This month the online user group is looking at revisions. I have added the revision notes to the knowledge base article creating and managing drawings.
Category Archives: blog
Door Settings Movie Added to Knowledgebase
I have added an updated movie for Window settings. This movie covers all the options on the Window Settings dialog box.
Data Tag Movies Added to Knowledgebase
I have added movies that cover the Data Tag Tool. This is a very powerful tool that everyone should start using. The movies cover:
Vertical Transport Movies Added to Knowledgebase
I have added movies about vertical transport. The movies cover:
Stairs
Adding a tool to your workspace
Simple Stair
Circular Stair
Custom Stair
Straight Stair
Other Stair Options
Stair Tool
Straight Stair
Stair with Landing
U-Stair (Dog-leg Stair)
Ramps
Escalators
Door Settings Movie Added to Knowledgebase
I have added an updated movie for Door settings. This movie covers all the options on the Door Settings dialog box.
Data Visualisation Added to Knowledgebase
I have added an article that explains the Vectorworks concept of Data Visualization. It covers:
Modify By Record
Data Visualization – Viewport
Data Visualization – Design Layers
Manage Data Visualizations
Floors and Slabs
New knowledgebase article posted about floors and slabs.
Floors are useful for creating horizontal planes: floors, patios, steps, etc. Slabs are more complex, allowing you to create components and complex floors that include a finish, structure, ceilings, etc.
Columns and Pilasters
New knowledgebase article posted about columns and pilasters.
Columns are used to create vertical elements. Columns, obviously, and posts, floor piles, and vertical objects. Columns can have a base, a capital, and structural and architectural components. They are powerful and should be used.
3D Modeling Course
I have completely updated my 3D modelling training. I used to have this as a course, but I am trying this out on my knowledgebase web site.
Archoncad Library Files
I have been asked to share my library files, so here they are. You will find my main library, my default template, and my plugins.
Continue readingVectorworks 2019 Courses Now Available
I am pleased to announce that I have completely updated and expanded courses for Vectorworks 2019:
Foundation Course
Vectorworks Tips 460 – Class Tags
One of the new techniques with class filtering (see Vectorworks Tips 459) is the ability to add tags to classes. You can add more than one tag to a class so that you can choose to have the class appear in more than one filter.
Vectorworks Tips 459 – Class Filters
Vectorworks 2019 has a new technique for controlling long lists of classes. You can now filter the list based on the names, visibility, or tags that you have assigned to the classes.
Filters are managed through the Organization dialog box or the Navigation palette.
Vectorworks Foundation Course 2019
Released last week, Vectorworks 2019 has some powerful new features. To get the best from it, you should really be completing some form of foundation training.
We are pleased to announce the completion of our Foundation course for Vectorworks 2019. This is a completely new and updated course that shows the best features you need for getting started with Vectorworks 2019 and contains more than eight hours of video in a structured online course.
Vectorworks Tip 458 – How to Select Objects With Similar Record Information
I have been running a course for landscapers this week and I had a question about selecting objects with a specific record format attached, or with a specific field value.
One method is to use the Select Similar tool.
This tool is designed to select objects that are somehow similar.
Vectorworks Tip 457 – Saved Views And Layer Combinations
Saved Views And Layer Combinations
There is a feature in Archicad call Layer Combinations that is often used to say the software is better than Vectorworks. The feature is used to set up layers (classes in Vectorworks) for viewing and designing, and to control viewports. However, Vectorworks has a similar feature called Saved Views.
Vectorworks has had viewports for many years. The command sets up a viewport that matches our selected combination of design layers and classes. We have used the technique to edit the design layer from the viewport, often instead of using Saved Views. Before Vectorworks had viewports, we would have to use Saved Views to set up the file for printing. Using the viewport trick seems to have made us forget about the benefits of using Saved Views—what a shame!
Vectorworks Tip 456 – Maximum Undos
Maximum Undos
Vectorworks has a maximum number of undos. The number is set in Vectorworks Preferences.
Quantity Reporting for Landscapers – Course Outline and Schedule 2018
Quantity Reporting for Landscapers
This course will introduce you to the concept of quantity reporting in Vectorworks. The course will start by looking at the concept of worksheets, how they find information, and how we can make a worksheet report the information that we want.
Vectorworks is very powerful for landscape design. I have created reports that would count up all of the planting, landscape areas, mulch, grass areas, edging, etc. Set up correctly, your projects can report everything that you need to deliver. Vectorworks can count objects, quantities, volumes, and budgets. This makes Vectorworks extremely powerful for reporting the quantities of your projects.
To achieve this, of course, you need to understand how Vectorworks finds information and reports it. I have been asked to put together a course that will cover reporting quantities with Landmark. This course is going to be a brand-new one; it will be online and live only. Because it will be run live, it will not be a course that you can take on your own time, although it will be interactive. This will allow you to ask me questions as we work through a series of lessons. These lessons will be recorded so that you will be able to watch them again.
The cost of the course is $150 US/person. (in New Zealand the cost of this course is $210/person+GST).
To register for this course, email me using the contact page…
Vectorworks Tips 455 – Controlling the Elevation of a Massing Model
You can control the elevation of a massing model by setting the Z value in the Object Info palette. You can also use the Send to Surface command.
When you use Send to Surface command, Vectorworks will send the insertion point of your massing model to sit on the site model. The insertion point of your massing model is generally the corner of the polygon that you started first.
So, depending on where you started your massing model, your building will end up at different elevations. You might see a blue dot on your massing model when you select it in a Top/Plan view. Moving this blue dot has no effect on the Send to Surface command.
Vectorworks Building Information Modeling (Landmark) 2018
We are pleased to announce that the new landmark course for Vectorworks 2018 is finally complete. I know this has taken longer than most people expected. The course has been completely redesigned from the ground up and it now follows the structure of the two-day Landmark BIM because that has been so successful in New Zealand.
The course has completely new movies and exercises. The total running time of the videos is just over six hours and 43 minutes, which should take you about a week to complete.
You can find more information about the course by clicking on this link…