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Workspace Editor Wishlist Items


E|FA

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On 4/21/2020 at 10:22 PM, E|FA said:

    Stair vs Simple Stair

The irony, if you want to call it that, is that the simple stair tool sometimes allowed for things that the stair tool struggles with, at least it did in the past it may have improved since the last time I had to create extensive multilevel stairs.

 

Old doesn't necessarily mean obsolete in such cases.

 

Cleanup of the old tools is needed, but I'd first check which useful functionality of old/legacy tools is not in the new tools  and implement that functionality into the new/current tool first.

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8 hours ago, Art V said:

The irony, if you want to call it that, is that the simple stair tool sometimes allowed for things that the stair tool struggles with, at least it did in the past it may have improved since the last time I had to create extensive multilevel stairs.

 

Old doesn't necessarily mean obsolete in such cases.

 

Cleanup of the old tools is needed, but I'd first check which useful functionality of old/legacy tools is not in the new tools  and implement that functionality into the new/current tool first.

 

Totally agree. This would be a great topic for the Q&A webinar on Oct 6. In fact, they may even address it before we bring it up. Housekeeping, streamlining, removing pain points, sparking joy... seem to be the current/next phases for VW.

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39 minutes ago, Mark Aceto said:

Housekeeping, streamlining, removing pain points, sparking joy... seem to be the current/next phases for VW.

Sparking joy?... be careful what you wish for because we might end up singing Beethoven's Ode to Joy (from the unfinished 9th symphony) when that does happen. 🙂

 

Seriously now, I do hope they finally will do some housekeeping, streamlining and fixing broken things on a large(r) scale for the next revision than just a few bits and pieces here and there in each new revision.

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1 hour ago, Art V said:

Sparking joy?... be careful what you wish for because we might end up singing Beethoven's Ode to Joy (from the unfinished 9th symphony) when that does happen. 🙂

 

Seriously now, I do hope they finally will do some housekeeping, streamlining and fixing broken things on a large(r) scale for the next revision than just a few bits and pieces here and there in each new revision.

 

That was a Marie Kondo reference for housekeeping but now I'm in the mood for some Beethoven.

 

I've been test-driving VW21 nonstop since it dropped, and I have to say it's more like they improved thousands of small things vs a few big announcements. I mean multicore and a few other features are definitely big ticket items but there's a lot to appreciate under the hood with this release. It's like how Year-Three iPhones (on a 3-year cycle) look exactly the same as they did 2 years ago (so that's not exciting on the surface) but they're the best most stable version. Or the body style of your favorite car that's a few years old but it's not a lemon because they worked out all the kinks (unless it's a 4-runner which never changes under the hood for decades). Anyway, I don't know how you market "we fixed thousands of things that slowed you down." It's not as sexy as "NEW (the trigger of which we do no speak) TOOL!"

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3 hours ago, Mark Aceto said:

 

That was a Marie Kondo reference for housekeeping but now I'm in the mood for some Beethoven.

I've been test-driving VW21 nonstop since it dropped, and I have to say it's more like they improved thousands of small things vs a few big announcements. I mean multicore and a few other features are definitely big ticket items but there's a lot to appreciate under the hood with this release. It's like how Year-Three iPhones (on a 3-year cycle) look exactly the same as they did 2 years ago (so that's not exciting on the surface) but they're the best most stable version. Or the body style of your favorite car that's a few years old but it's not a lemon because they worked out all the kinks (unless it's a 4-runner which never changes under the hood for decades). Anyway, I don't know how you market "we fixed thousands of things that slowed you down." It's not as sexy as "NEW (the trigger of which we do no speak) TOOL!"

ooo- I know the answer to that one: say "we fixed thousands of your pain points, & but also added multicore…" 

Works for me.

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I realized it would be super easy to mock up the Everything Workspace using the workspace editor.

 

If I needed menu bar real estate on a smaller screen, I would happily put Braceworks and ConnectCAD inside Spotlight.

