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Saturday, March 30, 2013

[Archoncad] Weekly Digest Email 18 (blogs and movies for Vectorworks)

This week I posted the following blogs:

Education_m_001 - Introduction to 3D Modeling
http://learn.archoncad.com/2013/03/12364/education_m_001-introduction-to-3d-modeling/

Introduction to 3D Modeling

In this exercise you will create a simple 3D model using simple tools and
commands. You can then use this model to create drawings using a new concept
called Viewports. We will be using a quick command to create the viewports from
the 3-D model. This command is only available if you using Vectorworks
Architect, Landmark, Spotlight, or Designer. The command we will be using is not
available if you have Vectorworks Fundamentals.

Education_008 - Viewing
http://learn.archoncad.com/2013/03/12249/education_008-viewing/

Viewing

There are several viewing tools. Some of the tools are located in the Tool
palette, and some are on the View bar at the top of the drawing window. We will
look at the most useful tools and techniques later in this manual.

epodcast174 - 3D Snapping for 3D Modeling
http://learn.archoncad.com/2013/03/12317/epodcast174-3d-snapping-for-3d-modeling/

In Vectorworks 2011 you could snap to objects that were not on the working
plane. In Vectorworks 2013 there is now a preference that controls whether you
can snap to points that are not on the working plane.

Education_007 - Dimensions
http://learn.archoncad.com/2013/03/12248/education_007-dimensions/

Dimensions

A drawing without dimensions is pretty useless. It is important that when you
place dimensions you place them accurately. Learning to dimension your drawings
accurately will allow you to draw more quickly in Vectorworks.

Education_006 - Applying Graphic Attributes
http://learn.archoncad.com/2013/03/12247/education_006-applying-graphic-attributes/

Applying Graphic Attributes

Vectorworks is a very graphic program. We have control over the stacking order
of objects ( the way things appear at the front or the back), we can assign
colors to objects, we can change line weights and line styles, and so on. It is
important that you understand how to control the graphic style of objects so
that you can make your drawings more readable.

Education_005 - Snapping
http://learn.archoncad.com/2013/03/12205/education_005-snapping/

Snapping

Snapping in Vectorworks means that you use other objects on the screen to draw
accurately.

Education_004 - Basic Concepts
http://learn.archoncad.com/2013/03/12146/education_004-basic-concepts/

Basic Concepts

To be able run the software efficiently you need to learn the basic concepts of
Vectorworks first. This section of the manual is designed to show you the
concepts that form the basis of Vectorworks. We will learn to make a few simple
objects, how to select objects, who to delete objects, and how to delete
objects.

Apple Increases Account Security With Optional Two-Step Verification System for
Apple IDs
http://learn.archoncad.com/2013/03/12141/apple-increases-account-security-with-optional-two-step-verification-system-for-apple-ids/

Apple has implemented a new two-step verification system for Apple IDs (via
9to5Mac), adding an additional layer of protection for Apple accounts with an
extra security code and a "trusted" device.

Read more...

Landmark_SIG_023 Special Interest Group March 2013
http://learn.archoncad.com/2013/03/12134/landmark_sig_023-special-interest-group-march-2013/

This is the second session for the Landmark Special Interest Group for March
2013. The session started out with a discussion on what was included in my
latest Vectorworks Landmark Tutorial Manual for Vectorworks 2013.

Saturday, March 23, 2013

[Archoncad] Weekly Digest Email 17 (blogs and movies for Vectorworks)


This week I posted the following:

Vectorworks Landmark Tutorial Manual for Vectorworks 2013 Announced

I'm pleased to see that Nemetschek Vectorworks have announced my new Landmark
Tutorial Manual for Vectorworks 2013. All the movies in this manual have been
updated for the new version of Vectorworks. The feedback from this manual has
been very positive. Users are getting up to speed in a week with this
manual.

Landmark_SIG_022 Special Interest Group March 2013

The consensus for today's special-interest group was to look at Renderworks
styles and lighting. Renderworks styles were introduced in Vectorworks 2012 and
they allow you to create a rendering style with lighting options, quality
options, and background options, and then save those settings. If you store the
Renderworks style in your library, you will be able to access the style in every
file.

New 'Yontoo' Adware Trojan Targets Major Browsers on OS X

Russian security firm Doctor Web this week highlighted a new trojan (via The
Next Web) affecting OS X systems and which installs an adware plug-in capable of
injecting ads into users' browsing experience.

As with other trojans, this new Yontoo malware relies on tricking users into
installing the package, which in this case masquerades as a movie trailer video
[...]

