The manual for Short Sharp Training issue 1202 is now online. The topic is Introduction to 3D Modeling in Vectorworks.Vectorworks has several ways to work in 3D, but there are some basic principles that you have to understand.Read more... (you have to be a subscriber to folllow this link).Become a subceriber here....

The manual for Short Sharp Training issue 1201 is now online. The topic is  Setting up Layers in Vectorworks.Setting up your layers correctly is essential if you want to use Vectorworks for BIM.Vectorworks 2012 has a new organizing concept called Stories which will require you to think carefully about how you organise your project into layers and stories.Read more... (you have to be a subscriber

I use a program called Evernote. This is a great little program. I use it to collect together notes. For example when I am teaching my online webinars, users quite often suggest things that would be useful. Read more... (you have to be a subscriber to folllow this link).Be come a subscriber here....

One of the tools I use a lot is the polygon from inner boundary. But when I use imported polygons, they often have thousands of vertices. With so many vertices the polygon from in a boundary works very slowly because it has so much to calculate.Read more...  (you have to be a subscriber to follow this link)Become a subscriber....

I'm constantly surprised at what Vectorworks is able to achieve. There seems to be nothing that Vectorworks cannot do. A few months ago i blogged about a case study that Nemetschek Vectorworks had produced on one of my clients (icebreaker). They have really taken to Vectorworks (and my training) and completely changed the way that they do business. This month I was asked by a client to build a

I have bought an Android phone to test some of the apps that I use on my iPhone. So far, I have found that several of the iphone apps I like to use are available on the Android phone, so it looks (on the face of it) that you could choose the iphone or an Android phone. There is more to it than that, but for what I paid for the phone, it does a lot.This is the phone I bought. It was on sale

A few months ago, archoncad changed the structure for the subscription meetings to have workshop meetings one week, with special-interest group meetings the following week.Each month, we have a series of workshop meetings. These meetings follow the structure of the PDF manual closely, but still allow time for Q&A based on the workshop topic. These are working extremely well, allowing users to question

I was reading a blog recently about the value of free things. I thought this was an interesting blog because the questions the concept of free and whether we should give away free information.A few years ago, I used to give away a lot of information on my free blog. In fact,I used to provide about 10% of the paid manual for free.  When the manuals were 10 or 15 pages long,this ended up with a

I have just completed my new Kindle book: 027-2012 Introduction to 3D Modeling (Short Sharp Manuals) [Kindle Edition]. This Kindle ebook is based on the Vector-workout Subscription manual for February 2012. Extract:In Vectorworks you can use different ways to create 3D work, but for all of them there are basic principles that you have to understand. Working planes are the basis to start a

Prior to running my Vectorworks courses online, I used to run them in a classroom. At the time it seemed like the best thing that I could do. I was aware at the time that repetition was important, and the way the courses were structured, it allowed time for the attendees to practice, while I would circulate the room, helping any users that were struggling. For a long time this worked well. I did notice

All of my subscribers are happy with the Vector-workout Subscription service. It is the best way to get productive with Vectorworks, but this email arrived the other day from a subscriber who wanted others to know how valuable the service is. This is an unsolicited recommendation...Jonathan;Just a note to follow up on my last post regarding ideas for the subscription groups and the Landmark Special

My friend Bill and I have been involved with several Vectorworks clients helping them to integrate Vectorworks into other aspects of their business.In this case the client sells solar hot water systems and solar PV systems. The client would like to know the orientation of the house relative to the sun, how big the roof area is, and how many panels could reasonably be placed on the sloping roof. We

Earlier on today I was presenting a webinar for Novedge, a Vectorworks reseller in America. The topic was an introduction to BIM using Vectorworks architect.  the webinar was recorded and you can now watch this recording on YouTube.One of the main concepts in using Vectorworks Architect is called Building Information Modeling (BIM). What this means is that as you draw a wall in Vectorworks, it

I was really pleased to see this case study about Icebreaker.  Icebreaker has been a client of mine for some time,  and so I was really pleasing to see Vectorworks do a case study about how they have implemented the training I have completed with them.The case study is worth reading. It is amazing to see the changes the icebreaker have implemented by using Vectorworks. It has really changed

One of the main concepts in using Vectorworks Architect is called Building Information Modeling (BIM). What this means is that as you draw a wall in Vectorworks, it is more than a plan representation of a wall. The wall has texture, knows when a window is inserted, and can have information attached to it. Many parts of the Vectorworks drawing are like this: they are much more than they seem.

