Mike_M

Hey all. I'm a little lost in the sauce here. I'm trying to set up and organize custom the custom Title Blocks I've been using. I think I've been doing it two different ways. One might be better than the other. I think what I'm trying to do is create one "master" Title Block separate from a border. This way I can use the Title Block on sheets of different sizes. 11x17, Arch C, Arch D, etc. I can just edit the border on the first sheet I create and duplicate sheet layers. Editing the Title Block itself will allow me to link data types/values for File Names, Sheet Titles, Designer, Directors, etc. Now what I think I have done is created both "Title Block Border Styles" that I can select using the Title Block Border Tool as well as 2D symbols from a file I have saved in my User Libraries. The goal is just to be able to create a new file, new sheet layers, and drop in the blank "Title Block Template". This could include a border or not, I don't think I care. I just want the linked data types/values to update based on the new files information. Again, File Name, Sheet Title, Director, etc. If anyone could clear up my confusion for me and/or point me towards the correct video tutorial it would be greatly appreciated!

Happy winter yall! I've recently switched to "dark mode" mode for my overall computer (PC). In using vectorworks, My design layers now have a dark background and I'd like to keep the sheet layers with a white background. The issue I have is a white line color shows great in design layers but not at all on sheet layers. Then vice-versa. A dark line color shows great on sheet layers but is difficult to see in design layers. Is there any way to have this switch automatically for me? Using white lines in design layers that automatically appear black in sheet layers/viewports? I've done a little research and have messed with some of the Interactive Appearance Settings. I can't seem to find anything the specifically addresses line colors between design and sheet layers. Thanks

Well, I'm a dummy. I had "renderworks textures" selected from the dropdown in the resource manager. It was simply filtering out all others. Switched it back to "all resources" and viola, everything shows up as intended.

Hey all. Recently updated to version 2026. I have a number of custom files/symbols/resources saved in my User Library. I copy/pasted them into the new 2026 appdata/user folders. After refreshing the library all my folders and files now show up in the resource library. Files all open up just fine in 2026 and have everything in them, including my custom 2D/3D symbols. Unfortunately none of these symbols appear in the resource manager. I've re-saved the files, refreshed libraries, and restarted vectorworks. I'm pretty sure I followed this exact same process when updating from 2024 to 2025 and didn't have any issues. Does anyone know why my symbols won't appear?

Jeff, thanks for your attention to my issue! I'll work on on uploading a file. The tool is creating polygons as I'm used to it doing. For some reason once using the tool to create said polygons, it's placing them on the "3D Plane" in the Object Info Panel. Just under Class and Layer there is a Plane drop-down. The two options are Layer and 3D. Even if what I believe to be 2D polygons are on the 3D plane, I can't interact with them using polygons on the Layer plane. As you pointed out, when I switch something from the 3D plane to Layer plane, it does just relocate to 0,0,0. That was super helpful to start. Maybe it's just an issue with this specific file I'm working with. I swear it happens sometimes and not always. I'll see if I can replicate it in a second standalone file and get back to you. Appreciate the help!

Hiya Jeff, It totally does drop the object at 0,0,0! I haven't been close to the origin and never zoomed out enough to spot them. Well that's half the battle in terms of maintaining my process. I still stand by what I said regarding this being a new occurrence. Using Extract Surface Mode in the past kept the extracted planar surfaces well, planar. I would just rotate things flat and run with it from there. I start a lot of my larger drawings at 0,0,0 so having every extracted surface jump to that point will be a hassle to dig out. I'll keep searching for a means of keeping things planar rather than "3D". Thanks for your help!

I have a workflow of sorts where I model 3D objects and then use the Extract Tool to grab 2D surfaces for a CNC machine. Typically I can use the Extract Surface Mode with "Create Planar Objects" checked. Then I can interact with these 2D surfaces as necessary. Clip or Add surfaces for example. Recently I've been running into an issue where the objects/polygons I extract end up on the "3D Plane" in the object info palette rather that the "Layer Plane". This prevents me from using other 2D polygons to modify the ones I've extracted. If I try to switch the extracted polygons from the 3D to Planar, they just"disappear". Even if everything is on the same Layer and Class. I swear I wasn't having this issue like last week. I'm not sure if I've changed something or what is going on. Brief google searches weren't very helpful with this issue. If anyone has any insight I appreciate it.

