Using Layers or Classes in Vectorworks

I have been reading a discussion on the Vectorworks Discussion email list about how to set up drawings for a renovation project. Some people prefer to use a extra layer for the existing building, I prefer to use one layer for each story of the building. Everything that relates to that floor of the building is on that layer. Yes, this means lots of classes, but with the visibility tool, they are easy to turn on and off. 



This post has moved here....

I have written a new manual for Layers and Classes. You can read more about it here...

Stacked Layers/Unified View

This month the Vectorworks online User Group is looking at Stacked Layers/Unified View and how to set up your layer heights correctly. http://www.archoncad.co.nz/usergroup/join_int.php

Stacked layers was a new technique introduced in Vectorworks 2008. Before Vectorworks 2008, if you wanted to see a complete view of your project, you would make a new layer for 3D viewing. Then you could layer link all your design layers to the 3D model layer. 

In order to view your model, you would change to this layer and make all the Layer Options Active only. This would be the place to set up views for rendering, creating elevations and so on. 

With Vectorworks 2008 and 2009, you do not have to set up the 3D model layer. Stacked Layers allow you to see all the visible layers in your file, and when you move the view around, all the layers look like they are joined together. Vectorworks uses the layer Z height to get all the layers to set correctly in 3D. 

Stacked layers in Vectorworks 2008 and 2009 had some limitations:

you can't use Show/Snap/Modify others for the layer options, 

all of the 2D tools don't work 

You will find yourself turning stacked layers on, just for visualization. You will have to turn Stacked Layers off to work.

The Unified View in Vectorworks 2010 is a big improvement, you can edit everything, on all the layers.

Monthly Manuals work again and again

Hi Jonathan,

a thank you for your excellent support products, had a problem with
wanting to cut out a section of eaves on a colonial roof to slot in a
veranda, was nearly going to call you then looked up your tutorials, and
YEP there it was, Cut out in a standard roof, page 13, dealing with roof's
tutorial.

Independance is great,, Many Thanks... Peter

Join the monthly tutorials at http://www.archoncad.co.nz

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Vectorworks for quick Visualization

I have been working on a visualization project for a client this week. I'm surprised how fast the project has come together. Using wall styles allowed me to texture all the walls together. Plant image props and furniture have made it fast to populate the scene.

I used a lot of floors because the site is completely flat. The easy way the get the polygon for the floors is to use the 2D polygon tool with the second mode, the paintpot. It was so fast to create all the floors.


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iPad

I know, everybody is talking about the iPad (http://www.apple.com/ipad/). But I have been thinking about it, and while some people have pointed out all the things that are missing, I think they are missing the point of the ipad.

The ipad is not a laptop with a touch screen. It would have been easy to make a macbook with a touch screen, but that is not the purpose of the iPad. I have seen many people point out that the iPad is missing a USB port, keyboard and so on. these are things that a laptop has. If you want all these things in your iPad, then you really want a laptop.

I remember when the first iMac came out. Everyone complained that it was missing a floppy disk. But Apple stuck to it and soon the floppy was a forgotten storage system. The iMac did not have a serial bus. Everyone complained that they could not use their old keyboards, mouse and scanners. Now we don't even think about the change we made, it's all USB.

I think of the iPad as being like the first iPod. When the iPod first arrived, we did see the change that it would make to our music habits. Until then we listened to albums or CDs, we did not listen to our library. We could not shuffle our entire music collection. Now, it would be hard to remember what it was like before. Imagine having to get up and change the CD when you've only heard two songs. Now we have shuffle, genuis playlists and even movies and tv shows on our iPods. I didn't see that coming when we had the first iPod.

I believe the iPad is similar. We can't see where the iPad will be in a year's time. We are judging the iPad from our current understanding, which is limited to our history. We need to judge the iPad on what we will be able to do with it, and that we don't know. Software developers are starting to image what they can do with it, and when they tell us, we will be amazed at what the iPad can do.

The iPad is not a big phone, it is not a laptop, it is something completely different. How does this fit with Vectorworks (http://www.nemetschek.net/)? Maybe it will be an input device, maybe a Vectorworks viewer. If nothing else, it makes a nice PDF viewer to carry your drawings to site and make notes.

Maybe it will change your computer buying habits. Instead of buying a Macbook pro (or PC equivalent),  you will buy a desktop machine and an iPad. More power when you need it, more portability when you want it.

archoncad Newsletter February 2010

Hi!

I hope you all enjoyed the last newsletter, I know several of you read it. I would like you to tell me what you would like to hear about future newsletters.

