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2019 vs 2020 changes


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Just got CC downloaded and started digging into it. Still have to configure a few things I've modified over the years, but so far so good!

 

Couple things I've noticed so far:

 

- I just started digging into editing my 3d device models in 2019. Simply adding the stock front image of the device makes the rack elevations look pretty realistic. However, I don't see the 3d models folder in the 2020 version. Has the workflow changed in the new version?

 

- Has the option to set the default width of a device while creating it moved someplace else? I have a bunch of device labels color coded by type and 1.5" wide. I typically edit the device after creation to get it laid out the way I like, but this option saved me a few steps during device creation. 

 

- It looks like most of the options to customized the plug-ins are greyed out and not editable. example: I had changed the 2d rack plug-in to only have the sizes we typically use available in the dropdown and defaulted to 44 space (our go-to size). 

 

Keep up the good work!

 

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Hi josha

 

Let me get the simple ones out of the way first

On 12/6/2019 at 7:40 PM, livespace josha said:

Has the option to set the default width of a device while creating it moved someplace else? I have a bunch of device labels color coded by type and 1.5" wide. I typically edit the device after creation to get it laid out the way I like, but this option saved me a few steps during device creation. 

We're talking about Device Builder right? It automatically makes the device wide enough to accommodate the text for tag and description eliminating the need for a setting. (I love getting rid of settings!). So what you're say I think is that we should take account of the size of the label symbol and use that as the minimum width? correct?

 

On 12/6/2019 at 7:40 PM, livespace josha said:

- It looks like most of the options to customized the plug-ins are greyed out and not editable. example: I had changed the 2d rack plug-in to only have the sizes we typically use available in the dropdown and defaulted to 44 space (our go-to size). 

You can't change much in the Plug-in Manager any more. This is the price of moving to SDK. The benefit however is huge in terms of speed and more comprehensive updating between objects. I hear what you're saying though, eliminating mouse clicks is the way to go... you can set the default rack height in the tool settings and this is saved in the  document.

 

On 12/6/2019 at 7:40 PM, livespace josha said:

- I just started digging into editing my 3d device models in 2019. Simply adding the stock front image of the device makes the rack elevations look pretty realistic. However, I don't see the 3d models folder in the 2020 version. Has the workflow changed in the new version?

I will need to look into this, you may have found an issue. Nice to know someone was using that feature 😂

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Hello all, I am a previous CC user and just got transferred over to the new VW license today.

 

Has anyone ran into an issue of not being able to move the cable type tag away from the device? On the "source" side it gives me the move option to move the text out. However on the "destination" side I am not getting an option to do so (typically the little blue box pops up).

 

Thank you in advance!

 

Screen Shot 2019-12-10 at 2.39.57 PM.png

Screen Shot 2019-12-10 at 2.39.42 PM.png

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Hi Collin,

 

You are right, we had to remove the control handle on the destination side because in the case of arrow connections across layers it would appear on the wrong layer. I can see that this is causing a problem and I think we have to address that ASAP. Bug-listing this as we speak.

 

I don't think we can restore the control handle. That issue has to do with how this kind of object works. So... Would it work for you if the destination arrow lengthened automatically to accommodate the all the text in a nice way?

 

Conrad

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Hi @Conrad P ,

First off, I love that the forum calls you an "Apprentice"! 😂😂😂

 

On 12/9/2019 at 9:08 AM, Conrad P said:

We're talking about Device Builder right? It automatically makes the device wide enough to accommodate the text for tag and description eliminating the need for a setting. (I love getting rid of settings!). So what you're say I think is that we should take account of the size of the label symbol and use that as the minimum width? correct?

- Yes, device builder. I've created a size that seems to work well with my workflow (see attached). Also, previous versions had a drop-down to select which device label to use on device creation. Any chance this could come back?

 

On 12/9/2019 at 9:08 AM, Conrad P said:

You can't change much in the Plug-in Manager any more. This is the price of moving to SDK. The benefit however is huge in terms of speed and more comprehensive updating between objects. I hear what you're saying though, eliminating mouse clicks is the way to go... you can set the default rack height in the tool settings and this is saved in the  document.

- I can't seem to find the default rack height option...can you point me to a specific menu location?

