Streamdeck integration.

[Matster 11]

I use a Streamdeck (https://www.elgato.com/en/gaming/stream-deck) for various functionality in software packages (AutoCAD, Outlook, Chrome, gaming etc) and I was wondering if anyone had set-up a profile for Vectorworks?

 

I've kicked one off, but creating fancy GUI's isn't my strongest point, here's a Link if anyone's interested (it is still very much work in progress!). I'm not precious, if anyone has done a better version, I'd be certainly interested.

 

What I've done works for my needs as of now, and I've just bought a 3DConnexion Spacemouse, the plan is to have this and the Stream deck to emulate a poor mans SpaceMouse Enterprise (as I already own the Streamdeck and use for other applications!).

[Sebastiaan 67]

Following! I have a streamdeck but have not yet made my profile fancy.

 

I would really want the native tool pics to be part of the profile. I can retrieve toolset pic files from a workspace file. But the tool pics themselves I have not yet found a way. 

 

Streamdeck now has has a SDK for developers so maybe the VWX team could create a nice streamdeck plugin? Just like they support 3dConnexion? 

 

@Jim Wilson any chance? 

 

 

 

[Sebastiaan 67]

So I got motivated to make a nice Stream Deck profile.

 

I used the standard VWX tools and menu's structure at first. I can imaging ordering it to most used functions later on.

 

95% of the shortcuts are the native vwx shortcuts. I'm on a mac so al shortcuts are with CMD instead of CTRL.

 

Not all tools that have a hotkey have a shortcut set yet. But all tools have a hotkey. (i didn't add the tools from the toolsets: Furniture/fixtures, Dims/notes, detailling, fasteners, machine components. It's a time consumer to alter all those tool pics and had enough of it. Anyone feels like doing those?)

 

Still would be amazing if VWX could write a fancy and perhaps dynamic plugin, maybe it could work similar to a Macbook pro's Touch Bar? Also maybe not all tools would need a keyboard shortcut to work with the stream deck.

 

By the way, only just finished this and didn't thoroughly test al the keys.

 

Hope you like it.

 

VWX.streamDeckProfile.zip

 

 

[michaelk 351]

@Matster @Sebastiaan

 

Stop making me buy things!

[Matster 11]

That looks nice @Sebastiaan! I think i i'll use it and maybe port a few of my controls onto yours and have a play.

 

things that would be useful are some preset move-by-points (0,1,10 etc), also i made a macro (esc,esc,esc,x,x,x) to get me out of any selection i had and added a resource toggle, but mine was a bit rubbish and done on the fly, i think i'll start using yours 😀

[Sebastiaan 67]

2 hours ago, Matster said:

That looks nice @Sebastiaan! I think i i'll use it and maybe port a few of my controls onto yours and have a play.

 

things that would be useful are some preset move-by-points (0,1,10 etc), also i made a macro (esc,esc,esc,x,x,x) to get me out of any selection i had and added a resource toggle, but mine was a bit rubbish and done on the fly, i think i'll start using yours 😀

 

Glad you like it! Would you feel like making the remaining tool pics in return ;-)?

 

The escape macro sounds like a goed idea, but I presume that if you're in a 4th group you would have to press again?

[Matster 11]

3 minutes ago, Sebastiaan said:

 

Glad you like it! Would you feel like making the remaining tool pics in return ;-)?

 

The escape macro sounds like a goed idea, but I presume that if you're in a 4th group you would have to press again?

 

if someone from the Vectorworks team sends us the icon picture, it wouldn't take too long!

 

not sure what you mean by the 4th group, I've only been using Vectorworks for about a month lol!

[Sebastiaan 67]

Just now, Matster said:

 

if someone from the Vectorworks team sends us the icon picture, it wouldn't take too long!

 

not sure what you mean by the 4th group, I've only been using Vectorworks for about a month lol!

I'll pm you 😉

[PVA - Jim 2,342]

If you're on a Mac, you should be able to get at them directly, the "2x" ones are the ones for high res displays:

Macintosh HD⁩ ▸ ⁨Applications⁩ ▸ ⁨Vectorworks 2019⁩ ▸ (Show Package Contents on 2019 app)⁩ ▸ ⁨Contents⁩ ▸ ⁨Resources⁩ ▸ ⁨Vectorworks.vwr⁩ ▸ ⁨Images⁩

 

However I've attached a zip of that folder in case any Windows users need them, as I think its harder to get at them from that OS. The naming and folder structure wasn't meant to be user friendly, but searching for a tool name within this zip should find what you need.

Images.zip

[Sebastiaan 67]

6 minutes ago, Jim Wilson said:

If you're on a Mac, you should be able to get at them directly, the "2x" ones are the ones for high res displays:

Macintosh HD⁩ ▸ ⁨Applications⁩ ▸ ⁨Vectorworks 2019⁩ ▸ (Show Package Contents on 2019 app)⁩ ▸ ⁨Contents⁩ ▸ ⁨Resources⁩ ▸ ⁨Vectorworks.vwr⁩ ▸ ⁨Images⁩

 

However I've attached a zip of that folder in case any Windows users need them, as I think its harder to get at them from that OS. The naming and folder structure wasn't meant to be user friendly, but searching for a tool name within this zip should find what you need.

