CONVERT TO LINES #11

CONVERT TO LINES #11
7/18/05

In this issue:
•Nemetschek is coming to town
•Call for photos of cool projects.
•Old CAD review
•A good book
•File structure and beyond

Greetings from the Seattle VectorWorks Users Group! Summertime is for fishing and surfing and kayaking and maybe not for polishing your CAD skills so I’m out on a limb here with this post but Nemetschek is coming to town August 4 and you may be interested in seeing what’s up. They’ll be meeting in Seattle at the Lighting Design Lab and you should be getting your own postcard in the mail with details.
Also Nemetschek is planning an advertising campaign which will feature photos of finished projects of all kinds. Especially sought are photos of projects that may have some recognizability within the community. Here is Deirdre Kidd’s post:

“We are putting together a new ad campaign and we are looking for photos of finished projects to include in this campaign. The campaign will feature one ad with several different projects and while the ad will be similar each month, the projects will all be different. So, as you can imagine, we need lots of images. I was hoping that you [SIG Leaders], or some members of your group, or even VectorWorks users that you know in your area might have some completed projects that we could feature in this campaign. And, if a firm has several impressive projects, I am interested in those as well. If you have a project you would like to include, or you know of an impressive VectorWorks project, please send an e-mail directly to me, dkidd@nemetschek.net If you have any questions, please let me know. Thanks for your help!”
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Granddads CAD. I came across an old issue of Macintosh Construction Forum, a black and white newsletter which began publishing not too long after the Mac Plus first hit the retail channel. This twelve page issue was from June, 1989 and in it was an article entitled CADD On The Mac--The Most Popular CADD Packages Go Head-To-Head, by John Stebbins. The programs reviewed were ArchiCAD 3.34 ($3,950), Architrion ll 5.00 ($2495), Claris CAD 1.0 ($788), Dreams ($500), Generic Level l ($150), MiniCAD Plus 1.0 ($695), Pegasys ll ($1795), Power Draw 2.0 ($795) and VersaCAD 2.1 ($1995).
The programs were laid out with their differences highlighted spreadsheet-fashion and quite a few factors were considered. For instance, MiniCAD could run on a Mac 512KE but you needed a powerhouse like the Mac ll to run ArchiCAD and Architrion. MiniCAD had no tutorial in the manual (some things never change) but did have a built-in spreadsheet plus unlimited layers while ArchiCAD only supported sixteen (gotcha!). ArchiCAD could rotate objects and MiniCAD could not. Virtually unlimited drawing area is checked yes for MiniCAD and no for ArchiCAD. Only in Power Draw and VersaCAD could you cut objects with a line. Only Architrion did automatic exploded views. Cool. MiniCAD had associative dimensioning (!). Import and export of DXF cost an extra $500 if you were using MiniCAD. MiniCAD could render surfaces but could not provide shades or shadows unlike ArchiCAD or Architrion.
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There is a listserve for VW user group leaders and I posed a question about file structure that was answered thusly:
“Gentle People,
It is just this sort of thing that I have tried to address in my book Vectorworks by Project. My co-author, Ray Massacessi and I noticed that people had an easier time understanding things if they were presented in a work context. So we broke the training down into projects. The first project uses an existing file (from the included CD) and simply teaches different ways to move around in a drawing while doing a door takeoff. The second project starts with a partially completed organizational chart and teaches basic editing and primitive creation. The next three units focus respectively on: the simplest way to create a 2D floor plan (fewest and most basic tools); A more elaborate floor plan and elevations for a ranch house (wall tools and wall editing etc.), and finally a set of 3D plans and elevations using the 3D view manipulation and viewports to create a simple set of drawings for a commercial building. We did not cover the VW Architect tools yet. But we may if more people buy the basic book. We are also considering a metric version. We keep tweaking it to make it better as we only do short run printing. The book is available on the NNA website for $29.95. If they are out of the book you can also order it from my local booksellers website: http://www.nicolasbooks.com”
Louis B. Smith, Jr, AIA
Ascent Design
P.O. Box 130706
Ann Arbor MI 48113
Phone: 734-929-6957
fax: 734-929-6958
email: lbsmith@ascentdesignpc.com
web: http://www.ascentdesignpc.com
I bought the book. I like it very much and feel it would be a great intro book since it takes the new VW user through processes that gives them a basic understanding of how to maneuver and then, use of 2D tools and finally, 3D tools. If I had a new person to teach VW to, I would ask them to first buy this book.
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What’s the point of using CAD over hand drawing? I’ve copied a letter from the VW Listserve that eloquently lists some of those reasons and also talks about the manner in which we eventually sort out all the data--the info--that comprises a working set of drawings. Here it is:

