2021 - Teaser Tuesday: Collaboration Improvements Make Us Better Together

[JuanP]

No matter the design work you do, collaboration is a crucial aspect of any process.

 

Vectorworks 2021 can import and export Excel files. You’ll be able to publish multiple reports to Excel with just a push of a button or import native Excel data to Vectorworks; and if you modify data in Vectorworks, it will export back to Excel while preserving formulas and formatting. If you’re working with Revit users, you’ll all save time with enhanced quality in exported objects.

 

 

 

Say goodbye to frustrating file exchanges. Vectorworks 2021 brings lets you easily share information and work smarter than ever before. Tell us what you think below!

 

[Mark Aceto]

Worksheets finally got some love this year!

 

Cant wait to dive in... next Tuesday?

[Clint Alderman]

Good job VW Team!

[Samuel Derenboim]

Does this mean that you can create database files from excel to VW as well?

I.E. referential database that is used for reference for objects referencing it? That would be awesome....

Edited September 1, 2020 by Samuel Derenboim

[bpsabatier]

Disappointing.  No improvements to basic VW.  Stairs?  Doors/Windows trim options?  How about roof ridge caps?  

 

I know the update plans... tease with improvements that don't affect 90% of our work, leave us hoping the update will include some surprises, and have us spend thousands of dollars to be disappointed once again.  It's about time to rethink my commitment to VW...

[Markvl]

1 minute ago, bpsabatier said:

Disappointing.  No improvements to basic VW.  Stairs?  Doors/Windows trim options?  How about roof ridge caps?  

 

I know the update plans... tease with improvements that don't affect 90% of our work, leave us hoping the update will include some surprises, and have us spend thousands of dollars to be disappointed once again.  It's about time to rethink my commitment to VW...

I gotta say I'm still waiting, slightly holding my breathe that something architectural will be shown.  The last two versions have been very abysmal when it comes to something I can use.  So far only the new 3D modeling tools is anything praise worthy from my end. 

[Mark Aceto]

Trigger Tuesday doesn’t disappoint!

There are always 4 teasers in August, leading up to the release in September. The teasers apply to all users, and one of them is always about CPU/GPU performance improvements. There have been a few industry specific exceptions but this year was clearly about performance improvements for everyone.

 

Keep in mind that on launch day there will be dozens of new videos and feature announcements specific to each industry.

 

Also keep in mind that because of the pandemic, the software engineers appear to have been shooting and editing these videos from home this year which I’m  sure has not been ideal. BTW it's always cool to meet the engineers this time of year!

 

Fingers crossed we find the long-overdue updates that we’ve been patiently hanging in there for on release day... 
 

A note for the Vectorworks team: a clear roadmap transparently showing development of new features and improvement of existing tools would really help manage expectations (and emotions).

 

Edited September 2, 2020 by Mark Aceto

[bpsabatier]

My fingers are tired of being crossed... Simple solution.  Release the new version before asking us to pony up our annual subscription.  At the current rate of necessary improvements to simple architectural features, I can wait 3 or 4 years to just upgrade.

[MaWi]

41 minutes ago, bpsabatier said:

Disappointing.  No improvements to basic VW.  Stairs?  Doors/Windows trim options?  How about roof ridge caps?  

 

I know the update plans... tease with improvements that don't affect 90% of our work, leave us hoping the update will include some surprises, and have us spend thousands of dollars to be disappointed once again.  It's about time to rethink my commitment to VW...

 

I think you didn't understand or didn't watch the movie about the new search and the smart options. This features are reduce the time eminently to create a BIM-Modell! And let's talk about the speed. I have testfiles from huge 3D-BIM-Models where I can switch from sheet layersto design layers in 1sec.. The same step needs in VW 2020 over 10seconds!

 

The grass on the other side is always greener...but Vectorworks has just planted a sequoia tree with VW 2021!

[bpsabatier]

No, I understand speed improvements are necessary and welcome.   But that should be the feature I find out about AFTER the new version comes out.  Right now I want to see that we are getting a new stair tool that allows design options that others already employ (Archicad and Chief Architect in particular).  Or how about a trim profile option in the door/windows... not everyone utilizes flat trim in their designs.  And don't get me started on that horrible Cabinet tool...

 

Now those things would get me excited on Teaser Tuesday.  Being able to link an Excel spreadsheet to VW...  boring.

 

I have to agree with Mark Aceto's Note to the Vectorworks Team to give us a clear roadmap to the features to expect.  I don't like be kept in the dark till after I pay my subscription, that's all.

[Mark Aceto]

14 hours ago, bpsabatier said:

I don't like be kept in the dark till after I pay my subscription, that's all.

 

@bpsabatier that's a great point, and it speaks to the need for a clear roadmap, like the Twinmotion Public Roadmap.

