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    Nathanjh
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Vectorworks Plugin

Hello There,

I noticed for GrandMA you can import vectorworks files via a plugin and see the vectorworks plot in MA 3d or in their 2d wireframe visualizer.  

Is there a way to make a lighting plot in Vectorworks and import that information in to a Magic Sheet?  

The reason why I ask is my current workflow is to make the lighting plot in Vectorworks, print copies for the crew and import it in to a magic sheet as a background image.  From there I create the lights in the magic sheet and place them over their spot in the plot.  At the end I have an interactive lighting plot where I can see everything just like the 2d vectorworks export.  What I would like is to just import the vectorworks file and skip the part where I have to make the plot twice.  

I've never used lightwright but from what I understand it only manages data and not 2d plots?

Thoughts?

Thanks!

Sincerely,

Nathan Harris

Parents

  • As far as I know, your current method is the best approach to importing a plot into the Magic Sheet function on the console. There isn't a way to directly import a .VWX file into the Eos. You can always draw the plot in the Magic Sheet itself, but it's not as feature-rich as Vectorworks. I've done both methods and prefer using Vectorworks (but I also use it for 3D rendering, etc).

    One way to make life a bit easier when migrating between an Eos and Vectorworks is exporting a patch file from Vectorworks and importing it to the Eos. If you correctly track your channels and dimmers, you can export a Data file or an ASCII file that the Eos can read and automatically patch your fixtures. It's not totally what you are looking for, but I find it incredibly time saving since I'm not entering data twice.

    Lightwright works with Vectorworks and has a more feature rich way of manipulating data and an easier way to export patch data into the console. I also believe Lightwright 5 has a way to network into an Eos network and turn lights on and off from the software. I haven't used it yet, but it sounds like it would make calling Focus from Lightwright much easier.

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  • As far as I know, your current method is the best approach to importing a plot into the Magic Sheet function on the console. There isn't a way to directly import a .VWX file into the Eos. You can always draw the plot in the Magic Sheet itself, but it's not as feature-rich as Vectorworks. I've done both methods and prefer using Vectorworks (but I also use it for 3D rendering, etc).

    One way to make life a bit easier when migrating between an Eos and Vectorworks is exporting a patch file from Vectorworks and importing it to the Eos. If you correctly track your channels and dimmers, you can export a Data file or an ASCII file that the Eos can read and automatically patch your fixtures. It's not totally what you are looking for, but I find it incredibly time saving since I'm not entering data twice.

    Lightwright works with Vectorworks and has a more feature rich way of manipulating data and an easier way to export patch data into the console. I also believe Lightwright 5 has a way to network into an Eos network and turn lights on and off from the software. I haven't used it yet, but it sounds like it would make calling Focus from Lightwright much easier.

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