Welcome to the Quickstart Guide to Vectorworks 2011. This guide will show you the quick ways to get started and you will learn basic skills in Vectorworks 2011.

We are going to work on a exercises to that will explain basic concepts, ways of working and how to draw quickly. If you are new to Vectorworks then you are advised to work through all the exercises. If you are familiar with Vectorworks then you should still review this chapter, just in case things have changed. This will help you to work using the most effective methods.

The exercises and instructions have been designed to teach you specific skills in Vectorworks 2011 so try to complete all the exercises. This is a quickstart guide, so it will show you the quick ways to get started, but it won’t show you everything that you need. If you need a full tutorial manual I suggest you try the archoncad manual (http://www.archoncad.com) that is designed to follow on from this quickstart guide.

Vectorworks 2011 is a powerful drawing program that you can use for a range of professions; from engineering and landscape through to set and lighting design and architecture. It uses a combination of tools and concepts to create sophisticated drawings and designs, and it includes a database/reporting component and a built-in scripting language that allows you to make your own custom tools.

Vectorworks 2011 can be used to create simple drawings for joinery, a whole set of contract documents for a large commercial building, landscaping design or a virtual model of the building that you can walk around or fly through.

This quickstart guide is the first in a series. I encourage you complete this guide first before moving on the other guides.

Stacked layers and unified view allow you see al your layers together, so when you change views, all the layers change. But there are some things to watch for. Setting up your layers correctly is essential is you want to use Vectorworks for BIM, and if you want to use Stacked Layer or Unified View.

I have created a drawing with enough information to create a set of contract documents for a simple building project. We will learn how to create the drawings from this information. We will use viewports and sheet layers to create our drawings. We will not cover drawing details. There is another short manual that deals with drawing details, importing details and creating a library of details.

This tutorial is about how to use Vectorworks to assemble your details.

Detailing in Vectorworks is quicker if you have some symbols already made - like flashings, timber objects (lumber), bolts, steel components and so on. I do not want to spend a lot of time on making these symbols, because that would take the whole manual. And there are other manuals that have covered creating symbols and making your library.

We will look at some of the Vectorworks settings to see how to make Vectorworks easier to detail.

We will look at a few different techniques for detailing: Using BIM for detailing, by using section viewports. Using 2D sections for creating details. Drawing 2D details separately. Importing details from a manufacturer. Saving details to a library. Using details from a library.

This tutorial is not going to teach you the construction aspects of detailing for your part of the world, so I will not be worrying too much about vapor barriers, cold bridges, building standards and so on.

Worksheets in Vectorworks are extremely important. They allow you to do so much with Vectorworks, such as counting and scheduling information, reporting areas, sizes and information attached to an object.

For example you can count all the trees in a site, schedule all the doors on a particular floor of a project, even find the weight of a bracket in a 3D model, you can count plants, car parking and so on. I often use worksheets to calculate things like fire egress, areas of the site, number of carparks required and so on. Once you have your worksheet set up, you can try different scenarios and the worksheet can report the results.

When you think of BIM (Building Information Models), one of the important aspects is the ability to get reports and information attached to objects. This is the function of worksheets, to get this information off the objects and onto a report that can be analyzed and printed.

So, worksheets are an important part of Vectorworks and they are often not used when they should be. Tutorial will start you using worksheets and will explain the basic steps to creating and editing a worksheet.

Worksheets are very powerful, but to most people they are a mystery. This manual will open your eyes and unlock the power of worksheets. If you are interested in BIM, then worksheets are the way to access the information attached to objects. If you want to count, quantify or schedule information in Vectorworks, worksheets will do it for you.

This manual uses a series of exercises to show you several advanced techniques for worksheets. For example, we look at how to count objects by class, how to create a plant list that only counts the plants in one garden, and several other examples.

We will also look at conditional statements in a worksheet. These allow you to choose the answer you want the worksheet to give you, based on other worksheet information, for example, we can see if the worksheet can tell us when we have enough structural bracing.

When you work with other consultants, that are not using Vectorworks, you need a way to open their files and

Roofs can really slow users down if they do not understand how flexible the standard Vectorworks roof is, there is so much you can do with it.

In this tutorial we will look at a couple of roofs, and see if we can make the standard Vectorworks roof do want we want. Then we will look at using the roof face command an how we can use this to make the roof we want. I will show you a technique for making it faster, and we will look at roof framing and creating a truss roof.



This manual comes as a PDF and is 29 A4 pages.

Many of my clients want to see how to draw a simple landscape plan from start to finish. This manual is the result. We will start by importing a simple survey plan. Many projects start this way, so you need to have effective ways of importing a DXG/DWG file. When the Drawing has been imported, it may not suit your drawing aims or style. So, we will edit the imported drawing to suit.

