podcast140 Changing Wall Lengths in Vectorworks 2013

This is a small but useful change to wall technology. It will allow you to quickly update your plans without having to select dimension, or without having to drag your walls.

podcast139 Site Modifier Changes in Vectorworks 2013

This is one of those small, but really useful changes to Vectorworks 2013. In the past I have often gotten confused with the site model and site modifies. In order to see where the site model stops and the site modifiers start I have had to render the site model. This new technique in Vectorworks 2013 makes it a lot easier to see your site model and modifiers clearly.

Landmark_SIG_011 Special Interest Group September 2012

This is the movie from the evening session Landmark Special Interest Group, September 2012. This meeting took a different approach to creating a set of drawings. We looked at using scanned images of freehand drawings, importing these as PDF files and using these to create a set of documents.


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epodcast160 - Adding an Image Prop to a Plant

I have created other movies about image props, and how to make them, but it appears that there is still some confusion about how to deal with the images in Photoshop, then bring those into Vectorworks to create your image prop and put the image prop as part of your plant.


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epodcast160 - Adding an Image Prop to a Plant

I have created other movies about image props, and how to make them, but it appears that there is still some confusion about how to deal with the images in Photoshop, then bring those into Vectorworks to create your image prop and put the image prop as part of your plant.


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Graphics Cards for Computers - Vectorworks 2013

I've just seen some specifications for the graphics card for computers specifically Vectorworks 2013. I'm thinking about buying a new computer, and I'm concerned that I'm going to buy computer with the correct graphics card.


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Landmark_SIG_010 Special Interest Group September 2012

This is the movie from the morning session Landmark Special Interest Group, September 2012. We are looking at starting a project by importing DXF/DWG information. An important concept that needed to be cover was when to use layers and when to use classes.

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podcast137.mov - New Line Types in Vectorworks 2013

In Vectorworks 2013 line styles have been replaced by line types. Line types can be simple  lines as an earlier versions of Vectorworks, all they can be complex line types that allow a huge range of graphic styles. You can easily create lines files that show fences, services, rocks, or even footprints.

BIM_SIG_010 Special Interest Group September 2012

This is the movie from the BIM Special Interest Group, September 2012, creating a BIM workflow, Part 4, setting up drawings using viewports and sheet layers. (evening session).

The previous BIM Special Interest Groups have looked at creating the information. This meeting looked at the setting up drawings, starting with the Site Plan and Floor plan.

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podcast136.mov Vectorworks training on your iPhone

In this movie I show you how you can access Vectorworks training through my website, http://learn.archoncad.com.  I have created a mobile website that allows you to search through thousands of movies and posts. The movies are playable on most mobile devices, although in this movie I am using an iPhone 4S.

epodcast159 - Joining Arc Using the Fillet Tool

I've just had a call from a client that was having trouble creating a circle that joins at a tangent to another circle.

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podcast135.mov - Hyperlinks in Vectorworks 2013

In Vectorworks 2013 there is now a new annotation object call the hyperlink. This hyperlink allows you to create links inside your Vectorworks documents that will export to PDF files. The hyperlinks can create internal links, that is links inside the document, all they can create external links to documents, folders, or websites.

podcast134.mov - Detail Viewports in Vectorworks 2013

One of the new techniques in Vectorworks is Detail Viewport. I have been waiting for this technique for a while, and I think this will subsctantially change the way users structure their drawings in Vectorworks.



There is a known issue with Detail Viewports, but it only affects some Macintosh computers...
http://kbase.vectorworks.net/questions/1054/Tech+Bulletin%3A+Issue+with+Create+Detail+Viewport+-+Vectorworks+2013+-+Mac+OS+X+ONLY

What to do with Downtime

I had an interesting chat with a client recently. We were discussing the movies and blogs on the Short Sharp Training website. He said that when he has downtime (waiting for the client to arrive/waiting for site visits) he goes onto the website to look for new blogs or movies to play. He has found that this turns his unproductive time into productive time, but not only that, it has made all his work more productive as he becomes more skilful at Vectorworks.

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Fifth Service Pack for the Vectorworks 2012 product line now available

Nemetschek Vectorworks, Inc. has released its fifth Service Pack for the Vectorworks® 2012 product line.

This Service Pack contains fixes for IFC and DXF/DWG export, as well as Mac OS 10.8 Mountain Lion compatibility improvements

This Service Pack is available for all licenses as a downloadable updater. To install the Service Pack, please close Vectorworks and click here. Or go to the About Vectorworks 2012 dialog box in the Vectorworks menu (Mac users) or Help menu (Windows users) and click Check for Updates.

epodcast158 – Backing up and Restoring Files on Windows 7

Windows comes with a Backup system that you can use to create daily, Weekly, Monthly backups of you most valuable files. If one of your Vectorworks files becomes corrupt, you can often go back to an earlier version to save the project. 

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Back to School

I've just had my two university children home for mid-simester break, and it reminded me that in many parts of the world, the school year is starting. If you are learning Vectorworks for college or university, you might be looking for a good way to understand the power of it. If you are teaching Vectorworks, you might be looking for good resources to help your students.

This is an issue that comes up every year, but I think I have to solution. I have created 4 powerful tutorial manuals that students and tutors can use to unlck the power of Vectorworks. The Vectorworks Essentials Tutorial manual is the best start you can get for Vectorworks. It starts off with the basics and explains the major concepts that set Vectorworks apart from other programs. If you are a tutor, then this manual is magic, as it has a structuerd way to train users, it has structured exercises, and it has embedded movies to help your students. With a small amount of work, you can use the manuals as a course structure.