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CPD Monthly Training Manual
This manual usually covers a specific task or topic. In the past we have covered topics such as: Creating a Solar Study, Rendering, and Introduction to Annotation. These manuals are designed to work with all skill levels, and show you all the steps you need, along with screen shots (on average over 100 images/manual). Over time these manuals will build up into a Vectorworks manual library. The manuals have a value of $24.50 if bought individually. So, each month you get a $24.50 manual.
The manuals do not deal only with new versions of Vectorworks. We recognise that you want to get the best from your Vectorworks, regardless of the version, so that is how we write these manuals.
CPD Manuals Available to Subscribers. These manuals are available to download when you subscribe:
1110 November 2011 - BIM in Action
What’s New in Vectorworks 2012You may not want to upgrade, you may not be able to afford to upgrade, but I still think you should read about what is new in Vectorworks 2012. There are several important changes to 3D modeling that will change the way you think about 3D modeling. Amongst them are automatic working plane and new modes in planar objects.Extended Podcast 138- Beyond Beginners workshop - October 2011, LibrariesExtended Podcast 139 - Line weights Beginners Corner 34 - Visualisation Palette
1110 October 2011 - What’s New in Vectorworks 2012
You may not want to upgrade, you may not be able to afford to upgrade, but I still think you should read about what is new in Vectorworks 2012. There are several important changes to 3D modeling that will change the way you think about 3D modeling. Amongst them are automatic working plane and new modes in planar objects.Extended Podcast 138- Beyond Beginners workshop - October 2011, LibrariesExtended Podcast 139 - Line weights Beginners Corner 34 - Visualisation Palette
1109 September 2011 - Site Modeling for Architects and Landscapers
Site Modeling may look complicated, but it can be made easier if you understand what a Site Model can do, and how it works. Hence your expectations match its capabilities. You can create a Site Model using a few different methods and once created, you can edit the Site Model using several different tools and techniques. This manual will help you to understand how Site Models are created, how you can edit them, and what the Site Model is unable to do. Extended Podcast 136 - Beyond Beginners workshop - September 2011, walls and slabsExtended Podcast 137 - Stair graphics in Vectorworks 2011Beginners Corner 033 - Object Info palette
1108 August 2011 - Floor, Wall and Roof Framing
1107 July 2011 - Creating a Paving PlanThis manual will be looking at the framing tools and commands that are available in Vectorworks. If you are going to use Building Information techniques in Vectorworks, you would need to frame floors, walls and roofs to show the structure of the model. We will be looking at the framing tools to learn how to use them, and we will be looking at the framing commands that can speed up the creation of framing. Extended Podcast 134 - Beyond Beginners workshop - August 2011, archoncad plug-insExtended Podcast 133 - Create Similar ObjectBeginners Corner - Move by Point
1106 June 2011 - Rendering and Lighting in Vectorworks 2011This looks like it is a totally landscape topic, but you would be wrong. In order to use a tool like the hardscape tool, you have to learn how to control planar graphics. This session will start with a look at the planar graphics, and there are several of those. Learning to control line weights, dash styles, custom colors (and a custom color palette) hatches, images and tile will be useful to all Vectorworks users.
Lighting in Vectorworks 2011 has changed a little, but the rendering has been completely updated with a new rendering engine. These notes have been totally updated from the Vectorworks 2010 notes, with completely new images, additions and amendments to most chapters.
1105 May 2011 - Textures in Vectorworks 2011
Textures in Vectorworks 2011 are different to Vectorworks 2010. The old tricks I used to use no longer work in Vectorworks 2011, so I had to re-learn how to make textures. If you were using image based textures, these are still simialr, but all the reflectivity, transparency, and bump setting have changed.
1104 April 2011 - Productivity
1103 March 2011 - Site Area AnalysisThis workshop will be looking at some of the Productivity tricks that can help you. Some of you might have seen me use these techniques during online sessions, and wondered what I was doing. Well, here are my top 30 tips for productivity.
1102 February 2011 - Creating a Swimming PoolThe project I will be looking at will be a domestic project, but you could easily apply these techniques to commercial projects. 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.
1101 January 2011 - Building a Joinery UnitThis 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.
1012 December 2010 - Round UpDrawing a commercial joinery unit, like a mid-floor display unit for a retail store. We will learn about 3d modeling, using pre-Vectorworks 2011 methods and the, faster ways in Vectorworks 2011. We will be learning about layer, classes and making drawings from the 3D Model. Then I want to show you how you can quickly edit the model and update the drawings very quickly. Space labels in the new Vectorworks 2011 spaces; How to draw lines, based on survey data, without using the Property Line; What is a layer plane and screen plane?
