Landmark_SIG_056 Special Interest Group September (am) 2014

In this session we looked at some of the new techniques in Vectorworks 2015, the changes to site modelling, changes to the existing tree tool, but we started out by looking at an important concept in Vectorworks – The concept of classes inside container objects. This is really important, because if you don’t understand how the class hierarchy works inside container objects, you can easily turn off your objects without realizing it.

Topics Covered: Class Options

• It is generally not advisable to have the class options set to ‘Active Only’ as it increases the likelihood of classes that are inherently embedded in symbols are not shown (correctly).
• This also applies to groups that you create as the group (container) has its own class and any and all objects in that group may have a (different) class again.
• This concept also applies to default plants, which contain many sub-classes.
• The default setting is ‘Show / Snap / Modify Others’. This is the best (and safest) class setting.
• HINT: Start using the Navigation Palette for easier management of layers, classes, etc. Vectorworks 2015 now offers the option to assign a specific class to selected objects by activating the command from the context menu.
• HINT: Options for Layers are completely different. There is also a handy plug-in available from my website called ‘Toggle Layer Options 2010’.

REMINDER:  The 3 rules for when to create a class:

1. to control visibility of objects
2. to control graphic styles of objects
3. to control objects for scheduling / reporting

Plant libraries in (Landmark) version 2015

• Version 2015 now allows you to break up your plant library into individual files. If you place these files into the right location, they will become available in the Plant Settings dialog box. The same applies to the Landscape Area Settings.
• HINT: I will go into the details on how to create and place these files correctly next month. The Copy from Symbol command is also affected by this improvement.

Other changes in version 2015

• The Existing Tree tool now offers a specific (much nicer looking by default) class for its texture that can be amended to suit.
• The ability to change the shape of the canopy with the Irregular Canopy Size… menu plus the Multiple Stems… menu, both to be found on the Object Info palette.
• Plants are now automatically placed at the correct elevation on a site model.
• When placing  a Landscape Area on a site model Vectorworks always calculated the number of plants required. However, with version 2015 it now automatically calculates the number of plants required taking into consideration the slope of the site model as well.
• Version 2015 automatically closes any polygon based object (walls, site modifiers, polygons, etc.) when hitting the K key.
• Version 2015 now offers On-Screen Indicators for Site Model Errors. This makes it so much easier to correct them.

Refresher from version 2014:

• Split Tool as well as Cut & Fill calculations for an entire site model or individual site modifiers only. Then quickly bring this information onto a worksheet.

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