Architect Special Interest Group January 2020

In this session, we covered the ability to assign components to classes, starting with wall style components and moving on to door and window components. We also showed how to import door settings you like from one door to the rest of the doors in your project, as well as comparing Vectorworks door settings to WinDoor settings and managing classes by reassigning objects and filtering classes.

Topics Covered:

• 00:19    In this session, we started by looking at a wall style where we had assigned each component to its own class, allowing us to control everything in a plan view by classes. When I’m drawing my plans, this practice allows me to, for example, turn off the baseboard, the cavity, the lining and the cladding—so that I just have the structural component. This is really handy for drawing a framing plan for a contractor. This kind of class system makes it easy to turn components on and off.
• 03:34    Next, we discussed controlling the graphical attributes of doors and windows by assigning their components to classes. Particularly for the visibility classes, I like to choose classes that match how I draw my plans. For example, I’ll put the Slab & Swing on my Door-Main class, Header on my Door-RC Plan class, 2D Loci on my NonPlot class, and Overhead Path on my Door-RC Plan class. We took a styled door to examine what the settings were and then we went through the options, changing textures and classes, to see how to control the graphical attributes of each part. For example, we gave the interior of the jamb a wood texture and the exterior a metallic finish. Once we went through one door and got settings we liked, we could import those settings to other doors in our project for continuity. It is a lot of settings to go through—but once you’ve done it once, you’re set for all of the doors on the whole building! We covered step by step how to create a new style from another door style.
• 32:51    We looked at a door from WinDoor. One really nice feature is that a diagram shows what part of the door each setting controls. WinDoor also allows you to make a master list of settings so that your doors and windows are not only consistent across a project, but consistent across all projects. WinDoor also creates a class for each option automatically, which is very helpful. Unfortunately, WinDoor is only available now in Australia and New Zealand, although those in the US who already have it can keep updating it. The concept of controlling graphical attributes by class are similar.
• 39:38    Often, importing details from manufacturers brings in a load of classes with them. You can get around this by deleting these classes and when Vectorworks gives you the Reassign all of the objects prompt, tell it to put the objects on the None class. We ended the session by going over how to filter classes, which can really improve your productivity!

Architect January 2020

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