VectorWorks 9.5.0 Installation README Document ===================================================== Thank you for purchasing or downloading VectorWorks 9.5.0. This document contains important information regarding the installation and use of VectorWorks 9.5.0. Please read this before you install. Please be especially careful to read the Installation section below. IMPORTANT - If you are a MacOS X user and have a dongle protected version of VectorWorks, make sure you read the "Before You Install" section below. Support for Industry Series Products ------------------------------------- All VectorWorks 9.5 installers will install VectorWorks Foundation, RenderWorks, VectorWorks ARCHITECT, VectorWorks LANDMARK, VectorWorks ARCHITECT with LANDMARK, or VectorWorks SPOTLIGHT. You will need to provide your serial number as proof of registration before the installation will take place. Before you install ------------------ For MacOS 8.6 and 9.x users: VectorWorks 9.5.0 requires CarbonLib 1.2.5 or higher, and we recommend CarbonLib 1.4. Go to http://kbase.info.apple.com and search for CarbonLib. Download and install according to Apple's instructions. The update installer also relies on CarbonLib, so you must perform this step before running the installer.You can examine your current CarbonLib in the Extensions folder of your System Folder or find it in Apple System Profiler in your Apple menu. For MacOS X users: We require that you run with MacOS X 10.1 or higher. For users with dongle protected versions of VectorWorks: If you use a Macintosh version of VectorWorks protected by a dongle, you may need to exchange your dongle if you want to run VectorWorks under MacOS X. The only dongle which will work with MacOS X is a HASP4 USB dongle. You can identify it by the label "HASP4" printed on the side of the dongle. If you have an earlier "MacHASP" or any Microguard dongle, you will need to transition to the HASP 4 USB dongle. Your VectorWorks distributor will be able to furnish you with the HASP 4 USB dongle, and the MacHASP USB dongle exchange may incur a nominal handling fee. ADB dongles may require a replacement fee. Please contact your local reseller or distributor if you require a change in your dongle configuration. The VectorWorks distributor list can be found on line at: http://www.nemetschek.net/sales/International.html Once you have received your HASP4 USB dongle, you will be able to continue using your existing VectorWorks 8.5.2 or VectorWorks 9.0.1 applications with the new dongle. Minimum System Requirements --------------------------- The following are minimum system requirements to run VectorWorks 9.5.0. In many cases we would recommend a significantly more capable machine than is described by these minimum requirements. Macintosh VectorWorks --------------------------------- PowerMac 604e or newer MacOS 8.6 or later MacOS X 10.1 or later CarbonLib 1.2.5 or later 64MB 110MB SVGA 8 bit minimum SVGA 16 bit minimum for OpenGL RenderWorks --------------------------------- 192MB additional RAM 40MB additional hard drive space SVGA 16 bit minimum ARCHITECT/LANDMARK/SPOTLIGHT --------------------------------- 64MB additional RAM 90MB additional hard drive space SVGA 16 bit minimum Windows VectorWorks --------------------------------- Pentium Windows95/NT4 or later 64MB 110MB SVGA 8 bit minimum SVGA 16 bit minimum for OpenGL RenderWorks --------------------------------- 192MB additional RAM 40MB additional hard drive space SVGA 16 bit minimum ARCHITECT/LANDMARK/SPOTLIGHT --------------------------------- 64MB additional RAM 90MB additional hard drive space SVGA 16 bit minimum Installation ------------ Installation using the Full Application Installer ------------------------------------------------- Read this section if you are installing from a CD. Mac install On the Mac, the full application install process is as follows: You will be asked for serial numbers and you should enter the serial number for your VectorWorks product and RenderWorks if you own it. You will then be presented with the software license and read me document. Next you will be presented with the main installer dialog where you should specify the disk volume where you want version 9.5.0 installed. Finally, the installation will take place. Windows install On Windows the full application install process is as follows: After you read this READ ME, you will be asked for serial numbers and you should enter the serial number for your VectorWorks product and RenderWorks if you own it. Next you will be asked to choose the 9.0.1 application you wish to update. Please be careful to select a product to be updated on your local hard drive which matches the serial number you entered or the installer will not proceed with the update. Next you are asked to choose the location where you want the 9.5.0 version installed. Finally, the installation will take place. Installation using the Update Installer --------------------------------------- Read this section if you are installing using a downloaded update installer. This VectorWorks installer requires you to have an existing English-language version 9.0.1 VectorWorks product installed, and it will install a 9.5.0 version of the same product to a new location. Dongle-protected versions are also supported by this installer. This installer will not work if you have VectorWorks version 9.0.0 or prior. If you do not have 9.0.1 or are not sure that your update will work, please contact your dealer or distributor for more information. VectorWorks 8.5.2 and VectorWorks 9.0.0 customers should also contact their dealer or distributor for more information about how to obtain VectorWorks 9.0.1 products. You will be asked for your serial number at the beginning of the install process. Provide the serial number of the VectorWorks product you are updating, The installer will attempt to get this number for you from your existing preferences file, but if you have multiple VectorWorks products installed, the serial number the installer uses as default may be for the wrong product. The