In this newsletter have 6 topics for you:

1. The Vectorworks online user group is meeting again in February. There is a free meeting in the 2nd week of February. Be quick, the January meeting filled up in 30 mins.click on this link to see the calendar.
2. Backing up your work is vital. Install  automated backup software to save time, and save your work.  click on this link.
3. Many of my clients do not know that we have created some of the best short manuals for Vectorworks. These are short task-based manuals without movies. There are about 16 manuals on a range of topics. click on this link.
4. Courses are starting again. Learn Vectorworks in the new classroom, online. Small classes, interactive, click on this link for details
5. The second edition of my Landmark and 3D Modeling manuals have started shipping. I've got mine! click on this link
6. Here is one of my popular youtube movies on the Snap Loupe tool in Vectorworks 2009 and 2010 click on this link

Jonathan Pickup
++ 64 21 743 470
http://www.archoncad.co.nz
jon@archoncad.co.nz
skype me: archoncad@skype.com
follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/archoncad
view my youtube videos: http://www.youtube.com/archoncad
follow my blogs: http://web.me.com/jpickup1/Site/Blog/Blog.html

Using iWeb for blogging

Until recently, I have been usin iWeb (the Apple application) for writing my blogs. I recently made some changes to the name of my blog, and iWeb changed the names of all my podcasts and blogs.

This has broken all my podcast and blog links. So, every link to a blog or podcast that I have written or created is now broken. This is not the effect I wanted.

I'm really dissapointed, I really enjoy using iWeb to create my blogs. It's very easy to use, maybe it's too easy, and so it turned out to be too good to be true.

One of the things I just found out about iWeb, is that you can't copy the text off the screen when you look at the web. When you look at a iWeb site in a browser, instead off seeing text that you can copy and paste, you see an image. No copy and pasting, and my guess is that robots and spiders can't read the image.

So, for now, I'm back to using this site for blogging. If you have any suggestions for software to use for blogging, leave a comment below.

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Free Manuals Available

I made a mistake with the person that does my printing and now I have 4 Copies of of my Architect Tutorial manual for Vectorworks 12 (not 12.5) that I can't sell. I wondered if there were a few deserving people that have trouble getting Vectorworks training materials. I would send the manual free of charge by snail mail. There is no CD in the manual, so no exercise files or movies.

If you deserve a free manual, email me jon@archoncad.co.nz

movie 114 on Youtube

I've posted a new movie on clipping viewports on youtube. You do not even need to enter the viewport to use this.

Rebuilding Your Apple Mail Mailbox

I have been having some trouble with one of my mail boxes in Apple Mail, probably caused by connecting it to my Daylite contacts. Yesterday I found this neat trick called Rebuild. I thought, cool, it will fix all my problems. NOT!

Rebuild deletes all emails that are not on the server. So for me, it removed all my emails, and I do mean all of them. Luckily, I have copies for most of them, but I still lost a lot of old emails.

DO NOT use Rebuild unless you want to loose all those old, unsaved and un-archived emails.

Backing Up

You must back up your computer and keep off site backups. I’ve had loads of clients say, “I have an external HD. I back up when I remember.” The reality is that the interval between backups is the amount of information you are willing to loose. So if you back up weekly, you are willing to loose a week’s worth of information. If you back up monthly, you are willing to loose a month’s work. So, how much work are you willing to loose?

There are several programs you can use to create automatic backups of your information. I found some that were free, some that cost less than $50. For the peace of mind, and for the security of your business, that is a small amount to pay. I’m just finishing off my user group notes about this topic and they will soon be online for all the subscribers.

What do When You Are Between Projects

While you are waiting for the next project to start, or if your business is having a quiet time, you should build up your skills and use this time to make your business stronger.

I have been chatting with my friend Roger Williams about what users can do if they are having a quiet time. Roger has a couple of suggestions:

Well we all want more project work but it’s not here yet so what do we do to keep busy? Why not sharpen our VW CAD skills so we can work more efficiently when the new work comes to us. I’m sure we all have our manuals and reference books. Some can be a challenge to slug through but answers are there. There is a lot on-line as well. So why not put all of these resources to good use building your own Vectorworks resources.

Here are some of the resources you can use (and they are all free):

http://www.youtube.com/archoncad

http://www.nemetschek.net/training/free_resource.php

http://techboard.nemetschek.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php

http://blog.konstrukshon.com/

http://www.webnash.com//page1.php

http://klad.com/blog/

http://www.vectorworking.com/

Spend a few minutes early in the day to set up a learning schedule over a couple of weeks or so. Let’s say something like an hour or two every other day to take on a task or “learning update” then DO IT!! Here are few a tasks and learning upgrades that we should all do.

Thanks for that Roger.

