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!

It’s time to start using Saved Views again. They really are useful and powerful.

• Start by setting up the layers and classes that you need to complete a part of your work.

• Go to View on the menu bar.
• Click on the Save Views button.
• Choose Save View…

This opens a dialog box where you can choose the options for the Saved View. The default option is to have them all active.

You can make the Saved View more flexible by choosing different options. In this example, I have chosen the layer options, but not the active layer. This means that when I use this view, I can use it in any design layer and it will not change the active layer.
Setting the active class to None can be useful, preventing you from accidentally assigning objects to the wrong class.