David Lemelin Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 Hey guys, I've finally succumbed to a custom built windows machine, despite being a 100% Mac office. We can hash out Apples poor hardware decisions anytime... but I'm actually having a real issue with FormZ Pro 8.5 I have it all set up and loading correctly... problem is... all of the tool options and palettes (apart from the main tool set) is totally unresponsive to the mouse. I can choose selections from the menus and pick tools out of the main palette, but the modifiers, layers, materials etc... are dead to the world. Has anyone seen anything like this? The machine I'm working with performs flawlessly with MODO 901 and Rhino. Here are the machine specs: Xeon E5 1650 (6 core 3.5ghz) 32 Gb ram GTX Titan X video card Windows 7 pro, service patch 1 Space PilotPro I'm at a bit of a loss to explain why this is occuring. I've never seen this on the Mac side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tech Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 Hi David, On a Mac, the video driver is updated automatically. On Windows, you need to download it from the manufacturer (nvidia.com) and install that yourself. If you go to their download / drivers section and install this, does that fix it for you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Lemelin Posted October 9, 2015 Author Share Posted October 9, 2015 The video card was just professionally installed, I'll check to see if the drivers are up to date... but my tech assured me he did. Besides, why would it only affect FZ and not the other applications? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Lemelin Posted October 9, 2015 Author Share Posted October 9, 2015 hey there, So I just updated the Nvidia driver to the very latest release and reebooted... No change. Sorry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tech Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 Hi David, Try this: Go to your USER: App Data: Roaming folder and delete or rename the autodessys folder. Then launch formZ. If that does not help, RUN: dxdiag -- and post or email a screen capture of the System and Display Tabs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Des Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 That's what you get for moving over to the dark side..... Sorry, I couldn't resist it.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Lemelin Posted October 9, 2015 Author Share Posted October 9, 2015 LOL... believe me Des, I HATE being on windows... but I just couldn't resist the video cards that mac npo longer allows you to use. It was a deal with the devil at best. Tech, no luck with the preference folder deletion. Here are the requested screen caps... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tech Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 Hi David, When you say "no luck" do you mean you couldn't find the folder to delete -- or you found it but deleting didn't help? Are you getting this problem only when opening a specific file, or when you just launch and the New Project comes up? And can you post a full screen capture of what you see when the problem occurs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Lemelin Posted October 9, 2015 Author Share Posted October 9, 2015 No luck as in, deleting the preference folder resets the preferences, but does not activate the buttons in the palettes. I have both created new files as well as opened existing files. Both respond exactly the same. I could post a screen capture if there's something you think you'd see in it... but literally the screen is identical to the usual FZ8.5 screen and nothing occurs when I go to inactive buttons... they just sit there unclickable. The only ones that do cooperate are the main modelling tools, but the top buttons and all the options down the right side of the screen are unresponsive. I can minimize tabs, shuffle the palettes about and model, just as long as I don't mind always using the settings that are open by default. If there's something specific you're looking for, that would help me capture the right thing perhaps.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tech Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 Hi David, Hmmm, that's strange. Can you Resize the Tool Dock and / or Palette Docks, and if so, does that affect it? 1. Can you pull Palettes out of the Docks -- and if so, can you then use them successfully? 2. Do you have any utility programs that might be "intercepting our clicks" when your cursor is in the Dock areas? 3. Does the Cone of Vision work properly and / or do the Palettes in the Docks there work correctly for you? 4. And if you boot into Safe Mode, or RUN: "msconfig" with Diagnostic Startup, do the tools and palettes in the Docks then work properly? Please let us know so we can help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Lemelin Posted October 9, 2015 Author Share Posted October 9, 2015 The plot gets thicker.... I CAN pull the palettes out of the docks, and suddenly... they wake up and respond just fine. Put them back in the dock... they return to their catatonic state. There are no utility softwares on my station, it's a clean install from zero. The cone of vision... is that in "View Parameters"? that seems to work just fine, as does anything else I call down from the menus. I'll try booting in safe mode... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tech Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 Ok, keep us posted! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Lemelin Posted October 9, 2015 Author Share Posted October 9, 2015 Uh. Yeah. Safe Mode disables open GL. FormZ won't get past its start up without open GL. I have found a potential resolution... IF it sticks... The problem seems to be entirely in the docks for the palettes, so I pulled out the palettes I need and killed the docks. Let's see if FZ remembers my custom layout preference now.... That said, that's a weird problem and perhaps one which will get resolved when FZ 9 shows up with a fresh interface sans palette docks.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tech Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 Hi David, Hmmm, that is strange. formZ runs in Safe Mode here. If you are happy with removing the palettes from the Palette Docks, then that would be one way to work around the problem. If you would like to trouble shoot this further, perhaps you can try the RUN: msconfig: Diagnostic Startup and see if that helps diagnose the problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Lemelin Posted October 9, 2015 Author Share Posted October 9, 2015 perhaps it has something to do with the 4k 40" screen I'm running? Looks like ditching the docks is sticking which works well enough for me. It's not elegant, but it gets me back into production mode. I'm not a big fan of playing in the obscure settings of a windows machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tech Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 Hi David, Ok, it should work fine with a 4k screen, but we will keep our eyes out and see if anyone else encounters such an issue. If so -- and there is any solution, we will let you know (but we have not heard of this from anyone else at this point). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Lemelin Posted November 7, 2015 Author Share Posted November 7, 2015 ok, guys... I'm at a loss. I can barely work with FormZ on this new custom built PC. it keeps losing keyboard shortcuts and the solution of getting rid of the docks to be able to access tools is a manuver I have to repeat each and every time I throw out the corrupted preference folder. Interestingly, in the last month I have purchased MODO901, Octane, and Rhino... none of whom have the slioghtest glitch on my machine. I'm very, very close to calling FormZ a waste of a pile of my money and time and switch to software that delivers STABILITY and reliability. None of these problems ever crop up on my Macs. Perhaps going dual platform is a bridge too far? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob Posted November 7, 2015 Share Posted November 7, 2015 formZ works fine for us on large 4k screens with our PC's. We have never "lost a shortcut" either. You are using formZ 852, right? And what exactly is happening on your system? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tech Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Hi David, We are not aware of any of the issues that you describe. What mouse do you have -- and do you have the latest driver for this installed? And if this is not the latest driver, does installing that help? If not, when you say "it keeps losing keyboard shortcuts" do you mean that basic functions like Ctrl O for Open, or Ctrl S for Save are not working, or is it something else? Once you get things set up as you would like, use the Edit Menu: Key Shortcuts command to save your desired key shortcuts to a file. Also use the Workspace Menu: Workspace Manager to Export your desired workspaces. If you do have a problem, does just quitting and relaunching (without resetting the prefs) help, or does the problem continue? And if the problem continues, does reloading the Workspaces and / or the Key Shortcuts help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Lemelin Posted November 9, 2015 Author Share Posted November 9, 2015 Ok, to clarify what I'm experiencing... Upon boot of the application, al of the palettes that reside in a dock are present but the tools within are unselectable. Meaning that I can select the pick tool, but when I attempt to modify my selection to points or planes... those options are inactive. Same goes for the other palettes in the side dock and all of the tools in the top palette dock. The only work around to be able to function, is to remove the palettes I need from the docks and closing the docks. Needless to say this is a bit cluttered, but worst of all, it all has to be redone if I need to scrap the preference file (for reasons which I will list below) Once I have the tools functional, I can work... for a while. Until that is, the keyboard shortcuts (like cmd-S for save) disappear from the menu and stop functioning from the keyboard. This also goes for the custom keystrokes I program like the numeric keys driving the view orientation (5= front, 8= top, 4=left, 6= right and so on...) The only way to get this fixed is to delete the preference folder, which represents recustomizing all of my settings, again. I have also noticed the loss of undo which accompanies the loss of keyboard shortcuts. I'm not certain if this is due to the function being inaccessible or if the holding bin in memory for the undo's is somehow corrupted. I am using a Logitech MX Master mouse and keyboard, both wireless. The mouse is the same one that works flawlessly on my Macs. The specs for the computer are listed in the opening post of this thread. Needless to say, these applications and machines are tools that allow me to work for a living... The more time I spend fixing my tools, the more expensive the tools get and that's not cool. I really like FormZ's modeller. It's fast and easy and