When you employ staff, wouldn't it be nice to know that the new employee has a good level of Vectorworks skill?When you think about training your staff, wouldn't it be great to know where the training was needed?Now you can.I have created an online Vectorworks Architect test. This test covers 9 major areas with 63 questions.I would expect the test to take about 30 mins if the user is

I am currently making the movies for my new Landmark Tutorial Manual for Vectorworks 2012. I was making a movie showing how to edit the plant graphics and I got caught you by the screen plane/layer plane ability.When you edit the plant graphics in Vectorworks, one object in the plant controls the Mass Overlapping Plants. If you separate the plant components, you will find that there is a stacking order

You should use worksheets to count and report objects in your Vectorworks files, but sometimes you forget which file had the worksheets you want. You should store your worksheets in your library so that they are easy to find.You should store a copy of your worksheets in your library, but if you store the worksheet file in the correct location, you can access the worksheet from any file, without using

If you got a Kindle or iPad for Xmas, Well Done!Now you can justify this by filling it up with useful Vectorworks manuals. I have written about 28 short manuals for the Kindle, there are architecture and BIM manuals available.The kindle reader now has several variants with the greyscale screen and one with a color screen. The greyscale versions are just e-book readers (they do this really well).There

I use GoToMeeting to run my Vector-workout training sessions.  Normally uses attend these online sessions from their computer. This allows me to share my computer screen to my online subscribers, and interact with them.  GoToMeeting have released an application for your iPhone  and iPad.  You can download this from the appstore. This application allows you to attend online

Some people describe my manuals as eBooks.  I am not sure this really describes my manuals.  I think the eBooks sounds like an electronic book with lots of words and pages. My manuals also contain a lot of video.  So I think of my books as being Video books (vBooks).  I think this describes my books better.You want vBooks to learn Vectorworks effectively, not eBooks. It is the combination

I bought myself an Apple wireless keyboard yesterday. I really bought it to use with an iPad. But I also found that I  can use bluetooth to connect it to a phone. I'm using an iPhone and it has made typing on the phone really easy. All you have to is go to the bluetooth settings and connect the keyboard. Once it's connected, you can type away on your phone with a full sized keyboard.I have started

Happy New Year!Thank you to all my customers and blog readers. 2011 was a good year for me thanks to you. Blog visits have gone up substantially, subscribers to my Vector-workout Subscription increased dramatically, manual sales were up slightly, and other work has kept me very busy. The year was not without some major challenges, but since they are being dealt with, I don't want to dwell on them.I

Archoncad announces Special Interest Groups for the Vector-workout SubscriptionStarting in February 2012, the Vector-workout Subscription will be offering Special Interest Groups as part of the subscription. The purpose of the SIG will be to have online sessions that are suited to a particular part of Vectorworks, and will generally follow on from the topics discussed in the workshop sessions. For

I have tried to use an iPhone and an iPad to shoot video, but the results are not great. What I really want to  is to mount the iPhone on a tripod. A standard tripod has a bolt to connect a camera, but the phone and tablet do not have the threaded hole for the bolt.I've made a bracket to connect the phone to the tripod. It is reasonably straight forward to create the bracket.I have found

Every year I create a gingerbread house to share with the extended family over the holiday season. For the past several years I have been using Vectorworks to create a model. This is a great way to make a complex gingerbread house. You can design your own dream gingerbread house. Start by, creating your model in Vectorworks. Use viewports to get the plans and elevations.Cut out the parts,

This is the normal view of a building when you change the view with out Unified View. If you wanted to see a complete view of your project, you can use Unified View, it allows 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. There are several options for Unified View. For a detailed description of the

My friend Bill has been playing with this new tool that he found on vectordepot.com. It's called the Siepe (Hedge) Tool.  From the  same author of Frangisole plugin. When I first looked at this tool I wasn't sure that I could find a use for it.But Bill has been playing with it,  and he showed me how useful this could be.Here is the scene with a small house and all my rendering is set

In the past we used to use area lights to replicate light coming in window, and Vectorworks 2011/2012 we don’t have to do this the other, more realistic ways of creating lightsIn previous versions of Vectorworks, we used to use area lights on Windows to replicate sunlight coming in to the window. This wasn’t perfect but it did a reasonable job in Vectorworks 2010 and before. you might notice that

I have updated my site modeling manual on the Kindle store for Vectorworks 2012. This manual covers how to create a site model from imported 2-D information, imported 3-D information, and scanned or PDF images.  This manual is designed to show you the quickest ways to create site models, and how to modify them using the site modified tools. You can find the manual here on the Kindle bookstore.

I have updated my QuickStart manual for Vectorworks 2012 on the Kindle bookstore. This quick start manual is designed to get people started quickly, it is not designed to teach you everything you need to know about Vectorworks. what this manual does cover are the basic concepts about how Vectorworks  behaves.If you have been using Vectorworks before, this is not the manual for you. If you

I've just had an e-mail from one of my clients looking for a Vectorworks architect in Auckland, New Zealand.  if you live in New Zealand we are qualified to work in New Zealand you might want to look at this advert.If you want to check out the work they do visit their website http://stevenslawson.co.nz/Stevens Lawson Architects are seeking an Architectural Technician for a full time position,

Today I was very sorry to hear that Steve Jobs has passed away. When I grew up Steve Jobs was always around, and he was always making great stuff. He has created some truly amazing inventions, and I think he has changed the way we think about music,  about computers and what we expect from life (our gadgets). This is the passing of a giant.

