I recently received my copy of Vectorworks Designer 2010. It contains Vectorworks: fundamentals, architect, renderworks, landmark, spotlight, and machine design.
I've been using this software since it was mini-cad, sometime around 1997 or so. Before VW, I used auto cad, sketchup, and chief architect.
In general I've found VW to be the most practical, full featured, and easy to use design software available. The price is also the most competitive in it's class.
I have had mixed feelings and mixed results about upgrading over the years, some upgrades seem to take lots of time to learn, with small results.
Other upgrades have yielded big results with little pain. 2010 has been huge results with almost no pain! I'll digress to the early days of mini-cad.
The first few upgrades came with nice, easy to follow manuals, and good tutorial cd's for a modest price. After a few upgrades, no more books! I complained and was told
that it was a decision aimed at saving trees, how could I argue with that? I have to admit that one aspect of VW software that has consistantly left me underwhelmed
has been the help files. In 12 odd years of using the software, I don't know that I've ever learned anything from the help files, or even found the right file for any issue.
However, that's the only part of VW that I haven't loved - they've more than made up for it in every other detail and about a year ago I solved the help thing.

A year or two ago I easily tripled my use and efficiency of VW by the addition of the manuals, podcasts, video files and personal help of Jonathan Pickup of Archoncad in New Zealand.
He offers invaluable advice and materials to maximize the value of the software, as well as being very pleasant to relate to. I basically use Jonathan's books instead of help files -
they sit next to my computer. Before I even installed 2010, I bought and watched everything he has produced about it and thus the transition was seamless.

2010 is really amazing! The features that I use are mostly in Architect, as I'm an architectural designer and builder. The new associative dimensions, chain dimensions,
object constraints, joining, and being able to dbl click to change dimensions is worth the upgrade by itself. Plan views are much easier, faster, and more dimensionally
accurate for me, and I love going from plan view to a 2D/3D hybrid called unified view. Unified view is a much better version of stacked layers with full editability.
I find that I can work for hours without changing layers, where I was constantly changing before.Because of the type of drawing that I do, pre 2010 I was always making walls,
adding or subtracting to or from them, and having them change from walls to adds or subtracts and losing many of the options that you have with walls.
Now walls are fully editable as to their shape, recesses, additions, etc. and they stay walls! If you've read any of my BIM rants, you know that I design in 3D almost always.
The new working plane tool is awesome, as are the 3D snaps!! The stair tools are now really good and I can actually use them! If you'll notice the stair a couple of blogs down,
you'll see that I used to draw them from scratch because the old stair tool was only useful for the most rudimentary stair. The window and door tools are really good and
have the controls that I need. I still have to make most of my own trim for them, but every other element of the objects is available. I haven't managed to browse through
all of the new libraries yet. There are tons of new objects, hatches, textures, etc. and I'm looking forward to spending less time driving around with a camera to find a texture
that I need. Viewports, drawing labels, sheet numbers, and headings are all automated now so that they update themselves - a big timesaver for me. These are just the features
that I've used in less than 20 hours of drawing and the longer I type, the more that I keep thinking of. I love that when you tweak dimensions in sheet layers, they update the design
layer! I imagine I'll keep discovering others. I recommend that everyone upgrade. I was using 2009, which I only upgraded to less than 8 months ago and 09 to 10 has been huge!
A big reason that I went "all vectorworks" back in the 90's was the quality of the customer service. When I call them up I get a human immediately who can actually help me.
I don't have to give them my ss#, mother's maiden name, password........Often they have given me free help for products that they don't even support any more.
Through the years the customer service has gotten even better! How many products can you say that about?

Now that I've talked about Vectorworks for a while, I have to sign off and go back to using it. After 12 years, I'm more excited about it than I've ever been!


 

My friend and Vectorworks teacher, Jonathan Pickup, recently turned me onto a Vectorworks 3rd party plug-in that is fantastic!
Jon sent me his manual and I downloaded Camera Match from Matt Panzer in San Francisco. The tool allows you to insert models accurately into photos.
This is especially useful for me to demonstrate what a building will look like in its future site. I found the tool to be very easy to use, and by following Jon's
manual produced my first example in about 10 minutes - and here it is.....
This is the fishing cabin I previously wrote about sitting on the future site of the frame that I just blogged about.

I can see myself using this tool extensively for not only presentation drawings, but also to use in designing renovations and additions.
Here is Jon's youtube video that does a nice job of demonstrating camera match: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3229qXnJ9-8
Check out the learning materials on Jon's website: http://www.archoncad.co.nz/ and purchase Camera Match from: http://www.panzercad.com/
 

This will be the next frame that I cut. I'm working on the design of a small "off the grid" house. It will be miles from the nearest neighbor,
solar powered, geo-thermal and wood heated, with rain-water collection, grey water reclamation, super insulated....

Last night I received a manual from Jonathan Pickup at Archoncad which is written in his latest improved format which he calls his "vectorworkout" series.


The subject matter is BIM (building information modelling), which is a 21st century method of designing in CAD. Early CAD was basically a digital pencil
that approximated drawing boards and parallel rules that I used when first learning design skills. I've written before about why BIM is the only approach to
design that I consider viable in current times and I won't expound on it now.

This manual is far and away the best training tool and guide that I've seen to date. It came as a download from an FTP site and is viewed as a PDF.
What you see is a column on the left that has all of the topics that an architectural designer could want and a screen on the right that plays movies of those topics.
The manual works as a step by step tutorial, a technical reference library, or a collection of skillbuilding exercises. It's easy to use and I found it difficult to stop watching.
For the majority of design that I do (specialty residential) this manual can easily be the "one" essential tool for using Vectorworks Architect - though I plan to keep all of the others.
As soon as I upload this review, I will be going back and reviewing "drawing 2D details" in the BIM manual, as I'm constantly amazed at how much there is for me to learn.
As I keep working with this manual, I'll blog further findings and I'm also just installing VW 2010 and so will review that. Here is the youtube video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEhOJqTSV2Y