Book Review - Vectorworks Essentials Tutorial Manual 2013

The fifth edition of my popular Essentials Tutorial manual has been out for a
little while now, but i found this review of the manual posted on my friend's
web site yesterday.
This morning, I thought I would review Jon Pickups's excellent book
“Vectorworks 2013 Essentials”, it's the first in the series and probably the
one [...]

BIM_SIG_019 Special Interest Group March 2013

In this session we looked at two main areas of Vectorworks. The first area we
looked at was Constraints. Vectorworks has several constants that you can use to
set up relationships between objects. The other areas we looked at were the
Reshape tool and the Move by Points tool.

epodcast173 - Property Line on Site Model

I saw a discussion recently on the Vectorworks community board where a
Vectorworks user was trying to get an outline of the property onto the site
model.

Monday, March 11, 2013

[Archoncad] Weekly Digest Email 16 (blogs and movies for Vectorworks)

This week I added new posts to my web site:

PDF Quality on Export PDF

http://learn.archoncad.com/2013/03/12029/pdf-quality-on-export-pdf/

Some clients want to make sure that the PDF files they export are to a high standard. There are some settings you can use to control the output of PDF drawings, but it depends on how you are trying to create the PDF's

 

New Vectorworks Architect tutorial available

http://learn.archoncad.com/2013/03/12025/new-vectorworks-architect-tutorial-available/

I'm really happy that Nemetschek Vectorworks have just announced my new Architect Tutorial Manual for Vectorworks 2013. Each year when I update my manuals, I try to ensure that I have including the most up to date workflows.

I visited a client the other day for training, and I really wished that he had this manual. There were so many questions that he asked about roofing, setting up wall styes, creating areas, and so on, that were answered by this manual. It would have been easier for me to teach him and it would have made our training time more productive.

 

SST_1303 Vectorworks Service Select

http://learn.archoncad.com/2013/03/12016/sst_1303-vectorworks-service-select/

Vectorworks introduced this service a few years ago. The aim of this service is to provide an upgrade each year, a video library, library objects and so on. The manual of now available for online reading and downloading.

[Archoncad] Weekly Digest Email 15 (blogs and movies for Vectorworks)

I have added some posts to my main web site this week. Click on the links to read more...

Saturday, February 23, 2013

[Archoncad] Weekly Digest Email 14 (blogs and movies for Vectorworks)

This week I posted the following blogs:

Archoncad Plugins

Over the years I have created several extra tools, or plug-ins, for Vectorworks.
These are very useful on older verisions of Vectorworks and some these are still
useful on the latest versions.

Education Resources

When you're teaching Vectorworks it's important for the students to understand
the basic concepts. Sometimes these basic concepts are abstract, and it can be
difficult for some students to understand how these basic concepts can affect
their later working.

Education_SIG_002 Education Special Interest Group February 2013

This was the second session for the education special interest group, and again
we spent a lot of time discussing the structure that would be appropriate for
educational purposes.

Education_SIG_001 Education Special Interest Group February 2013

This was the first session for the education special interest group. We spent a
lot of time discussing the structure that would be appropriate for educational
purposes.

BIM_SIG_018 Special Interest Group February 2013

In this session we looked at detailing again. We have covered detailing in an
earlier manual, but there are always questions about how to finish the project
and detail. Of course, how you detail depends on your drawing philosophy.

BIM_SIG_017 Special Interest Group February 2013

In this session we looked at detailing. We have covered detailing in an earlier
manual, but there are always questions about how to finish the project and
detail. Of course, how you detail depends on your drawing philosophy.

Try the 5-Inch iPhone Experience with this Printable Papercraft Model

This mockup can be printed out at 100% scale (example), trimmed, and folded to
provide a three-dimensional paper version of the 5-inch iPhone.

Apple Updates Processors & Prices of MacBook Pro with Retina Display

CUPERTINO, California—February 13, 2013—Apple® is making the MacBook Pro®
with Retina® display faster and more affordable with updated processors and
lower starting prices.

Mac Pro Now Unavailable for Purchase from European Apple Online Stores

As noted by 9to5Mac, the Mac Pro is no longer available for purchase from
Apple's European Online Stores.

cadmovie884 - Animations - Part 8

Animationworks Light Object - The AW Light Object gives you control over then
the lights start, stop, rate of dimming, and intensity.

cadmovie883 - Animations - Part 7

Animationworks Sliding Object - As with the Rotating Object, the sliding object
uses a 3D only symbol.

cadmovie882 - Animations - Part 6

Animationworks Rotating Object - This object does not need a path, so you can
place it anywhere.

cadmovie881 - Animations - Part 5

Animationworks Moving Object and Path - This works in a similar way to the
camera object. You create the moving object path, then you attach a symbol to
the path.

