• Vectorworks Tip #045 – Basic Tools – Clip Surface

    This is like the opposite of the Add Surface and it also makes it easy to create complex shapes. Like Add Surface, you can access this command from the Modify menu or the Contextual menu (right-click).

  • Vectorworks Tip #044 – Basic Tools – Viewports

    Viewports are the most powerful way of creating drawings and Vectorworks. Viewports allow you to create drawings with different: scales layers classes class attributes hatch settings line weight settings lights view settings rendering mode crop If you’re not using viewports, you’re only running on half your cylinders.

  • Vectorworks Tip #043 – Basic Tools – Add Surface

    This is a great command. Add Surface makes it easy to create complex shapes by adding together simple shapes. You can access this command from the Modify menu, or the easier way is to right-click on the selected objects you want to add together.

  • Vectorworks Tip #039 – Basic Tools – Usefully Name Viewports

    It is easy to create a set of drawings with a lot of viewports and Vectorworks will automatically name them for you, but if you let Vectorworks do this for you, the viewport name will not let you see where that viewport has been used. In this image you can see some…

  • Vectorworks Tip #038 – Basic Tools – Consistently Use Classes

    It’s so important to consistently use classes when you creating drawings. If you’re not consistent about using classes, you are going to have a lot of trouble making sense out of your drawings. You will find that things you want to appear don’t and things you want show up won’t….

  • Vectorworks Tip #037 – Basic Tools – Select Similar

    I use is so often I’ve lost count of how often I use this each day. This tool is designed to select all the objects that meet the chosen criteria. The tool has saved settings so that you can save the most frequently used settings for quick access. For example,…

  • Vectorworks Tip #036 – Basic Tools – Select Coincident

    Sometimes, you have objects that are very close to or on top of each other. It can be difficult to get Vectorworks to select the right object. Vectorworks has the ability to select between coincident objects. This feature will open dialogue box for you to choose the object that you want…

  • Vectorworks Tip #035 – Basic Tools – Reshape Tool (Move Edge)

    The second mode is for moving edges of polygons. This allows you to grab the middle of the edge and relocate it while keeping the edge parallel. This is useful for moving the corner of a polygon, landscape area, roof, etc.

  • Vectorworks Tip #033 – Basic Tools – Reshape Tool (Introduction)

    This tool is so useful for reshaping parts of your design. You really have to learn how to use it. When you reshape a wall, polygon, polyline, callout, landscape area, hardscape, site modifier, etc. you use this tool. It has several modes and the modes are contextual, meaning that they…