There are also resources that are commercial products. I write several manuals and tutorials, and I help several clients online. Many people don’t know that I spend a large part of my day providing online training and support to my clients. If you want online training and support, contact me directly at jon@archoncad.co.nz

Jonathan Pickup’s January Newsletter

Welcome to the New Year!

At this time of the year, many people have a short break at least. Where I live people are just starting to get back to work. So, what should you be doing for the start of the new year? I’m not a fan of New Year’s Resolutions. I don’t think they work. I am a fan of goals. They really work. When you write down a goal, and put a date on it, your brain starts to work on it for you. Before you know it, you have an idea of how to achieve your goals. Please, try writing some goals down and look at the goals every day. Goals have to be measurable, stated in the positive and have a date, otherwise they are just a weak desire.

Great News from NNA

Columbia, Maryland (January 12, 2010)—Nemetschek North America is pleased to announce that its Vectorworks® Architect software has been tested by the National 3D-4D-BIM Program with the General Services Administration (GSA, see www.gsa.gov/bim) as complying with the requirements of the BIM Guide Series 02, Spatial Program Validation. Vectorworks Architect software (version 2010, SP2) may now be used on GSA projects that require BIM.

This really is fantastic news if you are in USA, and it will allow architects to persue

more government work. Well done you hard working people at NNA!

Vectorworks 2009 SP5 Released

This new update fixes stability issues between Vectorworks 2009 and the new Mac OS X Snow Leopard (V.10.6). for a complete list of fixes and improvements in this service pack please visit this page: http://www.nemetschek.net/downloads/notes/2009SP5_Notes.php

Vectorworks 2010 SP2 released

Second Service Pack for the Vectorworks 2010 product line now available

Nemetschek North America has released its second Service Pack for the Vectorworks® 2010 product line. This Service Pack addresses numerous stability problems and quality issues, especially in the areas of wall and component joining, DXF import/export, and the Space tool.

http://www.nemetschek.net/

Movie-based Manuals

Get ready for a better, faster way of learning some areas of Vectorworks. If you don't like reading much, then Vector-workout is for you. If just want to get straight into the movies, with out all the words, then Vector-workout is for you. If you are looking for a training resource that makes it easy to dip into, then Vector-workout is for you.

Check out this site:

http://www.archoncad.co.nz/training/vector-workout.php#introBIM2010

Short sharp training

Last month the topic was Best Practice for Importing and Exporting DXG/DWG files. If you are a subscriber, you can download this manual now. This month we are looking at how to save a corrupt file, setting the Vectorworks backup, and backing up your computer. Very important topics! There are online meetings for this topic, just look at the calendar to see which meting you want to attend:

http://ical.mac.com/WebObjects/iCal.woa/wa/default?d=1&u=jpickup1&v=1&y=2010&m=0&n=User%20Group.ics

If you want to be there, you need to be a subscriber: http://www.archoncad.co.nz/usergroup/join_int.php

Guide to Productivity for Vectorworks 2010 updated

I have added 4 new movies to the Vector-workout Guide to Productivity for Vectorworks 2010, covering Workgroup Referencing. This is an important area of Vectorworks, when you need to share information, or if you need to keep the consultants drawings in a container. This update is free to all purchasers, so contact your reseller, or contact me for your free upgrade.

If you haven’t bought this Guide to productivity, you are wasting hours every week.. Get productive, get the best from your software.

Guide to Productivity for Vectorworks 2009 updated

I have added 10 new movies to the Vector-workout Guide to Productivity for Vectorworks 2009, covering Floors, Pillars and Workgroup Referencing.

If you have already bought bought this guide, contact me for your free update. If you haven’t bought it yet, you should get it. There are so many powerful techniques, you will be more productive this year.

If you have this situation where the walls cross over, you can use the wall join tool to join them.

Go to the Walls, or Building tool set.

Choose the wall join tool.

Go to the tool bar.

Click on the third mode, X-Join mode.

Click on the first wall.

Click on the second wall.

Walls are joined.

This shows the wall join with Vectorworks 2010, where Vectorworks is told which part of the wall is the structural core, so the cores automatically join.

If you are using Vectorworks 2009, or earlier, you will have to use the Component Join tool to join the wall components together.

After writing this I realized that I have covered this topic in the Vector-workout Guide to Productivity

http://www.archoncad.co.nz/training/vector-workout

Vectorworks Manuals Available at Amazon.com Bookstore

It was pointed out to me the other day that nearly all the Vectorworks manuals are available at the Amazon online bookstore.

I normally recommend supporting you local distributor or reseller, and I still do. If they have the Vectorworks manuals, then pay a little extra and support the local guy, so that they are there when you need them for support.

