Drawing label tool does not work

[MGuilfoile]

I think this has been a problem for a while. I have a drawing that I forgot to add a drawing label to. I need the drawing name, scale, drawing number, sheet in the label. So, I go to the Drawing Label Tool, double click it to get the dialogue box and click the spot where it want it to go. Sigh. Nothing but a locus point. Here is what should happen: it should mimic exactly what I would have seen had I remembered to create a drawing label when I created the viewport. I should double-click on the tool, insert it while in the Annotations window, and continue working. Right now, it does not work as it should. It doesn't work at all. It doesn't seem to be a classes problem. Will this be fixed at some point? Are there any workarounds for this or yet another button I have neglected to tick?

Thanks for any help.

MH Brown

[Jesse Cogswell]

Which version of Vectorworks are you currently using?  Also, when you double-click on the tool, you'll get a dialog box of the Object Info Palette settings for the tool, what displays in the Style field?  Drawing Labels in VW have been made "styled" objects since 2021, so there should be a corresponding style in the Resource Manager.  If you're just getting a locus point, it's likely that the tool is not looking at the proper Style resource to pull geometry from.  What I would recommend doing is to open up the Resource Manager, navigate to the Vectorworks Library called Annotations - Drawing Label (styles) - Drawing Label.vwx.  Find the style that you want to use (Drawing Label - Dwg. Sht No.), and import it into your drawing in the folder Drawing Label Styles, then make sure that is what the Style drop-down menu in the OIP shows.  That being said, Vectorworks should automatically import the "default" style when you first run the tool in a drawing, so there's likely already a style in your Resource Manager.

 

Personally, I'm not a very big fan of the change to it being styled and prefer the older tool.  Good news for you is that the old tool is still in Vectorworks, and will work as before, but will not be able to be generated as part of Create Viewport (I prefer to generate my own anyway since I don't like where VW puts it).  To get the old Drawing Label tool into your workspace, follow these instructions:

1. Go to Tools - Workspaces - Edit Current Workspace to open the Workspace Editor
2. Go to the Tools tab.
3. In the box on the left, expand the category called Legacy
4. In the box on the right, expand the Toolsets - Dims/Notes toolset
5. Click and drag the Drawing Label (Old) plug-in from the box on the left to the desired toolset in the box on the right.
6. Click OK

[MGuilfoile]

I am using VW 2023.  Thank you for the tip. It sounds like VW made something easy and straightforward and over-complicated it. I feel that when a tool is activated it should work in a default manner that is consistent with what the tool represents. For example, if you select the rectangle tool, it should draw a rectangle of some sort. It doesn't really matter the size as long as there is positive feedback--"feedback," that is, that makes sense to the user. Selecting the drawing label tool and having it place a locus is negative feedback and is worse than having nothing at all. A locus is not a label. This is basic UI design, but it is often missing (looking at you, Adobe). Generally, VW is one of the best in not confusing the user, but this label change is a step backward from that.

 

But it's good to know the old one is there! Thank you!

 

MH Brown