OpenGL Ongoing Problem

[E|FA]

I am having issues with OpenGL.  This error is repeatable on my machine.  VW tech support would be appreciated.

 

Here's a description of the problem shown in the attached video:

1. Model shown properly in OpenGL.  OpenGL settings are as shown.  Note: building is a design layer viewport on the DTM
2.  Draw something (line drawn in video)
3. OpenGL loses all edge lines.  Some OpenGL settings are now grayed.
4. Close file without saving.
5. Reopen file.
6. OpenGL loses most lines, textures, and colors.  

 

If I quit VW and restart, I can go back to step #1.  Rebooting my Mac does not help.

 

I assume this is related to this thread:

 

I am also experiencing the loss of progress bar problem:  

 

[Pat Stanford]

@E|FA You seem to be having more and more unusual problems than most people are having with VW2020.

 

You are unlikely to get technical support directly from Vectorworks on Easter Sunday. You probably need to contact VW Tech Support directly on Monday. While they follow this board for problems such as you are having people usually get better support via telephone or direct email.

 

Here are some things that you might want to try to see if you can isolate the problem. I apologize if you have already tried any/all of the following.

 

1. If you are seeing any unusual results in other programs it is possible you have a hardware or OS problem.

2. As a test, create a new User on your Mac (System Preferences:Users & Groups). Store the file with the repeatable OpenGL problem somewhere it can be accessed from both users (Flash drive, Dropbox, Mac HD:Users:Shared, etc.). Switch to the new account and try and run VW from there and see if you have the same problem. If you do have the problem in the new user account it could be a corrupted file, a bad VW installation, or a hardware or OS problem. If you do not have a problem under the new user, it is likely a problem with your user account.

3. If the new user solves the problem you can either just switch over to the new user or try to debug your original account. The first step I would try would be to quit Vectorworks and go to the VW User folder (~/Library/Application Support/Vectorworks/2020) and rename that folder. When you start Vectorworks, it will create a new User folder and you should have a setup very similar to when you are running using the other user account. Test and see if the problem goes away.

4. If 3 is not sufficient, I would quit VW, Trash the new User folder and also go to ~/Library/Preferences and delete (or move or rename if you want to be able to put them back) every file that starts with net.nemetschek.2020 (or just net.nemetschek if you don't care about provious version) these files will be recreated when you start VW, but you will need to reenter your serial number and reset all of your preferences. 

5. If Step 2 worked and Steps 3/4 don't you have to decide how much it is worth chasing versus just moving your other apps over to the new user.

6. If you want to keep trying to fix your original user account I would: Go to Apple.com and download the Combo Updater for 15.4 (or whatever is the latest OS version) and run that. I have heard of problems with the standard updaters that are occasionally solved by the Combo Updater.

7. Delete all traces of VW (Application, user folder, Application Support, Preferences) and reinstall VW from scratch.

8. Reinstall the Operating System, preferable after reformatting the hard disk (Make sure you have at least two back-up copies of everything on different media and in different places before you erase the disk). https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/reinstall-macos-mchlp1599/mac

9. If Step 2 does not save the problem, you need to decide if it is a corrupt file or something else. Is there someone else you can share the file with who can test to see if it causes the same problems for them? If it does then it is a corrupt file and should be sent to Tech Support to see if they can recover it.

10. If the file works OK for someone else then I would recommend steps 6, 7, and 8.

11. When life gets closer to normal and the Apple Stores reopen, take the computer in for a hardware check. Or contact Apple Support and see if they can run any kind of hardware test remotely.

 

It doesn't make a lot of difference that most people are not having the types of problems you seem to be having. But here on the forum I am not seeing very many issues like you are having, so it is likely something to do with your system. I hope something about helps you in some way.

 

Good luck. 

 

 

[E|FA]

Pat,

 

Thanks.  I'm part way through your steps and have heard directly from VW tech support.  I'll continue working with them and will report back if & when the problem is resolved.

 

Allan

[E|FA]

@Pat Stanford,

 

I've been working through a lot of your suggestions (and have also been working directly with VSS tech support).  At the moment, it looks like the most likely culprit is my customized workspace.  After a totally clean reinstall of VW, things seemed to be working OK.  As a safety precaution, I decided to set all of my VW & template preferences from scratch as well as rebuilding my workspace, rather than importing an older (and possibly corrupt) version.  Part way through the workspace rebuild, I started crashing.  When I pulled the new workspace out of my user folder, the crash stopped.  Thus, this seems like the likely culprit (or it's a coincidence that is leading me astray).

 

I'm planning on starting the workspace rebuild again.  Do you (or anyone) know of customizations that should be avoided because of known bugs? 

 

Thanks

[Pat Stanford]

I'm glad it looks like you found the problem. Let's hope it really is the issue.

 

I normally think about old custom workspaces, but it did not even cross my mind this time :-(

 

I don't know of anything that you shouldn't add. I do know you can't add everything. A friend tried to make a workspace to combine all of the tools of Architect and Spotlight, and it wouldn't work.

 

If you are happy with your old workspace you can Export it as a text file from the Workspaces dialog box. That will show you what is under each menu and palette and what the shortcut keys are.

 

But take this opportunity to make sure you have all of the newer goodies loaded that might not have existed when you created the first workspace.

[E|FA]

@Pat Stanford

 

My latest crash was on a completely new workspace.  I duplicated the "Architect-BIM" workspace and started making changes.  Most of my changes are deleting keyboard shortcuts (so I don't accidentally trigger them), rearranging the tool palettes to fit my workflow, and changing key commands to match what I've been using for 25+ years.  

 

I don't think I've added any Spotlight tools, and the workspace editor won't let me change key commands that are reserved by Mac OS.  So I don't know what I'm doing that could cause a crash.  I would think the workspace editor would prevent combinations that are not allowed.

[Pat Stanford]

No Idea. I usually use the stock workspaces, but I don't think I have every had (or heard of) a Workspace Editor crash.

 

First time for everything.

[E|FA]

@Pat Stanford:  Another day, another (new) workspace.  It looks like everything's working OK, so either my previous problems were due to corrupted workspaces, or it's an unrelated intermittent problem waiting to show up next time I have a deadline.  Thanks again for your help.

[E|FA]

Status update: VW crashed again yesterday & wouldn't restart.  I dragged my custom workspace out of the user folder and VW restarted. Reinstalled a backed up copy of my workspace and VW restarted.  The problem appears to be corrupted workspaces.  VSS tech support has been informed.