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Permalink Reply by Jacob Coakley on November 20, 2011 at 7:05pm

Hello. This is the first of a four week series on the latest release of Vectorworks Spotlight, the version called 2012. I’ve had a little bit of time to play with it, courtesy of a copy provided by Nemetschek. In this version, the major emphasis is on “fine-tuning.” So far I’ve found a smaller, unsung revision for a process not often needed but essential when it is, some larger changes highlighted on the web and in the promotional literature and at least one area that still needs work. I’ll get to that last one later.

Overall though, with another a series of numerous incremental improvements, refining some features and adding others, Nemetschek continues to build on the major core revisions of a few years ago. Central to the fine-tuning of this version is increased ease of use which can be seen in improvements such as the continued merging of 2D/3D tools and processes, tool simplification and refinement and an ever improving intuitiveness to the interface. So far, in addition to the five items called out on the Spotlight page in the What’s New brochure, I have a list of nineteen changes that will no doubt prove useful for theater work. Some of those changes will be of particular interest to lighting designers. Over the next few of weeks, I will go down the list, looking at each item, take some of them for a test drive and report back what I find.

But enough of the big, flashy stuff. There is one change so pedestrian as to be rarely mentioned so I thought I start there. It is a change that will be useful only for some groups of users but essential for them. The groups in this case being the theatricals: the designers, assistants and technicians; the smaller theaters, shops, drama departments and other venues that rely on Vectorworks to draft their shows but are too cashed strapped to afford to do an annual or even biannual upgrade. Working with them, you’ll need to remember –ay, there’s the rub– to back save your file to a format they can read. That is, if the version of Spotlight you’re running will let you. If last year you were using the latest version, 2011, but the theater only had 2008 and your assistant was still operating in 12.5, that was a problem. You couldn’t save to a version they could open. The version released in 2011 could only save back two versions to 2009. The workaround usually involved finding someone with a copy of 2009 or 2010 who would back save your files for you. Which is actually more of a runaround than workaround. Slow and painful too.

But no more. Vectorworks 2012 has added the ability to save back as far as version 12. While it might be that not many need this feature, those that do should be pleased.

David K H Elliott is a lighting designer and educator. You can reach him via e-mail at dkhe@berkeley.edu.

Permalink Reply by David K H Elliott on November 28, 2011 at 3:23pm

HIGHLIGHTING SPOTLIGHT 2012, Part 2

©2012 David K H Elliott

Hello again. This time I’ll take a look at three features in Spotlight of particular interest to lighting designers and another feature that’s not specifically related to lighting but will prove useful to the design process.

DATA EXCHANGE IMPROVED

As soon as my review copy of 2012 arrived in the mailbox, I loaded it onto the faster processor and bigger screen of my iMac and jumped into finishing a project I’d started in Spotlight 2011 on a Macbook. Read “What’s new?” Poke around? Nope. I wasn’t so much interested in or looking for new features as much as I was intent on getting the show to the electrician. With the install complete, I picked up working on the plot where I’d left off, adding color and shifting channel assignments, using the data exchange feature to jump from plot to paperwork, Spotlight to Lightwright, and back repeatedly. I’d make a change in Lightwright, switch to Spotlight, refresh all and continue. As always, or at least since 2011. And then, on one of the returns to Spotlight, I saw two colors update before I’d hit refresh. OMG! Data exchange is now bi-directional! It’s a seemingly small change with a large impact. Thank you Spotlight team!

SOFT GOODS OBJECT TOOL

What was the Curtain Object has become the Soft Goods Object Tool. It is a substantial improvement and allows you to draw soft goods in one of three modes: curtain, border and pipe and drape. It is now a path based tool which will be particular useful when laying out pipe and drape. Base plate size, end hardware, top and bottom finish, material color and type are a few of the available choices.

FOCUS INSTRUMENTS AT NEXT CLICK

Expanding on last year’s innovation that aims a fixture at its focus point in 3D, it is now possible to select one or more fixtures, right click on the document to bring up the contextual menu and, by selecting Focus Instruments at Next Click, simultaneously focusing the selected fixtures. It’s a faster, more intuitive approach. As before, the results are visible in 3D.

AUTOMATIC WORKING PLANE

With this release, Nemetschek continues to improve the ease of use of 3D tools. To add a detail to a surface of a 3D object, a tool is selected and the plane control is set to automatic. As the mouse passes over each face of the object, each is highlighted in turn. Once a face has been acquired, 2D and 3D objects and text can be immediately added to the object. It’s easy, clear and direct.

David K H Elliott is a lighting designer and educator. You can reach him via e-mail at dkhe@berkeley.edu.