cadmovie880 - Animations - Part 4

AW Camera - The AW Camera is designed to work with the camera path object. You
have to place the camera path in the file first before you place the camera.

cadmovie879 - Animations - Part 3

AW Camera Path - This tool is used to create a 3D path for an AW Camera. When
you create the 3D path, you can get around the problems with the standard
Vectorworks animation, where it can be hard to create a smooth turn.

cadmovie878 - Animations - Part 2

Simple Animation (Move Along Path) - Move along a path allows you to set up a
movie that walks (or flys) through your design. It works by using a series of
views. Each view is a keypoint in your movie.

cadmovie877 - Animations - Part 1

Simple Animation (Orbit) - The easiest animation to make is called and Orbit
movie. This movie flys around the model. It is effective for showing the outside
of a building or an object. You would not use this animation to walk through a
building.

I've lost my password...

Sometimes you forget your password, or you have trouble logging in, so what
should you do? The answer is that there is an option on the login page you to
reset your password.

What Happened to archoncad.co.nz?

You might have ended up at this web site because you were looking for
www.archoncad.co.nz. So why are you here. Well, for the past year I have been
planning on changing my web site so that it can be more user friendly, so that
it can contain all my movies and manuals, and so that it is searchable.


Monday, February 18, 2013

podcast145 - Creating an Orbit Animation


Vectorworks has an easy way to create an animation, called the orbit point. While this is the simplest way to create animation, it also has the least options, making the result rather simplistic. However, if you want a quick method that give your clients an idea of the building, then this is an easy way to do it. It's also the easiest method to start using if you haven't created animations before.

There are some options that I don't cover in this movie but you will find them in my movie on this website : http://learn.archoncad.com


Sunday, February 17, 2013

What Happened to archoncad.co.nz?

You might have ended up at my new web site because you were looking for www.archoncad.co.nz. So why the new site? Well, for the past year I have been planning on changing my web site so that it can be more user friendly, so that it can contain all my movies and manuals, and so that it is searchable.

Saturday, February 16, 2013

[Archoncad] Weekly Digest Email 13 (blogs and movies for Vectorworks)

This week i posted the following blogs:


Google Nexus 7 Updated to 4.2.2

I switched on my Nexus 7 this morning to find a message that it was ready to
update to the latest version of hte operating system. All i had to do was OK the
install, and it updated over the air to the latest version. This is a nice piece
of news.

The People's E-Book

I love e-books. I read them all the time, and my subscribers know that I write
them as well. I found this project that hopes to make e-book publishing easier
and more elegant.

epodcast171 - Tidying up Elevations

I had a client call today, he was having trouble tidying up the elevations of a
house. He knows how to use most of the tools, but he was not just the tools in
the right order to get a fast result.

Interactive Workshops February 2013 - Animations

Animations

When you present your design you cannot be sure that others are thinking of the
same thing that you are. One of the ways around this is to create images of your
design, so they can see it from several views.

SST_1302 Animations with Vectorworks (1st draft)

When you present your design you cannot be sure that others are thinking of the
same thing that you are. One of the ways around this is to create images of your
design, so they can see it from several views. These can be rendered views so
your client can see the light, shadows, and textures. These images work well
with printed media, but if you want them to fully understand design, a movie is
best.

CX - A New Cloud Storage System

I have just seen this new cloud storage system called CX. This is a system that
lets you store your files on line (like Dropbox and iCloud and Google Drive).
With so many options, what will CX do for you?

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

The People's E-Book

I love e-books. I read them all the time, and my subscribers know that I write them as well. I found this project that hopes to make e-book publishing easier and more elegant.

Monday, February 11, 2013

[Archoncad] Weekly Digest Email 12 (blogs and movies for Vectorworks)

This week i posted the following blogs:

Animation in Vectorworks

This month we are looking at animations in Vectorworks. You can make movies
directly inside your Vectorworks files using the tools and commands. Of course,
you have to be careful how you set up your lighting, models, views and
rendering. When you set up the file correctly, you can produce high quality
movies.


Drawing a Stone Capping on a Wall

One of my clients was asking about drawing a stone capping on a wall. There are
two ways to deal with this, drawing a 2D plan view, or correctly modeling the
stone capping in 3D. This applies to more than just a stone capping, it applies
to any wall that has a capping on it.


epodcast170 - Adding Curved Text to a Curved Wall

You can use the Text Along a Path command to add curved text to a curved wall.


Landmark_SIG_019 Special Interest Group January 2013

Like the other session this month, this session focused on creating and storing
plants. this session also had time to look at storing plants in the default
content and in the Resource Browser.