If you are trying to find good Vectorworks manuals and the local distributor is not keeping the manuals in stock, that can create a long delay for you, while they order the manuals and get them shipped to you. The local distributor in each country should be keeping the manuals in stock. So, if they are making it hard for you to buy the Vectorworks manuals, you have another solution, get them from amazon.com.

Jonathan Pickup’s December Newsletter

As we head to the end of the year, many people look at the past year and try improve for next year. The beginning of a new year is always a good time to look at your business, to set goals, and to look at things you can do better. I'm a big fan of goal setting, it really helps to focus your efforts on the important parts of your life and your business.

In his amazing book, "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People", Steven R. Covey says that habit number two is to start with the end in mind. So if you set goals for the year, you are starting with the end in mind and then it becomes easier to get where you want.

Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, it's time to finish of the work due by the end of the year. Then, it's time to plan next year. Plan to spend some time on your business, getting it ready for a productive year. This doesn't mean you have to spend money on your business, just spend some time on it. Look at marketing your business with facebook, myspace and twitter. Look at your Vectorworks and update, sort out and manage your resources. This can save you an hour a day if you sort them out correctly. What would you do with an extra five hours a week? What could you do with 20 extra hours a month?

Vectorworkout

Get ready for a better, faster way of learning some areas of Vectorworks. If you don't like reading much, then Vector-workout is for you. If just want to get straight into the movies, with out all the words, then Vector-workout is for you. If you are looking for a training resource that makes it easy to dip into, then Vector-workout is for you.

Check out this site:

http://www.archoncad.co.nz/training/vector-workout.php#introBIM2010

Short sharp training

This month the short sharp training will be looking at Best Practice for Importing and Exporting DXG/DWG files. There are times where you can't avoid working with consultants and other CAD users that do not use Vectorworks. In these cases, you need to share information with DXF/DWG. What is the best practice to make it run smoothly?

If you have ever had trouble importing DXF/DWG files, if you have had trouble scaling, or if you are scared of working with DXF or DWG files, this session is for you.

For more information, visit this web site:

http://www.archoncad.co.nz/usergroup/join_int.php

How Productive Could You Be?

I often meet clients that are not aware of how powerful Vectorworks is. When I show them some productivity techniques, they are amazed at the time savings. The problem is, until I show the clients what they are missing, they have no idea that the tools or techniques are available. When you don’t know something, it’s really hard to ask for help on it.

So, here is a list of things that you should know if you want to Vectorworks effectively and if you want save yourself a lot of time. Ask yourself if you know all about these techniques listed below. If you have heard about these but don’t know much about them, you need to attend training, or buy my productivity manual, if you have not heard about these, then you REALLY need to attend training and buy my productivity guide.

1. Do you know the best practice for importing and exporting DXF/DWG files?
2. Do you know that you can use the 2D Reshape tool for all path-based objects?
3. What is it about the Select Similar (magic wand) tool that makes it so useful?
4. Do you know how to use Duplicate Array and have Vectorworks calculate the spacing?
5. Do you know how to create and manage symbols for your office library?
6. Do you know what snaps (constraints) are for?
7. Do you know how to create and manage hatches, images and gradients?
8. Do you know how to create and use a layer and class standard, do you know what a layer and class is?
9. Do you ever have troublesome walls?
10. Ever have trouble dealing with roofs?
11. Do you know how to create and manage viewports on sheet layers.
12. Do you know how to create and manage viewports on design layers.
13. Do you know how to use and manage the Callout tool?
14. Do you know how to use all the annotation tools?
15. Do you have trouble with the Resource Browser?
16. Do you know how to use site modeling to create a solar study?
17. Do you know what the Snap Loupe is?
18. When should you use the Rotate Plan?
19. Do you know how to customize Vectorworks to make it work the way you want?

“Jon-I've been going through the productivity workout and it's fantastic!” - William (MA).

There are about 124 movies in the guide, and you can see what’s in the guide by looking at this web site: http://www.archoncad.co.nz/training/vector-workout.php#productivity2009

Vectorworks 2010 Review by John Helm

Vectorworks 2010

Review by John Helm

Architect with Helm & Melacini Architects

www.hm-architects.com

CHOOSING A CAD PROGRAM

My first thought on writing a review of an update to an existing CAD program is that the readers of the review won’t just be those already dedicated to the program and wanting to know if the upgrade is worth the expense and time to learn new features, but they might also be those looking to change programs or even those architects and others just starting out in their use of CAD. So I’ll first address some issues regarding the choice of which program or programs one might use. I’m also limiting most of my comments to the use of a program by an architect because that’s what I am and it’s what I know.