Next week the Vector-workout Subscription will be looking at site modeling in Vectorworks. Site modeling is a topic which many people seem to struggle with. I will be teaching the basic concepts of site modeling, and showing you how to get the best from site modeling without getting confused. It seems like a complicated subject, but it can be made simple.Some users find it hard to understand how to

Columbia, Md. (September 1, 2011) – Nemetschek Vectorworks, Inc. presents the Vectorworks® 2012 U.S. Virtual Event, Sept. 13-16, 2011, to unveil the next version of Vectorworks software.Beginning at 1:00 p.m. EDT on Sept. 13 with a keynote address by CEO Sean Flaherty and CTO Dr. Biplab Sarkar, the event will include demonstrations on what’s new in Vectorworks Architect, Landmark, Spotlight and

It is nearly Spring where I live, which means that it is Fall in the Northern Hemisphere, and time to get back to school. If you want to learn Vectorworks to use in school, you have several options. Nemetschek Vectorworks has a student portal . This allows you to get a free educational version of Vectorworks, and there are several free manuals to download, along with a video library.There

I have been chatting with a couple of friends of mine about modeling in Vectorworks, and whether or not you need Sketchup along with Vectorworks. The argument in the past was that Vectorworks was alright for modeling simple buildings, but what about more complex shapes.For a long time I have argued that Vectorworks is great for modeling complex shapes. I have used a bus stop project for a few years

I usually use Vectorworks Architect, Landmark or designer when I'm working or writing my manuals. But for the past couple of weeks, I've been using the very basic Vectorworks Fundamentals ( the most basic version of Vectorworks you can get). I can't get over how many of the good things I'm used to using are not there. There are tools and techniques I use so much, I don't even think about them anymore.For

Every month, I have an series of inline webinars for my subscribers. Over the last 5 years we have covered well over 40 topics, and often I get clients wishing that I would repeat the sessions. I have been asked several times if there is a way to attend just the sessions you want.There is a way for Vectorworks users to join just the sessions that they want to. The system is called Sort Sharp Training.

I found this great plug-in on the vectordepot web site, called the Frangisole (sunshade). This tool is designed to create simple sunshades.The interface is really easy to use. You draw a line to define the length of the sunshade, and use the Object Info Palette to change the number of horizontal parts, the height, angle and width of the boards.If you tilt the boards to the correct angle, you can make

I have just received an email from a Michael Erkkinen of Webnash Design-Build (www.webnash.com) showing how effective Vectorworks is for presentation.  I like Mike's work, he designs and builds traditional new england colonial buildings with high performance envelopes and mechanicals. While they look like traditional buildings, and they use some old building techniques, they also

This month the Vector-workout Subscription is looking at creating a paving plan. This looks like it is a totally landscape topic, but you would be wrong. In order to use a tool like the hardscape tool, you have to learn how to control planar graphics.This session will start with a look at the planar graphics, and there are several of those. Learning to control line weights, dash styles, custom colors

the Architectural Technologist talks about J.K.Rowling moving into ebooks and today I read that the Reader's Digest is going digital. This seems to be to be the tipping point. Until now all the Harry Potter books have been strictly hardcopy, the future could be amazing, and we could see a big growth in ebook readers.Reader's Digest has been a print only publication for as long as I can remember.

Textures in Vectorworks 2011 have changed a lot. The shaders are completely different, reflectivity has new settings, transparency has new settings, and the bumps are all new.If you are used to textures in earlier versions of Vectorworks, you need a guide to show you how to use all the new settings, but if you are new to textures, you also need a guide that takes you though creating and editing textures.I

I have been reading a rumour about the discontinuation of MobileMe services, and one impact will be iWeb, the apple web design software. iWeb was great web design software for simple web sites, and I used it for some time for my blog and podcast website. I stopped using iWeb about a year ago, when I learned that changing the name of the site file on your computer, changed the website address online,

My friend Bill, the NZ Vectorworks salesman, has been playing with Vectorworks Landmark recently and he has been making some great images.This image is a small garden, and he used several standard Vectorworks tools and techniques, such as walls, floors, image props, plants, and the table and chairs. Bill also made some textures from images he found on the internet.This image has only one light, it

By default Vectorworks 2010 and 2011 have one snap turned off that I find useful, Nearest Point on Edge.I find Nearest Point on Edge useful, because this is the option needed to snap along the edge of an object, which I use nearly all the time.But sometimes, I like to have a just a few of these object snap options turned on. For detailing, it is sometimes easier to have just a few snaps turned