“You'll need to come up with a system that works for you.
There are endless numbers of ways VW can be used, but
there is also a path of least resistance that will help guide
you in developing your own design.

You'll need to first define what goal for efficiency you
hope to gain by using VW over hand drawing. For me
some of those goals include:

1. Speed:
A. Replication Tools ( Mirror, Offset, Duplicate )
B. Plotting and printing on many types of media

2. Accuracy:
A. 12 decimal real numbers.
B. Smart Cursor.
C. Dialog edit.
D. No loss copies.

3. Reliability:
B. Storage and retrieval of drawings.
a. Easy to Copy and Replicate ( Electronic File, not paper)
b. Easy to distribute (Native .mcd and Import, Export of .dwg)
c. Backup ( Auto Save, other)

4. Ease of changing and modifying a drawing:

5. Reduction of Contradictions:

A. Reuse of objects ( Saved Views, Viewports and Layer Links )
a. Localization of objects, NO duplication. ( Layers )
b. Global control over attributes. ( Classes w/ attributes )
c. Data output for Schedules. ( Worksheets and Record
Formats )
d. Dialog edit of high level objects (PIOs)
e. Global Editing ( Custom Selection, Symbols )

So, you'll have to make your own outline based on what
is important to you. If you agree with what I have outlined
then you'll see that my primary path to an efficient drawing
system, will include data uniqueness as a major goal. To that
end you will discover ways of using classes and layers in
combination with the other elements I mentioned, like VPs
and Saved Views to meet this need. This leads the way to
avoiding contradictions and wasted time, editing 12 sheets
because a window moved 6".

The problem you will soon discover, if you have not already,
is how do you control the appearance and visibility of an object
that is dashed and thin on one sheet and heavy and solid on
another. Or is visible on one sheet but not on another. The easy
solution is to use classes to control the attributes (and sometimes
the visibility) of objects grouped by type, and Layers to control the
visibility and group by location. I create shared and non-shared
layers, and classes to define the attributes for everything, from
wall line thickness, to the hatch pattern for CMU.

Another benefit to using a class and layer system is in the
categorization of the objects. You'll need to design your system
so that you know, right away, what class a counter top should be
in, and what class and layer a Window should be in. With a well
laid out schema, you can quickly locate and change any
number of things about any group of objects. You can also
create any view you want of that data, be it a 3D ortho, or a
material takeoff in a spreadsheet.

This gets you into a complex matrix where you'll need to manage
a multi dimensional array of Classes, Layers, Attributes, visibility
and many other parameters. This can be done in part with Saved
Views, VPs, and with the help of Records and Worksheets,
VectorScripts and a myriad of other tools. Trying to understand
someone else's file can be very difficult and unintuitive, if it is
anything more than an electronic version of a paper set.

The only way you'll be able to manage such a system, is if you
understand it. And the best way to do that, is to design it yourself.”

From Patrick Higgins
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And lastly, to save one step when placing arrowheads other than the standard arrow style, draw your line then DO select the standard arrowhead but then scroll and select the correct choice from the library with one click (which undoes your first choice). This is somewhat faster than avoiding the standard arrowhead choosing instead to scroll and place a different head on your line. My way is not intuitive but is faster.
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OK, go back to your beach and your trashy novel. Lesson’s over for the day.

Tom Greggs
Greggs Building Design
206-524-2808