- (Please forgive my ignorance with this next question...programming isn't my forte, so I'm sure there is a good explanation.) Other built-in plug-ins allow you to edit default and custom values. Video Screen comes to mind, as I have extensively edited that so our go-to lenses and screen sizes are readily available. What makes the device builder or 2d rack different? 

 

On 12/9/2019 at 9:08 AM, Conrad P said:

I will need to look into this, you may have found an issue. Nice to know someone was using that feature

- No worries at all! I've only made a device or 2 with the full 3d layout. I have intentions of doing my whole device library at some point, but that's on the back burner for a while. 

 

Keep up the good work!

Josh

Screen Shot 2019-12-19 at 12.39.31 PM.png

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hello all,

 

Is anyone having issues with the connect tool reversing the connector type and cable number on one side of the connection? One side has cable number on top of line and the connector type on the bottom, the other side is reversed (please reference screenshot).

 

@Conrad P - has there been any movement on being able to get the cable type on the destination side of a tag fixed? I still am having the issue from my last post where all the labels on the destination side pile on top of each other.

 

Thank you!

Screen Shot 2020-01-07 at 10.59.36 AM.png

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On 1/7/2020 at 12:05 PM, collinadams94 said:

Is anyone having issues with the connect tool reversing the connector type and cable number on one side of the connection? One side has cable number on top of line and the connector type on the bottom, the other side is reversed (please reference screenshot).

 

I have had this issue as well. It seems that you have to make all the connection in the exact same direction. If you start making connections going from the left device to the right, they will all match. But if you later add another connection going from the right device to the left device, the labels on that line will be flipped.

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Basically what's happening is that the text is placed consistently relative to the line. Unfortunately that's not what we want when the signal flow is drawn right-to-left. This is fixed in the next version. If you really think this is a show-stopper let me know and I'll see if we are able to bring it forward.

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Hi Josh

See my comments inline

 

On 12/19/2019 at 7:58 PM, livespace josha said:

Hi @Conrad P ,

First off, I love that the forum calls you an "Apprentice"! 😂😂😂

To be honest I preferred life as Greenhorn !!! 😂

 

On 12/19/2019 at 7:58 PM, livespace josha said:

- Yes, device builder. I've created a size that seems to work well with my workflow (see attached). Also, previous versions had a drop-down to select which device label to use on device creation. Any chance this could come back

Yes. I'll post a bug about that.

 

On 12/19/2019 at 7:58 PM, livespace josha said:

- I can't seem to find the default rack height option...can you point me to a specific menu location?

- (Please forgive my ignorance with this next question...programming isn't my forte, so I'm sure there is a good explanation.) Other built-in plug-ins allow you to edit default and custom values. Video Screen comes to mind, as I have extensively edited that so our go-to lenses and screen sizes are readily available. What makes the device builder or 2d rack different?

If we have the label symbol selector and the software remembers what you selected last time that should do it.

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Hi Conrad et al,

 

I'm looking forward to using the new version, but sticking with 2019 for now and still waiting for a lull in the workload…
 

+1 on bringing back the device label pull down in device builder. I rely on using custom device labels.

 

+1 on having a complete list of changes.

 

+1 on custom rack heights. The defaults only occasionally seem to match up with equipment racks from Middle Atlantic.

 

I recently tried to add a new rack height in 2019, but couldn't remember the process so I went to the old connectCAD website to find the tutorial. I was redirected to this forum. Is the 2019 online documentation still available anywhere?

 

Regarding the circuit label position changing with the direction of a cable being drawn, I have previously requested the ability to flip a line after the fact. Of course this only applies to I/O- I/O cables. When drawing the schematic and making mistakes or changes it's really easy to get the direction of the cables out of order. Flipping the direction of circuits like this would also clean up the cable reports.

 

Thanks, Ean

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Hi Ean,

 

Good to hear from you!

 

Regarding these -

 

+1 on bringing back the device label pull down in device builder. I rely on using custom device labels.

Yes that's back on the roadmap.

 

+1 on having a complete list of changes.

Pretty sure I already posted that here on the forum...

 

+1 on custom rack heights. The defaults only occasionally seem to match up with equipment racks from Middle Atlantic.

Yes a side-effect of moving to Vectorworks SDK is that parameter choice lists can't be accessed thru the Plug-in Manager. So we've taken the simple route of just having every integer value from 1 to 45. Surely that takes care of it?