 

Here's the rub: if Apple provided a public roadmap, idiot consumers would hold out for an iPhone with 7G, and the company would lose money.*  However, we're using VW everyday for our careers, so I don't see a case where a user says, "Even though VW21 will massively speed up my workflow, I'm going to wait to upgrade until VW22 because it will have Redshift." However, I do see a case where an architect says, "There haven't been significant improvements to the tools that I use daily... "

 

At the very least, we should have visibility on engineering working on improving the stair and window tools. Because, as it stands... are they? It doesn't even have to be, "We promise to deliver a new stair tool in VW21." It just needs to be, "Improvements to Stair Tool: In Progress". For all we know, VW has no intention of improving the Stair Tool because that's how it feels to us, on the other side, in the dark. Happy clients require regular status updates of how their goals are tracking toward success. If I treated my clients the way most tech companies treat their customers--constantly keeping them in the dark--I wouldn't retain any of my clients.

 

For the record, I'm not trying to start a pile-on bitch session about the stair tool. I'm just using @bpsabatier excellent point about subscribing to Service Select with the trust hope that your payments are inline with your priorities. For all we know, there will be a new stair tool shipping next week. But we don't know that. And that's the point. We need a clear roadmap.

 

* This is also one of the things that I absolutely hate about Apple, so their secrecy shouldn't be regarded as a model of success

 

Edited September 2, 2020 by Mark Aceto

[Tom Klaber]

Twinmotion has a very nice public roadmap that should serve as an example:

https://portal.productboard.com/epicgames/3-twinmotion-public-roadmap/tabs/4-under-consideration

 

There is a HUGE opportunity here - with the very public spat between Revit and it's customers - for VW to be the a cost effective - customer friendly alternative.  We are 80% of the way there - where in this forum we can complain directly to VW staff.

 

 

[zoomer]

Or like Blender Development 😍

 

And BTW,

Apple Numbers App Exchange for me please 🙂

 

[MaWi]

2 hours ago, bpsabatier said:

a new stair tool that allows design options that others already employ (Archicad and Chief Architect in particular)

 

Graphisoft's promotional video about stairs looks great, but it's very interesting that even ArchCAD professionals still create spiral stairs with GDL. 🙄

1 hour ago, Mark Aceto said:

At the very least, we should have visibility on engineering working on improving the stair and window tools. Because, as it stands... are they? It doesn't even have to be, "We promise to deliver a new stair tool in VW21." It just needs to be, "Improvements to Stair Tool: In Progress". For all we know, VW has no intention of improving the Stair Tool because that's how it feels to us, on the other side, in the dark

Vectorworks Inc. presents a foretaste of the next few years at the Design Summit. Often individual tools are not mentioned there, which is correct in my opinion.
But I can assure you that Vectorworks Inc. has a multi-year development plan and that the different industries are looked at individually. The wishes for architecture are thus separated from lanscape or spotlight. Of course, Vectorworks Inc. also has limited resources and therefore requests are always prioritized. I am very satisfied with the development of the last 4-5 years, but I don't run out of wishes either :-).
Compared to other CAD / BIM software providers (e.g. Graphisoft), Vectorworks implements many more requests that come from customers. Take a look at the outdated technology of AC's stories and wall systems.

[Mark Aceto]

@MaWi I'm not throwing VW under the bus (pardon the pun). I'm saying that users need improved communication to manage expectations.

 

We just need something as simple as this:

 

 

Edited September 1, 2020 by Mark Aceto

[zoomer]

33 minutes ago, MaWi said:

Take a look at the outdated technology of AC's stories and wall systems.

 

 

Is it that way ?

I tested all Nemetschek CAD/BIM Software back in 2010 !

before I bought VW in 2014.

 

And at that time I was able to model my parents 2 story building in

Archicad flawlessly with all those custom complex Window Types

and custom multi Wall connections by priorities worked great for me.

I recently loaded that old AC's IFC into Bricscad for fun and it is still a

perfect BIM Model for todays needs.

Similar with Allplan, which unfortunately was no deal as doesn't run on Mac.

 

As one can read my old posts here, I was no friend of VW's Story+Level System

since release because of wasted potential and missed opportunities.

VW Walls are easy and fast to use for most users. But I would not call the

VW Wall Tool impressive.

 

I decided for VW for several whatever reasons.

But from my memories of the 2010 AC, from a BIM-only standpoint,

I see Archicad BIM experience still superior to VW 2020.

And I can't imagineAC got worse over the last decade.

Edited September 1, 2020 by zoomer

[Samuel Derenboim]

I think this sneak preview will be next. I certainly think this is a welcome and definitely a robust feature when textures and objects are concerned

 

https://www.vectorworks.net/design-summit/virtual-keynote?utm_campaign=summit&utm_content=june20bldgbiplabinterview&utm_medium=worldarchitects&utm_source=intext

[MaWi]

15 minutes ago, zoomer said:

And at that time I was able to model my parents 2 story building in

Archicad flawlessly with all those custom complex Window Types

and custom multi Wall connections by priorities worked great for me.

Lets' talk about limitation of tools line windows. I'm sure that you will find very fast a situation where the window from AC doesn't have one option which you need for your project. The windows-tool has (my guess) thousand of options but you don't have this one option....and this one single option stops the whole automatically processes! To get your desired windows you have to create your on window. With Vectorworks you can create....sorry everybody can create a hybrid symbol with a perfect 2D view and perfect section view. In Archicad you must first draw the wall opening with the slab element, define this slab element as a wallhole and then save it as a window in the library.🤔

 

23 minutes ago, zoomer said:

custom multi Wall connections by priorities worked great for me.