Then we will use native Vectorworks tools and techniques to draw paths, grass areas and an area for a fountain. Placing plants will complete the plan. We will also count the plants and schedule the grass and path areas. Finally, we will create an overall plan and a detail plan of the fountain area.

Contents:
Step 1 - Importing a Survey Drawing
Step 2 - Edit the Imported Drawing
Step 3 - Drawing the Paths
Step 4 - Adding the Lawn
Step 5 - Car Parking
Step 6 - Placing Plants
Counting Plants and Areas
Creating a Drawing

This manual comes as a PDF and is 23 A4 pages.

A site model is a way of looking at 3D data (spot levels or contours) in a way that allows you to see complex 3D models and 2D representations. VectorWorks uses the 3D information to create the models based on the data to help you understand the 2D and 3D nature of your site.

We will edit our site model to make it suit the existing site better, then we will change the site using site modifiers, 3D loci and landscape walls.

When you are designing a building or landscape feature, you may be concerned about the affect of your structure on the surrounding buildings and landscape. Some of my clients have been asked to provide evidence that the building design does not adversely affect the neighboring properties.

What is a solar study? In basic terms, it is where we use to VectorWorks to show where the sun is coming from and where shadows fall. In architectural terms, we would use the solar study to check the shadows from our building and how they affect neighbors.

I worked on one project several years ago, where the client was worried about shadows from surrounding buildings affecting their tennis tournament. We had to model the surrounding site and apartment buildings to make sure that during June, there were no shadows on the Number 1 Court at Wimbledon.

Solar studies are common with large buildings, and I hear from several clients now that solar studies are expected from by some councils for domestic projects.

This manual comes as a PDF and is 16 A4 pages.

If you are working on a refurbishment project, should you model the building, or just draw the building using really simple objects. You should really use walls, because then you can easily add doors and windows. This manual will show you techniques for working with refurbishment projects. You will find the newer versions of Vectorworks have more abilities when dealing with complex walls.

One of the challenges with refurbishment work is drawing up the existing building. Sometimes you can find drawings of the existing plan, but often, the buildings have been modified and do not reflect the drawings. Sometimes, particularly old buildings, they have has so many changes, there are no drawings for the buildings.

Sometimes when you import a file you get a lot of classes and layers you don’t want. Class and Layer Mapping lets you control this by removing classes and layer you don’t want and merging information from the existing layers and classes to layers and classes you want. You would usually need to use Layer and Class mapping on a file you have imported into VectorWorks.

You can use VectorWorks to create a room finishes schedule. You could use another program to do this, like Word or Excel, but then you would loose the link from the plan and room names to the room finishes. Vectorworks uses a space object to store all the finishes information.

This manual will help you learn about space objects and how to use these to assign finishes to the object, how to edit the room finishes, and how to to create the schedule of finishes.

This manual comes as a PDF and is 15 A4 pages long.

Vectorworks 2010 introduced a completely new stair tool because the previous stair tool had received so many complaints. The old stair tool is still available, but it has been renamed the Custom Stair. I have heard some complaints about the new stair tool in Vectorworks 2010. I think a lot of these complaints arise because the tools are complex and need to be understood. That’s what this manual is all about.

Contents
Simple Guide to Stairs
Stair Tool - Straight Stair
Stair Tool - Stair with Landing
Stair Tool - U-Stair (Dog-leg Stair)
Circular Stairs
Custom Stair
Simple Stair
Stair with Landing
Landing Left
Double Back Stair (Dog-leg Stairs)

This manual comes as a PDF and is 67 A5 pages long.

This is a case study on creating a 3D model of a swimming pool, and using the model to create plans, sections, and details. We will model the swimming pool, in 3D. You could use the model to create planes, sections and details (but this isn’t in the notes). We will be looking at using the pool to modify a site model, to see if the swimming pool can be used to create site modifiers or cut and fill calculations.

Contents
Creating a Swimming Pool - Introduction
Getting Started With the Plan
Extruding the Base Shape
Cut the Pool to a Slope
Radius The Pool Corners
Building the Pool Edge
Rounding the Bottom of the Pool
Cutting Out the Pool
Creating the Steps
Creating the Site Modifiers

This manual comes as a PDF and is 58 A5 pages long.

Sometimes you find you can’t get the information from your Vectorworks file, or the file might seriously misbehave. I have a possible solution. This works most times, but not always. If this techniques doesn’t work, there is nothing else you can do, you have to go a backup copy of your file.

The way this technique works is that you create a link from the old file to a new, clean file using Workgroup Referencing. Then when you break the link all the linked information stays in the new file.

Contents
Saving Corrupt File
Vectorworks AutoSave
Backing up
Backup Strategy
Backup Software - Macintosh
Backup Software - Cross Platform
Backup Software - Windows
Backup Software - Online

This manual comes as a PDF and is 21 A5 pages long.

Vectorworks has several irrigation tools. There are tools for placing sprinklers, pipes, and drip emitters, and there are worksheets for counting these objects. The irrigation tools are only available if you have Vectorworks Landmark. But what if you have Vectorworks Fundamentals, Architect, or one of the other Vectorworks packages? You can’t use the irrigation tools, but you can build symbols that replicate the sprinklers and drip emitters. They will not be as flexible, but it is a workaround. We will cover these later, after looking at the Landmark tools.

Contents
Introduction
Irrigation Heads
Drip Emitter
Irrigation Line
Scheduling Irrigation Items
Irrigation for non-Landmark Users
Making a Symbol
Making a Database (Record Format)
Irrigation Pipe Work
Building the Worksheet to Count Sprinklers

This manual comes as a PDF and is 72 A5 pages long.

I’ve had several clients ask about creating a Plumbing schematic in Vectorworks, especially one that shows an isometric view of the plumbing. I know that most people are not plumbing installers, but we often have to show a plumbing schematic that complies with the building code, even if the plumber builds it differently on site.
For single story buildings it does not seem necessary to create a model of the plumbing, but a multi-story building is different, and local authorities that have to approve the your building permit drawings often have trouble understanding the drawings. A plumbing schematic can really help out.
Contents:
Introduction
Setting up Layers and Classes
Layers
Classes
Class Standard
Walls and Wall Styles
Creating a Wall Style
More Complex Wall Styles
Hybrid Symbols
Setting the View
Creating the Pipework
Modeling the Plumbing

This manual comes as a PDF and is 32 A5 pages long.

Textures are the things that make you drawing stand out and have a bit of zing. They can be created inside VectorWorks and can be created from digital images, or from shaders (built in mathematical descriptions of textures).

Stop presenting dull lifeless views of your projects. Textures can help your clients see what you really have in mind. You can use textures to make things reflect, make things see through, and so on. Image props allow you to make things that look like complex 3D objects from a photo or scan.

I think that Rendering is one of the fun parts of VectorWorks, You can see you buildings coming to life. Getting the lighting right and setting the correct rendering can take you some time.

I think rendering is one the really fun parts of Vectorworks. It can really look like your building is coming to life, but without good lighting, all your work can be wasted. Good lighting can even make a dull model come to life.

This manual will work though the rendering options and show you when each one should be used. Then we will look at the lighting options and see when we should be using each type. Finally we will look at a couple models and look at applying the lighting and rendering to get the best results.

These new ways of working will change the way you think about using Vectorworks. This is the manual you need to get the best from your upgrade investment.

Table of Contents:
Text Styles
Creating a Text Style
Editing a Text Style
Assigning a Text Style to a Text Object
Assigning a Text Style to a Dimension Standard
Assigning a Text Style to Other Objects
Planar Objects
Push/Pull Tool
Extract Tool
Wall Styles
Slabs
Floor Slab
A Ceiling is Still a Slab
Existing Tree
Scalable Symbols
Scaling Symbols
Page Unit Symbols

This is a case study on making a joinery unit. We will model the joinery unit quickly, to create a concept drawing. Then, we will create a detailed model that will give use all the parts to make the unit. We will use classes to control visibility, and we will use viewports and sheet layers to create the panel drawings.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Concept Model
Building the Main Part
Creating the Shelves
Create The Central Divider
Making The Feet
Step 2 - Drawings and Preparation
Create Classes
Plan Viewport
Front Elevation
Side Elevation
Edit The Model
Return To The Design Layer
Edit the Model
Return to the sheet layer (drawing)

This manual comes as a PDF and is 58 A5 pages long.

We will start with a site with a building on it. We need to make sure that our current site complies with the the site coverage. Then we will split the site in to two sites, one with the existing building, and one with a new building. We need to find out how much building can be placed on the new site, while still complying with the site coverage requirements. My belief is that you should be able to do this quickly, say within 30 mins. If the building does not comply, you are wasting all you time on the project. It would be better to phone the client after 30 minutes and tell them that unless they change the size of the house, the number of stories, or their requirements, the project can not proceed.

Vectorworks has the capability to to this analysis easily, using worksheets. We will be learning to set these up correctly, so we can make any adjustments and check the calculations. We will be able to add extra buildings, like garages and sheds, edit the floor plan of the proposed building and so on. We can check our calculations almost instantly to see if we are still complying.

That is all pretty cool, but it gets better. After playing with the layout, we can quickly jump to a 3D view of the proposal to change the solar animation for different times of the year. So, after getting our areas right, we will be getting our design right, taking into account the adjoining properties and sun.

I think that Vectorworks makes all this so easy. The presentation to this point takes about sixty minutes, but if you practices this, it could be less, maybe thirty minutes. If you learn these techniques, you could be calling the client within half an hour to report the coverage on site that would comply, the cost of the project and issues with the sun and shading. That is powerful stuff.