A Short Guide to VectorWorks 8.5

Scale
The scale of the drawing determines how large an object can be drafted, and printed, on a sheet of paper. Using the standard 8.5" x 11" letter size sheet, you can draft, a 68' by 88' object in 1/8" scale, a 34' by 44' object in 1/4" scale or a 17' by 22' object in 1/2" scale. Typically floor plans, cross sections and light plots use 1/4" scale and elevations, both front and rear, use 1/2" scale.

To set the scale of the drawing...

1. Click Page on the Menu Bar
2. Click Layer Scale...
3. Check the desired scale in the Architectual box
4. Check All Layers and Scale Text in the Paper Scale box
5. Click OK.

Reference Grid
Think of the computer screen as a sheet of graph paper. The size of the desired Reference Grid, (for example: 1 square = 1 foot), is entered into the text box in the Reference Grid box. As with graph paper, the simplest way of determining the size of an object is to count squares. The plan view of a 4'x8' platform is 4 squares wide by 8 squares long.

To set the size of the Reference Grid...

1. Click Page on the Menu Bar
2. Click Set Grid...
3. Check Symmetrical in the Reference Grid box
4. Enter the desired grid size in the text box in the Reference Grid box
5. Check Show Grid Lines in the Grid Option box
6. Click OK

Snap to Grid
When you have the Snap to Grid (Shortcut Key = G) command selected in the Constraints Palette (Palettes > Constraints), VectorWorks will take a hand (or mouse) drawn line and plot it to precise grid coordinates. Depending on the drawing, you may, or may not, want the Reference and Snap Grids to be identical. When drafting a Floor Plan I typically set the Reference Grid at 1'-0" and the Snap Grid to 0'- 6."

To set the size of the Snap Grid...

1. Click Page on the Menu Bar
2. Click Set Grid...
3. Check Symmetrical in the Snap Grid box
4. Enter the desired grid size in the text box in the Snap Grid box
5. Click OK.

Line
To draw a straight line

1. Click Palettes on the Menu Bar
2. Click 2D Tools
3. Click the Line Tool (or Type 2)
4. Click at the beginning of the line
5. Drag the mouse to the end of the line and...
6. Click again
7. Click the 2D Selection Tool (or Type X) to leave the Line Tool.

To change the thickness and style of a line

1. Select the line
2. Click Palettes on the Menu Bar
3. Click Attributes
4. Click on the "window" near the bottom of the Attributes palette
5. Click on the thickness (0-1-6-12-20-40) or enter the thickness in the Set Thickness box
6. Click on the desired line style (solid, dashed,...)
7. Close the Attributes palette

Rectangle
To draw a rectangle

1. Click Palettes on the Menu Bar
2. Click 2D Tools
3. Click the Rectangle Tool (or Type 4)
4. Click at one corner of the rectangle
5. Drag the mouse to the diagonally oposite corner and...
6. Click again
7. Click the 2D Selection Tool (or Type X) to leave the Rectangle Tool.

Polygon
To draw a triangle, a three sided polygon

1. Click Palettes on the Menu Bar
2. Click 2D Tools
3. Click the 2d Polygon Tool (or Type 8)
4. Click at one corner of the triangle
5. Drag the mouse to the second corner (laying in the first side) and...
6. Click again
7. Drag the mouse to the third corner (laying in the second side) and...
8. Click again
9. Drag the mouse back to the first point (laying in the third side) and...
10. Click again
11. Click the 2D Selection Tool (or Type X) to leave the Polygon Tool.

Circle
To draw a circle

1. Click Palettes on the Menu Bar
2. Click 2D Tools
3. Click the Ellipse Tool (or Type 6)
4. Click at the center of the circle
5. Drag the mouse to the edge of the circle and...
6. Click again
7. Click the 2D Selection Tool (or Type X) to leave the Ellipse Tool.