1011 November 2010 - Intermediate AnnotationRound up of all the topics we covered this year. This manual has a one page synopsis of each month's topic. Rendering in Vectorworks 2011, is it faster than 2010?; How to fix your image props for Vectorworks 2011 ; What is a symbol?
1010 October 2010 - What's New in Vectorworks 2011There are several Annotation tools, which can really speed up the way you work. For this manual, I will be assuming you understand simple annotation. We covered Annotation in the SST_0911, a year ago. Please download those notes for Text, Dimensions and several of the other annotation tools. How to fix the new stairs when the max/min settings get in the way; How to fix your image props for Vectorworks 2011;
You may not want to upgrade, you may not be able to afford to upgrade, but I still think you should read about what is new in Vectorworks 2011. There are some new ways what will change the way you think about creating your models and drawings.
1009 September 2010 - Refurbishment Project
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 workshop 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.
1008 August 2010 - Lighting and Rendering in Vectorworks 2010
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.
1007 July 2010 - Plumbing Schematic
1006 June 2010 - Terrific TexturesMore of my clients are being asked for a 3D presentation of a plumbing schematic. If you create the building as a model, with the correct symbols, layers and classes, this can be straightforward to create. We will need to look at how to make your symbols work for you, how to structure your layers and classes, how to create the pipework and and how to set up a drawing to show the schematic.
Textures in Vectorworks can make you designs come to life. 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. Textures can be a lot of fun, and they can be very powerful. This manual will get you started.
1005 May 2010 - Stairs made Simple
There are several ways to create stairs in Vectorworks. There a a few tools you can use, some for simple stairs and some for more complex stairs. Then, you can ignore all the tools and use other methods. If you want.
1004 April 2010 - Round up of Topics to Dec. 2009
The online user group has been running now for over three years now. I have created a ot of information; 40 monthly manuals, 76 epodcasts, 18 beginner movies, 122 podcasts and hundreds of blog posts. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to search them?
1003 March 2010 - Irrigation tools for Landscapers and Architects
Vectorworks comes with several irrigation tools. There is a tool for placing irrigation pipework, and there are two tools for placing sprinklers and drip emitters. When the pipework and emitters are placed, you can create a schedule of the parts.
1002 February 2010 - Stacked Layers/Unified view and how to set up your layers
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.
1001 January 2010 - Saving a Corrupt File and Backing up
There is a trick you can use to try to save a corrupt file. It often works, but it does not always work. The technique uses Workgroup Referencing to grab all the Design Layers, but you can not get any of the sheet layers, or sheet layer viewports. If you have a backup, then you can open it and hope that it is OK to use. So, you need to set up the Vectorworks backup and you should have a backup strategy for your computer as well, to keep all your data safe.
0912 December 2009 - Best Practice for Importing and Exporting DXF/DWG files
We often have to work with consultants and clients that do not use Vectorworks. DXF or DWG (AutoCAD) is usually the best way to do this. It will allow the you to use their information in Vectorworks, or it will allow them to import your work
0911 November 2009 - Introduction to Annotation
0910 October 2009 - What's new in Vectorworks 2010This is where to get started with annotation. Without text and dimensions, your drawings are pretty sad. Annotation is a fundamental part of drawing. Annotation is more than just putting text and dimensions on the drawing, although I will be covering this to make sure you are doing it correctly, there are note tools, tools to store a database of notes and tools for labeling.
0909 September 2009 - Camera MatchI’ve been spending the last couple of months updating my Vectorworks manuals for 2010. I have several clients asking if they should upgrade to the new version of Vectorworks. If you are working on Vectorworks 12.5, then yes, upgrade right now. There are so many advances in Vectorworks since you last bought Vectorworks. If you are using Vectorworks 2008 or 2009, then look at these notes. You might find that there are enough reasons to upgrade.
Camera Match is a 3rd Party Plugin to Vectorworks. This means that is doesn’t come as a standard. You have to buy it, but I know you will find that this Plug-in saves so much time with visualization, that it pays for itself the first time you use it. I know when I bought it, it saved me a couple of hours on the first project. Available from http://www.panzercad.com
0908 August 2009 - Editing Vectorworks Plug-ins
You might think that the Plug-ins that come with Vectorworks are locked. It’s true that you can’t see the computer code and change it, but there is still a lot you can edit. This is a topic for Beyond Beginners, it covers how to edit some of the standard Vectorworks tools.
