Teaser Tuesday is Back: Get Your First Look at Vectorworks 2026!

[JuanP]

It’s that time of year again! We are keeping the tradition alive, but with a change: this year’s teasers go beyond quick previews and give you more in-depth insight into the new features. Take a look and let us know what you think!

 

We are starting with Door and Window Assemblies in Vectorworks 2026

 

 

 

[zoomer]

Hmmh, I watched the whole Video but now I'm confused nevertheless.

 

Rotate an Assembly's Frame/Jamb element at a Door and it will translate the Door and neighbors to a Panel instead, but doing the same thing at a Window will let it stay a Window which I can not imagine to work when opened (?) or was that a simple Glazing ?

 

 

 

Besides the useful Assembly - are there any improvements to Windows and Doors itself ?

 

Like Window Sills, Jamb/Sash Profiles, did Doors/Windows, inserted into Curtain Walls, get their Jambs back already, ... and such things ?

Edited August 19, 2025 by zoomer

[Matt Panzer]

34 minutes ago, zoomer said:

Hmmh, I watched the whole Video but now I'm confused nevertheless.

 

Rotate an Assembly's Frame/Jamb element at a Door and it will translate the Door and neighbors to a Panel instead, but doing the same thing at a Window will let it stay a Window which I can not imagine to work when opened (?) or was that a simple Glazing ?

 

Right.  In the case of a window becoming non-rectangular, it will change to a "Fixed Glass" configuration.

 

34 minutes ago, zoomer said:

Besides the useful Assembly - are there any improvements to Windows and Doors itself ?

Like Window Sills, Jamb/Sash Profiles, did Doors/Windows, inserted into Curtain Walls, get their Jambs back already, ... and such things ?

 

The Door and Window Assemblies task was a huge undertaking and took significant resources to implement. That aside, we can't talk about other improvements yet anyway.  This is a teaser after all. 😉 

[zoomer]

30 minutes ago, Matt Panzer said:

The Door and Window Assemblies task was a huge undertaking and took significant resources to implement.

 

That's what I thought too.

Looks quite complex.

 

30 minutes ago, Matt Panzer said:

That aside, we can't talk about other improvements yet anyway.  This is a teaser after all. 😉 

 

Totally OK.

No hurry from my side.

[pschlie]

So basically it enables the creation of window/door groups, which may or not be useful as that's not how door and windows are typically constructed, mounted nor shipped, nor should such arbitrary groups be considered likely capable of supporting the loads required if inserted into a load bearing wall; so basically it's a graphical novelty, not really something useful if designing something meant to actually be constructed it seems?

 

[rDesign]

11 minutes ago, pschlie said:

So basically it enables the creation of window/door groups, which may or not be useful as that's not how door and windows are typically constructed, mounted nor shipped, nor should such arbitrary groups be considered likely capable of supporting the loads required if inserted into a load bearing wall; so basically it's a graphical novelty, not really something useful if designing something meant to actually be constructed it seems?

Not entirely true. In my experience, what they are demonstrating with the new tool does represent some common construction methods with door & window openings. I have often specified two factory standard windows mulled together (either field-mulled or factory-mulled), so this new Assembly tool could represent that condition more accurately than previously. 
 

Hopefully the typical Door and Window Tools also get some attention & updating in 2026: I’m looking at you, window sill & door threshold.

[Tom W.]

33 minutes ago, pschlie said:

So basically it enables the creation of window/door groups, which may or not be useful as that's not how door and windows are typically constructed, mounted nor shipped, nor should such arbitrary groups be considered likely capable of supporting the loads required if inserted into a load bearing wall; so basically it's a graphical novelty, not really something useful if designing something meant to actually be constructed it seems?

 

I disagree. We can now do in VW what was previously only possible using WinDoor i.e. door/window combos. Plus since when were doors/windows required to be load-bearing?

[zoomer]

26 minutes ago, rDesign said:

some common construction methods with door & window openings. I have often specified two factory standard windows mulled together

 

Here too.

Either something like a Window row, like a Curtain Wall in a Wall or some Window pair to a terrace.

(Is it really a Door, as you can walk through it - although its details look nearly identical as the Window beside)

 

And combining such openings, having different heights, with shim gaps to the Wall but not between them, creates some issues with Wall Closures .....

So if Assembly offer some more control ....

Edited August 19, 2025 by zoomer

[Christiaan]

27 minutes ago, rDesign said:

Not entirely true.

I think the expression you were looking for was, "entirely untrue."

[Christiaan]

43 minutes ago, pschlie said:

So basically it enables the creation of window/door groups, which may or not be useful as that's not how door and windows are typically constructed, mounted nor shipped,

Not sure which market segment you work in, but these types of assemblies are extremely common throughout all projects I work on.

 

43 minutes ago, pschlie said:

nor should such arbitrary groups be considered likely capable of supporting the loads required if inserted into a load bearing wall

That's what lintels are for.
 

43 minutes ago, pschlie said:

so basically it's a graphical novelty, not really something useful if designing something meant to actually be constructed it seems?

