GSG - Vectorworks Architect 2016 - 01 File and Document Setup Video Lecture | VectorWorks Architect: Become an Expert - Design Softwares

before we begin drafting let's take a
moment to set up our document this way
we can all start with the same baseline
first close any other Vectorworks files
you may have open then go to tools
options the Vectorworks preferences and
the Vectorworks preferences dialog box
choose the session tab and click the
reset saved Settings button be sure that
both options in the reset settings
dialog box are checked also choose the
3d tab and select wireframe for render
mode when changing from top plan to a 3d
view additionally select orthogonal for
projection when changing from a top plan
to a 3d view then click OK to close the
window now go to file new and choose
create blank document then click OK
to keep things organized we'll separate
our sketch from the layer we plan to use
for drafting to do this go to tools
organization and choose the design
layers tab select the existing design
layer design layer 1 and click the edit
button rename this layer from design
layer 1 to scan 1 also click the scale
button to change the layer scale from 1
to 1 to 1 to 50 and then click OK twice
to close the Edit design layers dialog
next click the new button to create the
second design layer this time name the
layer floor 1 and check the option edit
properties after creation
keep the layer scale at one 250
additionally input 10 feet 8 inches in
the layer wall height field now click OK
twice to close both windows
by setting this value any walls created
on floor one will have a default height
of 10 feet 8 inches last go to file page
setup uncheck show page breaks also
check the option choose size unavailable
in printer setup and set the size
drop-down menu to us arch D click OK to
close the page setup dialog click fit to
page in the view bar so that you're
centered on the drawing our setup is now
complete now we can start drafting
we will be working from a sketch of the
building to create the first and second
floor plans so we must import the
scanned PDF after we verify in the view
bar that the scan one layer is the
active layer now go to file import
import PDF choose the file scan floor 1
from your exercise folder and open it
click import from the import PDF dialog
you should now see the scanned PDF in
the drawing area currently if you are
trying to trace the sketch with the wall
tool you would find that the measurement
from the wall you are drawing does not
match the dimensions shown on the scan
fix this we must use the scale objects
command to scale all objects in the
drawing correctly
you only need one known length we'll use
the longest horizontal dimension at the
top of the page
so let's go to modify scale objects and
choose symmetric by distance click the
dimension button to the right of the
current distance field this will
temporarily switch you back to the
drawing so that you can measure the
current distance of your known length
point your cursor toward one of the end
points of the horizontal dimension then
press the Z key to evoke the snap loop
now that we have a clear view of the
intersection point click to set the
first point
then point your cursor at the opposite
end point of the dimension and again
evoke the snap loop to get a clear view
of the intersection point
this time however hold the shift key
before setting the endpoint in order to
constrain the line horizontally
once you see the cursor q horizontal and
have the sketch to mention endpoint
aligned as best possible click to set
the endpoint this will return you to the
scale objects dialog you can see the
current distance field is now filled in
with the measurement we just took we
know this is not the correct distance so
in the new distance field input what the
value of the measurement we just took
should be which is 90 feet then click OK
answer yes to the next dialog since we
need to scale the entire drawing
now if we use the constrained dimension
tool from the dims and notes tool set
and measure the same distance again it
comes out to be 90 feet this means any
new object we draw will be at the
correct scale as well