Toggle Shortcut : Display Lineweight as Colours

[Amorphous - Julian]

It would be so good, if, with one shortcut button, we can display ALL lines in the document AS colours.

 

So, regardless of class, we can have:

0,05=RED

0.13=GREEN

0.18=YELLOW

etc etc etc (customisable)

 

We should be able to access this on both Sheet Layers and Design Layers, so we can check for lineweights at any time. 
 

 

Edited March 12, 2020 by Amorphous - Julian

[markdd]

Sounds like a good new criteria for Data Visualisation .......

[Amorphous - Julian]

@markdd I'm still on 2019 (Waiting for 2020SP3) so haven't used the new/advanced features of Data Visualisation yet. 

When I posted this I did wonder whether Data Visualisation can do this. 

Would data visualisation be able to give a one-click solution to toggle between the two display modes?

[markdd]

Short answer is yes..... actually a Menu and a click. However a Lineweight criteria doesn't exist yet (unless I'm mistaken). It's a great idea. You should put in an enhancement request....

[Amorphous - Julian]

I see, good to know! Hopefully someone at Vectorworks will pick up this suggestion. 

[Amorphous - Julian]

@Matt Panzer
May I rely on you to be our advocate here.
This is a feature that would help any design businesses in AutoCAD-dominated markets (like where I operate). 
Almost everyone I employ wants to draft with a 'black background' + 'lineweights mapped to colours'. 
I understand data visualisation is one way to achieve this mapping, but to explain data visualisation to first time user of Vectorworks (amongst all other features) is going to scare them away.
So, if there is a one-click solution to achieve this interface, per my suggestion above, then I will have much less resistance coercing devoted AutoCAD users to use Vectorworks. 
It's all about bringing a sense of familiarity to these guys, and deliver it on a plate to them for easy consumption. 

[Jeff Prince]

23 minutes ago, Amorphous - Julian said:

@Matt Panzer
May I rely on you to be our advocate here.
This is a feature that would help any design businesses in AutoCAD-dominated markets (like where I operate). 
Almost everyone I employ wants to draft with a 'black background' + 'lineweights mapped to colours'. 
I understand data visualisation is one way to achieve this mapping, but to explain data visualisation to first time user of Vectorworks (amongst all other features) is going to scare them away.
So, if there is a one-click solution to achieve this interface, per my suggestion above, then I will have much less resistance coercing devoted AutoCAD users to use Vectorworks. 
It's all about bringing a sense of familiarity to these guys, and deliver it on a plate to them for easy consumption. 

 

I don’t get it, can’t you already do this with class colors and toggling between color/b&w mode and display lineweights.   It’s not my cup of tea, but easily done.

 

Those oldschool autocad users need to upgrade their skills.  AutoCAD has been able to use style based printing and on screen lineweights for over 20 years.  People married to the CTB plotting method after all this time are just burning their retinas out.  I switched to style based plotting in 2000 and never looked back, WYSIWYG is how all graphics programs should operate.  When I meet young people who are using color for lineweight, I feel bad for them and their mentors.

[Amorphous - Julian]

Thanks for your comments @Jeff Prince

I agree with you- WYSIWYG is the way to go.

So when setting up our default templates, we use 'black' as the default colour for all of our lines (except for some things like light fixtures or dimensions). 

Setting black as the 'default colour' also has the advantage of less errors when printing (a WYSIWYG philosophy).

Hence, our system of working doesn't give us the option to just toggle between colours as black as you said- and I honestly don't want to have anti-WYSIWYG class colours. 

Also to clarify, my above suggestion is to map ALL items of particular line weights to specific colours, regardless of class or object type. And do this with one click. In the 3D workflow this would be especially useful. Our projects are only in 3D, and we have quite an elaborate classing system in our office, which would benefit from this one-click button.

In our ideal thinking, this button will let us define all 0.05=yellow, 0.15=blue.... etc. I don't know whatever is the default lines to colour AutoCAD users do, I personally can't read drawings with colour lines like that, it blows my brain up 🤯. 