 

Architect-BIM should live inside Architect.

 

There's no need for Fundamentals or Designer.

 

Click on the screenshots for the high res versions (much sexier).

 

895925906_ScreenShot2020-09-24at1_52_36PM.thumb.png.28dbe8193d46a6bbc5eed24e453d76d7.png

 

And if Dark Mode is your thing:

 

986230386_ScreenShot2020-09-24at1_54_39PM.thumb.png.f351fc38b53cf53d41b61cdc2d9a054f.png

Edited by Mark Aceto
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FYI, I submitted the following bug report regarding the workspace editor in 2021:

 

Quote

 

In the workspace editor for Architect, the following tools & commands are available, even though they are not compatible with this license per the feature matrix at http://app-help.vectorworks.net/2021/eng/Commands_Tools2021.pdf .  I have had massive problems in the past due to bad workspace issues.  Please remove them ASAP.  

 

COMMANDS

  •    Create 3D Loci at Grade Points 
  •    Import GDTF... 
  •    Move Geographic... 
  •    Update All Schematic Views 

 

TOOLS

  •    Existing Tree 
  •    Foliage 
  •    Hoist Origin 

 

 

I recommend double checking with the feature matrix before adding a tool to a custom workspace.  I also recommend checking in the "legacy" items lists to make sure the tool/command you're adding is current, unless you are sure of what you're doing.  

 

Think they'll hire me for the quality control team?

 

EDIT:  Additional obsolete tools/commands in workspace editor.  Many are not in the matrix or help system at all:

  • 3d Symbol Insertion
  • Joist, Board
  • Cone Object
  • Pyramid Object
  • Torus Object
  • Site Model Section
  • Extruded Rectangle
  • Extruded Polygon
  • Cylinder
  • Nurbs Arc
  • Nurbs Circle
  • Model View
  • Tons of fasteners (& machine parts?) - too many to list.
     
Edited by E|FA
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More Workspace Editor wishlist Items:

1.  2021 added "(legacy)" to the names of most of the latest legacy tools.  This is great.  Please add to all legacy tools/commands so they are evident in the "all tools" and "all commands" lists.
2.   Add filtering/search to workspace editor

 

EDIT:  added these to the original post.  Can't delete this post....

Edited by E|FA
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@Art V I agree that many of these items would be useful, and that those that are not useful to me are useful to others.  The issue is that there are tools available that are not shown on the VW 2021 tool & command matrix (http://app-help.vectorworks.net/2021/eng/Commands_Tools2021.pdf) as being included in the software, AND they are not included in the help system (https://app-help.vectorworks.net/2021/eng/index.htm).  Some items are clearly part of a different version (e.g.  Hoist Origin is a supported tool, but not in Architect).  Most of the items, however, don't appear at all.  I don't know if that means they're legacy tools that aren't in the "legacy" folders but are still supported & functional and just missing from the matrix & help system, OR if these tools are functional & unsupported, OR not functional, OR other.  

 

Having lost a lot of time dealing with workspace related crashes, I recommend avoiding any tools that are not officially supported & maintained.

 

Can someone at VW please do some more quality control & documentation to make sure that ONLY supported tools are included in the installation, that the feature matrix & help systems are correct, and that all "legacy" tools are noted clearly as being such?

 

Edited by E|FA
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1 hour ago, E|FA said:

Can someone at VW please do some more quality control & documentation to make sure that ONLY supported tools are included in the installation, that the feature matrix & help systems are correct, and that all "legacy" tools are noted clearly as being such?

Now I understand what your problem is, yes this should definitely be made more clear in the documentation. It will also help those using a tool that is no longer in the default workspace to find out more easily if it has become a "legacy tool" or may have been completely abandoned (i.e. no longer present at all).

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On 10/4/2020 at 1:32 PM, E|FA said:

I also recommend checking in the "legacy" items lists to make sure the tool/command you're adding is current, unless you are sure of what you're doing.  

