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How to "tilt" objects?


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I've been stuck for hours on this! I've made a 40x5 rectangular truss structure with LED strips. I want to add that into my overall venue plan and tilt the entire structure to a 45° angle. It will live above a 40ft LED screen, so it's supposed to almost look like a slanted roof. I've tried making it a symbol but no luck there either. Help?! 

NEW Stage Rectangle Concept.jpg

Edited by Jasonbrett
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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

@Jasonbrett Did you use library content that ships with Vectorworks to make your truss structure?  If so, the truss symbols are 2d/3d hybrid objects and cannot be tilted like a roof.  Only 3d objects can be tilted.  The solution if you are using hybrid symbols is to remove the 2d geometry so that only the 3d remains and you should be able to tilt with no issues.  I hope that helps and feel free to message me if you have any questions.

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Yep, you have two options for rotating that...

 

1.) As Justin mentioned, strip out all the 2d components. 

When this is done correctly, symbols will show a little "3" in the bottom right hand corner of the symbol thumbnail in the Resource Manager to indicate the symbol is 3d only (not hybrid). If you think you've deleted everything but still don't see a 3 on a symbol, look at the visibility of your classes because your missing something (like a 2d locus). If any of that truss was drawn with the truss tool, change your view to 3d, select it, and ungroup. It will give you a warning about ungrouping high level objects, select yes (this just means it's no longer an editable plugin object that can be changed in the Object Info Palette). Once everything is 3d only, you can select it all and rotate on any axis.

 

2. Use Create Plot & Model View.

When you run that command on your selected objects, it will create a Design Layer Viewport (DLV). You'll end up with a single object (almost like a symbol) that can be rotated on any axis. The components of that object (the truss and fixtures you selected when creating it) will end up being on a design layer called the definition layer. Any changes you make on that definition layer will be shown in the DLV. It's a bit confusing at first, especially right after you run the command you'll end up with what looks like a couple duplicates, but it's probably the best way. The DLV can be rotated however you want and that's what you'll use for 3d views & renderings. The Definition Layer will still have a nice top/plan view of the truss & fixtures for use on plots. I usually place the DLV object on the same layer as the rest of my drawing, and assign it a unique class so I can turn it's visibility on/off.

 

A quick google search led me to this video which should help. I haven't watched it in full, but it should help familiarize to how that command works.

 

Edited by LJ TMS
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48 minutes ago, Andy Broomell said:

Using a Design Layer Viewport, as @LJ TMS suggests above in #2, would be how I would approach this, since it allows you to still edit the geometry in an orthographic orientation (un-tilted) which is probably easier.

 

That's a great point Andy. Making changes to the truss layout or fixture placement after the fact is going to be way easier with method 2 than it will be with method 1. Especially if you decide to rotate that on more than one axis. If you do go with option 1 and need to make changes, you'll want to read up on Working Planes.

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