Lighting Pipe Tool not working

[GHanthronJR]

I am trying to draw a lighting pipe with the tool but it is only drawing 2D, when I go to convert to hanging position the 2d goes away and is only visible in 3d....

 

(Vectorworks 2019)

[JBenghiat]

Have you installed the latest service pack?

[GHanthronJR]

I am running the most current version of Vectorworks (2019 SP3) on a MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014) with a 2.5 GHz Intel Core i7 with 16 GB of Ram and a NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M

 

I tried reseting the computer and restating VW and I am still having the issue even when I start a new file.

[JBenghiat]

If the issue is what I suspect it to be, it looks like this should be fixed for SP4. Here is a workaround for the moment:

 

Create an Extrude Along Path (draw a line, draw a rectangle, select both, Model>Extrude Along Path)

In the EAP options dialog, uncheck Fix Profile

 

This resets the default options for EAP. The lighting pipe should now draw correctly.

[patorpey]

Thank you Joshua! Your suggestion has resolved this issue for me. Opening a new document, the Lighting Pipe tool functions correctly, showing pipe geometry in 3D views, so I thought I must have accidentally gotten into a mode where these objects lost their hybrid-ness, but couldn't find what it is. Resetting the EAP options was the trick.

 

For completeness:

I'd been working on this document for a few weeks and the Lighting Pipe tool was functioning correctly, as it has in previous documents and previous versions. Today, when creating a new Lighting Pipe, it no longer created a hybrid object. It only displayed the 2D representation even when rotating the view into 3D. This is further evidenced by the fact that the new Lighting Pipe objects have the Plane field in the OIP with options of 3D or Screen. Lighting Pipes I had previously created in this document do not have the Plane field. The existing Lighting Pipes were still rendering in 3D while new ones were only 2D up until the point I tried duplicating one of the existing objects. The duplicate became 2D with the Plane field in the OIP, but so did all of the existing Lighting Pipes that were previously fine. (I'm still sorting out if there's a good way of restoring them, now that the EAP settings are fixed, without redrawing them all.)

 

Additionally, I noticed that this might also be affecting the Lighting Ladder tool. Creating a new ladder and rotating into 3D, the internal rung pipes are appearing in 3D, but the rectangular frame does not appear at all (as either 3D pipe or the 2D line).

 

Thank you again.

[patorpey]

Actually, I just discovered how to quickly fix the existing pipes:

• Ensure that the EAP settings are reset (Fix Profile is unchecked)
• Select all Lighting Pipe objects
• Uncheck and then recheck Draw Pipe in the OIP

The pipes now display correctly in 2D and 3D views.