My approach to the use of the computer is that it should be a tool that makes ones work easier and allows one to be more productive and more creative. An Architect should be able to focus his or her attention on the business of being an architect and as not have to spend months or even weeks to learn to use a new tool. I also believe that in an office there should not be a huge separation between those who know how to use the most important tools in the office, for example the CAD program, and those who don’t.

This brings me to what I consider the most important factors in choosing a CAD program. That is that the program should be easy to learn, intuitive, and available to everyone working on any particular project. It should be available and easy enough to use that the principals, who don’t have a lot of time to spend getting competent on a CAD program, as well as the drafters are able to learn it and use it. And in short it brings me to why I selected a program like Vectorworks some 15 years ago. I can’t really comment on other programs which may or may not do the same things as Vectorworks because I only have second hand information on them and only a limited use of the most popular program Autocad. I should also mention that in order to fit the above criteria one should not have to use several programs to accomplish the goal of producing a drawing or drawing set containing 2D, 3D, text and pictures. That increases the time to learn, adds too many layers of complexity and creates inefficiency in the office.

Here is where we get to my choice of Vectorworks (VW). From the standpoint of graphics it can be a one stop shop, for an architectural office. It’s a design tool, a production tool and a rendering tool that can also be used for most of the graphic layouts an architect might need. The learning curve is short and the way of working with it is from my experience the way architects work.

VW is a complex program and to take advantage of its many features does take some time. But if one is at all competent in using a computer, familiar with Mac or PC graphics programs, word processing, etc. one will find many of the same commands, and procedures. So it presents a familiar face in a way. Starting out just using the basics is simple enough and gives one a feeling of confidence that moving beyond the basics can’t be that hard.

Rendered Site Plans

Design can be done all in 3D and those 3D drawings will be or can be the same drawings that become the 2D drawings making up the production drawing set. Client presentations can be rendered printouts, animations, walk-throughs, or even real time views of a 3D model taken on one’s laptop to a client meeting. And if one needs to do a graphic presentation, a competition board for example, pictures, text, 2D and 3D drawings can all composed and printed right in the program.

Create almost anything

In other words, why burden yourself and your office with half a dozen programs when one will do it all. Yes there are other programs that will do some of the individual parts as well or better, but VW can compete with most of them and the results are more than adequate for the majority of what we do as architects.

Complex Models

I’ll talk for a minute about how VW works. Initially we set up a project file entering basic information about floor heights, wall heights, roof etc. Then we set up basic project parameters, dimension style, meters or feet, things like that and then from a drop menu we select the various sheets of drawings needed. That would be for example floor plans, site plans, elevations and so on. We don’t have to do this in any order and they can be changed later. But by doing this the program does a lot of the work of preparing the drawing set for us. We draw on design layers, we put things like electrical outlets, and windows in classes that can be turned on or off as needed. We use the layers as overlays to create various drawings. Drawings are then transferred though viewports to sheets for the final composition of sheets of drawings to be printed. All of this is done in one file which saves a lot of confusion and makes things simpler. If more than one person needs to work on a drawing set, this can be done through the use of references to other drawings called referenced viewports. When drawing a building plan we draw walls, not just lines, that have characteristics such as height, thickness, and finishes, which means that as we draw the 2D plan we are at the same time creating a 3D model. I can go on here but this isn’t an instruction manual it’s just a brief idea of how the program works.

Finally one thing I always hear is, well we had to choose the program our consultants use or that everyone else uses. To this I say who’s in charge here, the architect or the consultants. And do you really want to burden yourself with an inefficient program just because most everyone else is using it. Why not get a step ahead and increase your bottom line with greater efficiency. And of course you can also convert your VW drawings to a format useable by your consultants so it’s not such a big issue anyway.

Paste up Graphics

Construction documents with plans, elevations and renderings.

Note that the renderings and plans show above were all done in our office using various previous versions of VW.

VW 2010 THE LATEST VERSION

Before moving on to the details of the latest version we might discuss the reasons why one would want to upgrade from previous versions. I’ve already recommended VW as a good choice or even the best choice, so if you are not already into CAD the choice is easy; buy the latest version. But if you’ve been using the program for a while then of course there ought to be good reasons to spend the money to upgrade. From a purely economic standpoint I think there are two factors to consider. Will the new version save you time, meaning money, and do you have enough cash flow during the current slow down to justify the extra expense. Only you can answer the later question except that you may justify the expense by considering the time to learn new features and the fact that if work is slow you have the time to do it. For the first factor I will discuss some features that are in the new version that I believe will more than justify the purchase by time saved. It’s interesting to note that some of the most significant time savers are perhaps the least note worthy in terms of technical development or progress.