A "perfect" system, when you would like to have different wall connections inside a floor drawing with the same material....or in other words: it's not really funny to duplicate always materials to get the desired result!

 

27 minutes ago, zoomer said:

As one can read my old posts here, I was no friend of VW's Story+Level System

Nobody expects from you to love a function. 🙂 But compared to AC we are extremely much more powerful in the part of stories ... and I really like the possibility of automatically creating wall shells at the same height as they are built.

 

24 minutes ago, zoomer said:

But I would not call the

VW Wall Tool impressive.

Let's have a look to the rectangle mode of the two tools:
VW: 100% intelligent

AC: nearly 0% Intelligenz (they draw always 4 wall, it doesn't matter if there are already walls. 

 

Vectorworks is not superior to AC in all respects, that is clear to me, there are certainly functions that are really well and better solved in AC. But we should and also be aware that with Vectorworks we have the best solution for architects! No other CAD / BIM software gives me so much freedom to implement my ideas and designs and can be used in every phase of planning.
As mentioned in a previous post, I still have a lot of wishes and ideas for improvement Vecorworks, BUT I am proud every day to work with Vectorworks. OK, almost every day 🙂

[Tom Klaber]

VWs jack of all trades mentality has many benefits - and what makes it great for us as a small boutique firm working on projects that range from 300 to 10,000 square feet.  We can modify the workflow to meet the needs of the project from a full 2D delivery to an almost BIM.

 

 But, as has been discussed at length in this forum, it also creates tensions between legacy workflows and new features which can be antithetical to each other.  The very layer system itself is an impediment to the BIM workflow - made most clear by VWs extreme difficulty of dealing with multistory objects.  And as a Jack of All Trades - there are also more mouths to feed, and there seems to have been some serious investment into the lighting and event design side of the software while things like a working stair tool have been promised but not delivered to architects.

These things had me longing to transition to a software that really cared about Architects - thinking maybe it is time to suck it up and cough up the dough and make the transition to Revit...Then there is this big public tift between Architects and Autodesk and how unhappy they are about the lack of development in the software.  

 

Grass is always greener.  At least here - the cost is reasonable and the community and the company have an open and active dialog.  

[Mark Aceto]

2 hours ago, Samuel Derenboim said:

I think this sneak preview will be next. I certainly think this is a welcome and definitely a robust feature when textures and objects are concerned

 

https://www.vectorworks.net/design-summit/virtual-keynote?utm_campaign=summit&utm_content=june20bldgbiplabinterview&utm_medium=worldarchitects&utm_source=intext

 

Wow, I must have missed a few of these presentations!

 

Over the freaking moon excited about these Spotlight improvements:

 

Edited September 1, 2020 by Mark Aceto

[Mark Aceto]

Phasing! Material resources! Stacked wall components!

 

Excel live sync doesn't seem to be happening this year though, so I'm wondering how many features in these videos will make it into VW21 vs VW22? I guess we can at least assume they're in progress... 

 

[Mark Aceto]

Last one: always excited about improvements to site and GIS tools! And the plant tool--or tools considering how many plant and tree PIO's have been developed only to be abandoned over the years--is the stair tool of landscaping, so that's massively encouraging to see enhancement in progress... 

 

Edited September 1, 2020 by Mark Aceto

[Jeff Prince]

12 hours ago, bpsabatier said:

My fingers are tired of being crossed... Simple solution.  Release the new version before asking us to pony up our annual subscription.  At the current rate of necessary improvements to simple architectural features, I can wait 3 or 4 years to just upgrade.

easy solutions...

don’t renew service select

don’t upgrade.

 

Voting with my wallet, that’s what I’m doing.  I own my license personally.

 

Why?  I have waiting months, and over a year in one case, for basic technical support for a few key issues documented on this forum.  These teases are just that.

I have a team to migrate from 2D to 3D documentation.  I can’t justify buying 5-6 licenses of VWX with this lackluster support.

Keep em on AutoCAD/stay in 2D or migrate to Revit, maybe give Crayola a shot at winning our biz. At least we would have support and be able to find employees, which is better than the alternatives on these issues.

 

 

[Matt Overton]

7 hours ago, Mark Aceto said:

Phasing! Material resources! Stacked wall components!

 

Excel live sync doesn't seem to be happening this year though, so I'm wondering how many features in these videos will make it into VW21 vs VW22? I guess we can at least assume they're in progress... 

 

Yes but not all will be VW21 I'm told but still it is effectively a road map for each section of the programme.

I assume that is goals for 1 to 3 years in order to get 12 items on each screen.

[Kevin K]

Yeah, like Jeff, I am boycotting this year. No service select, no upgrading to 2021. I would be more than happy to not get one friggin new tool, etc in a new version, in exchange for just fixing the myriad of existing items that do not work as advertised and get swept under the carpet for years. I know the folks at VW do a good job for us, in general, but with all due respect, having excel play nice with VW doesn’t do too much for me in the big picture. 
sadly, this is the first year in over 20 that I will not be upgrading.