determin length of structural member in worksheet in Vectorworks?

[matteoluigi]

Hi, how can I determin the length of a structural member object in a Worksheet in VW?

='StructuralMember'.'CenterPointLength' -> result always 0.1

 

=length -> result always 0

 

what else can i do?

 

thanks (theres a vwx file attached as well)

 

structural member.zip

[Tobias Kern]

Hey Mateo,

 

please use this function:

=OBJECTDATA('member physical length')

 

Greetings from ComputerWorks Germany
Tobi

[matteoluigi]

merci!

[matteoluigi]

just, why the heck doesn't work a record format field? Maybe Objectdata is getting more and more the way to get objectdata, for worksheets, data tags and the datamanager... :-)

[zeno]

Previously, I saved the objects in symbols and extracted the x, y and z dimensions of the symbol from the Worksheet.

[zeno]

On 1/19/2026 at 2:34 PM, Tobias Kern said:

Hey Mateo,

 

please use this function:

=OBJECTDATA('member physical length')

 

Greetings from ComputerWorks Germany
Tobi

 

You saved my work for today. Thank you. BUT: from where you can put the value based to the menu criteria in the worksheet? 

 

Regards

[Tobias Kern]

Hey @zeno 

… sorry I do not understand?
What do you want to achieve?

 

=OBJECTDATA('member physical length')

… can be used in a data base row.

 

Greetings

Tobi

[Pat Stanford]

The Worksheet function reference says that you can use a Criteria in a spreadsheet cell with 'member physical length'.

 

=ObjectData(((N='MyObject')), 'member physical length')

 

Should return the lengths of a structural member named MyObject.  You can replace that criteria with any other you need.

[Pat Stanford]

But I should also say that I have not personally tried it.  🤞

[Tobias Kern]

@Pat Stanford

 

… it looks correct to me

tested:

=OBJECTDATA((C=none); 'member physical length')

… works in a spreadsheet cell

c = class

Greetings Tobi

[Ian M.]

I have a worksheet database that looks for Type is “Framing Member” and Layer is “2F”. The results show the rafters, purlins and ridge beams on my roof framing plan.

 

I am trying to find a formula that will show the total length of the rafter so that the right length of lumber can be ordered from the lumber yard. The Object Info palette offers “Span” and “Length” but these produce just the plan dimension of the member. I just put =OBJECTDATA('member physical length’) into my worksheet, but the result is “N/A”. I assume I am missing a step 🤨.

 

worksheet.pdfCriteria.pdf

 

I tried to create my own formula by adding the “Span”, “Bearing inset” and “Overhang” to get the “Adjacent” leg of the triangle, but when I asked Vectorworks for the cosine of the roof pitch, 18.43˚, the answer it gives is 0.915 (should be 0.947). For another rafter with a pitch of 14.04˚, Vectorworks says the cosine is 0.097, but my calculator suggests 0.97 which produces a very reasonable and pretty accurate rafter length of 12 feet rather than the 120 feet that Vectorworks is suggesting. Am I misunderstanding how Vectorworks presents angles and slopes?

Section.pdf

[Tom W.]

9 hours ago, Ian M. said:

I have a worksheet database that looks for Type is “Framing Member” and Layer is “2F”. The results show the rafters, purlins and ridge beams on my roof framing plan.

 

I am trying to find a formula that will show the total length of the rafter so that the right length of lumber can be ordered from the lumber yard. The Object Info palette offers “Span” and “Length” but these produce just the plan dimension of the member. I just put =OBJECTDATA('member physical length’) into my worksheet, but the result is “N/A”. I assume I am missing a step 🤨.

 

worksheet.pdf 2.1 MB · 2 downloads Criteria.pdf 61.64 kB · 2 downloads

 

I tried to create my own formula by adding the “Span”, “Bearing inset” and “Overhang” to get the “Adjacent” leg of the triangle, but when I asked Vectorworks for the cosine of the roof pitch, 18.43˚, the answer it gives is 0.915 (should be 0.947). For another rafter with a pitch of 14.04˚, Vectorworks says the cosine is 0.097, but my calculator suggests 0.97 which produces a very reasonable and pretty accurate rafter length of 12 feet rather than the 120 feet that Vectorworks is suggesting. Am I misunderstanding how Vectorworks presents angles and slopes?

Section.pdf 61.02 kB · 2 downloads

 

I'm confused. 'Length' should give you what you want. If you post a simple file it will be easier to see what's going on than looking at PDFs.

[michaelk]

It actually doesn't. It displays the plan length.  Not what you need to purchase.

 

The best way I've found to to it is to use the volume and divide by the dimensions of the framing.

 

So for a 2x12 rafter it would be (volume / (1.5+11.25)).  It's still a little wrong (it will be a little short)  because of the notch and the miters.  So you need to add a few percent on to that.  But it's close.
 

There is a field called Quantity Label that will say something like 2" x 12" x 10ft.  But that isn't really accurate.

[Tom W.]

What am I missing then?

 

 

Or is it when you add bearing inset + overhang that things go wrong?

[Tobias Kern]

@Tom W. and @Ian M.
 

"Framing Member" is not "Structural Member"

 

=OBJECTDATA('member physical length')

… works just for the "Structural Member"

Greetings
Tobi

[Ian M.]

17 hours ago, Tobias Kern said:

@Tom W. and @Ian M.
 

"Framing Member" is not "Structural Member"

 

=OBJECTDATA('member physical length')

… works just for the "Structural Member"

Greetings
Tobi

That's hysterical. I understand the distinction if it is an element in a non-loadbearing partition wall, but in my case they are roof rafters, which I would consider to be “structural members”. But now I know. Thank you for shining light on the world of Vectorworks nomenclature.

[E|FA]

10 minutes ago, Ian M. said:

Thank you for shining light on the world of Vectorworks nomenclature.

 

Structural Members & Framing Members are different Tools creating different Plug In Objects (PIO).  Also, you'll often see capitalization used on the Forum to indicate specific VW related nomenclature.