Check and improve a file's health
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Command |
Path |
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Check File Health |
Tools |
Sometimes the structure or size of a Vectorworks file can lead to poor performance. With a Vectorworks subscription, you can check the file's health to identify common causes of performance problems, such as drawing inaccuracy, poor redrawing and rendering after edits, and slow response, and see how you can fix them. See below for descriptions of the tests, available settings, and suggested resolutions.
To check a file's health:
Select the command.
The File Health Check web palette opens, with a list of tests that can be run on the file. To filter the list, enter text in the search field above the list. The web palette remains open while you work, until you close it by selecting the command again, or by closing it from the title bar.
Click to place a check mark in the Run column for the tests to run; click the top check box to select or deselect all tests. To display a brief description of what an individual test checks, click the name of the test.
Some tests can be customized; click the name of the test, and if Options is available, click it to set the parameters.
A dialog box specific to that kind of test opens for you to set the parameters. For example, to check for polygons with a high vertex count, you can enter the maximum number of vertices allowed, and whether to include high-level objects such as extrudes, sweeps, and site model source data. The test checks for all objects that fall outside the parameters.
Click Run Selected to test only the selected items, or Run All to run all the tests.
If any of the tests identify problems, the File Health Check Results dialog box opens.
Click to show/hide the parameters.Click to show/hide the parameters.
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Parameter |
Description |
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Issues Found |
Displays the number of objects that failed a test |
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Hide resolved issues |
Hides issues from the list after they are resolved; deselect to display all issues |
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Issues list |
The objects that failed the health check are listed, grouped by which test was failed, and displaying the test category. Click the disclosure arrow beside each test to show or hide the objects that failed that test. |
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Resolution Options |
Depending on the object type, the options for how to resolve the failure become available. The resolution options may include: Delete Objects removes the objects from the file. Auto-Resolve Issue either resolves the problem automatically or opens an object-specific dialog box so you can set new parameters. If the automatic resolution can't be completed, you're instructed to fix the problem manually. Locate Object and Resolve Issue Manually either selects the object for editing, or locates the resource in the Resource Manager, so you can resolve the problem manually. Changing a resource definition in the Resource Manager changes it for all objects that use that resource. |
Click to place a check mark beside one or more items to resolve.
Click the appropriate resolution option, and complete the steps to resolve the problem.
Repeat the process for the other objects, as needed. If resolved issues aren't hidden, the Action Taken column displays the status of each object.
Click OK to close the File Health Check Results dialog box at any time. The status is saved, and you can reopen the dialog box showing the current status by clicking Results on the File Health Check web palette.
If you rerun selected tests instead of clicking Results, all previous test results are deleted, and only results from the selected tests display.
When you close the File Health Check Results dialog box, the File Health Check web palette displays graphic feedback of the test results. A red bubble with a number indicates how many objects failed a test, and that none have been resolved. After a failure has been resolved, the bubble turns white to indicate that some objects have been resolved and some have not; the number in the bubble continues to reflect the number of objects that initially failed the test. A green bubble with a check mark indicates all objects passed a test.
Optionally, to open the File Health Check Results dialog box displaying only the objects that failed a specific test, click the red bubble beside that test on the web palette.
Test descriptions, settings, and resolutions
Vectorworks includes several tests, as described below. Third-party developers may add other tests.