 

I randomly noticed that the Hoist tool in Spotlight is listed as "legacy" in the Workspace Editor, so I'm not sure what that's all about (unless there are 2 tools with the same name and icon).*

 

*CORRECTION: This was in the Plug-In Manager (not the Workspace Editor)

 

Thank you for sharing the 47-page PDF matrix. I'm going to try to export from Acrobat to Excel, so it can be filtered and organized by workspace.

Edited by Mark Aceto
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16 minutes ago, Mark Aceto said:

I'm going to try to export from Acrobat to Excel, so it can be filtered and organized by workspace.

Please share if you succeed.  After a bunch of digging I found the info here (https://app-help.vectorworks.net/2021/eng/index.htm#t=VW2021_Guide%2FUsingHelp%2FConventions.htm%23XREF_69059_Conventions) that the "A" items are for the Architect workspace, but not the Architect-BIM, at least in the help system.  Not sure regarding the matrix.  

 

The matrix link was courtesy of @Pat Stanford in a different thread.  Funny how you have to dig through the forum to find info rather than having everything centrally & clearly located.

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Excel file attached. The file is small but invokes the SBBOD almost immediately, so it needs to be cleaned up: un-merge all the cells, delete empty columns (be careful; they flip from left to right), remove formatting... I would even go so far as to copy the full range, and then paste special (values only) into a new sheet. Remember to only filter the range (not the entire sheet/rows) for fast spreadsheeting.

 

I'll eventually clean it up on my own, and import it into Google Sheets where I can create filter views for each workspace, etc.

 

In the meantime, have at it... 

 

Commands_Tools2021.xlsx

Edited by Mark Aceto
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Add to this list Modifier keys allowed for any keys assignments.

So for instance 

7.Rearrange snap palette in 2 row layout to correspond to the default keyboard layout.

We could have 4 more common snaps as q,w,e & r with 4 less commonly used snaps as shift modified Q,W,E & R

That row could be dedicated to 'VW System' Keys and free up others for tool keys.

 

On 2D and 3D tools isn't time they went away and just make one tool that was 3D but could be constrained to 2D or screen plane, or further constrained to  X,Y on screen plane.

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It's probably worth doing a full update to my original post, but my main issues are from this post:

  For the legacy tools, it shouldn't be too hard for the graphics & UI team at VW to modify the icons and add "(legacy)" to the names.  It was done to a few tools, so why not the rest?

 

412014682_VW2022LegacyTools.jpg.9f2780150f1061c4930e4e338e32dfc0.jpg

 

959440305_VW2022LegacyCommands.jpg.09fdea3569cea3ac1fa6fe95515c59e2.jpg

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Some more good ideas from @Mark Aceto

  • Search bar
  • Drag more than one item
  • Drag a complete set:
  • Spotlight to Designer
  • AutoPlot to Spotlight
  • AutoPlot, ConnectCAD, Arch / BIM, Landmark... to Braceworks
  • Only configure one workspace with all keyboard shortcuts, context clicks, palettes...
  • Without having to redundantly enter (and re-enter every. single. annual. release.)
  • Never have to switch workspaces or resize palettes again!

And a call to action to "upvote" these enhancements in the Roadmap: https://www.vectorworks.net/en-US/public-roadmap?url=workspace-editor-improvements&fbclid=IwAR24Kjo-Mhl0E_dPRYQ2bM9s8NoCOF9w3VZS7PbI07aOWX64pSEfm7Pe2LA

 

 

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I just reported a Workspace Editor bug that is probably pretty rare, but is a pain in the neck that should be avoided:

 

In the Workspace Editor, a separator line can be placed in a tool palette, and can't be removed after the Workspace is saved.  It shows up as a red 'X' in the palette, which is unanticipated and undesired behavior.  My suggestion is to not allow line separators to be added to Tool palettes.

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