Dimensions not snapping to layer.

[Locis]

 

 

 

Edited November 9, 2021 by Locis

[E|FA]

Layers need to be set to the same scale to snap & modify when they are not active.  Check your settings in View Menu->Layer Options-> Show/Snap/Modify others.  I typically have Show/Snap others set for layers, and Show/Snap/Modify others set for classes.  Different people work differently.

[Locis]

On 11/1/2021 at 9:26 AM, E|FA said:

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 9, 2021 by Locis

[E|FA]

If design layers are the same scale, they can interact (snap or modify based on settings).  If they are of a different scale, they can't.  There is some logic to it - snapping a dimension to a layer that is a different scale wouldn't make sense.  I'm not sure what your workflow & use is, but it sounds like you're generating your output drawings in design layers, as opposed to sheet layers, and not using classes to differentiate between annotations and other objects.  In that case, if you need to have annotations snap to objects, you might try using separate annotation design layers for each scale you're using in your drawing.

[Locis]

On 11/1/2021 at 9:44 AM, E|FA said:

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 9, 2021 by Locis

[Locis]

On 11/1/2021 at 9:26 AM, E|FA said:

 

 

 

Edited November 9, 2021 by Locis

[zoomer]

You can just forget about Layers completely and just drew on a single one.

Use only Classes to separate your objects.

 

That is how most other CAD Systems, including the "market leader" work.

Just that they usually call Classes - Layers .....

 

 

Layers just give you some extra flexibility and an additional sorting mechanism.

Like you can separate the geometry of each story on an extra Layer and control

Visibilities. Like Show only all Concrete Walls of the whole building, or show all

Walls, Slabs and Columns but no Windows and Doors on Story 1 and 2 only.

And Layers can have a height.

So you can, after drawing in entrance level, easily draw in 6 meter height by just

switching the Layer.

 

In Vectorworks usually the

Classes = WHAT (classification) and

Layers = WHERE (location)

[zoomer]

8 minutes ago, Locis said:

Why does esc or something not clear all commands?

 

It does.

depending on state inside a Command/Tool,

it usually takes ESC + ESC, or even more ESCs

 

 

9 minutes ago, Locis said:

Why does space bar not accept an entry?

 

SPACEBAR in VW is usually used to temporarily Pan in View Window.

While ENTER (or more ENTERS) is used to accept inputs.

Or TAB is used to switch to a next input and lock the previous.

 

 

12 minutes ago, Locis said:

Why does right click not give me context menus for the commands?

 

 

Because in VW you switch through Tool options by U, I, O, P keys in the

top Tool Info Bar. Where U switches between first level options, I switches

the next level options right from the fisrt level, O the third level. .....

Right Mouse Click brings the usual right mouse click Option Menu like

most Operating Systems I know or most Software will do.

 

(You can even customize this in your Workspace settings. Also there are two

RMB Option Menus : one when your cursor over blank screen and a second

RMB Menu while your cursor hovers over an Element)

[zoomer]

18 minutes ago, Locis said:

or completely wrong with this program.

 

For me that feels more valid for the market leader's CAD ...

[Locis]

On 11/1/2021 at 10:39 AM, zoomer said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 9, 2021 by Locis

[Jeff Prince]

1 hour ago, Locis said:

I can not afford to learn new strange methods and abandon all the really good methods I learned for AutoCAD.

....

I am sure i will have more questions until i can get away from the program.

 

I'm sure everyone who used AutoCAD for any significant amount of time has felt the same way.  I used it for 20 years before switching.  I still have to use AutoCAD from time to time due to client needs.  Personally, I believe Vectorworks is vastly superior for 2D drawing and 3D BIM than AutoCAD.  Until you are trained in its use, Vectorworks will likely drive you mad.

Here are my general recommendations for becoming successful:

• Generally forget about AutoCAD methodologies
• Pretend you do not know any CAD/BIM software
• Realize you must invest quality time in learning new things
• Don't fight the program (see above)
• Take the Getting Started training on Vectorworks university, or take a learning path for your industry
  • Seriously, this is a great resource and will start you on the correct path.
• Appreciate both the Class and Layer methods of organization, they are very powerful.
• generally place annotations in Sheet Viewports instead of Design Layers
• Start by drawing a few simple things, perhaps a 2D detail and a small vignette of your typical work

Or, as you seem to suggest...you can leave your job and join one of those firms that "laughs at you for using Vectorworks".  If you are a craftsmen and professional, the tool you use shouldn't matter much and you should be versed in the use of several over time.  You're not going to get anywhere but frustrated with an adversarial approach to the software or forcing Vectorworks to behave like AutoCAD.

Good luck.