Images.zip

 

Hey @Jim Wilson

 

Thanks for that. For some reason, most of the spotlight tools, and also some others can not be found. Not in the application package, nor in the plugins folder. VWspotlight.vwr for instance does not contain images. Can't find them anywhere else too, which makes me think they are hidden in each tools own .vso. Would you guys be willing to share those pics in a package?

 

And any chance on a fancy plugin for stream deck?

[PVA - Jim 2,342]

10 minutes ago, Sebastiaan said:

And any chance on a fancy plugin for stream deck?

That'll depend on interest! The more votes this thread gets, the more likely. I'll take a look and see if the rest of icons can be pulled from elsewhere.

[michaelk 351]

Mine just arrived tonight!   Very interesting.

[michaelk 351]

Pretty cool.  It seems to have no lag when triggering keyboard shortcuts.  I little bit of lag when stacking lots of them.  

 

Rather than use it for keyboard shortcuts my fingers already know, I've been playing with using it for combinations of shortcuts that I do over and over.  (Duplicate and move 16" up, down, left, right)

 

I'm thinking it would be great to replace script palettes.  I could give scripts keyboard shortcuts that I have no hope of remembering and give them icons…

 

Even if it doesn't work out for VW, I've already built a workspace for another app I use all the time that will be very helpful.

[Dan Hoffman 3]

There are also tons of ways that you can use it beyond specific apps, i.e. I have found in a month or so of us that my most commonly used buttons are direct links to the folder in my dropbox for the shows I'm working on the most, direct links to websites that I visit the most and a whole variety of text entry shortcuts for things I type a lot....and that's without even getting into stacking up a lot of multiple commands!

It would be nice to avoid having to do the whole create-shortcut dance to use it with VW, especially as I go back and forth between different machines and use different workspaces for each (laptop vs desktop)....

[thom512 1]

Hi all, just decided to buy a stream deck and it's not triggering VW. Is there a setting in VW to allow the interface? 

Thom

[Sebastiaan 67]

3 hours ago, thom512 said:

Hi all, just decided to buy a stream deck and it's not triggering VW. Is there a setting in VW to allow the interface? 

Thom

 

Are you using my profile? 

 

Did you install the streamdeck application? 

 

If So are you on a Windows or on a mac? If you’re on windows then you may need to re assign the keyboard shortcuts to work with control in stead of cmd key. 

 

And don’t forget to upvote at the top of this page 😉. 

Edited June 22, 2019 by Sebastiaan

[thom512 1]

Hi Sebaastian,

Yes, I'm using your profile (THANK YOU!!) and on Windows. But even the keys mapped to a single shortcut aren't working (pressing the letter H, for instance, for Pan.

That being said, some of the mappings need to be changed to Windows friendly - thank you for pointing that out to me!

 

Thom

[Dan Hoffman 3]

Does your Streamdeck work elsewhere - i.e. if you open Notepad and press your shortcut key for pan, does an 'H' appear?

That'll help narrow down whether it's a Vectorworks or Streamdeck issue...

[thom512 1]

I figured out the solution!

I tried opening up Notepad and hit the pan button and nothing happened, so I re-entered it and it worked (even though it already said "H").

That and of course re-tooling for Windows. 

For some reason, it didn't read the hot key assignments. 

 

Thanks all!!

Thom

[Lars Hermansen 0]

I'm having problems with Stream Deck and Vectorworks as well, for some reason Vectorworks is not recieving hot keys.

I have the same problem when I try with a X-Keys device.

 

When I have a hotkey that consist of two keys like <Alt>+<0> vectorworks will only react to <Alt> and not see <0>.

 

Both devices work when I try them in notepad and with other programs.

 

Have anyone else had this problem?

I'm running Vectorworks on Windows 10.

 

Lars

Edited August 30, 2019 by Lars Hermansen

[thom512 1]

Hi Lars, 

I found that I had to go into the streadeck ap and redo all of the keys, i.s. if the hot key says "select" is control x, then I would have to retype control X in the hotkey assign.

Hope this helps!

Thom

[duesj 2]

I would LOOOOVE a button that reset the "Move by Points Tool" to unselect the 'Object Retention Mode' and zeroed out the 'Number of Duplicates". Sometimes a homie just wants to move things.

 

Then a button to turn the 'Object Retention Mode' on leaving the cursor in the 'Number of Duplicates' box active.  Beyond that, if the choice selections showed up for all tools on streamdeck, my VW excitement wouldn't be contained.

 

PS: If you made a YouTube channel that showed how to make these buttons, I'd watch all the ads on it.

Edited December 26, 2019 by duesj
There's an image... Not sure why

[michaelk 351]

You probably know this, but …

 

The 'I' key will toggle Object Retention mode on and off.

 

I've gotten in the habit of invoking the move by points tool with Shift-MM, which does put the cursor in the number of duplicates field of the preferences dialog box.  A that point, Command-I (or Control-I) will toggle object retention on and off.

 

[duesj 2]

I'm sorta in love with Vectorworks again.  Now I'mma make the buttons with little magic hats as icons.

[michaelk 351]

22 minutes ago, duesj said:

I'm sorta in love with Vectorworks again.  

 

U, I, O, P, and [ will select/toggle the modes of every tool.  I've always appreciated that the Move by Points preferences dialog box uses the same letter as the mode shortcut to change the object retention option.

 

There's at least one other example of this (that I really wish I could think of right now).  You have a lot of time to think about things like this when you draw all day. 😜

[michaelk 351]

But to return to the topic of this thread:  Streamdeck is awesome!