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Notes Manager VW2020


cberg

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  • 3 months later...

This is a HORRIBLE tool - it's not better, it's not intuitive, it's aggravating. I had notes in my 2019 database that don't appear in 2020. Now to get them in is a huge pain.

 

Why can't I add a note that appears in a General Notes dialogue back to the Notes Manager? Must I manually type or copy/paste current notes into the Notes Manager?

 

Also, why can't I choose which database I'd like to use in the Notes Manager dialogue? Every time I want to choose the [UsrLib] database, I have to click that first. 

 

There are way too many clicks in this feature. Please fix this, or I can't use it!

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee
5 hours ago, leecalisti said:

@iborisov What am I missing? See thread above? I'm not a novice VW user.

 

Why is this so hard?

notes.png

 

Select the note and click "Edit..." 

From there you can edit the node or add it to a database.

 

 

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee
3 hours ago, cberg said:

@leecalisti  At least you get a response from VW.   My questions about how to share a notes manager database with others in the cloud, have been sitting unanswered. 

@cberg Where did you post that question? Could you point me to it?

You should be able to save your notes manager database anywhere (in your user folder, workgroup folder or anywhere on your machine).

You could save it in your dropbox folder or other cloud storage folder and share with others. But keep in mind that you could end up with conflicting files in dropbox if you are all making changes to the database simultaneously. 

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Thanks for responding! 

 

I actually posted in two different places.  Should I try to reconcile the notes to reconcile the databases?  We had to move our files off our server to the cloud (Dropbox) after much of the file was created.

 

 

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@Hugues (and @cberg)

 

Is there any simple way to get notes from our VW2019 version into 2020 without losing anything?

 

Why does the Notes Manager show two (or more) Databases? [VW]/Libraries... and [UsrLib]/Defaults|Notes\General Notes.txt

Which one should I be saving to with my notes?

 

Why one for General Notes and one for Callouts? Is that just a preference?

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee
28 minutes ago, leecalisti said:

Is there any simple way to get notes from our VW2019 version into 2020 without losing anything?

Could you please elaborate? The note database is just a text or xml file. Its format is not specific to a VW version. You can use it in both 2019 and 2020 versions.

If your database in saved in your user folder,  just migrate it to your 2020 user folder.

 

32 minutes ago, leecalisti said:

Why does the Notes Manager show two (or more) Databases? [VW]/Libraries... and [UsrLib]/Defaults|Notes\General Notes.txt

Which one should I be saving to with my notes?

 

Why one for General Notes and one for Callouts? Is that just a preference?

You can make your own choice here. You can have one or more databases. Some users have multiple databases and use different databases depending on the project.

 

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@Hugues

I'm sorry for so many questions. Let's start with the second question, please. See the photo.

1. Are these two separate files (or databases)? See the photo below.

2. If so, why? Can I merge them easily? Is seems to default to the [VW]/Libraries\Defaults\Notes\General Notes.txt - I've been saving to the [UsrLib]...database.

3. When I go to this user folder, which one is there? [C:Users>Lee Calisti>AppData>Roaming>Nemetschek>Vectorworks>2020>Libraries>Defaults>Notes

Screenshot 2020-04-10 14.06.47.png

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@Hugues I struggle with the Reconcile Notes Command.  Especially when there are duplicate notes or notes that have become detached from their database. Or maybe the description of the notes is different than the note text.  Something which happens often, unfortunately.  

 

By selecting Reconcile Notes, I can see all the paths where these notes are located. I can find these paths and select all of them. 

 

952651962_ScreenShot2020-04-10at3_19_39PM.thumb.png.c9c6480d4992f5e3f971359e40982678.png

 

Don't know what this means. 

 

634714456_ScreenShot2020-04-10at3_21_39PM.thumb.png.591d94c3092fec5a3b93372c1d3cce6c.png

 

Selecting yes, asks me to find a database, which may not exist.  Select no opens up the following dialogue box...

 

656431719_ScreenShot2020-04-10at3_22_03PM.thumb.png.6f48f14364bfcf197416099b38619fae.png

 

I am assuming the right hand list represents notes that are not reconciled.  VW Help says the following

 

Do one of the following:

●        Click Update > to replace the text in the drawing with the selection from the database.

●        Click < Update to replace the database text with the edited note text from the drawing.

●        Click Add to add the drawing note text as a new database entry in the current section.

 

Is the goal to go through all of these notes and reconcile them manually?  Then the database is reconciled and in the active database?

 

If I am on dropbox will it matter that my user folder has a different path name than people I am sharing it with?