As an example of what may be a simple change (not being a programmer I admit I don’t know how simple this was technically) is the ability to change the origin, the rotation and scale of a hatch. On a recent plaza project in Italy we had a variety of hatches all at various angles and scales. We also needed to use the hatches in the detail drawings. And the project underwent numerous changes in the pattern layouts. As a result hatches were not associated; every hatch had to be redone for each area and each change which was a several step process requiring significant time. Most of this time will be saved in the new version. But I am disappointed that they haven’t made a way to make hatches three dimensional. This would be very useful since as it is now one must copy the area hatched and then add a texture to make it show up in a 3D rendering.

Once you get used to using the dimension constraint manager it can save time and also potential mistakes. Walls can be moved and their dimensions update automatically. You can also change the dimension and the wall itself moves, while at the same time the other dimensions in a string of dimensions also changes, as does the overall dimension. One overall dimension changed and not forgotten as often happens when doing it manually might be worth the cost of the upgrade by itself. You can also lock a dimension and its associated walls so that it can not be easily changed. This would be very useful for those areas like hallways where minimum dimensions must be maintained. Also one can save time in layout and design when starting a new project. Walls can be placed in their approximate location and easily adjusted later, with adjacent walls updating automatically.

I think another big time saver will be the unified view tool which replaces the old stacked layers tool. If you do a lot of 3D modeling then this is big. Basically a unified view can be a model of the complete project. From this view one can access any layer, and modify objects while in a 3D view. There is no need to constantly switch back and forth from a model view to a design layer to elevations views etc. It can all be done within a single unified view just switching between 3D, plan and elevations views.

In place reference editing can be a time saver but it depends a lot on how one uses the program. It does not allow one to change referenced drawing files it only works on referenced resources. I think this might be a big help in coordinating drawings on a large project and also on say an apartment project one might turn individual apartment plans into symbols which could be referenced from a master file and changed as needed.

There are several other features which when added together will allow additional time savings. In viewport crops one can now see the entire drawing so there is no more guessing about where to put the crop lines. I like the find resource capability, as I seem to spend lots of time finding symbols and other resources that seem to get placed most anywhere. There is a new connect combine tool for multiple objects. The automatic coordination of sheet numbers seems pretty cool. Sheet numbers are coordinated with drawing numbers and updated automatically if changed in one instance.

So my answer to the first question of economics is a pretty strong, it’s worth it. Now what about some of the other changes and new or revised features?

Here I see a lot of good stuff. And I don’t see anything changed for the worse, (a very important feature) but I do find some of the changes or new features somewhat of a work in progress. For example file referencing has been updated. From my testing of this feature, I see that it works pretty well in 2D but in 3D it seems unpredictable. I tried to reference a floor plan onto a site plan in one case in the same file so it could be rotated. It showed up fine in a 2D view but when I switched to a 3D view the referenced floor plan disappeared. Another interesting thing is that when I referenced the same floor plan to the site plan in another file the same thing happened but also curiously when I turned off unified view and set it to active layer only, then changed to an isometric view, the dimension text showed up on the 3D view. That is a good feature but one that is not supposed to happen. I suspect that part of the problems I’ve had here are due to a lack of computing power, graphic card issues or not enough ram to handle larger complex models. I have seen it work fine on a much simpler model than the one I made. I see the new planar graphics feature as a work in progress as well. It would be much more useful if one could also project text and dimension callouts in 3D. But the ability to see a 2D site plan for example with a 3D model placed on it is very useful. The active layer plane and screen plane views will take some getting used to and I’m guessing a bit of swearing. The good news is that items made in one can be changed to the other with one mouse click. This is one place where the new “magic wand” or select similar tool can be very useful. You select the parameters from a list then click on one instance and all similar items are automatically selected. The problem I have had with this is that I could not get it to select dimensions. I had to revert to the old custom selection tool. It may just be that I don’t know how to use it properly or that it’s not intuitive enough – isn’t that a great excuse for not knowing how to do something.

The wall sculpting tool is useful. I was more excited about it before I tried it. But I still like it. I thought one could stretch the sides of a wall to, for example, fit it to some of the old odd shaped walls one finds in remodels. That can be done but one has to build a 3D object and then combine it with the wall rather than change the wall itself. The result is the same. So far the new stair tool seems great. One has many more options as to how the stair will be constructed. But on my first try, making a spiral stair it placed the railing across the upper end of the stair. I haven’t yet figured out how to remove it, but there must be a way. Corner windows are a nice little feature that I have wanted many times. Cutting holes in walls has gotten much easier.