following table will help you identify the appropriate serial number to use. Serial Number Prefix Product ---------------------------------------------------- 1900 VectorWorks 9 4900 RenderWorks 9 5900 VW ARCHITECT 9 6900 VW SPOTLIGHT 9 7900 VW LANDMARK 9 9900 VW ARCHITECT with LANDMARK 9 If you own RenderWorks, enter your RW serial number as well, and RenderWorks will be updated to 9.5.0 along with the base application. The installation process will take a total of 15-60 minutes depending on the speed of your hard drive, the speed of your internet connection, and which product is being updated. Depending on the product you are updating, 20 to 40MB of data will be downloaded from our web site during the update process. If the connection is disrupted during the download process, re-start the installer and the download will resume from the place where it stopped. Mac Update On the Mac, the update install process is as follows: You will be asked for serial numbers and you should enter the serial number for your VectorWorks product and RenderWorks if you own it. You are then presented with the read me document. Next you are presented with the main installer dialog where you should specify the disk volume where you want version 9.5.0 installed. After downloading the necessary files to perform the update, you are asked where the VectorWorks 9.0.1 application is which you are updating. Please be careful to select a product to be updated on your local hard drive which matches the serial number you entered or the installer will not proceed with the update. Finally, your 9.0.1 is copied and updated to version 9.5.0. On some machines, the file copy step may take nearly half of the update time and write a large amount of information to the hard drive. Make sure you have as much free- space available as the size of your current 9.0.1 install. Your original 9.0.1 is left untouched. Windows Update On Windows the update install process is as follows: After you read this READ ME, you will be asked for serial numbers and you should enter the serial number for your VectorWorks product and RenderWorks if you own it. Next you are asked to choose the 9.0.1 application you wish to update. Please be careful to select a product to be updated on your local hard drive which matches the serial number you entered or the installer will not proceed with the update. Then you are asked to choose the location where you want the 9.5.0 version installed. Do not choose a location inside of your VectorWoeks 9.0.1 directory or the installation will fail. Finally, your 9.0.1 is copied and updated to version 9.5.0. On some machines, the file copy step may take nearly half of the update time and write a large amount of information to the hard drive. Make sure you have as much free- space available as the size of your current 9.0.1 install. Your original 9.0.1 is left untouched. Installation Q & A ------------------ Can I install on MacOS X? The installer should work on all versions of MacOS supported by VectorWorks - including MacOS X. We have experienced a problem with the installer software we are using which causes the installer to crash at the very end of the installation process if you are installing under MacOS 10.1. The installation is successful despite the crash. As a workaround, you can run the installer from MacOS 9, and the installed application will be usable under MacOS X. My preferences were reset when I installed under MacOS X. Why? MacOS 9.1 and MacOS X are separate operating systems even though they are installed on the same physical machine. The MacOS 9 environment is completely independent of the MacOS X environment, and they do not share application preferences. What if I'm using Architect, Landmark, or Spotlight? The VectorWorks 9.5.0 version of your product is installed into a new folder. After you run this installer, you will still have your original 9.0.1 version in it's original folder. You can run this installer multiple times to install multiple products. Why is the installer asking for my password? On MacOS X, you may need to provide an administrator user and password to give the installer authority to add VectorWorks to your system. Why is the installer asking for my serial number? This installer supports our entire product line. It asks for your serial number to enable the ability to install the product or products you own. Make sure you provide a serial number which matches the product you are upgrading. Do I need a new serial number? All existing VectorWorks 9 foundation product serial numbers will work with VectorWorks 9.5.0. Will my existing VectorWorks 9.0.x be overwritten? No. VectorWorks 9.5 installs in a separate directory. Will my preferences be overwritten? VectorWorks 9.5 uses a separate preferences file from 9.0.x, so you can use 9.5 with no fear of having your 9.0.1 environment affected in any way whatsoever. All Industry Series products use separate preferences files as well, so if you use multiple VectorWorks products on the same machine, they will all maintain independent preferences. Platform Issues --------------- MacOS X VectorWorks 9.5 has been developed to run as a native MacOS X application. While it is possible to run it in the classic emulation environment, we recommend that you avoid this if possible. We find that the classic environment has a number of hardware and software compatibility issues which are not present in native MacOS X. We recommend that in your System Preferences in the General pane, you set: Turn off text smoothing for font sizes 8 and smaller. Otherwise, 9 point text in the VectorWorks user interface will display poorly. We do not support UFS formatted volumes. You must install onto an HFS formatted volume. Windows No significant changes were made for 9.5.0 in the Windows architecture or operating system requirements. Notes for Industry Series products ---------------------------------- Industry series products have a number of files which are often customized by the user. These files may have also been modified by Nemetschek as part of