bapelaj

Thanks for the input, Boh. More than one way to peel an orange. I feel that VW gives you lots of ways or options do the same thing. Now that I'm getting into it, I can see how one can "over-design" class / layer / file structure. Looking forward to seeing the "materials" resource VW will be releasing.

Attached files, showing example. Which way is more efficient? File A.vwx File B.vwx

Attempting to put together standards for our office which is planning to use VW through documentation. I've previously used VW only up through DD (only to create illustrative plans), not for documentation. I've used VW for some time now and understand the difference between classes and layers, but am just now learning about record data and creating worksheets / reports. This brings up the question - what is the benefit of having multiple classes when one can identify a material (just for example) through Record Data? The addition of record data can create conflicting references. One object on the class "Material A" layer can have record data assigned to it as "B", or something similar. Ex. File A Classes - Concrete, Brick, Stone The benefits I see here is that objects on these three classes can have defined properties at creation. Concrete is always blue, brick is always red... Would you create a Record Format that uses "class" as a record column if you wanted a list of materials and area takeoffs? Concrete - 100SF Brick - 200SF Stone - 300SF Ex. File B Classes - Materials Record Data - Concrete, Brick, Stone The benefit I see here is that there are less classes (1 vs. 3) and the application of record data, the ability to create a worksheet / report. However, material properties (color, pattern, etc.) would have to be defined every time, making it difficult to create an office standard "look". Is it one or the other, is there a different way or am I not understanding how Record Data relates it with classes?

Many thanks, michaelk. That was exactly what I was trying to do. It worked like I wanted it to in the file you sent, testing in my file now...

Diving deeper into the functions. I'm trying to create another report but instead of symbols, want to have a column showing fills (color, patterns or hatches). I'm using the "hatchfill" function but what displays is the name of the hatch (09 Square 1/16in HF), not the visual of what it looks like (tiny square grid). I've scrolled through all the functions and it doesn't seem like there is anything that qualifies. There's only something for a hatch, but not for a solid color, pattern or tile. Is there a function I am overlooking? Is this possible?

I modified several shortcuts in a previous version, my office is now using VW2020. There are a few new options since the last version of VW that I created (ex. data tags). Question - is there a way I can print my custom shortcuts from VW2018 so that I can re-input them in VW2020?

Perfect, that did the trick! Exactly what I was trying to do. Thank you for the quic k response! The "add custom field" is a whole new world for me. I didn't quite figure out why the "length" of the line wasn't calculated in the spreadsheet, but I think I can continue to tinker with it and figure it out. Am I correct in assuming that creating a report is ideally performed once, at end of project or before printing? Is there an easy way to edit from "create report" pop-up without having to re-create a report? 200415_VW Symbols.vwx

In the attached snapshot, I've created 5 simple symbols - circles with varying colors and sizes. These could be anything - trees, shrubs, lights, doors, etc. I've attached a record for each of these symbols to include COLOR and NUMBER (or size) so that the schedule can include this information. Question - is there a way to create a schedule that includes the custom symbol in the schedule as shown in the inset schedule / legend? I'm continuing to look for answers online, sifting through a lot of content. If someone knows how or if this is possible, I would appreciate the help! Thank you.