One thing that I think we worry about is how well our old drawing files will convert when opened in the latest version. So far I can see no problem here. I have opened up some fairly complicated version 2008 files without any problems. In fact I was pleased to see some tree symbols updated and looking much more photo like. There also seems to be a decent increase in rendering speed.

Renderworks is one of the most important aspects of the program at least in the way I use it. There have not been a lot of changes but the ones that have been made are important. They have improved texture mapping and one can put one or more textures on top of each other to create labeling, signage and layered material effects.

Finally I think it’s important to address the issue of being able to transfer files to consultants and clients who need them in a format usable by Autocad. So the question is does this upgrade make that easier. The answer is a qualified yes. One can batch export several sheet layers as individual files which when viewed in Autocad present themselves as formatted sheets that I believe could be printed easily. The problem is that all the VW layers are stacked on top of each other so sorting them out for the Autocad drafter could be difficult. The other option is to export VW saved views. This seems to be a practical option if one needs to send say a floor plan to a consultant. The resulting dwg file looks pretty clean.

There are many other changes and additions that can best be reviewed by looking at the list on the VW website. For example working planes are much easier to access, 3D snapping is improved and so it’s easier to select, modify and align objects in 3D.

Overall this is very much a useful and worthwhile upgrade. There are enough time saving features to justify the cost. And the other improvements will just make one’s working life more pleasant. That is of course after one learns to use them and gets over habits and work around’s used in past versions.

If you are considering updating or purchasing Vectorworks I would suggest having a look at the videos
on the VW website, http://www.nemetschek.net/library/index.php
Jonathan Pickup’s website http://www.archoncad.co.nz
and his videos on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/archoncad
and you can have a look at many 3D models I’ve created on my website www.hm-architects.com.

Finally here is a bit of a disclaimer. I have tried to write an honest appraisal, but I will admit to wishing there were more users of the program I use in my practice because that would make it easier to work with consultants and to find employees who are already trained in using it.

What Should a Vectorworks User Group Be?

I have run the Vectorworks user group in New Zealand for several years. For the past 3 years I've run the user group online, with a specific structure, known topics and an electronic manual each month. You can see an example of this on this web site.

http://www.archoncad.co.nz/usergroup/join_nz.php

This site spells out my ideas for a user group, but when I talk to others, they say that a user group should have more interaction, that it shouldn't be so structured and it should be more about sharing information and tips and tricks. When we started a user group in New Zealand, it was just like that. But the problem I noticed was that some people use the user for learning and not for sharing, or you would get users talking about esoteric topics and beginners would feel left out and they would never come again.

User groups have to teach a beginner something useful at a basic level to help them make them into regular Vectorworks users, regular users need to know more about how to complete specific tasks, and power users learn something. My user group meetings try to follow this structure each month, so everyone take away something from the meeting. There is time for feedback, and sharing tips and tricks, but having a specific topic helps to focus those tips and tricks. Even online I try to get people to share.

Many of my subscribers have been in from the first year. And still they love to come and learn something. I hear that people really respond to the notes I write. This month, I’ve just finished off the notes for my user group. I wanted to cover Annotation, and it has turned into a 35 page manual about annotation. This is typical of my monthly manuals, they cover a huge amount. Luckily, the 35 pages is mainly taken up with screen shots, not words. If you have ever seen my manuals you will know that I like to fill them with pictures and movies, not words. Anyway, back to the users, they keep the manuals, which can be printed, and refer to them again and again. In a multi-person office, the notes get sent around to everyone that needs them.

Writing notes is not easy for most user group leaders, it takes a lot of time that they do not get paid for. Since I write so much, is there anything I can do to help other user group leaders?

I think it should be easier to start a user group, and I'm looking for way to make it easier. I think there should be user groups in every major city, with some of the big cities have 2 or more user groups. I have all the resources need to run a user group. For example, look at the list of topics on this page http://www.archoncad.co.nz/usergroup/topics.php I have manuals for each topic. If you had access to all these topics, wouldn’t it be easier to start a user group. NNA helps out with suggestions on getting started and will help you find people in your area to attend http://www.nemetschek.net/community/usergrouptips.php

If you are intersested, contact me jon@archoncad.co.nz

New Vectorworks Community - Vectorworking

Personal Invitation

Join VectorWorking

the New Online Community

for Architects, Landscape & Lighting Designers

Novedge is the proud host of a new online social community for all users and enthusiasts of Nemetschek Vectorworks, with user groups dedicated to each Vectorworks version and complementary products. The new community, called VectorWorking, hosts videos, tutorials, tips & tricks, and provides a unique environment where Vectorworks users can meet, share experiences, and learn from each other.

We welcome you to join this new community and connect with other designers and professionals. Membership is free and your privacy will be strongly protected.

