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form•Z 8.5.5 Update Released!


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We are pleased to announce that the formZ 8.5.5 update is now available for pro, jr, free and student editions. 

Select Check for Update from the the formZ Help Menu automatically update your v8.5 software.

If you have any issues with the automatic updates you can access the full download here: http://www.formz.com/update

 

NOTE:  Please contact us at support@formz.com or start a new forum thread if you have any feedback or issues.

 

Enjoy!

Highlights of improvements in this version include (but are not limited to):

 

•  Installation on macOS 10.12 is now supported.

•  .FMZ files in which the geometry section exceeds 2GB now save and open properly.
•  Notes are created for DXF/DWG files that include text (rather than object text entities).
•  DWG/DXF files with non-roman characters in the file name (kanji for example) can now be imported.
•  formZ project files with non-roman characters in the file name can now be exported to DXF/DWG.
•  Copy and paste of Groups no longer creates Duplicate objects inside and outside the group if you have Unlock Groups selected and pick the group from the Objects Palette.
•  Opening .fmz files after they are created and saved the first time, on Windows systems with Metric regional settings, no longer causes the view to zoom.

•  Radial bend on certain objects no longer crashes.
•  Tapering a Cylinder so the face has zero area will no longer crash or hang.
•  2 source sweep now handles sweeping a circular filleted rectangle with circle.

•  Components on a hidden layer no longer export to DXF/DWG even when Export visible is selected.
•  Default Working Units no longer crashes when NO Project is open.

•  Certain Japanese characters now generate proper 3D text on OS X.
•  Scale tool now works properly on animation groups.
•  Adding a custom reference plane via custom reference plane palette no longer crashes.
•  Show extents of groups now works properly in shaded work display options.
•  Short cut key for Hide Ghosted in the Shaded work now functions as expected.
•  .OBJ export no longer crashes with textures that are not saved as RGB.
•  Numeric entry now working properly on windows with the extrusion or Reshape tools (fixes a tool tip interference issue).
•  Leaving formZ with the leader line text dialogue open will no longer cause formZ to crash on OS X when switching to other programs.
•  Import dwg/dwg with Embed Components will no longer crashes.

•  Load Texture dialogue no longer hangs when Thea and Maxwell plugins are both installed.
•  Making changes to the Clipping planes palette while editing a clipping plane graphically no longer hangs.
•  Export Image DWG now functions in file with a space character at the end of a layer name.

•  Missing textures dialog no longer clears the undo stack.
•  Opening certain formZ v6 model files with Symbols no longer crashes.
•  Various stability and performance improvements.

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Typing the distance while using reshape is not working, always reshapes to where the curser is instead.

This is a biggy....... :huh:

 

 

 

OSX Yosemite 10.10.5

iMac 27"

24 GB ram

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 775M 2048 MB

 

 

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Hi Dan,

 

We had one other user with that issue on OS X.  (It looks like it might be a permissions issue.)  

 

They deleted their Applications: formZ 8 folder, and reinstalled v8.5.5 from here:

 

http://www.formz.com/products/formz/update/formz_85_Pro.html

 

(Or install the previous version from here:  www.formz.com/update.)

 

That solved it for them.  Does that fix it for you too?

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Hi Andrew,

 

If you have use the automatic update on OS X, and the STEP format is no longer showing, it was not able to be updated properly due to a permissions issue.  You can either make sure that you have Read / Write access to the files in the formZ Application folder (and all sub files and folders), and then apply the patch.  

 

If that does not solve it for you right away, it should only take  a moment or two to reinstall as we suggested (and as solved it) for Dan above...

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Beyond,

 

Yes, the Ctrl [ or Control ] key shortcuts will zoom in and out with these windows currently, and we are working on an adjustment to allow the scroll wheel to work there as well.  Thanks for your report.

 

Note that this is not a new issue that is caused by the update.  As requested above, please make a new thread if you have any issues that are not 100% related to this update notice.

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Good afternoon,

 

First post to forum, new to FormZ, various 3D on Macs user since the 1980s.

 

With the 8.5.5 update I too have trouble with STEP files. In my case it is not being able to import. This trouble did not exist with 8.5.4. It is new, to me, with 8.5.5.

 

2009 Mac Pro running OS X 10.9.5 - 64GB RAM.

 

//

 

Reverting to 8.5.4 still works to import STEP files.

 

Reinstalling a fresh load of 8.5.5 does not change troubled behavior.

 

Troubled behavior: with 8.5.5 the STEP file translator does not show in the Extensions Manager list nor is the selection of a STEP file allowed in the open file dialog. Neither "automatically" nor is the choice selectable in the list.

 

The STEP plugin files are in their proper folder within the plugins folder.

 

I have checked file permissions. The permissions for the files of the 8.5.5 install are the same as with the 8.5.4 install.

 

I've reinstalled 8.5.5 three times.

 

I have thrown away all preferences.

 

I'm back to using 8.5.4 with STEP importing functioning properly. Let me know if there is any other information that could prove helpful.

 

Thanks and cheers,

gsb.

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Hi GSB,

 

Welcome to the forum!

 

We are not sure why you would have an issue with a clean installation.  You did Delete the previous installation before reinstalling, right?

