect the new folder to get it to work.

 

If you need further help maybe post a screen shot of your publish dialog. It would help us to troubleshoot for you.

 

Kevin

 

[MHBrown]

Thanks. I'm mostly getting tired of having Vectorworks crash once or twice per day. I want to transfer to a new document, but VW has dropped the ball on that. There is no way to do this very fundamental action. Probably because it is "too hard" although "too hard" is not the same as "impossible." I want to do something analogous to an ID "package" where I could copy and paste an entire model and all the saved sheets, saved views, viewports, and elevation views would come with it. Alas, VW does not care about fundamentals, but would rather design little protractors for its rotate tool.

 

 At the height of its build, around VW12, I might go a year or more without a crash. Now it is at least once a day. I'd love to be able to downgrade back to that old version. I could not care less about the features added since then compared to the speed and reliability of the older version. VW has become as unstable as the old Strata3D of the mid 1990s--and that is saying a lot.