Again I'm in total agreement with your sentiment on WYSIWYG, but I'm a minority (Vectorworks) fighting against a massive marketing numbering in the billions who almost all use Autocad. I have to bend to their ways to survive. And in an interest where there is ZERO interest in vectorworks, it is important for us to make things easy for them to convert, not the other way around. 

[Jeff Prince]

41 minutes ago, Amorphous - Julian said:

Again I'm in total agreement with your sentiment on WYSIWYG, but I'm a minority (Vectorworks) fighting against a massive marketing numbering in the billions who almost all use Autocad. I have to bend to their ways to survive. And in an interest where there is ZERO interest in vectorworks, it is important for us to make things easy for them to convert, not the other way around

This isn’t a Vectorworks vs AutoCAD debate, it is an antiquated vs modern workflow.  Color = Lineweight was developed for pen plotters and display limitations.  It fails to address those with vision disabilities such as color blindness or difficulty with contrast.  It fails to render line work on screen with any accuracy due to different backgrounds used (not everybody tolerates drawing on a black screen).  It leads to more mistakes made during plotting.  When you use antiquated methods, your young talent will probably seek greener pastures, and that is really bad for biz when the dinosaurs you are caving to go extinct 😉

 

[Amorphous - Julian]

I'm well aware that colour line-weights was developed for display limitations (in fact, all of the AutoCAD workflow is built around limitations). Again I'm in agreement with you... I don't use that colour line-weight workflow myself. 

As for the modern vs antiquated workflow, try telling people working in a region that their established way of working is antiquated 🤣 ...

When I moved here 10 years ago, I told the locals their way of working is antiquated, and that the rest of the world is using BIM. I got the the cold shoulder and they thought I was the weird one.

I had too many heated debates about modernising workflow, and know it is not worth it. 

I have learnt from moving and operating in different markets now (OZ, US, EU, HK, CN), you can't educate the market, and change their ways. You just have to work with them.

There's a big market that Vectorworks can attract (think China and India), and we have to make it easy for them to come this way. That's the entire point I'm trying to make and that's also why I am suggesting this.  

[michaelk]

@Amorphous - Julian I see why that would be useful.

 

VW has a built in way to map colors to line weights when importing from dwg.  But is there another way to set up that mapping?  I'm not aware of one.  Except for Data Vis which totally works.

 

Are you using a version with Data Vis?  I think it would be possible to make a script into a menu command so you can have a keyboard short cut to toggle it on and off.  (the dark background it easily scripted)

[Amorphous - Julian]

Hi @michaelk thanks for your repsonse. 
Yes we are using a version with DataViz and also like using it very much. 
I am not ware of how to script it into a menu command, or create a keyboard short cut to toggle. 
Would you mind to show me how to do this?

 

[michaelk]

Just took a quick look at the function reference.  I'm not seeing a way to turn a data vis on.  But I might just be overlooking it.  

[Matt Panzer]

12 hours ago, Amorphous - Julian said:

@Matt Panzer
May I rely on you to be our advocate here.
This is a feature that would help any design businesses in AutoCAD-dominated markets (like where I operate). 
Almost everyone I employ wants to draft with a 'black background' + 'lineweights mapped to colours'. 
I understand data visualisation is one way to achieve this mapping, but to explain data visualisation to first time user of Vectorworks (amongst all other features) is going to scare them away.
So, if there is a one-click solution to achieve this interface, per my suggestion above, then I will have much less resistance coercing devoted AutoCAD users to use Vectorworks. 
It's all about bringing a sense of familiarity to these guys, and deliver it on a plate to them for easy consumption. 

 

Hi @Amorphous - Julian,  While I sympathize with your situation, I don't believe this is something that makes sense to build into Vectorworks.  It will only complicate the already many ways to control attributes we already have.

[line-weight]

12 hours ago, michaelk said:

Are you using a version with Data Vis?  I think it would be possible to make a script into a menu command so you can have a keyboard short cut to toggle it on and off.

Is a script even necessary? Can't a data vis be quite easily turned on/off using the dropdown that already exists in the top bar?