AsOne

I also find it very difficult to rearrange the order of palettes in the dock (which one is above/below). To the point where I set it up once how I want it, save the workspace, and never attempt again.

+1

I set up a two monitor workspace that seems to be working fine in general. Minimal customization of the default workspace is my recommendation. My workspace can be rebuilt from scratch in about 10 minutes if need be. I haven't had to do that in a while now. I have had to reset using my saved workspace on a somewhat regular basis (not every day, but more often than desired). Main complaints are: Palettes can "disappear" into the top bar very easily. I can detach them, but they can only float over the modeling window. It is hard to rearrange things on the top bar to reduce blank space. See below - a lot of unused grey area. I miss that in v8 the palette dock was not fixed on the right side. The new right side palette dock has drastically reduced the modeling window space. I miss the scroll bar from the Palette Dock quite a bit. Scrolling the v9 dock is quite a chore. In full screen mode I wish I could select specific palettes to remain on screen. For example, when presenting in full screen on a laptop to a client I can't keep any palettes open to control views or turn off/on layers. It's either keep all palettes on or quit full screen to show/hide palettes for every change required during the presentation. I would love to be able to do walk throughs without the yellow feet of target box on for client presentation or screen recording walk throughs. Only as an option that can be toggled on/off as the feet and target are helpful for navigation. In the Zoom era I do a lot of walk throughs. I have Layers, Materials, Material Parameters, Tool Options + Inspector on one monitor. Removing these allows me to keep scrolling to a minimum in the Palette Dock. I have a few floating palettes I use a lot at the top of the modeling window.

Great to hear there is work on a M1 native version! Technically ADS did release an update on PowerCADD coming this summer, which is only on Mac...so that hints at a new M1 version and one with new 2D drafting features. I would love to see scheduled updates and/or upgrades.

M1 was first released in Nov. 2020 correct?

I still love Mac OS and 9.2 is working for me with the usual FormZ quirks. I'm willing to live with the UI and occasional tool bug given the speed and power I can model with in Z. I am still on Mojave 10.14.6 and prefer to stay a version of OS (or two) behind. Not possible with a new machine though. Apple is a pain in terms of hardware inflexibility, but it works for me and I know how to use it so well. The machines also hold their value very well on the resale market, making the cost of a new machine less painful. No desire to switch to PC or Windows. Apple is still a capable ecosystem for many professionals, at least it is for me. Maybe not for everyone of course, but we can choose right? However, I hope we get a native Apple Silicon solution soon. Based on feedback here I will wait to upgrade to a new MacBook Pro of the new Mac Studio until a native solution is out. Working with edges off is not a good workaround for me.

I'm finding 9.2 stable on Mac OS 14 Mojave. Still a few things to fix such as my view and render settings change after switching to another file tab and back, but overall it is going well. Not using components at all however.

Fair question given the checkered history of components over the past few years. I have just stopped using them altogether. I thought about testing them in v9 again, but this gives me pause. Though Justin's response gives some hope.

9.2 has been released. Running it fine for the past couple days.

Sounds intriguing! Very exciting.

Thanks for the info Marcelo. I will wait a bit to buy, partially because the M1 Max version I want is not available until December anyways. I have given up waiting for Apple to make a suitable Mac Mini. They always leave it underpowered, especially in terms of graphics. I used to have one, but moved to an iMac for better graphics. Maybe the next mini will be different, but somehow I doubt it. The laptops are crazy expensive, but they do hold their value well in the resale market.

Does FormZ 9 run on Apple Silicon M1 chips natively yet? If no, eoes anyone run FormZ 9 on the M1 in "rosetta" mode or whatever they are calling it now? If yes, is it working well? Is it running fast? Thinking about upgrading to a new MacBook Pro and selling my 27" iMac.

I have found v9.0.6.1 very capable and am using it professionally for architecture for months now. My favorite version ever. The bugs that are most problematic are: 1. My view and render settings change when using the file tab feature. For example I have a shaded full perspective set up and after switching to a different file to copy an object my view and render setting is completely changed back in the original file. 2. Palettes can get sucked into menu bars too easily 3. Option key doesn't always change from Move to Copy 4. I'm using the new Reference file feature, but it could be dramatically improved and sometimes causes crashes. Another thread has covered this already. 5. My customized Workspace often gets messed up and needs to be reset. To be fair, saving and restoring a Workspace is easy. On purpose I don't do that much customization anymore in case I need to rebuild from scratch. 6. Sometimes hovering palettes popups stops working forcing a restart or Workspace reset. 9.1 may have fixed some of these issues. I was having too many issues with 9.1. I believe with Layout not working and crashing over and over, but can't recall. I reverted to 9.0.6.1. I'm not on the Vray beta so can't comment on 9.2.

I set by pixel size, per Des's comment. It works quite well and subsequent image exports auto update in Vectorworks & InDesign (my two frequently used programs). No need for resizing in Photoshop or screen shots. For example I set the window to 1600x900 and export as a .png or .jpg. I include a 10'x10' box to easily scale the image in Vectorworks if it is a scaled image (building elevations). Once it is set I never have to rescale again. I export the image with the same file name and it is updated in Vectorworks (or whatever other software I use such as Adobe Indesign). For higher quality I simply start with a higher pixel size. FYI: Scenes save the window image size, so you can set an export Scene with all the correct layers on and image size set. I gave up on printing and PDF export from FormZ a while back. Simply impossible. Easier and faster to export to another program for PDF. I had a request in v7 I think to improve that and have since given up hope on that front. It's possible it is better from Layout, but I have not tried. It could be something worth looking into?

Perfect, Thanks! First print was a success: