Layers, layers all around...

[mpkeane]

I'm new at VW and feeling my way through the "layers." I think this is one, very basic, area that is poorly presented in the manuals and tutorials. Design Layers, Sheet Layers, Viewports.... their various purposes and uses are not well described.

If I understand things correctly, Design Layers are for, just that, designing. When you want to print out presentation sheets, however, then you are supposed to make a Sheet Layer (with Border, Title Block, etc) and "import" the things you have designed into the Sheet Layer using Viewports.

Why not just design in a Design Layer, add a border and title block, and print out from that design layer? What's the advantage of importing things through Viewports in Sheet Layers?

Slightly confused.

Marc

[panthony]

Marc,

This is all about data storage and retrieval. In all database environments the key is to store all similar but unique information in such a way that you have access to mutliple instances of varied data to report(output) the information in way that is understandable an logical to the market.

To put it in VW terms....

1.) Classes are at the bottom

2.) Design Layers contain classes

....Thats it! Now build your model...The design layers contain the elevation "Z" height data and each desing layer contains multiple classes. All the model data gets organized in the proper place and easy to retrieve.

3.) Viewports...These are snapshots of multiple design layers with their visible(or not) classes.

4.) Sheets...contain the multiple viewports(the snapshots)...this gives you the ability to report your model in multiple views.

5.) Saved views are just that....quick ways to move around in your model based on remembering where you were at the time of the save and take you back there again and again.

Here is the cool part...

Sheets are rooms filled with file cabinets(design layers) that are filled with drawers of folders(classes)...So with all the organization I have access to all the information and can assemble it to suit my creative need.

Once you get the organization down you have control over your data. You have to get your arms around the tiered hierarchy levels of data. It looks complex when you first get into VW using the defaults....I would suggest starting with a blank document and build your own data...start small with (5) classes, (3) layers, a sheet and (2) viewports....then mess with that until you master it.

Remember you are smarter than the computer which is just a couple million switches....just figure out what switches to flip and you will conquer and destroy.

Pete A.

P.S. I talk too much

[P Retondo]

Why not just design in a Design Layer, add a border and title block, and print out from that design layer?

Marc, you can do that. That's the way things worked in VW before the recent advent of sheet layers and viewports.

Sheet layers and viewports offer some advantages, and for reasons known only to VectorWorks engineers, the advantages were built into the program in the form you are now puzzling over.

Sheet layers: where we used to plot from selected multiple superimposed layers, we can now plot from a single sheet layer containing one or more viewports. This allows better control over print setup and target resolution.

Viewports: allow a cropped or clipped view into one or more layers. We used to have to create a mask to show only part of a layer on the sheet. Viewports have a lot of other nifty advantages, such as easier management of scale, layer and class visibilities, and probably more I'm not thinking of at the moment.

Bottom line: we used to be able to do almost all these things without Sheet Layers and Viewports, using the simpler method you suggest - it just took more effort. Now, it takes more reading to understand how to do it, but it takes less time after you've mastered the details.

[mpkeane]

Pete;

Thanks so much. That goes a long way to explaining what VW is all about.

Marc