 

And if you Set Read: Write Permission to all files in the formZ 8 folder -- and then run Disk Utility, Select your Hard Drive, and Repair Disk Permissions, does that help?

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Hi GSB,

 

Welcome to the forum!

 

We are not sure why you would have an issue with a clean installation. You did Delete the previous installation before reinstalling, right?

 

And if you Set Read: Write Permission to all files in the formZ 8 folder -- and then run Disk Utility, Select your Hard Drive, and Repair Disk Permissions, does that help?

Thanks Tech…

 

In hopes that—for some reason—the outcome this time is different, I will do it all again just to make sure.

 

First some clarification and/or comments on your suggested steps.

 

By Deleting the previous installation before reinstalling are you asking if I have deleted every file that was installed in a password protected Library when first running an fresh install of FormZ OR if I had deleted all of the files in the FormZ folder that was copied to the applications folder off of the mounted disk image or that was installed by the software update when run from the previous version?

 

I have installed an entire new "FormZ 8" application folder (which contains all of the FormZ applications, Plugins folder, Scripts folder, Support folder, and myriad other folders and files) three times. Once by using the update from within the previous version method, the other two times by manually dragging the folder from the disk image.

 

On one of those manual updates by dragging I did snoop around, both in my user Library and in the Library, for any Application support or Preference files that obviously belonged to FormZ. I found some preference files and, on that attempt, deleted all of them before running the new copy of 8.5.5. Perhaps I have missed a FormZ remove-all-traces utility.

 

As for File Permissions… I manually compared the users r/w permissions for folders and files in both 8.5.4 and 8.5.5. There were no differences.

 

I did _not_ run Disk Utility and perform Repair Permissions. While the version of OS X I am currently running on this box, 10.9.5, does support that feature, 10.10 and newer do not. It is my understanding that the only permissions that were ever "repaired" by that service in pre-10.10 versions of OS X were Apple-installed files. When I try this all again I will, however, run Repair Permissions as part of the task. I guess it is certainly possible that FormZ is reading some Apple file and 8.5.4 is insensitive to the permissions on that file and, for some reason, 8.5.5 does care.

 

While I work on that task, are there any ideas as to why it appears that it is only STEP export and import that are affected, but not other the importing and exporting of file formats. If this trouble does have something to do with File Permission, it seems that other plug ins would also be affected. I don't recall reading of any other file formats that were having trouble with 8.5.5, but there were other people who were having trouble with STEP files.

 

Thanks again and cheers,

gsb

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GSB,

 

Likely a permissions issue is preventing the STEP file from being read or updated properly.  Just delete the Applications: formZ 8 folder, then reinstall, and set and Repair Permissions if necessary.

 

Does that help?

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GSB,

 

Likely a permissions issue is preventing the STEP file from being read or updated properly. Just delete the Applications: formZ 8 folder, then reinstall, and set and Repair Permissions if necessary.

 

Does that help?

Thanks Tech,

 

Just again, I…

 

• Deleted formZ 8 folder.

• Copied new formZ 8 folder from mounted disk image to my applications folder

• Did NOT run new install yet.

• Checked to see if permissions on new formZ folder, they were gsb: r/w, admin: r . This is normal and the same settings do not keep 8.5.4 from working but I changed them to gsb: r/w, admin: r/w

• Checked folders in files inside of new formZ folder, all were set for gsb, admin, and everyone r/w

• For what it is worth, I ran Disk Utility, selected the current Startup Disk, and repaired permissions.

• Launched formZ from new install.

• Directed Finder to allow newly downloaded app to open

• Filled in license information into formZ Trial Mode dialog box

• Agreed to terms of license

• Clicked Register

• Provided admin password for formZ to make changes

• Clicked OK to dialog box that reported that formZ has been successfully registered and to quit to finish…

• Ran formZ from new install

 

and the results…

 

 

• Checked Extensions Manager, no STEP translator listed.

• Attempted to import a STEP file, file greyed out and not enabled for import.

 

Something is broken. Based on four attempts, I am pretty sure it is not file permissions, but I could still be wrong since a fresh install and changing permissions seems to have helped other people with STEP file troubles get back to work.

 

I've spent enough time on this for now. Thanks again for your help, I'll need to get back to work using 8.5.4

 

Cheers,

gsb

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OSX 10.11.6 here, and I explicitly gave R/W perms to entire "formZ 8" folder/subfolders/contents before beginning upgrade (twice now), still no STEP showing up in extension mgr. after upgrading to 8.5.5.

 

I tried downloading from link in original thread post, but the formZ Pro OSX download from the link at start of thread currently provides formZ 8.5.4, not formZ 8.5.5.  When I then did 8.5.5 download upgrade again (after again explicitly granting R/W perms) my STEP import/export disappeared in 8.5.5 (again).

 

There's something more wrong with the STEP plugin than simple R/W perms, quite obviously.

 

Please fix:

 

1. Current download for formZ Pro OSX is 8.5.4, not 8.5.5 as stated.  Please provide 8.5.5 download.

 

2. STEP extension OSX clearly not compatible with formZ Pro 8.5.5 OSX.  Please provide compatible plugin.

 

Thanks!

 

-John W.

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