Landmark Special Interest Group April 2020

In this session, we showed how to add hot keys, demonstrated the Class Mapping tool, created class and layer filters, and went through the steps for controlling objects’ graphic attributes by class.

Topics Covered:

• 00:07    Hot keys allow you to work faster. If your favorite Vectorworks commands don’t have a hot key, you can assign one to them. We demonstrated how to assign a hot key to the Plant tool. The trick is always to ask: “What do I do that I need to make easier?” When you have responses to this question, you can customize your workspace. One user added the Align/Distribute Leader Lines command and the Scale Object command to her right mouse click. Customization is personal—it’s a matter of what keeps you focused on your work. I’m always using the Publish command and hardly ever use the Print command, so I changed the ctrl + p hot key from the Print to the Publish command in my workspace. We briefly discussed the benefits of using the Publish command.
• 09:20    A tricky question when it comes to classes is whether there’s an industry standard that you should be adhering to. Do you work with other architects? And do they need to work on the files after you? (Do they expect to find their system of classes unchanged?) A class table can be essential for such projects. There are also Vectorworks-generated classes to contend with. You can add descriptions to classes. You can also get rid of a buildup of unneeded classes—for example, from a surveyor—by reassigning them to one class. We discussed how to use the Class Mapping tool—remember that if the classes aren’t moved from the left side to the right, the classes and their contents are deleted. I have a Layer and Class Mapping manual (SST_0806) on my website that explains the tool in greater detail.
• 23:11    Looking at class and layer filtering, we went through the steps for creating a site modeling filter, which cleared everything from our classes list that we didn’t need for site modeling. Adding tags to classes can help filter out the classes that you need more easily. We covered the functions of the Class Filters Manager. Importing classes into a file—for example, from your template file—will bring in the attached tags, but not the filters. However, with the tags imported, you can easily recreate the filters.
• 36:02    We discussed how to control the graphic attributes of plants and labels by class, and how to override those controls in a viewport. The majority of these classes are Vectorworks-generated classes, so it can be challenging to discover which class controls what graphic attribute. I like to copy an object, group it, and then ungroup it, which breaks it apart—then I can see what controls what.

Landmark April 2020

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