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Test |
Description |
Available Settings |
Resolution |
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Geometry |
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3D Geometry Created from Connected Lines |
If 3D geometry isn't based on continuous objects, solid operations may fail, and objects may not render properly |
Select which high-level objects to check |
If the automatic resolution fails, correct this manually by using the Select Connected Objects command and then the Compose command; see Selecting connected objects and Composing objects and surfaces |
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3D Polygons in Groups |
Groups that contain only 3D polygons instead of meshes have three times as many vertices, making them inefficient and hard to edit |
Enter the maximum number of 3D polygons allowed; the test automatically searches for 3D polygons with the same attributes and textures in a group. Optionally, select to ignore attributes and/or textures in the search, and find 3D polygons in a group regardless of attribute/texture. |
Manually resolve this with the Convert to Mesh command; see Convert to mesh |
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Bounding Box Far from Origin |
Objects located far from the drawing's internal origin can cause problems with snapping and drawing accuracy; see Concept: Internal origin and user origin |
Enter the maximum allowed distance from the origin of any axis |
Manually move objects to the internal origin; see Locating the internal origin |
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Corrupted Plug-in Objects |
Corrupted plug-in objects can cause a file to crash |
Not applicable |
Manually replace the objects |
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Large Bounding Box |
This problem can be caused by isolated objects far from the main model/drawing; drawing accuracy may be affected, and it may be difficult to create viewports without a crop |
Enter the maximum allowed bounding box size |
Locate isolated objects, and delete them if they were placed by accident, or manually move them closer to the main model |
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Polygons with High Vertex Count |
Polygons with too many vertices are inefficient and can slow performance. These may be curved polygons that were converted from polylines, or polygons imported from other file formats. |
Enter the maximum number of permitted vertices, and select which high-level objects to check, in addition to all 2D polygons |
Select the polygons in the drawing and use the Simplify Polys command; see Simplifying polygons and polylines. Otherwise, either redraw the original polyline or ask the originator of the imported file for a file with simplified objects. |
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Small Sweep Increment Angle |
Sweeps with very small increment angles can affect performance; this is especially true for sweeps created in older versions of Vectorworks |
Enter the minimum allowed segment angle in a sweep; see Sweeping objects |
Automatically resolve the problem by setting the minimum segment angle to a value above 5 degrees |
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Transparent 2D Symbols |
Reducing the opacity of entire symbol instances affects redraw performance |
Not applicable |
Manually edit the 2D component of the symbol, and change opacity of the objects within the symbol; see Editing symbol definitions |
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Settings |
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Classes Set to Show Others |
This can make it difficult to select visible objects, and require frequent use of the Force Select command |
Not applicable |
Change the class visibility to Show/Snap/Modify Others in Class Options; see Setting global visibility with class and design layer options |
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Use of Cropped Perspective |
Displays an unwanted rectangular crop around perspective viewports if legacy 2D features are enabled |
Not applicable |
If the document preference Enable legacy 2D features is enabled, go to the Document Preferences dialog box Display tab, and deselect Crop perspective view; see Using legacy 2D features |
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Use of Legacy Options |
In files created using older versions of Vectorworks, screen plane and unified view settings may be used; these are undesirable in more recent versions of Vectorworks |
Not applicable |
Manually ensure there are no screen plane objects in the file, and then open the Document Preferences dialog box Legacy 2D tab and deselect Enable legacy 2D features; see Using legacy 2D features |
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Resources |
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Hatch Complexity |
Complex hatch definitions with many levels negatively affect graphic performance |
Enter the maximum number of levels allowed in a hatch |
Manually edit the hatch resource to delete levels and reduce detail; see Defining and editing hatches |
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Overly Large/Complex Symbols |
Symbols with a lot of detail in the 2D and 3D components can affect redraw performance |
Enter the maximum allowed symbol size in megabytes |
Examine the symbol definition for any unnecessary 2D or 3D geometry and reduce the detail if possible; see Editing symbol definitions |
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Texture Size |
Very large textures can slow rendering performance and saving the file; Renderworks textures for rendering don't generally need to be very large |
Enter the texture's maximum height and width in pixels |
Automatically set the maximum height and width in pixels. Alternatively, for an image-based shader, from the Resource Manager, right-click the texture, select Extract Images and save the images. Edit the images in an editing program, and reduce the image size; re-import the image into the texture resource. See Using an image in a texture shader. |
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Too Many Document Colors |
A document's color palette accommodates a maximum of 32,768 colors. Once the maximum number is reached, you can't add more colors; the closest existing color is used instead. |
Enter the maximum number of colors allowed in the document |
Purge unused colors from the color palette |