Is it possible to use the Create Multiple Viewports command to create said viewports on a sheet layer I've already created? At the moment I don't believe this is possible. The command automatically creates a new sheet layer that I then have to edit and format after the fact. I have a template file I start drafting with that has a variety of pre-formatted sheet layers already in it. Various sizes and title blocks ready to go. It would be awesome if I could use the Create Multiple Viewports command to create the viewports on one of my pre-existing sheet layers. Is there something I'm missing or is this a wishlist request?

Pretty crafty idea Pat. Oddly enough I gave it a go and did not find anything listed as "Drawing Label 2". I did have success with my "final" option. I created a new file from my 2025 version template and imported my layers from the file I was having issue with. Had no problems with my drawing labels afterwards. The issue in the other previous file is still there however. I'm running out the door but I'll dig into a bit more tomorrow. As always, thanks for your help!

Hey all. After updating to Vectorworks 2025 I'm getting an error with the Drawing Label Tool. The error reads "The Format for Parametric Objects named "Drawing Label2" cannot be imported because a NURBS Surface with that name already exists in the current document. The entire operation is canceled." Though I'm not sure how to resolve the issue there are three things I can think of that might cause it. 1. I may have started this project from a template file I created in the 2024 version. 2. I may have imported symbols I created in the 2024 version that carried drawing labels with them. 3. I may have imported/copied a drawing label originally created in the 2024 version into my 2025 file. I've attempted to remove anything in the file from the resource manager that had a drawing label with it, refreshed libraries, and closed/reopened Vectorworks to no avail. Any insight here is appreciated. I could attempt to create a new file from my template (now saved via 2025 for sure) and import my layers from the current drawing. I fear I will have the same issue.

Evening all. Usually my issues arise from bringing in AutoCAD files into Vectorworks. My co-worker however uses AutoCAD and we get files from designers using Vectorworks frequently enough. So far we typically divy up the drafting between the two of us and he has had his methods of exporting from Vectorworks into AutoCAD. Today we got a relatively simple design that utilized a handful of stock vectorworks symbols, walls drawn with the wall tool, windows/doors in the same fashion, and some pipe/drape. Simply exporting the design from Vectorworks as a .dwg/dxf and opening in AutoCAD turns all of the above into 2D vectors only. Anything drawn "from scratch" such as extrudes maintains its 3D geometry. Is this just how it is or is there any means of transferring the 3D geometry from symbols or even just walls/doors/windows from Vectorworks to AutoCAD? I'm really only asking from a place of curiosity as a quick google search didn't give me much to go on. I've worked with AutoCAD more in the past but primarily stick to Vectorworks given the position I'm currently in.

I've got a DWG file containing various 2D views of a set for a theatrical production. Plan View, Side Views, etc. When I import this into Vectorworks it brings in 184,188 objects. This really slows things down. I've looked into a few things I can do on the vectorworks side to alleviate this issue. A suggestion from 2019 was to enable "Unified View" but this is buried in 2D legacy settings at this point. What I did do reset the User Origin to Internal Origin, Imported as 2D only, and put everything imported via DWG into various groups. Doing this seems to have helped a bit but not by much. The only thing that did help was deleting a bunch of "stuff" from the DWG that I did not specially need for the time being. I would eventually have to go back for this information, deleting other objects to compensate. This can be incredibly tedious. I've tried importing the DWG normally and as a reference, both having the same results listed above. The machine I work on here has no issues with Vectorworks files of similar size/detail in both 2D and 3D. I've drafted a handful myself that are more complex. They likely just don't end up containing 184,188 objects. If I open the DWG in AutoCAD I have zero issues with it. Pan, Zoom, pretty much every command reacts at the speeds I would expect. I'm less familiar with AutoCAD and I'm wondering if any one has a means of simplifying the file prior to import to minimize the number of object imported. It seems as if Vectorworks is breaking every curved line into hundreds or thousands of arcs. All I really need is the various layouts to scale with general snap points remaining. I'm more often than not redrawing 90% of the design. I do occasionally pull vectors directly from the imported file to cut on our CNC machine. Maybe this is more of an AutoCAD question? Maybe it's a workflow question. Maybe I need to learn more of AutoCAD as well? Regardless it would be really nice to just import this stuff into Vectorworks and run with it rather than jump through a handful of hoops. Thanks