Thursday, February 07, 2013

Animation in Vectorworks

 

This month we are looking at animations in Vectorworks. You can make movies directly inside your Vectorworks files using the tools and commands. Of course, you have to be careful how you set up your lighting, models, views and rendering. When you set up the file correctly, you can produce high quality movies.

Tuesday, February 05, 2013

Drawing a Stone Capping on a Wall

One of my clients was asking about drawing a stone capping on a wall. There are two ways to deal with this, drawing a 2D plan view, or correctly modeling the stone capping in 3D. This applies to more than just a stone capping, it applies to any wall that has a capping on it.

Read more...

 

Monday, February 04, 2013

epodcast170 - Adding Curved Text to a Curved Wall

You can use the Text Along a Path command to add curved text to a curved wall.

Read more...

 

Landmark_SIG_019 Special Interest Group January 2013

Like the other session this month, this session focused on creating and storing plants. this session also had time to look at storing plants in the default content and in the Resource Browser.

Friday, February 01, 2013

Monday, January 21, 2013

BIM_SIG_016 Special Interest Group January 2013

In the session we talked about creating template files. When you create a template it is tempting to put everything in the template that you think you will need. Unfortunately, this creates a very heavy template file with lots of textures, hatches, line types, and symbols that you might never need.

Saturday, January 19, 2013

[Archoncad] Weekly Digest Email 11 (blogs and movies for Vectorworks)

This week i posted the following blogs:

Interactive Workshops January 2013
http://learn.archoncad.com/2013/01/10637/interactive-workshops-january-2013/

Design layers and classes are the two most important organising concepts that
you need to understand in order to create drawings in Vectorworks. I still find
some users are confused about when to use a layer and when to us a class to
organise their drawings. I use three simple rules to decide when I need a new
class, and three simple rules to decide when I need new design layers.

SST_1301 - Layers and Classes
http://learn.archoncad.com/2013/01/11291/sst_1301-layers-and-classes/

Design layers and classes are the two most important organising concepts that
you need to understand in order to create drawings in Vectorworks. I still find
some users are confused about when to use a layer and when to us a class to
organise their drawings. I use three simple rules to decide when I need a new
class, and three simple rules to decide when I need new design layers.

epodcast169 - When to Use Symbols
http://learn.archoncad.com/2013/01/11279/epodcast169-when-to-use-symbols/

Symbols are generally thought of as relatively small repeating objects. So first
of all you should use symbols whenever you need to repeat something, like
sanitary fixtures, light fixtures, furniture, and so on.

[The iPad Tutor] Weekly Digest Email 06

New posts added to the iPad tutor web site...

0069 Creating a Presentation on an Android Tablet
http://theipadtutor.com/2013/01/09/0069-creating-a-presentation-on-an-android-tablet/

One of my users has asked me about creating a presentation from information that
they got off the Internet. The challenge is that while they can find information
on the Internet and the web page how they take the photos they want and put
those together in a presentation.

0068 Creating a Presentation on iPad
http://theipadtutor.com/2013/01/09/0068-creating-a-presentation-on-ipad/

One of my users has asked me about creating a presentation from information that
they got off the Internet. The challenge is that while they can find information
on the Internet and the web page how they take the photos they want and put
those together in a presentation.

0067 Skype on Your Android Tablet
http://theipadtutor.com/2013/01/09/skype-on-your-android-tablet/

Skype is an application that allows you to speak to other skype users without
charge. You can have instant messages, audio conversations, video chat and more.
If you buy skype credits, you can phone others on their phones or mobiles

0066 Skype on Your iPad
http://theipadtutor.com/2013/01/09/skype-on-your-ipad/

Skype is an application that allows you to speak to other skype users without
charge. You can have instant messages, audio conversations, video chat and more.
If you buy skype credits, you can phone others on their phones or mobiles.

Wednesday, January 02, 2013

[The iPad Tutor] Weekly Digest Email 05

0065 Setting up a .mac Email account on an Android Tablet
http://theipadtutor.com/2012/12/30/0065-setting-up-a-mac-email-account-on-an-android-tablet/

When you get an android tablet you need to have a Gmail account in order to
connect to the application store, but what if you want to use a .Mac account to
collect your email? When I first got my android tablet I thought it might be
quite difficult to collect emails from my Mac accounts, but it's turned out to
be reasonably simple.

0064 Starting your Android Tablet for the First time
http://theipadtutor.com/2012/12/30/0064-starting-your-android-tablet-for-the-first-time/

When you first start your tablet or phone for the first time, you will have to
go through a series of  dialog boxes to set up your device. Generally, it's
easy to set up your tablet with a Gmail account. If you go to Gmail account then
there's only a couple questions to answer and your device will be up and
running.