intuitive. I can bask out ideas in FormZ blindfolded... but... it needs to behave reliably. Blown deadlines are blown clients.... and that's just not something I can play with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 David Dude, I have used formZ on a lot of systems as have my co-workers, and we have Never heard of this before BUT I made some suggestions for you yesterday. Did you try them? Did you save your key shortcuts to a file? And when the stop working, does reloading them fix it? And when your key shortcuts stop working, do they still show from the menu, or no? (Single key number key shortcuts are a really BAD idea because they will likely conflict with numeric input...) Do you have your Scratch Disk set to System Defaults (vai Prefs) or are you changing that for some reason -- and if so, does not changing that help? And did you install the latest driver for keyboard and mouse? Installing and managing your system on a Mac is pretty seamless - but something you need to do yourself on Windows. Believe me, if anyone else had the problems you note, they would be posting the same thing but they are not. There can be a few quirky things with Workspaces, but what you report is NOT normal, and formZ does behave reliably on Windows, as well as Mac. AND (oops, said that already before too) -- if you Save your preferred Workspace, does Reloading the Workspace (instead of deleting the autodessys folder) help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tech Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 Hi David, As Rob notes, this is certainly not normal, and we will do whatever we can to help. We would recommend starting by answering all of Rob's questions, and if we are not able to solve it based on that info, we can try doing an online meeting so we can see your computer and try to determine what might cause this. It would probably also be a useful experiment to try the resolution of your monitor at a few different settings to see if that affects your ability to click in palettes in their Docks. Does your monitor run at true 4k resolution (instead of the UHD TV resolution at which it is currently set)? Or if you set it to 1920 x 1080, does that allow you to click on the palettes properly? I wish we had a direct answer for you, but this is not anything that has been reported by any other users. And based on your other reports on our forums, it looks like you are having a number of issues with Maxwell Render as well. There are quite a few things to keep in mind when managing a Windows based PC, so being your first PC in an office full of Macs may not be the easiest thing to manage... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Lemelin Posted November 10, 2015 Author Share Posted November 10, 2015 Guys, I have indeed read Rob's suggestions and comments. I have not YET saved the keyboard shortcuts and desktop layout to a separate file. At this point I am on tight deadline and so have to depend on my Macs to pull me through reliably. While having a back up for these disappearing shortcuts is nice, it doesn't really get to the heart of why this is happening at all. I've heard about single digit shortcuts being potentially an issue with numeric input, but I have never encountered a single instance of this occurring in the 12+ months of being able to toggle a view with a single key. You simply need to pay attention to the numeric readouts and ensure you don't change your view orientation while creating/transforming an object. My scratch disk is set to a 4GB mirrored RAID drive instead of my system drive as the SSD I have the system and apps on has limited capacity. The mirrored RAID performs virtually as fast and has endless space. The PC is a new build. Consequently, yes, when installing the mouse/keyboard out of the box, I updated the drivers to the latest release. I don't quite see how mouse driver would cause an application's menu shortcuts to disappear from the menu lists however. I will give the monitor resolution a go and see if it generates a more stable solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tech Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 Hi David, The Mouse Driver could potentially affect the clicking in palettes in the tool dock that you initially reported as an issue on your system (which is likely why Rob asked). When you set your key shortcuts for menu items, are their shortcuts listed to the right of the menu item? And when they stop working, do their menu commands still work, and if so, are these key shortcuts still listed in the menu? A Mirrored Raid drive is intended for redundant backup, and is not ideal as a scratch disk, especially for a program like formZ that does not use a lot of space. If you reset this to the System Temp folder, does that affect the problem? Please also let us know about the resolution test when you have time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Lemelin Posted November 18, 2015 Author Share Posted November 18, 2015 Hey there... When the shortcuts stop working from the keyboard, they also disappear from the menus.... double the frustration... I'll change the scratch disc to a third un mirrored drive... see if that has an effect. In the mean time... I've removed FormZ from the main system drive and moved it to a roomier drive, incase the legroom in the system drive was too tight and causing problems. Now if I can just get my licensing to work, we can hopefully resolve the issue with the shortcuts and menus... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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