I've drafted a lighting plot using primarily hanging positions but a few simple lighting pipes as well. In creating a top/plan view in a viewport, it looks great. My hanging positions, lighting pipes and lighting device symbols show up as desired in a wireframe rendering. In an ideal world, I'd like to use the same model to create a side view in on a second sheet. In doing so, everything shows up as 3D models. Not unexpected, this is what how it's worked for every other thing I've modeled and plotted. In recognizing this eventuality, I ended up coming across a webinar for Schematic Views. It seems like eventually, I would want to figure it all out and be able to use one master 3D model/LX Plot to create every viewport I need. In the meantime, is there a "shortcut" or a few direct steps I could take to use what I have as a side view in a viewport and preserve the depictions of lighting devices, lighting pipes, etc that I see in a top/plan view? Without totally figuring out the Schematic Views, my temporary solution might be to draft a secondary "side" view of my model on another layer in top/plan. Essentially as if you would sketch two separate plots on paper. Perhaps this is the way it would be done without using Schematic Views?

Thanks Mark, this was exactly the issue I was facing. In doing some further digging I just realized I was watching your amazing webinar on Schematic Views. Really incredible stuff and the capabilities Vectorworks has for lighting design is immense. I wanted to ask a general follow-up question and in some way I'm sure it relates to the aforementioned webinar. Some of what you went over is still a little confusing to me, not because of a lack of clarity on your end, only because it's just a lot of information. I've drafted a lighting plot using primarily hanging positions but a few simple lighting pipes as well. In creating a top/plan view in a viewport, it looks great. My hanging positions, lighting pipes and lighting device symbols show up as desired in a wireframe rendering. In an ideal world, I'd like to use the same model to create a side view in on a second sheet. In doing so, everything shows up as 3D models. Not unexpected, this is what how it's worked for every other thing I've modeled and plotted. In recognizing this eventuality, I ended up coming across your webinar for Schematic Views. It seems like eventually, I would want to figure it all out and be able to use one master 3D model/LX Plot to create every viewport I need. In the meantime, is there a "shortcut" or a few direct steps I could take to use what I have as a side view in a viewport and preserve the depictions of lighting devices, lighting pipes, etc that I see in a top/plan view? Without totally figuring out the Schematic Views, my temporary solution might be to draft a secondary "side" view of my model on another layer in top/plan. Essentially as if you would sketch two separate plots on paper. Perhaps this is the way it would be done without using Schematic Views? I'll eventually get around to figuring out everything in your Webinar. For now I kinda need a simpler solution, even if it's redrafting a second "side" view.

Hey all, Step by step, what I'm trying to do is the following. 1. Create an extrude from a 2" circle to represent a lighting pipe 2. Draw a 2" rectangle over the top for 2D geometery 3. Group the 3D extrude and 2D rectangle together 4. Convert this group into a hanging position This all essentially works but when I go to hang a lighting device, it defaults to one side of the pipe or the other. The light does not hang on the center of the pipe as it would if I had just used the lighting pipe tool. Is there something I'm missing? I'm attempting to do this as some of the lighting pipes I want to create eventually aren't simply straight pipes. They have vertical uprights that offset and secure them underneath a catwalk for example. It's all welded together as a single unit. For the time being I can just keep the piping separate, combining sections of pipe via the lighting pipe tool. I'm just curious as what I might be doing wrong above as the steps seem to line up with various tutorials I've watched.