 

[Locis]

20 hours ago, jeff prince said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 9, 2021 by Locis

[Locis]

20 hours ago, jeff prince said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 9, 2021 by Locis

[E|FA]

One of the problems with VW is also its main feature - there are many different ways to use the program, which means while you can make it do whatever you want, nobody can tell you the "right" way to do things.  I used VW for almost 20 years entirely as a 2D drafting program.  Everything was drawn in Top/Plan and I ignored Screen Plane completely (VW 2022 has deprecated Screen Plane anyway).  I did not use Classes and Sheet Layers.  Each file was one drawing sheet, and I used Design Layers to turn things on & off as needed (e.g. gridlines layer, plan underlay (grayed) layer, parts layer, text & dim layer).  We got lots of projects built using this method.  

 

Over the last few years I've been transitioning to a 3D/BIM workflow.  I learned how to model in 3D, and organize my drawing by Classes and Design Layers.  Classes define what a thing is (door, wall, plywood...), and are useful in changing what things look like and other settings.  Design Layers define where a thing is (foundation, first floor walls...).  Design Layers are only used for building the model, and then Viewports are created on Sheet Layers for output (A3 Floor Plans, A4 Sections...).   Data attached to objects can be used to generate schedules, and the Sheet Layer Viewports automatically coordinate drawing numbers, window & door numbering, etc.  All of this is in a single VW file.

 

It has taken me a significant investment of time to learn how to do this, set up office standards, and set up a project template file.  It's still a work in process, and I haven't had a large scale project go out the door with the new workflow.  However, I'm pretty sure that with the system in place, production time and coordination errors for my projects will be greatly reduced and I'll get the return on my investment.  

 

Depending on the office you're in, your level of experience, and place in the organization, defining the office workflow for VW may be beyond what you can influence.  Regardless of the workflow chosen, firm leadership has to be on board and supportive.  So, if you like the job for other reasons, try to find someone at the office who will show you how they do things, and use their method.  They're getting projects built, aren't they (and that is the real point of our professions)?  Or, you can move on.

[Locis]

On 11/1/2021 at 9:26 AM, E|FA said:

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 9, 2021 by Locis

[Jeff Prince]

3 hours ago, Locis said:

I dont know how you work but the programs i use are the craft.  You can not hammer with a saw.  If the program was better designed, then i could switch without problems.  As it is there is a huge nonintuitive learning curve.  That is a problem.  I joined this firm with that 'it's all the same' attitude and it was a big mistake.

 

Think back to the first CAD program you used, before you knew how to draw in the computer.  Was it intuitive?  Unlikely.  I spent the beginning of my career teaching architects and engineers how to transition from board drafting (or having a CAD tech assigned to them) to drawing their projects in CAD themselves.  Your complaints and attitude remind me a lot of those days... people generally reject what they don't understand and seek comfort in the familiar, which is pretty normal human behavior.  Heck, I'm guilty of that sometimes too.  Realizing this is the human condition, you have to reconcile that in order to learn.  Follow the steps I provided, take the class/learning path, become enlightened.  Or, anomalously complain about your situation, on a forum dedicated to the software you seem to despise and fail to understand, and see how much help and sympathy you get.  One of those options solves your problems, the other just makes people click the ignore button.

[zoomer]

6 hours ago, Locis said:

Thanks but none of those answers seem like good/efficient  solutions.

Context menus are fundamental, no one else uses keyboards for that.

 

VW is just a weird program with very odd and very inefficient methods. 

 

 

It is just a very personal feeling ...

but I do not get why ACAD has e.g no real Rectangle but fragile Polylines only.

I draw rectangles in a row the whole day, if extruding them in 3D or not.

I do not get why it makes sense that I have to reactivate the Command again

every time again.

I think Microstation always had been the better Autocad in any way for decades

in UX and features for a similar tasks.

I prefer to click on an Icon to start a Tool that I use multiple times untiI I choose

another Tool later. Or like that my tedious Selections are kept when ending a Tool.

Or an always available settings tool bar to setup my tools on the fly.

 

If some people think it is more convenient to always type everything again into a

command line, use Autocad and/or its derivates.

I personally am much faster with Vectorworks.

Or even Bricscad, as an example for an Autocad UI/UX compatible CAD App,

I can still or hardly better work, just because any of its non-Autocad-like,

Direct Modeling capabilities and AI Feature, developed on top of that

Autocad UX compatibility/strangeness.

 

But that is just a personal subjective opinion on how a CAD should work.

 

[Locis]

15 hours ago, jeff prince said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 9, 2021 by Locis

[Jeff Prince]

3 hours ago, Locis said:

I have been learning and using design software for 30 years and this program is very odd.

 

No need to feel singled out. Revit is also very odd and poorly done.

SketchUp was a nightmare for about 15 years and they have finally begun to get that under control, sort of.

They still refuse to document thier program and force everyone into the user groups for support.  That is unforgivable.

....

 

So go ahead and blame me.  That is much easier than seeing the flaws in the program.

.....

Thanks for the help.

 

 

 

 

[Locis]

8 hours ago, jeff prince said:

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 9, 2021 by Locis