0907 July 2009 - Intermediate Worksheets
Worksheets are very powerful, but to most people they are a mystery. This workshop 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. After you have learned the basics, learn how to do more with worksheets.
0906 June 2009 - Creating and Managing Libraries
There are a lot of library files in Vectorworks, this manual will show you how to manage them.
0905 May 2009 - Creating Construction Details
There are manuals on creating drawings, but not many on creating construction drawings. When I was writing the last manual on creating drawings, I wanted to cover creating construction details, but I felt that would have made the manual too long. So how do you create details? That is what we will be covering. We will need components to assemble into details. These could be pieces of timber, flashings, weatherboards (siding), fixings, hatching, and so on. Where do you make this stuff and where should you store it?
0904 April 2009 - Creating Drawings for a Building Project
In the past the user group has covered layers, classes and viewports. The feed back I am getting is that this is still an area that people are confused about. When should you use a class, when should you use a layer? How do you create drawings from the stuff you create on the design layer. 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.
0903 March 2009 - Drawing a Complex Roof
I often find that the standard Vectorworks roof will not make the roof I want. So, in this workshop 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 faming and creating a truss roof.
0902 February 2009 - Drawing a Deck (patio)
In This workshop we will look at drawing a deck, which some people would call a patio. There are a few ways to deal with this. Firstly, you could draw everything in 2D. This would give you the opportunity to schedule and quantify all the timber to be used in the project, but you would not be able to create a v3D view of the project. One on my clients found that when you draw the project in 3D you can get an increase in sales, but we will draw this in 2D as a start so you can see the process you can use. Next, if you have Vectorworks Landmark only we will learn how you can create the 3D portion of your deck. This has the advantage of the 3D visualization, but the quantifying is not as easy as the 2D drawing, so we won’t bother. The last method is to use Vectorworks Architect or Designer. I know that there is an increase in cost over landmark, and you might not want to spend that money right now. But if you look at the advantages you get with this exercise, you will quickly save your upgrade cost. Of course, if you don’t want to do the things we cover in this workshop, there is no advantage to upgrading.
0901 January 2009 - Creating an Asset Database (Facilities Management)
In this workshop we will learn how to make objects into symbols. Then we will learn how you can attach information to the objects. In the first example we will use furniture and computers as the example. We want to record the type of object, the size of specification of the object and then create a report on these objects, sorting them by type. In the second example we have a site plan with plants. We will use standard VectorWorks plants, and we will add our own information to them. We want to know when the plants were planted, who gifted the plants, when do they need fertilizer, and when to they need pruning.
0812 December 2008 - Site Modeling
0811 November 2008 - Using the Mechanical Duct ToolsSite modeling can be relatively easy, and a site model can be edited in several ways. For this workshop we will create a site model in a few different ways. 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. This is a great tutorial to get started with site modeling.
VectorWorks comes with several HVAC tools for adding ducts and HVAC components to your drawings. I can understand if you let others do this for you, but if the project was small, you might consider adding the HVAC components yourself. If you are not an architect you might be in the profession where you add the HVAC components for the architect. We are going to import a drawing, add some HVAC components and then we will learn how to quantify them.
0810 October 2008 - Creating an Animation
There are a few tricks when creating an animation. In this workshop you will learn how to set up the views you want and how to make these into an animation. Animations may sound like fun, and they are, but there other reasons. Making an animation for a major project might be what you need to get the client to see your vision.
0809 September 2008 - Creating a Room Finishes Schedule
If you are working on a commercial project you might have to make a room finishes schedule. Of course, you could use word or excel to do this, but you could also use VectorWorks. If you use VectorWorks, you can have the room finishes linked to the room names.
0808 August 2008 - Creating a Solar Study
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.
0807 July 2008 - Setting up Workgroup Referencing
0806 June 2008 - Class and Layer MappingDo you need to have more than one person working on a project? Do you have to keep re-importing consultants drawings in your drawings. If so, you should be using Workgroup Referencing. This workshop will show you different methods for linking drawings together.
0805 May 2008 - Windoor (windows and doors in the same frame)When you import files from consultants you end up with several classes that you do not want. How can you sort out these classes to make the file more manageable by using Class and Layer Mapping.