Couldn't be further from the truth. This was actually my number one wish. And they went much further than I had hoped.
https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/topic/49369-ability-to-configure-doorwindow-assemblies/

 

[Christopher Rowe]

This new capability seems to eliminate the need for workarounds in cases where we want a panel between two separate windows to have a different finish than the main wall in elevation but also show up in plan as the same wall assembly. Maybe someone knows a better way to do this but we wind up just overlaying a solid object on the exterior of the wall - a pretty crude solution. This need has nothing to do with the way windows are manufactured or shipped or installed. A a nice improvement to the BIM workflow.

 

 

[pschlie]

I stand corrected; however it remains unclear to me how such a capability is generally useful unless the specified assembly closely corresponds to that which can be sourced by some manufacturer (who presumably ideally defines the characteristics of sub-components from which the assembly is comprised), as absent this it just seemingly yields a pretty picture which may alternately be approximated by piecing together a group of objects placed in/on a wall as can be done presently; or is the argument that some want to replicate such a bespoke group of objects so often that being able to create such a group for reuse is profound (although it may not closely correspond to what which may be procured, or alternatively it's simply presumed all such assemblies will be custom manufactured upon demand)?

[rDesign]

10 minutes ago, pschlie said:

I stand corrected; however it remains unclear to me how such a capability is generally useful unless the specified assembly closely corresponds to that which can be sourced by some manufacturer (who presumably ideally defines the characteristics of sub-components from which the assembly is comprised), as absent this it just seemingly yields a pretty picture which may alternately be approximated by piecing together a group of objects placed in/on a wall as can be done presently; or is the argument that some want to replicate such a bespoke group of objects so often that being able to create such a group for reuse is profound (although it may not closely correspond to what which may be procured, or alternatively it's simply presumed all such assemblies will be custom manufactured upon demand)?

 

Take a look at THIS page from Andersen Windows on combining standard windows together. Most (if not all) window manufacturers provide similar factory- or field-mulling functionality: it is very common.

Edited August 19, 2025 by rDesign

[Matt Overton]

Looks amazing. 🤩 a true successor to windoor. 

[Sbd]

Yeah, can't wait. Looks pretty awesome.

[MarcelP102]

Looks really awesome! Also the ui of the worksheet looks great.

[Tom W.]

6 hours ago, pschlie said:

I stand corrected; however it remains unclear to me how such a capability is generally useful unless the specified assembly closely corresponds to that which can be sourced by some manufacturer (who presumably ideally defines the characteristics of sub-components from which the assembly is comprised), as absent this it just seemingly yields a pretty picture which may alternately be approximated by piecing together a group of objects placed in/on a wall as can be done presently; or is the argument that some want to replicate such a bespoke group of objects so often that being able to create such a group for reuse is profound (although it may not closely correspond to what which may be procured, or alternatively it's simply presumed all such assemblies will be custom manufactured upon demand)?

 

Velfac is another one that we use:

[Ross Harris]

I'll bet money we still can't do a config like This, which is common config in these parts. Windoor is still the better tool for getting the sills right and general congs and sills correct to this part of the world - which is a fight in the standard window and door tools. 

I'd hoped this would be a new tool that would dispense with the hangups and super complicated dialogs of the old tools,but just looks like a tool that mashes the window and doors together with a few additional tricks. Not to belittle the hard work that's gone into this, as an end user having to replace Windoor with this and the foibles of the standard doors and windows is not ideal.

[Sbd]

Well Well, look at this!

Ok, any takers to guessing what format and printing tabs do? Taking bets. Find out next Tuesday? 😂

 

 

[rDesign]

46 minutes ago, Sbd said:

Well Well, look at this!

Ok, any takers to guessing what format and printing tabs do? Taking bets. Find out next Tuesday? 😂

 

From this Vw2026 announcement page, which might give some additional hints:

 

Quote

Additionally, a new intuitive Worksheet interface that allows slicing and linking will provide speedier, complete page layout control of large reports.

[MarcelP102]

If you look closely you will see more new features as announced on the roadmap.

 

Worksheet Slicing dragers/hints:

 

Onscreen Control Redesign:

 

 

Edited August 21, 2025 by MarcelP102

[MaWi]

Such facades are possible with the new Assemblies! 😍

[fabrica]

does this also work with curved walls and bay windows? 

[zoomer]

9 hours ago, MarcelP102 said:

If you look closely you will see more

 

Now I am interested ....

 

 

 

Are these Wood Panels a Part/Component of the Wall to allow changes of Openings ?

 

(Not just Panel gaps done by Symbol in a Wall or manually arraying and cutting Panels. Like I tediously had to do so often in the past)

[Matt Panzer]

5 hours ago, fabrica said:

does this also work with curved walls and bay windows? 

 

Not yet.  The plan is to add support (in the near future) for Span Wall and Corner assemblies similar to that of the Window.  However, Only unit objects that support Span Wall and Corner options will work.  Of course, the Panel unit object would also support this and we do want to look into adding support for doors and other unit types in the future.  Adding support for curved walls (for assemblies that follow the curve) is also on the radar.  The first iteration of this would be to have straight segments (between vertical full height mullions of the assembly) follow the path of the wall.  So, we're not talking about curving frames and units along the path.