the 9.5.0 version, in which case our changes will take precedence. The following are some of the issues you may need to be aware of when updating a customized VectorWorks Industry Series application. ARCHITECT If you have edited the ID symbols in ID_Symbols.mcd, then move ID_Symbols.mcd from [VectorWorks]\Plug-ins\Common\data to the Plug-ins\Common\data folder in the new 950 folder. From the VW950 application, open the newly located ID_Symbols.mcd file and run the Output_ID_Prefs script in the pally document palette to update the ID_Prefs.txt file. If you have edited preference set information (Door Hardware Library, Room Finish Library, record and/or schedule definitions in VA Records and Schedules, Wall Type Library, etc.), you have two options. You can leave your preference sets where they are, and reestablish the preference set selections, pointing to the existing locations. Or you can copy your existing preference sets into your new 950 folder. No conversion will be necessary to use 900/901 preference sets in 950, and 900/901 users can share preference sets with 950 users. If you have modified the Task Manager database, copy [VectorWorks]\Plug- ins\VW_Arch\Data\VA2 Task Data.txt to [VectorWorks]\Plug-ins\Common\data, and rename it Task Data.txt. If you customized your workspace(s), textures, Notes Manager database(s), or Object Libraries, you can copy these into your new 950 folder. LANDMARK If you have edited the plant symbols in VL_Resources.mcd, then move VL_Resources.mcd from 901->Plug-ins->VL_Land->Data to the corresponding location in the new 905 folder. From the VW905 application, open the newly located VL_Resources.mcd file and run the Rebuild Plant Library.txt script in the VL_Resources scripts document palette to update the plant library. If you have edited the plant descriptions your project plant list or plant database files, then move them from the location in your 901 folder to the corresponding location in the new 905 folder.From the VW905 application, run the VL Plant Database... command and the VL Project Plant List command to reset the pointer to your new project plant list and plant database files. If you have edited the ID symbols in ID_Symbols.mcd, then move ID_Symbols.mcd from 901->Plug-ins->VL_Land->Data to the Plug-ins->Common->Data folder in the new 905 folder. Please note that the default location of this file has changed with this release. From the VW905 application, open the newly located ID_Symbols.mcd file and run the Output_ID_Prefs script in the pally document palette to update the ID_Prefs.txt file. ARCHITECT with LANDMARK If you changed any files in the existing Architect with Landmark folder, these can be copied to the new 950 folder. There were no filename or path changes between 901 and 950. Functionality changes --------------------- We have made the following targeted functionality changes in 9.5.0 in response to user feedback: The trim command is back by popular demand. It is assigned command-T / control-T. As a result, the Format Text dialog has been assigned command-shift-T / control-shift-T. Changes since 9.0.1 ------------------- We are including a list of fixes since 9.0.1 in the release notes directory. This list is not necessarily comprehensive and has not been significantly edited, but serves as a guide to the types of improvements we have made during the 9.5.0 development cycle. One area of focus for the 9.5.0 release has been to improve speed in areas where 9.0.1's performance was unacceptable. We have made many improvements to meet this goal. Some specific examples follow. Selected performance improvements between 9.0.1 and 9.5.0b5: The Tape Measure Tool is no longer significantly slower than it was in 8.5.2. The Protractor Tool is no longer significantly slower than it was in 8.5.2. Creating objects with the Create dialog is no longer significantly slower than8.5.2. Creating a symbol and leaving an instance in place is 40% faster in 9.5.0 than it was in 9.0.1. Exiting symbols, especially nested symbols, is 40% - 300% faster in 9.5.0 than it was in 9.0.1. Creating or deleting hundreds of classes at once is many times faster in 9.5.0 than it was in 9.0.1. Hidden Line Rendering is twice as fast or faster in 9.5.0 than it was in 9.0.1. Convert to Lines and Convert Copy to Lines are twice as fast or faster in 9.5.0 than they were in 9.0.1. Switching Sheets, especially in files with many layers, is 100% - 300% faster 9.5.0 than in 9.0.1 Drawing rotated text and dimensions is up to five times faster in 9.5.0 than it was in 9.0.1 Most VectorScripts will run significantly faster in 9.5 than they did in 9.0.1. Most plug-in objects will regenerate significantly faster in 9.5 than they did in 9.0.1. Exporting files to VectorWorks 8 is many times faster in 9.5 than it was in 9.0.1. Files that contain worksheets with criteria open many times faster in 9.5 than they did in 9.0.1. Selecting, moving, and drawing polylines is much faster in 9.5 than it was in 9.0.1. Dragging complex extrudes is much faster in 9.5 than it was in 9.0.1. Drawing large text blocks on Windows is much faster in 9.5 than it is in 9.0.1. Windows Postscript printing is 2 to 8 times faster in 9.5 than it was in 8.5.2 (larger files will see more dramatic speedups). Known Problems -------------- MicroSpot print drivers have been demonstrated to be incompatible with CarbonLib 1.4. They work correctly with CarbonLib 1.2.5. Please use CarbonLib 1.2.5 if you rely on MicroSpot print drivers. The Carbon print architecture under MacOS 9 and MacOS X is significantly different that it was under prior Mac environments. This introduces new compatibility issues for non-Apple print drivers. Check with your printer vendor for their most current Carbon-compatible print drivers. Because most PostScript printers use Apple print drivers, they are immune to these considerations. Running VectorWorks 9.5.0 in the classic compatibility mode under MacOS X is possible but not recommended. There are a number of problems with classic mode which do not affect native Carbon applications.