Jump to content

Setting Elevation Benchmarks


DM20

Recommended Posts

Hello,

 

I am new to Vectorworks (coming from a Revit and CAD background) and I'm wondering whether there is a way to set elevation benchmarks in a Vectorworks model once and have them appear in all section and elevation viewports. This seems like a pretty standard BIM feature but so far haven't been able to figure it out for Vectorworks. For now I've been setting them manually in each of my section and elevation viewports.

 

Any help would be appreciated!

Link to comment

As folks have pointed out, the elevation benchmark is the tool that sort of does this.  It seems to get weird graphically when used directly in design layers (I was just messing with it yesterday).  It definitely doesn't work the way you think it should if you've used the equivalent Revit tool.

Link to comment

Thanks for the input, everyone.

 

3 minutes ago, nrkuhl said:

As folks have pointed out, the elevation benchmark is the tool that sort of does this.  It seems to get weird graphically when used directly in design layers (I was just messing with it yesterday).  It definitely doesn't work the way you think it should if you've used the equivalent Revit tool.

 

nrkuhl - this is more so what I was trying to get at with my initial question. I don't find setting them in the design layer very helpful. I appreciate the Revit benchmark tool because if you change the elevation in one view, it automatically updates in whatever other view that benchmark elevation appears in... very handy.

Link to comment

Yeah, I've been setting one reference elevation in the design layer that sits on my first finished floor.  I then manually draw the markers I want in elevation viewports, and set their control points to land on my reference marker.  It's not great.

 

I haven't messed with using them in design layers extensively, so there might be a way to get them to work, but they'd only show properly when your view is to the same view you set them in or the mirrored elevation.

Link to comment

 

6 hours ago, JMR said:

I've been trying to accomplish auto-updating elevation benchmarks, too. How does one create one so that it's attached to a roof/eave height, for example. Is there a way? Mine won't auto-update if they are in the viewports.

 

From what I hear there isn't a way to do this in Vectorworks, yet. Or else I haven't discovered it yet... I agree, it would be nice if the benchmarks could be linked/attached to the stories so if you change a story elevation, the benchmarks automatically move with it and auto-update when the viewport is updated. 

Link to comment
On 10/6/2017 at 7:32 AM, DM20 said:

 

 

From what I hear there isn't a way to do this in Vectorworks, yet. Or else I haven't discovered it yet... I agree, it would be nice if the benchmarks could be linked/attached to the stories so if you change a story elevation, the benchmarks automatically move with it and auto-update when the viewport is updated. 

 

If you place them on a design layer they will update - they just won't look right in all (any) views.  That's why I'm currently using the mixed workflow I described earlier. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
19 minutes ago, nrkuhl said:

 

If you place them on a design layer they will update - they just won't look right in all (any) views.  That's why I'm currently using the mixed workflow I described earlier. 

 

 

Yes, your method makes sense. I was just hoping the tool was more streamlined. I can set my benchmarks in the design layers but they don't look right in all views, as you mentioned. And if I set my benchmark to, for example, Top of Slab and then I later change the height of the slab, the benchmark doesn't follow it. I have to go back and change it manually.

 

Edited by DM20
Link to comment
16 minutes ago, DM20 said:

 

 

Yes, your method makes sense. I was just hoping the tool was more streamlined. I can set my benchmarks in the design layers but they don't look right in all views, as you mentioned. And if I set my benchmark to, for example, Top of Slab and then I later change the height of the slab, the benchmark doesn't follow it. I have to go back and change it manually.

 

 

Yeah, I've found the supposedly associative objects work intermittently at best (dimensions seem somewhat randomly associative.)

Link to comment
  • 1 month later...
On 12/7/2017 at 2:51 PM, theodor said:

How do you set the reference point?

 

Hi Theodor,

 

Do you mean how do you use the benchmark tool? Benchmarks can be set in the design layers or in viewports on sheet layers. I prefer setting them in the viewports because I find it easier to control which views they appear in. In any case, the tool itself is pretty straightforward:

 

http://app-help.vectorworks.net/2018/eng/VW2018_Guide/Annotation/Creating_Elevation_Benchmarks.htm

 

Once you set your benchmarks, you can edit the information (title, text style, title position, etc.) in the Object Information Palette.

 

Cheers

Link to comment

Ah, okay. If you are setting your elevation benchmarks in your viewports, you can either set your benchmark preferences or select each benchmark individually and set the elevation display (in your Object Info Palette) to "Y value relative to reference elevation". The reference elevation is default set to 0" (but you can set this to whatever you like - also in the Object Info Palette) so it'll measure the benchmark off of that point. If you want to measure everything from your ground floor, I'd suggest setting the reference elevation to whatever elevation your ground floor is at. If you're setting your benchmarks in the design layers, set the elevation display to "Z value relative to reference elevation."

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

Link to comment
  • 10 months later...

Hello, There is something with this tool I don't understand.

 

The origin of the sheet layer seems to effect the bench mark tool when in  "Y value relative to reference elevation" mode ??? 

 

So, If I have a line in the design space at y = 10,000. In the design layer, the benchmark tool when on "Y value relative to reference elevation" mode, outputs 10,000,  as one would expect.

But, make a viewport to that line in a sheet layer, and if the origin of that sheet layer is not on 0,0, it impacts the bench mark tool output when on "Y value relative to reference elevation" mode???????????

 

Why would it do this? I can see perfectly how changing the origin in the design layer would rightfully change the Y reading, but not the origin of the sheet layer sheet layer? Surely this is irrelevant to geometry I have placed in the design layer. I did not even realise the sheet layers can have their own origins? took me ages to find the reason 

 

I would have thought, to maintain consistent benchmark reading across viewports in multiple sheets, the benchmark tool ought really only care about the Y value of the design layer(s)  the viewport (s) are looking at?

 

image.thumb.png.67265db9281a03a2629b423778c65474.png

 

 

See above how the origin of my sheet layer has some how shifted to y=-85, which is why my bench marks were 85mm out?

 

This is really curious to me, and my worry here is seeing as I don't how my sheet layer origins jumped out in the first place, this means it could happen again, and this would throw out the benchmarks on that sheet, even though the geometry in the design layers has never moved.

 

Whats the story here?

 

Am I using this tool incorrectly?

 

Thanks

 

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...