 

Thanks for your patience if I am sounding confused by the process.  Is there anything else I need to know?

 

Cberg

 

 

Screen Shot 2020-04-10 at 3.22.03 PM.png

Edited by cberg
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1 minute ago, cberg said:

when you work with databases / reconcile notes, you can choose whether or not to include General Notes. 

I'm starting to see the filters. 

I still find this tool very troubling.

BTW, it seems you're in Pittsburgh. I saw the filename string in your photo of your office name. Say hi to Greg G.

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee
21 hours ago, leecalisti said:

1. Are these two separate files (or databases)? See the photo below.

Yes. These are two separate files. 

Vectorworks ships with two notes database files; one for Callouts "callout.txt" and another one for General Notes "general notes.txt"

These are just sample databases provided as convenience and as a guideline. Most users will create their own databases.  

These default databases will be found in the default library application folder. You can identify them in the Notes Manager with the prefix [VW].

They are Read-Only files. If you use them and make changes, you own copy will be saved in your User Folder. You can identify them with the prefix [UsrLib].

 

21 hours ago, leecalisti said:

2. If so, why? Can I merge them easily? Is seems to default to the [VW]/Libraries\Defaults\Notes\General Notes.txt - I've been saving to the [UsrLib]...database.

Why separate databases for Callouts and General Notes?

It is just a preference. They don't have to be separate. But having a separate database for general notes allows us to provide a good default database tuned for the General Notes tool. 

Yes, they can be merged. They are text files. If you open them in a text editor, you'll find that the structure of the database is pretty simple. You should be able to copy the data from one database to another.

 

If the question was why are there separate notes with the [VW] and [UsrLib] prefixes, see answer to question 1 above.

21 hours ago, leecalisti said:

3. When I go to this user folder, which one is there? [C:Users>Lee Calisti>AppData>Roaming>Nemetschek>Vectorworks>2020>Libraries>Defaults>Notes

When you go to this user folder,  see your own custom database. The one with the [UsrLib] prefix.

 

 

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee
On 4/10/2020 at 3:32 PM, cberg said:

Is the goal to go through all of these notes and reconcile them manually?  Then the database is reconciled and in the active database?

Yes. If you have the correct database on the left side the "auto locate" option should automatically locate it when you select a note on the right side.

I'm surprised you have to manually reconcile them. Is it possible that the in the "Cannot Locate Database" dialog, you relocated a database to the wrong one? In general, you shouldn't have received this dialog below, if the only difference was the location of the database and you had relocate it correctly. The reconciliation in this case, is generally automatic.

On 4/10/2020 at 3:32 PM, cberg said:

634714456_ScreenShot2020-04-10at3_21_39PM.thumb.png.591d94c3092fec5a3b93372c1d3cce6c.png

 

On 4/10/2020 at 3:32 PM, cberg said:

If I am on dropbox will it matter that my user folder has a different path name than people I am sharing it with?

Yes. It does matter. You do not want to use absolute paths unless that path is the same for everyone.

With that being said, there may be a problem with relative paths when using project sharing. We are looking into it.

 

 

 

 

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  • 10 months later...
On 4/10/2020 at 10:35 AM, Hugues said:

Select the note and click "Edit..." 

From there you can edit the node or add it to a database.

Hey @Hugues I've just upgraded from vw2019 to vw2021 and am struggling with the new notes manager.

 

If I write a callout note I'm struggling to see how to add that note to a database.

 

I have the callout.

I right click "edit" to open the edit callout dialogue

I click on "Add Note to Database"

Now what? Do I have to retype or copy/paste my note into the dialogue? I've already written the note, how can I just add it to the database?

 

See video. I must be missing something.... Please help!

 

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee
16 hours ago, Boh said:

Hey @Hugues I've just upgraded from vw2019 to vw2021 and am struggling with the new notes manager.

 

If I write a callout note I'm struggling to see how to add that note to a database.

 

I have the callout.

I right click "edit" to open the edit callout dialogue

I click on "Add Note to Database"

Now what? Do I have to retype or copy/paste my note into the dialogue? I've already written the note, how can I just add it to the database?

 

See video. I must be missing something.... Please help!

 

This is not a normal behavior. I'm not sure why you are getting an error loading the "callouts.txt" database located in your application. This may be because you do not have write access to that database.

It looks like that database is your default database. This is why we try to load it by default and since it fails, the process break down.

Go to the Notes Manager and change your default database to one you have access to. This may solve the problem.

Let us know if this solution doesn't work.

In the meantime, we will improve the error messaging when a database isn't accessible.

 

 

 

 

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