Switching from Revit to Vectorworks - can I set up VW to work like Revit?

[Abigail_]

I learnt and used Revit at uni and now have my first job, but the firm uses Vectorworks. There are so many VW features I love, because they take things that were needlessly complicated in Revit, and make it simple. Other aspects seem messy, and it's probably because of the way I'm approaching VW. I've heard there are multiple ways to get the same outcome in VW, so I'm guessing a person coming from a Sketchup background would use VW differently from a person coming from a Revit background.

 

I'm looking for other VW users who learnt Revit first, to see what tutorials they found most useful for making the switch. Haven't found a video on switching from Revit to Vectorworks either, only people importing Revit files into VW which is not what I'm after...cheers.

[Jeff Prince]

12 hours ago, Abigail_ said:

I learnt and used Revit at uni and now have my first job, but the firm uses Vectorworks. There are so many VW features I love, because they take things that were needlessly complicated in Revit, and make it simple. Other aspects seem messy, and it's probably because of the way I'm approaching VW. I've heard there are multiple ways to get the same outcome in VW, so I'm guessing a person coming from a Sketchup background would use VW differently from a person coming from a Revit background.

 

I'm looking for other VW users who learnt Revit first, to see what tutorials they found most useful for making the switch. Haven't found a video on switching from Revit to Vectorworks either, only people importing Revit files into VW which is not what I'm after...cheers.

 

Get on Vectorworks University, take the getting started course or Learning Track appropriate to your industry. This will be time well spent on getting you thinking like Vectorworks instead of trying to make Vectorworks behave like other programs, especially the basic stuff like organization, snapping, viewports, etc.

 

You'll soon figure out that the process of defining say a building is pretty much the same, the organization of a file and specific buttons you push to make something are just a little different.  As a 20 year veteran of the AutoCAD, and later Revit... I would say you are pretty lucky to have far less to unlearn 🙂  Pretty much everyone I know who started with Autodesk products and moved to Vectorworks has a bit of frustration initially.  It is like you have been air dropped into a foreign country with no knowledge of the local language and customs.  You'll get over the initial shock if you keep an open mind and ask your colleagues in the office for some direction, especially in regards to office standards and practices.

 

Vectorworks is increasingly moving toward Object Styles which governs how things are defined... walls, slabs, roofs, drawing annoations, etc.  Styles are essentially the equivalent of Revit families.  I bet your office has some templates and standards that will help you determine the differences too.  Just ask someone at your firm to explain how they prefers to build a wall style and a slab style in Vectorworks and you'll quickly start to understand the differences.  Then ask them how the firm deals with buildings with multiple floors and how they prefer to define the wall heights (by Design Layer attributes, Stories, or directly).  Once you know how they want you to set up a multistory building and how the object styles are to behave, the rest will be much easier.  I keep saying ask someone at your firm because complying with their methods is probably your easiest path initially.  Regardless of your software platform, every firm has their own unique way of doing things.  Compare that against the methods taught on Vectorworks University and you will have a well rounded transition.

[Guest Wes Gardner]

@Abigail_ , I think Jeff Prince offers some very good suggestions.  Consider the use of templates as well as styled elements.  You might also read "Model Set-Up" that's pinned to the top of the Architecture section here on the forum...you can then compare that with "No Stories, No Problem" to help you gain an understanding of how and why you may consider using or not using these elements.  Keep in mind that CLASSES are all about the attributes of an object - be it 2D or 3D - line weight, color, texture, hatch.  And please, don't be afraid to post up here if something isn't working out for you - there are some very bright folks who can help clarify concepts.

 

Welcome to the community!

 

Wes

[bcd]

On 9/15/2021 at 4:37 AM, Abigail_ said:

but the firm uses Vectorworks

 

First study the existing implementation in the firm and if you can augment that with your Revit wisdom or indeed your curiosity of the power of Vectorworks then go for it.

You'll probably find that the existing users have considered and resolved many of the questions you have.

That being said -having background in another software is very valuable in staying open and enthusiastic when learning something new.

[DBrown]

On 9/15/2021 at 4:37 AM, Abigail_ said:

I learnt and used Revit at uni and now have my first job, but the firm uses Vectorworks. There are so many VW features I love, because they take things that were needlessly complicated in Revit, and make it simple. Other aspects seem messy, and it's probably because of the way I'm approaching VW. I've heard there are multiple ways to get the same outcome in VW, so I'm guessing a person coming from a Sketchup background would use VW differently from a person coming from a Revit background.

 

I'm looking for other VW users who learnt Revit first, to see what tutorials they found most useful for making the switch. Haven't found a video on switching from Revit to Vectorworks either, only people importing Revit files into VW which is not what I'm after...cheers.

Great comment, most of the new people we have in the office complain that Vectorworks is like a beta version of Revit...