where do you live?

there are lots of vectorworks users groups around the US.

check out this.

they're pretty helpful in my experience.

also, if this is for an employer, find out who their local VW rep is and see if they'll send you the tutorial CD's that come with all new versions. they're also pretty helpful.

not to dig my own grave, but pm me if you want some answers to some specific questions. i'm no expert, but i've been using VW for a while and might be able to help...

Great. If i was back home in NZ: no problem. Over here in the UK: nada. Typical.

Thanks ML I'll drop you an email if I ever get really really stuck but I can usually just bug the others in my office.

My real concern is that they seem to do EVERYTHING in 2D with no kind of linking of files just loads of copy and pasting groups. It just doesn't seem efficient. I'm too used to ArchiCAD now...

Anyway, I'm still new to it, so I'll just have to muddle on.

workgroup eferences are your friend. they're VW-speak for x-refs.

screw the copy/paste masses...i've wasted too much time of my life already re-drawing redlines on my floorplans and on my rcp and on my struct. backgrounds etc etc etc...

either work up a sophisticated layering convention or get used to workgroup referencing.

my $.02.

ml

Only been using it 3 days now. Still getting used to drawings things with twice and many clicks!

yeah, its a bit more involved than autocad, and hurts your head for quite a while, but is easy to use once you get the hang, and some ways manages easier .... layers = floors, classes = autocad layers, workgroupreference=xref; sheet layers=paperspace, viewports=viewports;
this is a simplification, but the concepts are sim.

I haven't used AutoCAD for 4 years, I've been using ArchiCAD. It's much quicker for modelling and drafting.

So far I'm struggling bcause there are three times as many tools to do the same functions. It's not nearly as intuitive.

*sigh*

i have always found VW to be way more intuitive than autocad. i have not used archicad at all, so no input there.

i'm sure you'll find that vw is pretty darned quick for modelling once you get the hang of it.

it's all about drawing polygons and extruding them, adding them, subtracting them. once you start getting into NURBS it'll get pretty complicated obviously.

though it's rendering speeds and capabilities leave something to be desired, it has gotten much better over the past two years in particular.

anytime we need a particularly high quality rendering we export to artlantis anyways.

you can customize your workspace and get rid of the tools that you don't know/use and just stick to a minimal work palette.

I am impressed with the boulean modelling approach which ArchiCAD doesn't really have.

What it does have is what they call pocket palettes (i think) so basically when you click on say a hatch and hold you get a little palette with all the tools appropriate to that object. Many less tools and shortcut keys required and makes for a much smoother process.

I noticed that everyone in the office using 11.5 is using manual zooming instead of a scroll mouse WTF!?!?! It feels like the dark ages.