A mini review, touching on the highlights.
- Purchased a copy last week from Production Advantage as an institutional upgrade from version 4. Got an e-mail the next day from ProAdv with a serial number, logged on with Mckernon, got a approval code, download the software (21 meg ?) and installed. All serial numbers and codes went in without a hitch.
- Install was painless. A note to all users that LW5 generally requires a connection to the internet, mostly as an attempt by the creators to keep a track of who and how many users on a license. Or so I presume as pretty much every time I launch LW5, it tells me it's making a connection. Hmmm.... something to be aware of. As I just launched V5, a window popped up telling me of a critical bug to be fixed, so McKernon is keeping track and is keeping is up-to-date on updates, etc...
- First thing I tried out was the so-called automatic link to Vectorworks Spotlight 2009 (to which I upgraded from v12.5 educational version, to a Pro version in June. Our GM is great about upgrading software) . VW 2009 has a toggle under File - Document Settings, Spotlight Settings, that starts the automatic connection. Ditto LW5, it has a VW symbol to the right of the tool bar that toggles on the connection. Essentially, what the connection tells you and does, is VW creates a file (I have it put mine on the desktop) called a ".xml" file, that VW and LW continually write to and that LW continually checks for changed data from VW or LW (in VW you have to hit re-fresh instruments). After making the connection and seeing the data on VW and in LW, as you add/change data in VW it pops up in LW. Really, it writes your hookup for you as you work in VW, without running the export/import. Finally !.
As example, one of the nice added changes/features in VW2009 is the Number function. VW 12 used to only number lighting units with unit numbers. Now it can number any numerical value. Thus you can select Channel, with an additional incremental increase of 1 (or 2 or whatever) and do a manual click on assorted lighting units, 1-2-3-4, etc...with the channel numbers filling in on the Channel column of LW5. Ditto dimmers. Or circuits. Or defined user fields in VW. Thus it's a snap to assign these functions in VW and not have to now do an Export.
Note though that if you close either program, you need to re-establish the link when you re-open the program and I believe having the 'puter go to hibernate or standby also requires a new link be established, if what I am experiencing is correct.
- Show color swatches, Show Gobo Images. With color swatches, as you work adding colors, in either VW or LW, adding a color such as L161 shows a tiny color frame alongside the color number in the color column of LW, that's pretty close to the gel swatch. One of the big advantages to having this option checked is it allows a very good error checking for typo's in the color, especially if you are supposed to have 4 L161's on Ch 4 and instead have 3 L161's and 1 L116. The tiny color frame has green in it and your eye sees that. Gobo images I have not played with but seems to allow an import of the actual image of the gobo from the manufacturers website and works the same way as color, creating a small image. Clicking on either color or gobo brings up a Choose Color/Gobo Liist window. In the upper left of the window is a swatch book with the assorted GAM/Apollo/Lee/Rosco and others color swatches. Pick and choose.
- Open add'l hookups, Highlights and Worksheet colors. As with LW4 you can pick and choose the worksheet color scheme. LW5 now allows multiple files to be open simultaneously. When you open a 2nd file, the worksheet color scheme changes, as an indicator that you are in different file. You can also pick different highlight changes schemes, so that changes from the electrician can be in a particular color. Changes made direct to the file in LW in another color. Incoming changes from VW in a 3rd color, etc...
- As part of the connect to the internet system, LW now allows a Network to be established of users e-mail addresses that you need to send/exchange flies with. No longer having to go to your e-mail program to attach files, the People and Network system keeps track of the addresses, what file was sent, when, etc...
That's all for now as I'm not Ship and cannot type all night. One thought I had was that 5 has many more additional functions as compared to 4, then 4 and to v3 and as a result, is worth it. The automatic VW connection alone was worth the wait and money.
Steve Bailey
Brooklyn College
- Purchased a copy last week from Production Advantage as an institutional upgrade from version 4. Got an e-mail the next day from ProAdv with a serial number, logged on with Mckernon, got a approval code, download the software (21 meg ?) and installed. All serial numbers and codes went in without a hitch.
- Install was painless. A note to all users that LW5 generally requires a connection to the internet, mostly as an attempt by the creators to keep a track of who and how many users on a license. Or so I presume as pretty much every time I launch LW5, it tells me it's making a connection. Hmmm.... something to be aware of. As I just launched V5, a window popped up telling me of a critical bug to be fixed, so McKernon is keeping track and is keeping is up-to-date on updates, etc...
- First thing I tried out was the so-called automatic link to Vectorworks Spotlight 2009 (to which I upgraded from v12.5 educational version, to a Pro version in June. Our GM is great about upgrading software) . VW 2009 has a toggle under File - Document Settings, Spotlight Settings, that starts the automatic connection. Ditto LW5, it has a VW symbol to the right of the tool bar that toggles on the connection. Essentially, what the connection tells you and does, is VW creates a file (I have it put mine on the desktop) called a ".xml" file, that VW and LW continually write to and that LW continually checks for changed data from VW or LW (in VW you have to hit re-fresh instruments). After making the connection and seeing the data on VW and in LW, as you add/change data in VW it pops up in LW. Really, it writes your hookup for you as you work in VW, without running the export/import. Finally !.
As example, one of the nice added changes/features in VW2009 is the Number function. VW 12 used to only number lighting units with unit numbers. Now it can number any numerical value. Thus you can select Channel, with an additional incremental increase of 1 (or 2 or whatever) and do a manual click on assorted lighting units, 1-2-3-4, etc...with the channel numbers filling in on the Channel column of LW5. Ditto dimmers. Or circuits. Or defined user fields in VW. Thus it's a snap to assign these functions in VW and not have to now do an Export.
Note though that if you close either program, you need to re-establish the link when you re-open the program and I believe having the 'puter go to hibernate or standby also requires a new link be established, if what I am experiencing is correct.
- Show color swatches, Show Gobo Images. With color swatches, as you work adding colors, in either VW or LW, adding a color such as L161 shows a tiny color frame alongside the color number in the color column of LW, that's pretty close to the gel swatch. One of the big advantages to having this option checked is it allows a very good error checking for typo's in the color, especially if you are supposed to have 4 L161's on Ch 4 and instead have 3 L161's and 1 L116. The tiny color frame has green in it and your eye sees that. Gobo images I have not played with but seems to allow an import of the actual image of the gobo from the manufacturers website and works the same way as color, creating a small image. Clicking on either color or gobo brings up a Choose Color/Gobo Liist window. In the upper left of the window is a swatch book with the assorted GAM/Apollo/Lee/Rosco and others color swatches. Pick and choose.
- Open add'l hookups, Highlights and Worksheet colors. As with LW4 you can pick and choose the worksheet color scheme. LW5 now allows multiple files to be open simultaneously. When you open a 2nd file, the worksheet color scheme changes, as an indicator that you are in different file. You can also pick different highlight changes schemes, so that changes from the electrician can be in a particular color. Changes made direct to the file in LW in another color. Incoming changes from VW in a 3rd color, etc...
- As part of the connect to the internet system, LW now allows a Network to be established of users e-mail addresses that you need to send/exchange flies with. No longer having to go to your e-mail program to attach files, the People and Network system keeps track of the addresses, what file was sent, when, etc...
That's all for now as I'm not Ship and cannot type all night. One thought I had was that 5 has many more additional functions as compared to 4, then 4 and to v3 and as a result, is worth it. The automatic VW connection alone was worth the wait and money.
Steve Bailey
Brooklyn College
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... and I don't have the money for VW either. Oh well. Indeed I use AutoCAD.
The ability to open mutiple LW files at once and the file/worknotes exchange alone was worth the update for us.
