Why Customise Vectorworks?

Vectorworks has hundreds of tools and commands, and they have all been set out in the interface, or Workspace as it’s called, and they have been set out to suit most situations.

This image is the typical Fundamentals workspace.

There could be several tools that are hidden away that you want to have quicker access to.

Some of the tools have hotkeys, but you might want to change them.

Some commands have keyboard shortcuts and you can change these to suit you. You can add keyboard shortcuts to the commands you use most often.

The contexural menu can be changed to give you instant access to your favorite commands.

Making these changes can save you several minutes a day and it can also make it more pleasant to use. Maybe you could save yourself 5 mins a day with some simple workspace changes. This doesn’t sound like a lot. But 5 mins a day is equivalent  to 20 hours a year. 20 hours is a lot of time and money, so it is worth learning how to make a few changes.
The easiest way to change the workspace is to go Tools on the Menu bar and choose Workspaces > Workspace Editor… Create a copy of the workspace that is most suitable for you, then edit the workspace to suit the way you draw and model. The trick for this is watch the tools and comamnds that you use, and make these easier to get to, and add hotkeys to the tools and keyboard shortcuts to the commands.

Also on the Tools menu is the Custom Tool/Attribute… command. This command allows you to set up the layers, classes, symbols, snaps, line weights, tools, etc. and save the settings as a sort of macro. It is a fantastic way to create your own custom tools, without having to learn computer programming. again, this is a great way to save time.

The Short Sharp manual for July 2013 is on customising Vectorworks, along with interactive online sessions to go through the manual.
Join me to learn how to customise Vectorworks…