Migrants from Archicad

[KrisM]

I've being using Archicad for a few years now and am happy with it for the most part. Having used Revit in the past, it is a question about how many things irritate you about the program. For example, picking an object in Revit is instant where as in Archicad, there is a  small lag and sometimes it is difficult to select an object. So in looking at Vectorworks, I am seeing a few things that I particularly like such as worksheets and record formats and the fairly complete customization possibilities of each. This is a minor irritation in Archicad where the title and subheading of columns in a schedule have the same font size and no possibility to change this. Bottom line is that I would like the drawing to look like I want, not how it is dictated to me. Seems to me that Vectorworks is generally more customizable than Archicad. Right or wrong? Basic problem is that you need to do several projects to discover all the good and bad things about a program. One thing which concerns me about Vectoworks is dimensioning which doesn't seem as friendly as Archicad or Revit. Another concern is that I seem more posts about bugs and crashing than the other programs. True or isolated cases? So any comments from converts about what you like and don't like? KrisM

[bc]

Well if you are needing a stair object,  you have a tough learning curve ahead of you.  It can be infuriating.  Archicad hits this one out of the park.

[herbieherb]

Let's say the freedom that your projects are not influenced by the possibilities of CAD and that your plans look the way you want them to, this full customization has a price. The parametric objects do not come close to those of Archicad. But you have the possibility to realize every imaginable object with many different techniques and any kind of representation. Unfortunately, this freedom also leads to bugs, especially in new versions. Simply because everyone draws differently in Vectorworks and you don't have to check one way and ok that.
So it all depends on where you put the focus. Do you want the freedom to realize your ideas exactly the way you want them to be? Or do you just want a quick way to put your project on paper?

[KrisM]

Thanks for the replies. Yes, I do want the freedom to realize my ideas but I am trying to determine the price I have to pay to use Vectorworks (not dollars but frustration level). I guess if I wanted complete freedom I could just use Sketchup but the whole documentation side makes that a non starter. I can see a lot of flexibility in Vectorworks which looks appealing but at some point you have to produce drawings. I wonder if someone could comment on actually working in Vectorworks. As I mentioned at the start, when I pick an object in Revit, it is instant plus you never wait for a drawing to be updated. Everything is already done when you switch to another view. In Archicad, picking an object can be easy or difficult. When you have a point selected, you have to wait for the program to draw a circle around the point, Even if the selection is quick, you wait for the circle to be drawn. When you switch to another view, you have to wait for the view to be updated, This just slows you down mentally as well as physically. One thing I did notice about Vectorworks was that after an object is selected, the properties pallete takes a second to redraw itself. It would be nice if some company could amalgamate all the best features of the various design programs. Of course, you can never satisfy everyone. Some like apples and some like oranges.