Join VectorWorking Now!

archoncad November Newsletter

Top 5 Training Tips

1. Take the attitude that training is really employee development. That will help you think more strategically about what your employees need to learn.
2. Recognize that formal training programs are only part of the picture. Most real training occurs on the job.
3. Help employees develop problem-solving skills and the ability to think by giving them work that will stretch them.
4. Set an example. Your own pleasant attitude and good work habits will influence your workers.
5. Understand that when you give employees an opportunity to grow, their job satisfaction and your ability to retain them as employees both increase substantially.

(source http://www.score.org/5_tips_tr_1.html)

Courses

One of the best ways to get started with Vectorworks is to attend course, but why attend one of my online courses? The answer is that my courses are different. You learn in small chunks. Each session is one hour long, just long enough to learn a lot, not so long that you can't keep up. Each session has a maximum of four users, and usually no more that three. This means you get individual attendion. Learning online seems strange to many people, but it works very well. You can see my screen and hear me, and, if you want, I can watch your sceeen. This lets me watch you carry out a task and correct you if you make a mistake. Each session has homework, so you practice. this is so important. Those that practice really make fantastic progress. You have two sessions each week, so there is time to practice.

There are courses on a range of topics, for more information please visit this web site:

http://www.archoncad.co.nz/training/online_training.php

Vectorworkout

If you haven't seen Vector-workout, then get ready for a better, faster way of learning some areas of Vectorworks. If you don't like reading much, then Vector-workout is for you. If just want to get straight into the movies, with out all the words, then Vector-workout is for you. If you are looking for a training resource that makes it easy to dip into, then Vector-workout is for you.

At present we have 2 titles avalable under the Vector-workout banner. Both titles cover the same area of Vectorworks, one is written for Vectorworks 2009 and the other for Vectorworks 2010. The titles are called Introduction to Building Infromation Modeling (BIM) and they focus on changing your workflow from 2D drawings only to creating a 3D model with additional data, and using that to create your drawings and schedules. This is an import area of change for Vectorworks users. There is a lot of talk about BIM and what it can do. This is the guide you need if you are not using viewports, live elevations, live sections and worksheets. Order your manual from this site: http://www.archoncad.co.nz/training/vector-workout.php#introBIM2010

Coming in mid-November is a new title called the Vector-workout Guide to Productivity. This resource has all the tips and tricks I have been teaching for the five years, in one convenient place. With over 120 movies, you will find several new techniques that will save you time and effort. I strongly believe you wiill save 15-30 mins a day by following these techniques. That may not sound much, but at 15 minutes a day, you will save 1.25 hrs a week, 5 hours a month. If you want to make more money using Vectorworks get this manual, in two weeks you will re-pay your investment.

Normally, I don't talk about upcomming manuals, but this time I thought it's time to try a new technique, a pre-release sale. If you order now, before the release, you will get a 25% discount. Visit this site for more information:

http://www.archoncad.co.nz/training/vector-workout.php#productivity2009

Manuals

NNA announced the release of the second edition of the essential turorial and the architect tutorial manuals. These have been updated got vectorworks 2010. Many of the screen shots have been updated and all the movies have been remade. We have also added file formats for vectorworks 2008 and 2009 to enable users with older versions of vectorworks to use these manuals.

For more information, visit this web site:

http://www.nemetschek.net/training/guides.php#at

I have just finished the updates to the Landmark Tutorial manual and the 3D Modeling manual to bring them up to Vectorworks 2010. The landmark manual has a new park exercise that I have been using with my online course. This exercise bring together simple drawing techniques to create a quick landscape plan. The 3D Modeling manual has updated and I have added new exercices on working planes and creating contours. I expect to see NNA announcing these manuals before the end of the month.

Short Sharp Training

This month the short sharp training will be looking at annotation. Without notes and dimensions, your drawings are pretty sad, so this is an important topic. Creating text and a dimension is pretty straight forward, but there are really good ways to control text and dimensions to make sure your drawings look the way you want then too. Then there are the specialist annotation tools like the drawing labels, title blocks, elevation benchmarks and my personal favorite, the callout tool.

There is one free session available, limited to 10 people, with no question and answer time. Subscribers, you have the choice of three sessions to attend, at different times to suit various time zones. You also have more time for questions and don't forget to download your written notes with linked movies.

Users report that even when they know Vectorworks really well, they still learn soemthing from me every month. Even if you learn a small trick that saves you a minute each day, that works out to be a big saving each year. You should subscribe for 6 months, you will re-pay your investment many times over with the skills and techniques you learn.

For more information, visit this web site:

http://www.archoncad.co.nz/usergroup/join_int.php