Updated IPad apps Week 52 2012
http://theipadtutor.com/2012/12/30/updated-ipad-apps-week-52-2012/

This week I found my iPad listed these apps for updating. Most of the updates
look minor except for Documents 2 and Bamboo Paper. Documents 2 edits Microsoft
office office documents, Bamboo Paper is a sketching program.

0063 Connecting Bluetooth Keyboard to an Android Tablet
http://theipadtutor.com/2012/12/30/connecting-bluetooth-keyboard-to-an-android-tablet/

I have just bought a new bluetooth keyboard to use with my Nexus 7 from my local
computer place. I know I can use the onscreen keyboards, but for a lot of
typing, I like to use a full keyboard. This one was cheaper then the Apple
keyboards i have used in the past, so I thought it would be worth a try.

0062 Google Chrome on an Android Tablet
http://theipadtutor.com/2012/12/27/0062-google-chrome-on-an-android-tablet/

Google Chrome is a web browser that is available on many different devices. It's
the web browser that I tend to use all the time on all my different computers
and mobile devices.

0061 Introduction to an Android Phone
http://theipadtutor.com/2012/12/27/0061-introduction-to-an-android-phone/

When I read blogs about iPhones and Samsung phones and when I look at adverts in
magazines and on television I get the impression that android phones and iPhones
are interchangeable. The reality is that android phones and iPhones work
completely different underneath their user interface.

0060 Connecting a Google Nexus 7 to a Mac
http://theipadtutor.com/2012/12/27/0060-connecting-a-google-nexus-7-to-a-mac/

You might think that you can connect the Google Nexus 7 directly to your
computer. On a Macintosh this often does not work, but there is a solution.

Movies Using Google Nexus
http://theipadtutor.com/2012/12/26/movies-using-google-nexus/

It's taken awhile, but I finally have been able to connect my Google Nexus 7
tablet to my computer to make movies. This means that I will now be able to
upload movies showing you how to use your Android tablet 2 to its full
potential.

Saturday, December 22, 2012

[Archoncad] Weekly Digest 10 (blogs and movies for Vectorworks)

This week i posted the following blogs:

Landmark_SIG_017 Special Interest Group December 2012
http://learn.archoncad.com/2012/12/10679/landmark_sig_017-special-interest-group-december-2012/

This is the last  landmark special interest group session for 2012. It gives us
the opportunity to wrap up anything that's outstanding for the subscribers this
year.  A consistent theme for the Landmark special interest groups this month
has been planting. Vectorworks 2013 has a new dialog box for creating your
plants and the new concept for the definition and the settings for each plant.

Build Your Gingerbread House Today using Vectorworks
http://learn.archoncad.com/2012/12/10667/build-your-gingerbread-house-today-using-vectorworks/

At this time of year my family makes a gingerbread house. When we started to do
this, we decided that a store bought ginger bread house wasn't acceptable, we
could design our own house. I didn't take me long to realise that I could use
Vectorworks with BIM principles to create the model and drawings for the
gingerbread house.

Landmark_SIG_016 Special Interest Group December 2012
http://learn.archoncad.com/2012/12/10659/landmark_sig_016-special-interest-group-december-2012/

In this session we looked at two major topics; creating a landscape budget using
landscape areas, and creating plants and adding them to your library.
Vectorworks makes it very easy to find areas and calculate the percentages of
areas in relation to each other. If you create your plants and store them in
your library, it becomes very quick to use them.

epodcast168 - Changing the Computer File Extensions
http://learn.archoncad.com/2012/12/10656/epodcast168-changing-the-computer-file-extensions/

When you install a new computer program, the program uses something called the
file extension (the three letters after the dot on the filename). Often, when
users install a new version of Vectorworks, they do not want the new version of
Vectorworks to open the old files, so they choose to keep the Association with
the old version of Vectorworks.

But what can you do when you want all your Vectorworks files to open with the
new version of Vectorworks?

Online Workshops For January Now Available for Bookings
http://learn.archoncad.com/2012/12/10641/online-workshops-for-january-now-available-for-bookings/

At this time of the year everybody is rushing to finish projects that need to
finished before the holidays. But this is also a good time of the year to think
about making next year very productive.

BIM_SIG_015 Special Interest Group December 2012
http://learn.archoncad.com/2012/12/10644/bim_sig_015-special-interest-group-december-2012/

The session was intended to be an open question-and-answer session. My aim was
to cover several topics. However, there were two main topics that came up in the
session. The first topic was space subjects and how to edit the labels, and the
second topic was default content.