Windoor is a 3rd party plug-in for VectorWorks. This means that you might have to go to the internet and buy this from the producer. If you are in NZ or Australia you will have this already. If you are located in another part of the world then you will have to visit this web site to purchase it: http://www.ozcad.com.au I have been using Windoor for several years and I like it a lot.
0804 April 2008 - Zone of Visual Influence
This topic will teach you how to analyse the visual effects of project on a site. If you are building on a sensitive site you might need to know which parts of the site are visually effected by your project. You might need to prove that your project can’t be seen from some areas. We’ll start by importing a DXF/DWG file that has some problems. I’ll show you how to fix the problems and make the Site Model.
0803 March 2008 - Setting up a Kitchen Plan
I wrote a Kitchen Design manual some years ago and it needs updating. I thought this would be a good place to update the manual. Even if you are not interested in the design of kitchens you might learn something from the way I carry out this exercise. We will be using the base cabinet and other cabinet objects and we will make our drawings using Section viewports.
0802 February 2008 - Setting up a Landscape Plan
In this workshop we will be setting up a landscape plan from the beginning. If you are not a landscaper you might be thinking that this workshop doesn’t have much of interest for you, but I would suggest you try this exercise. There will be things you can learn about importing, dealing with the information once it’s imported, fast ways of creating information and setting up drawings. You might find you learn a few new techniques from the way I complete the exercise.
0801 January 2008 - Productivity Techniques
It is always a good idea to start the new year making sure that you are using the best techniques for productivity. Look through these techniques to make sure that you are getting the best that you can from your investment.
0708 August 2007 Introduction to Worksheets
Worksheets allow you count and schedule stuff in VectorWorks. 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. Worksheets are an under used area of VectorWorks and this workshop should open your eyes about what you are able to do with them.
0706 June 2007 Customising Vectorworks
VectorWorks works really well, but if you edit the workspace, and customise the arrangement of the tools and menus you can work faster and happier. We will learn how to edit the workspace and add commands to the right mouse button. VectorWorks also has a built in programming language called VectorScript that lets you make your own tools and commands. We will learn how to do some basic programming and learn how to start to make your own tools and commands.
CPD Monthly Training Movies
As well as the screen shots in the manual, there are movies linked to each exercise in the PDF manual. If you do not want to read the manual, you can click on the linked movies a watch the exercise being carried out.
These movies are available online any time of the day or night.
3 Tips and Tricks Movies
The extra tips and tricks are extended podcasts, short movies that show extra techniques that might be useful. Normally, these movies are designed to show you a different area of Vectorworks than that covered in the PDF manual.
These movies are available online any time of the day or night.
CPD Interactive Training Workshop Sessions
Each month you have the chance to attend an online session with others. The sessions are interactive, allowing you ask questions, and allowing other attendees to share their experiences. Sharing your Vectorworks experience. or learning from others is invaluable. There are a range of session times to suit users from all over the world.
Expert Sessions are offered each month. These new sessions are for users that know much of the basic use of tools, but really want to get into the details. For example, getting started with vectorscript. We will look at customising Vectorworks, and some simple script building.
These sessions are worth $30.00/session. You get to attend these sessions free of charge, saving you $30.00/month.
Priority Blog
Many times, I see a small trick, or I need to write an answer for a client. Until recently, I may have made these a public blog with only limited instructions. In the future, these blogs will be fully illustrated with complete instructions. I have been told that this blog is worth at least $5.00/month, you get it for free.
Back Catalog
There is a back catalog of manuals that can be accessed online 24 hours a day. The back catalog covers manuals back to January 2008. Vectorworks 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008 & 12. While it might be fun to talk about new software, we recognise that many of our clients want to get the best out the software they own. The back issues allow you to build your own Vectorworks training library. The manuals are worth $24.50 if bought individually, and there are 36 manuals currently available as back issues, worth over $800!
Plug-ins
From time to time, we make plug-ins for Vectorworks that make a job or task easier. These plug-ins will be made available for download when it suits you. For example, the Elevation Maker plug-in creates four main elevations from a 3D model. Some of these plug-ins are worth $20.00, you get free access to them.
Libraries
A library file contains resources that makes easier to use Vectorworks. For example, a texture library file contains several textures that you can use easily. There will be several library files that you can download.
Reviews of 3rd Party Products
There are a lot of 3rd party products available. But how do you find the best things for you? This area will bring together the best of the 3rd party products for you.
Discounts on Movie-based manuals
Subscribers have access to a special page where they can purchase the same movie-based manual listed on this site, but at a discounted price of 45%, saving about $44.50 per manual.