Basic Object Tools Overview

To help you get started in 2D drafting I'll introduce you to the tools used from the Basic Palette.  Learning how to use these tools are one of the fundamentals of drafting.  I recommend learning or customizing the shortcuts for these tools since you will be using them most of the time.  Some of the basic tools, which I've grayed out the names of, I do not use at all so don't be expected to memorize them.

A good way to memorize these shortcuts is through association.  I personally started to memorize these shortcuts by thinking of how many vertices are on the object.  The Line object has 2 vertices and is assigned the shortcut 2.  The Rectangle object has 4 vertices and is assigned the shortcut 4.  After a while of practicing to use shortcuts you will become faster and more efficient.  Sometimes, you can be really efficient with one tool and not need to use another tool every again.

Text Tool (1)

  The Text tool is the most basic annotation tool available.  To create a Text, activate the tool and then click where you would like the text to start.  You can also click + hold, then drag the cursor to set a length for the text.  There are two modes available: Horizontal or Rotated.  If you click + hold, then drag in Horizontal mode the text will be horizontal and have a set length.  If on the Rotated mode, when you drag the cursor the angle of the text adjust.  In the end, the text behave the same way.  Using the Horizontal mode and then using the Rotate tool achieves the same.  I do not use the Rotated mode myself since horizontal text is easier to read.

Callout Tool (Alt+1 or Cmd+1)

The Callout Tool is an efficient annotation tool because it combines a text and leader line into one object.  It is the most common tool I use when creating construction details and can also be used for labeling other drawings.  You can keep you drawings clean by dragging the first Callout and duplicating it below to make a list of Callouts.  Moving the endpoint of the leader line is as easy as selecting the vertex and moving it to the destination.  This also prevents crowding of objects as it keeps your maximum text widths consistent in case you have other objects nearby.

2D Locus (0)

The 2D Locus tool is a non-printable object that is useful for setting guides and snapping points in symbols.  You can use a locus to mark visual cues of grading heights on elevations rather than drawing printable lines or dimensions that you may forget to delete or make invisible.  Locus are also great for marking insertion points on symbols because it is a visual cue that lets you know where someone has set it.  It also provides a snapping point in that symbol which is helpful when you are stacking symbols over each other, or aligning objects with that symbol.

Line (2)

The Line Tool is the most basic object tool that you will commonly use.  Click once to start drawing a line and click again to end the line.  There are a few different modes for the Line tool but I typically keep it as shown above.  You can have your lines drawn to "Constrained" angles or "Unconstrained" angles.  I use Unconstrained because if you have your angular snaps on then your Line will snap to the same constrained angles if you were on Constrained mode.  The next modes are "Vertex" mode or "Center" mode.  Vertex mode makes your first click the first vertex or point of your line.  The Center mode makes you first click the center of the line so that as you drag your cursor the line lengthens from the center point.  I think the Vertex mode is more intuitive so I prefer using that mode rather than Center mode.

Arc (3)

The Arc Tool is useful if you want to create symmetrical arc shapes.  There are several different modes available but I find the graphics representing each mode are not that intuitive to understand.  I prepared a diagram showing you how each mode creates an arc along with visuals representing where I clicked to create the shape.  The 2D locis (X) represent where I clicked with the cursor on the screen.  The numbers 1, 2 and 3 show the order of the clicks.

Rectangle (4)

The Rectangle Tool is a simple tool for creating a four sided polygon.  There are four modes for the tool and they are: Corner to Corner, Center to Corner, Midpoint to Corner, and Three Point Rotated mode.  I typically use Corner to Corner as it is the most intuitive mode since most drawing programs use a same method.  The modes are self-explanatory so choose a mode that you are comfortable with.

Polyline (5)

The Polyline Tool is a great tool if you want to draw some gentle curving lines, such as meandering landscape pathways or arcing filigrees.  Much more useful than the freehand tool (however that much more technical and difficult to use).  You can also use the Corner Vertex Mode to create a polyline with sharp corners.

Double Polyline Tool (Alt+8 or Cmd+8)

The Double Polyline Tool is one of my most used tools because it saves me a lot of steps the way I use it.  This tool creates a continuous polygon shape that's width can be customized before drawing.  It's a great tool for drawing trim boards, mullions for windows, or individual components for handrails.  I prefer using this tool over the Rectangle tool because drawing a series of rectangles and then joining them together takes more time.  For the Double Polyline Tool, it only take 4 clicks at the corner to be done.  With rectangles, it can take 12+ clicks if you include tabbing through the Data Bar and manually typing in 4" wide gutters, and then selecting all the rectangles, then right-clicking and selecting Add Surface.

Drawn with Double Polyline Tool.

Drawn with Rectangle Tool, but not joined yet.

Offset Tool (Shift + - )

The Offset Tool is useful when you want to create a copy of a selected object that is a set parallel distance from it.  If the selected object is a curved line, the copy will retain the same curve but with a large or smaller radius depending on which side of the selected object you click.  Some examples of where you would use the Offset Tool are when you are drawing the outline of a gutter on a roof plan, the opposite side of a curving road or pathway, and window frames.

Exploring the User Interface

The User Interface of Vectorworks is arranged with useful palettes and bars to help you organize the tools, commands, and information on your screen.  All of the palettes and bars can be customized and positioned to your preference to maximize efficiency.  Customization of the User Interface will be explained in another tutorial.  For now, become familiar with the default User Interface so that you can quickly access the tools you will need.

The User Interface can be broken down into two categories: Bars and Palettes.  There are two bars at the top of the interface called the View Bar and the Tool Bar.  Palettes are the windows surrounding the central design space.

View Bar and Tool Bar

The View Bar displays what the active Class, Layer, Plane, Current Zoom, Current View, Current Plan Rotation, and Current Render Mode is in the active document.  Clicking on the down arrow will open a list of items relating to that category.  You will be using mostly the Class, Layer, Current View, and Rotate Plan/Current Plan Rotation for 2D drafting.

The Tool Bar is located directly below the View Bar and displays the different modes available for every tool.  Each group of modes is separated by a vertical black line.  You can switch between the different modes in each group by clicking the corresponding shortcut: U, I, O, P, [ , and ].  Some tools have text fields where you can type in distances or quantities relating to that tool's action.  Some tools have custom Preferences (the crossed wrench and pen icon) that when clicked opens a dialog box for further customization or presetting text for annotating tools (for example window and door tags).

On the far right of the Tool Bar are additional icons.  These icons affect the display preferences of Vectorworks.  You can toggle these display preferences on and off by clicking on the icons.  Clicking on the grey right arrow will pop-up a list of additional display preferences.  I would recommend adding the Auto Join Wall, Black and White Only, Black Background, Show Other Objects While in Edit Modes, and Zoom Line Thickness to the Tool Bar as they are used most frequently.

Some of the default palettes that are readily available for your use include:

• Snapping
• Attributes
• Object Info
• Resource Browser
• Navigation
• Basic
• Tool Sets

Snapping Palette

Your cursor has the ability to snap at key points depending on what settings you have activated in the Snapping Palette.  Some of the most useful Snap settings to have active are shown to the left.  Snap to Object allows your cursor to snap to vertices of an object, such as the four corners of a rectangle object.  Snap to Angle allows your cursor to snap at preset angles while drawing angular objects, or moving an object to a new position.  A common example is while drawing a Line your cursor will snap to the default settings of 30 and 45 degrees to the horizontal.  Snap to Intersection allows your cursor to snap at a point where two objects meet.  Smart Points is useful to have active if you want to align the edge, or point, of an object with another edge, or point, that is positioned nearby by using 'extensions.'  Snap to Distance creates snap points set by a fraction, percentage, or distance along an object's edge.  Smart Edge allows the cursor to snap to a bisecting or offsetting point from a Smart Edge you created.  Smart Edges can be created by highlighting an edge and clicking 'T', or by following an edge of an object for a certain time (must be activated within the Smart Edge settings).  Snap to Tangent allows your cursor to snap to the tangent of a circle or arc object.

Attributes Palette

Objects have graphical properties displayed on the Attributes Palette.  The colour or pattern of an object's fill can be adjusted by the Fill Style.  You can import an image as a fill if desired.  The colour and line type of an object's edges can be changed by the Pen Style.  The transparency of an object is set by the Opacity percentage.  The object's line thickness can be adjusted by the Line Thickness attribute.  Objects such as Lines and Polylines have unique endpoints that can be selected by clicking the Line Endpoint Style and then turning on the Toggle.