 

I am missing support.connectcad.com too ! But as part of Vectorworks now we have to be on vectorworks.net sites as a matter of policy. Moving the content can be a bit challenging. In the end though as we make the transition more and more of the old docs become irrelevant so we'll need new docs. Good news here is that Vectorworks have excellent technical authors.

 

Flipping lines! Well it's only the IO- IO case we're talking about here and what rule defines the "right way"? I need a bit of convincing. I am always reluctant to add extra knobs buttons and levers to ConnectCAD - we have enough to explain as it is 🙂

 

Best

 

Conrad

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On 1/15/2020 at 3:02 PM, Conrad P said:

+1 on bringing back the device label pull down in device builder. I rely on using custom device labels.

Yes that's back on the roadmap.

 

Super. That's great.

 

On 1/15/2020 at 3:02 PM, Conrad P said:

 

+1 on having a complete list of changes.

Pretty sure I already posted that here on the forum...

 

Couldn't find this. Will search again. Thanks.

 

On 1/15/2020 at 3:02 PM, Conrad P said:

+1 on custom rack heights. The defaults only occasionally seem to match up with equipment racks from Middle Atlantic.

Yes a side-effect of moving to Vectorworks SDK is that parameter choice lists can't be accessed thru the Plug-in Manager. So we've taken the simple route of just having every integer value from 1 to 45. Surely that takes care of it?

 

Yeah, that oughta cover it!

 

On 1/15/2020 at 3:02 PM, Conrad P said:

Flipping lines! Well it's only the IO- IO case we're talking about here and what rule defines the "right way"? I need a bit of convincing. I am always reluctant to add extra knobs buttons and levers to ConnectCAD - we have enough to explain as it is 🙂

 

Yes, only I/0 to I/O. I offered up this idea a while back because it is easy to (while drafting madly or making later changes) get the direction of the drawing mixed up. This results in the cable reporting to be less pretty as a single device will end up as source or destination depending on this. It's much nicer for technicians to each socket on each device logically listed. Now, other users have noted that the circuit labels on the schematic are also changing position in the SDK version relative to which direction an I/O-I/O circuit is drawn. I offer the idea up again as it would now address multiple issues.

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Hi Conrad,

 

Here is my thinking. If I've got a technician going through the cable list, it is much easier to read if all the ports in a single device are in the same column. If the direction of the drawing of the circuit changes, again I/O to I/O only, then the cable list gets disjointed and harder to read with ports from the same device jumping from source to destination. Sure, in this case there is no actual source or destination with signal going both ways, but it makes the generated paperwork harder to read and more likely to create errors in the shop or the field.

 

At this point, it is easier to identify which cables are drawn "backwards" and redraw them, renumber them and generate the cable list again than to, say, modify the list then re-create the schematic. Being able to "flip" the cable without having to re-draw and renumber it would be an epiphany.

 

Ean

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Ok, got it this time! Sorry for being slow on the uptake 🙂 I'll look into that. Thanks for taking the time to spell it out.

 

I had a thought some while back to allow Circuits to be drawn anyhow and flip them afterwards if they were IN -> OUT. I remember that flipping the Circuit was not a completely trivial exercise. Leave this with me.

 

Conrad

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Yah, no, not trivial. Probably requires creating a couple of temporary circuit records to move the fields around in before writing it back. Then the whole GUI issue--is it a menu item or a button in the circuit info panel? On and on it goes. Thanks Conrad.

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  • 5 weeks later...
On 1/15/2020 at 3:02 PM, Conrad P said:

+1 on custom rack heights. The defaults only occasionally seem to match up with equipment racks from Middle Atlantic.

Yes a side-effect of moving to Vectorworks SDK is that parameter choice lists can't be accessed thru the Plug-in Manager. So we've taken the simple route of just having every integer value from 1 to 45. Surely that takes care of it?

 

While this is being looked at, would it be possible to make the max number something larger than 45? I've got a project that is using Middle Atlantic VMRK racks, which are 54 RU tall. For now I'm making racks like "RACK1_TOP" and "RACK1_BOT" and then copying into a "dumb" (non-ConnectCAD) drawing that has the full height to make PDF deliverables. It works, but it would be wonderful to lose this step from my workflow.

 

Otherwise, loving the speed and other improvements in v2020!

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