To change the "fill" in a two dimensional object (such as a rectangle or circle)

1. Select the two dimensional object
2. Click Palettes on the Menu Bar
3. Click Attributes
4. Click the Fill Style box near the top of the palette
5. Click the desired pattern (None - Solid - Pattern - Hatch)
6. Close the Attributes palette

Arc of a Circle
To draw an arc (or segment) of a circle

1. Click Palettes on the Menu Bar
2. Click 2D Tools
3. Click the Arc Tool (or Type 3)
4. Click at the center point of the arc
5. Drag the mouse to the beginning of the curve and...
6. Click...
7. Drag the mouse to the end of the curve and...
8. Click again.
9. Click the 2D Selection Tool (or Type X) to leave the Arc Tool.

Text
To type a Note or Label

1. Click Palettes on the Menu Bar
2. Click 2D Tools
3. Click the Text Tool (or Type 1)
4. Click on the drawing where you want to insert the text
5. Type the Note or Label on the keyboard
6. Click the 2D Selection Tool to leave the Text Tool
   NOTE: The X short cut key will not work when the Text Tool is active.

To change the Size of the text...

1. Select the text
2. Click Text on the Menu Bar
3. Click Size
4. Click the desired size (6 to 144) or enter the desired size in the Set Size... text box.

To change the Style of the text...

1. Select the text
2. Click Text on the Menu Bar
3. Click Style
4. Click the desired style (Plain text - Bold - Italic - Underlined)

Editing
To Copy and paste an object

1. Click the Selection Tool (or Type X) in the 2D Tools Palette
2. Select (by Clicking on) the object
3. Copy the object to the clipboard (Edit > Copy or Ctrl +C)
4. Place the curser where you want to paste the object
5. Paste the object into the drawing (Edit > Paste or Ctrl +V)

1. Click the Selection Tool (or Type X) in the 2D Tools Palette
2. Select (by Clicking on) the object
3. Click and Drag the object to its new location
4. DeSelect the object by clicking in an open area of the drawing

Dimensioning Palette The icons representing the Dimensioning Tools are grouped into a palette which floats on the desktop. This pallette, like the 2D Tools Palette is accessed through the Menu bar. In addition to the Constrained-Line, Unconstrained-Line, and Radial Dimension Tool the Angular Dimension, Tape Measure and Protactor Tools are also activated from this palette.

1. Click Palettes on the Menu Bar
2. Click Dimensioning
3. Click the Constrained-Line Dimension Tool (or Type N)
4. Click at one end of the line you are dimensioning
5. Drag the curser to the other end of the line and
6. Click again,
7. Drag the curser to the point on the drawing where you want to locate the dimension line and
8. Click again.
9. Click the 2D Selection Tool in the 2D Tool Palette (or Type X) to leave the Dimensioning Tool.

1. Click Palettes on the Menu Bar
2. Click Dimensioning
3. Click the Unconstrained-Line Dimension Tool (there is no keyboard shortcut)
4. Click at one end of the line you are dimensioning
5. Drag the curser to the other end of the line and
6. Click again,
7. Drag the curser to the point on the drawing where you want to locate the dimension line and
8. Click again.
9. Click the 2D Selection Tool in the 2D Tool Palette (or Type X) to leave the Dimensioning Tool.

1. Click Palettes on the Menu Bar
2. Click Dimensioning
3. Click the Radial Dimension Tool (or Type ,)
4. Click twice within the circle.
5. Click the 2D Selection Tool in the 2D Tool Palette (or Type X) to leave the Dimensioning Tool.

To change the size of the text on the dimension line...

1. Select the dimension
2. Click Text on the Menu Bar
3. Click Size
4. Click the desired size (6 to 144) or enter the desired size in the Set Size... text box.

To Open an existing drawing (Ctrl+O)

1. Click File on the Menu Bar
2. Click Open
3. Double click on the file in the Open VectorWorks File dialogue box

To Save the drawing (Ctrl+S)

1. Click File on the Menu Bar
2. Click Save

To Change the name of the drawing

1. Click File on the Menu Bar
2. Click Save As...
3. Enter the folder and the new file name in the VectorWorks:Save As dialogue box

To Create a new file (Ctrl+N)

1. Click File on the Menu Bar
2. Click New
3. Check Create Blank Document in the Create Document dialgoue box and
4. Click OK