Custom accessories and the Symbol Key problems

[tomhill10]

Hi all,

 

I have created my own fixture and a few accessories to attach. It has gone quite well however I believe I am missing some key steps. I have followed the guidance on creating custom fixtures from the help website. 

 

The S60 fixtures are native to vectorworks and therefore work properly when being displayed in the equipment summary tool. As you can see when selecting both "use plug in objects" and "use equipment symbols" they display as desired.

 

The fixtures I have created, the 5000bs, seem to display the entire head as well as the attachment when the "equipment symbols" option is used. I believe this is because the guidance suggests you drop the symbol of the fixture into the accessory 3D in order to line it up properly in both the 3D and 2D space. 

 

It also displays the head ONLY when using the "use plug in objects" option. As if it is not detecting the different instances of the accessories.

 

Really I have two problems. 

1 - For plug in objects: Why does the summary tool not detect the different attachments properly for the lighting device

2 - For equipment symbols: How can I build the accessory and get it to properly line up with the custom fixture without having the fixture embedded in the accessory 

 

File and picture is attached. File is VWX 2026.

 

Thanks for your help, Tom.

 

 

Summary key problem.vwx

[Scott C. Parker]

6 hours ago, tomhill10 said:

I have created my own fixture and a few accessories to attach. It has gone quite well however I believe I am missing some key steps

You're doing good work. A couple of things I've found and fixed in the attached file for you to play with.

1. Your custom symbols need to be rotated in 2D to point up instead of down. This should fix the alignment issues.
2. You may need to rotate the units in 3D as well so when you use the Tilt field in the OIP, the unit tilts the lens up and forward instead of backwards.
3. The accessory symbols include a copy of the actual lighting symbol. The accessory should contain only the accessory, not the symbol it's attached to.Summary key problem SCP.vwx

Let us know if this fixes your issues, and keep up the good work.

[tomhill10]

Hi Scott,

Thanks for the information — that’s really helpful. I’ve applied the same logic to a few other symbols I’m working on, and it seems to have resolved the issues.

 

Just as a note, the help site (https://app-help.vectorworks.net/2025/eng/VW2025_Guide/LightingDesign2/Workflow_Creating_accessory_symbol_definitions.htm#h2) suggests inserting the head symbols themselves into the accessory to get the correct orientation. From what I’ve found, that might be a bit misleading regarding the best practice.

 

That’s just my personal experience — I’ll leave it to you and the team to decide if it’s something that needs updating.

 

Thanks again for your help,
Tom

[Scott C. Parker]

2 hours ago, tomhill10 said:

that might be a bit misleading regarding

Could you do me a favor and send me a screenshot of the wording on the page? The page has so much, I want to make sure I focus on what you're seeing. Thanks.

[tomhill10]

Of course:

 

To define the accessory's default insertion point:

Select the new accessory symbol and select Modify > Edit Symbol.

Click the Symbol Insertion tool, and then click Active Symbol Def and select a lighting device to use as the layout symbol.

Click to place the layout symbol in the Edit Symbol window.

On the Object Info palette, set the X/Y/Zposition of the layout symbol to 0,0,0.

The layout symbol must have a Light Info Record attached with a Device Type other than Accessory or Static Accessory, or else it will be considered part of the accessory geometry. To attach the Light Info Record, see Attaching the Light Info Record and EntEquipUniversal record.

Use the Selection tool to position the accessory as desired on the layout symbol.

By default, accessories attach to the front of a lighting device. To attach the accessory to the back of a lighting device instead, send the layout symbol to the front of the stacking order in Top/Plan view; see Changing object stacking order.

Click Exit Symbol at the upper right corner of the window to return to the drawing.

[Scott C. Parker]

On 11/12/2025 at 12:30 PM, tomhill10 said:

To define the accessory's default insertion point:

Thanks. We've added a line to the next version of the help file for 2026 advising to remove the reference symbol before saving the accessory symbol. Thanks for the heads up.

[markdd]

The trouble with telling users to remove the reference symbol before making an Equipment summary is that the accessories that are added to lighting devices will move back to their default positions. 
 

Surely a better solution would be to give the Equipment Summary the wherewithal to know which objects represent is the accessory  geometry and which represent the Reference symbol. 

[Scott C. Parker]

14 minutes ago, markdd said:

remove the reference symbol before making an Equipment summary

I'm not sure we're speaking apples-to-apples here. The line is being added to a set of instructions on building an accessory symbol in the help file. When I removed the reference symbol from the example file supplied, the key displayed the accessory symbols as desired. 

[markdd]

On 11/12/2025 at 5:30 PM, tomhill10 said:

To define the accessory's default insertion point:

Select the new accessory symbol and select Modify > Edit Symbol.

Click the Symbol Insertion tool, and then click Active Symbol Def and select a lighting device to use as the layout symbol.

Click to place the layout symbol in the Edit Symbol window.

On the Object Info palette, set the X/Y/Zposition of the layout symbol to 0,0,0.

The layout symbol must have a Light Info Record attached with a Device Type other than Accessory or Static Accessory, or else it will be considered part of the accessory geometry. To attach the Light Info Record, see Attaching the Light Info Record and EntEquipUniversal record.

Use the Selection tool to position the accessory as desired on the layout symbol.

By default, accessories attach to the front of a lighting device. To attach the accessory to the back of a lighting device instead, send the layout symbol to the front of the stacking order in Top/Plan view; see Changing object stacking order.

Click Exit Symbol at the upper right corner of the window to return to the drawing.

Hi Scott - I was referring to reference symbols inside accessory symbols. These are used to define non-standard placement of accessories to Lighting Devices. For instance, an iris fitted to a Lustr would usually be shown at the gate position. However, the Accessory tool will insert it at the front of a Lighting Device by default unless the user adds a reference symbol to the Accessory, which will define the automatic placement position. It is this reference symbol that shows up in the Equipment Summary which most users do not want to see.

 

The suggested new line in the help file would advise users to remove the reference symbol which will mean that when the reference symbol is removed, the already placed accessories will revert to the default position at the front of the lighting device. Currently, the only foolproof way of using accessories alongside the Equipment Summary Key (that  have found) is to make all custom placements manually using the 'Edit Accessories and Hardware' button found in the Object Information Palette of the Lighting device. 

 

It would be ideal if the Equipment Summary object could filter out reference symbol geometry and just show the Accessory geometry.

 

I've attached a file that will show the problem if the reference symbol is removed.
 

Accessory conundrum.vwx

Edited November 14, 2025 by markdd