Happy New Year! I hope your holiday season was a good one. Here at Nemetschek North America, we were busy up until the very end. Our users, loyal and new, are valuable to us- and it is for all of you that we are thankful. We had a great 2003— our very best year ever. I look forward to an even better 2004, and extend to you that very same wish.

If you were at the Macworld Show in San Francisco last week, I hope you stopped by the VectorWorks' booth. If you couldn’t make it, take my word for it- it was a fantastic show! We were busy demonstrating our software and answering questions all week long, and still had the time to host a great reception at Clouds Restaurant for over 60 of our users. Next up for us is the NAHB Builders Show in Las Vegas from January 19 – 22. If you'll be in the area, stop by our booth. We'd love to talk with you.

Congratulations to the winner of December's Sony Monitor Giveway- Gorny Garcia Architects, of Danville, CA! You can read all about them in next month's Firm Profile. Unfortunately, their good fortune brings our Fall Sony Monitor Giveaway to an end. But don't give up hope- we have other fantastic contests waiting in the wing. November's winner- BKA Architects Inc.- is featured in our Firm Profile column.

Sincerely,

Richard Diehl
CEO, Nemetschek North America

Is there an easy way to move an object from one class or layer to another?

You don't need to cut and paste in order to move objects from one class or layer to another class or layer. There is a more practical way.

First, select the object you want to move. Then, go to the Object Info Palette and select the desired class or layer from the Class and Layer drop down boxes at the top. The selected object is now assigned to the new class.

How can I create and access log files?

Do you need to keep a log of time spent in VectorWorks for a specific project? The Log Time in Program VectorWorks Preference can keep track of time for you. The VW log file keeps track of what time the program started and quit, what time a specific file was opened and closed, and when a new file was created. The log file is saved as "VectorWorks Log.txt" in the VectorWorks folder for easy access.

To turn the VW log preference on, go to File> Preferences> VW Preferences. (Figure 2a) Click on the Session Tab.
Checkmark "Log Time in Program" (Figure 2b)
To open the log file, go to the VectorWorks folder and double click on "VectorWorks Log.txt" (Figure 2c and Figure 2d)

How can I create a roof with a split pitch?

To create a roof with a split pitch, create a roof from a polygon or walls (Model > Architectural > Create Roof from Walls or Create Roof from Polygon).(Figure 1 and Figure 2)
Select the roof, and then select Organize > Edit Group. (Figure 3)
Draw a rectangle representing the area of the roof where the pitch will be different.(Figure 4)
This will cut a hole in the roof. Then, click the Exit Group button located in the top-right corner of the Mode bar. A rectangular hole is cut from the roof where you had drawn the rectangle while editing the group.

Next, from a Top/Plan view, draw a second rectangle to cover the hole created in the roof. (Figure 5)
Then, with this rectangle selected, run the Model > Architectural Create Roof from Polygon command. (Figure 6)
This creates a second roof to fill the hole that was created. From an elevation view, move the smaller roof to an appropriate elevation. (Figure 7)
Finally, adjust the pitches of both roofs in the Edit Roof Settings dialog box to suit your needs.(Figure 8)

Also, experiment with using other shapes when in the Edit Group window. This will provide many ideas for roof shapes, while maintaining the plug-in attributes of complex roof objects.

Nemetschek North America Posts 2004 VectorWorks Training Schedule

Nemetschek North America announced the schedule for its VectorWorks training, the Professional Learning Series. The Professional Learning Series training offers VectorWorks users the opportunity to hone their VectorWorks skills, as well as introducing users to the latest VectorWorks technology. The series consists of two seminars: the VectorWorks Fundamentals seminar, a comprehensive two-day seminar, and the VectorWorks Hands-On on 3D seminar.

Nemetschek North America Announces Updates to Its VectorWorks Product Line

Nemetschek North America announced that it has updated its entire product line to version 10.5.1. This new update provides improvements in overall speed and stability, as well as offers Macintosh users compatibility with Apple's latest operating system, Mac OS X Panther.

Nemetschek North America Announces 2nd Winner In Its VectorWorks 10.5 Sony Giveaway

Nemetschek North America is pleased to announce that BKA Architects, Brockton, MA, has been selected as the 2nd winner in the company's VectorWorks 10.5 Sony Giveaway, a monthly contest held to promote the latest updates to its line of VectorWorks CAD programs. BKA Architects will be awarded a 23" Sony Premier Pro Wide Flat Panel LCD screen, to accompany their recent upgrade to VectorWorks 10.5.

VectorWorks Joins the Curriculum at Local College

Nemetschek North America is pleased to announce that Anne Arundel Community College in Arnold, Maryland will be teaching an Introduction to VectorWorks class, as a part of their architectural curriculum. The class is defined as an overview of the use of VectorWorks, computer-aided design and drafting software for Windows. It will cover two-dimensional architectural applications and introduces three-dimensional modeling. Emphasis is on development of solid understanding of tools and applications of the software for use in professional practice. For more information about this class, visit the college's website at www.aacc.cc.md.us

For a complete listing of schools using VectorWorks, visit www.nemetschek.net/training/Schools.html

Los Alamos National Labratory, University of Oregon, Phillips Academy Andover, Connecticut College, Boston Architectural Center, Thomas A Fenniman Architect, Tufts University, Rhode Island School of Design, University of Central Florida, Unity Christian High School, Redwood Valley High School, Univertsity of Houston, Marshfield High School, Long Island University, Portland Community College, University of Wisconsin - Parkside, Lawrence University, Santa Clara University, Grinnell College, Colorado School of Mines, University Of Cincinnati-Dept CCM, Adelphi University, Fairfax High School, University of Georgia, Modesto Junior College, Brandeis University Spingold Theater, Cornell University, St. Edwards University, Northwestern University, Shishmaref Highschool (Bering Strait School Dist), Sparrows Point High (BCPS), Princeton University, Princeton University Art Museum, University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ (Camden), Penn State University, Paichai University, Dartmouth College, Foothill College, Colorado School of Mines

To add your school to the list of schools that teach VectorWorks, please email our Education CAD consultant Mike Bendler at mikeb@nemetschek.net

Call us at 410-290-5114 to speak to Customer Service or Technical Support.

Fax us at 410-290-7266. Visit us on the web at www.nemetschek.net

For ordering and pricing information, call 1-888-646-4223, or e-mail sales@nemetschek.net

E-mail questions about upcoming shows, User Group events, or any marketing concerns to marketing@nemetschek.net

E-mail your technical questions, solutions, and wish list items to Technical Support at tech@nemetschek.net