Objects can be assigned Object attributes or Class attributes.  The curved arrow graphic means the object has been assigned with Class attributes. If you change the colour of the Pen Style to a different colour, the selected object is considered using an Object attribute.  It is recommended to have objects set to use the default Class attribute settings because it can save you time in the future.  For example, if you draw all your property lines on a site plan under the Class "Property Lines" and you find that the line thickness is not thick enough, then you can edit the Property Lines Class and adjust the Line Thickness of all objects under that class.  If you assigned the objects with an object attribute Line Thickness then you will have to select all those Property Lines and adjust the Line Thickness from the Attributes Palette.  There is a more effective way to automatically change the attributes of previously drawn objects under a single Class that have object attributes.  You can do this by editing the Class and checking the checkbox for "Use at Creation" in the dialog box.  More on that in another tutorial.

Object Info Palette

The Object Info Palette is where you can find related properties of the selected object(s).  You can see what Class, Layer, and Plane an object is assigned.  The palette also displays additional information depending on what type of object you have selected.  For example, when a line object is selected the palette will display the position and the length of the line.  At the top are three tabs: Shape, Data and Render.  Under the Data tab you can assign an object a unique Name which can be used for recalling data in Worksheets.  This is a powerful tool for advanced users.  The Render tab gives you the option to change the style of how the object is drawn, whether it is Careful, Certain, Quick, or Tentative.  Textures will not be covered since it is outside the scope of 2D drafting.

Resource Browser Palette

The Resource Browser Palette displays all the resources used by the active document.  These resources include Gradient, Hatch, Image, Line Type, Record Format, Renderworks Background, Renderworks Style, Renderworks Texture, Sketch Style, Slab Style, Symbol Folder, Text Style, Tile, Script, Script Palette, Wall Style, and Worksheet.  You can create a new resource by double clicking in the bottom panes of the Resource Browser.  You will be prompted to select a resource from a list similar to the above.  Once you finish creating that resource, it will be displayed in the Resource Browser.

Navigation Palette

The Navigation Palette is where you can browse all the Classes, Layers, Sheets, Viewports, Saved Views, and References created within the active document.  Classes control the graphics of the objects being drawn.  Layers assign a stacking order with the first layer being at the top or front.  Viewports are used to display objects in the Design Layer in the Sheet Layer.  Viewports can be cropped and scaled appropriated depending on the size of the paper to be printed on in the Sheet Layer.  Saved Views are a time-saving tool used to pan to a specific area in the Design Layer.  Saved Views can also save the visibility set for Classes and Layers which makes it easy if you want to display certain information with a single click rather than turning off several Classes and Layers.  The References tab display a list of documents that have been linked to the active document.  If the Referenced document is a Vectorworks document, then it is possible to reference resources from that referenced document into the active document.  Resources can by references by the Resource Browser.

Basic Palette

The Basic Palette contains a majority of the common tools used for 2D drafting.  You should be familiar with all the tools as they are used frequently.  Some tools have an arrow on the bottom right.  This means it is a Stacked/Pop-up tool.  If you click and hold down on a Pop-up tool, additional related tools will be displayed for your use.  You can change how the tool icons are displayed by clicking on the bottom arrow and selecting View Tools As... Icons, Icons and Text, or Text.  Alternatively, you can sort how the tools or ordered by again clicking on the bottow arrow and selecting Sort Tools By... Manual Placement, Ascending Alphabetical, or Descending Alphabetical.  You can add or remove tools by selecting Customize, or accessing the Workspace Editor under the main menu Tools > Workspace > Workspace Editor (Ctrl+Shift+Alt+W, or Cmd+Shift+Alt+W).

Tool Sets Palette

The Tool Sets Palette is a collection of 2D and 3D tools which is organized based on the function of the tool.  For 2D drafting, you can expect to be using most of the tools under Building Shell, Furn/Fixtures, Dims/Notes, and Detailing.  You can change the way the palette displays the tools similarly to the Basic Tool Palette by clicking on the bottom arrow of the palette.  You may add or remove tools by selecting Customize, or accessing the Workspace Editor under the main menu Tools > Workspace > Workspace Editor (Ctrl+Shift+Alt+W, or Cmd+Shift+Alt+W).

Vectorworks Tutor coming soon

Welcome to Vectorworks Tutor.  I created this blog because I want to share with you how to CAD in 2D quickly and efficiently.  I am employed as an Architectural Technologist and have been using Vectorworks for the past three years.  I have discovered and experimented with most of the tools and commands that Vectorworks has to offer and I want to share with you my knowledge and tips in using them.

This site is actively being developed but if you follow, or subscribe to, my blog then you will be the first to know when I have something new to share with you.  If you have your own trick or tip you'd like to share, then please leave a comment.

Thank you for your interest and I hope to hear from you soon!