The Symbol Insertion Tool

Use the Symbol Insertion tool to place the active 2D, 3D, or hybrid symbol from the Resource Manager into the drawing. During insertion, a preview of the symbol is shown to aid in placement. Symbols can also be inserted by dragging them from the Resource Manager.

Each symbol has its own insertion point that controls how the symbol is placed into the drawing. The insertion point is specified during the symbol’s creation, and its location on the symbol is shown by crosshairs in the Edit Symbol window.

Hybrid symbols can only be inserted on a working plane that is parallel to the active layer plane. When inserting a hybrid symbol, if the working plane is not parallel to the active layer plane, the working plane is aligned with the active layer plane. The working plane origin remains unchanged.

Mode	Description
Standard Insertion	Inserts the symbol based on its specified insertion point, or aligned according to one of the symbol alignment modes
Offset Insertion	Inserts the symbol in a wall according to an offset reference point
Symbol Pick up	Designates a symbol from the drawing as the active symbol
Wall Insertion	Toggles between enabling and disabling symbol or plug-in object insertion into a wall (if the symbol definition permits it). See Wall Insertion Mode.
Symbol Alignment Modes	These alignment modes apply to Standard Insertion mode, and temporarily override the insertion point. These modes change the alignment of the insertion point along the X axis of the bounding box surrounding the symbol. Alternatively, keep the original point as the insertion point.
Align Symbol Left	Moves the insertion point to the left edge of the symbol’s bounding box, along the original X axis
Align Symbol Center	Moves the insertion point to the center of the symbol’s bounding box, along the original X axis.
Align Symbol Right	Moves the insertion point to the right edge of the symbol’s bounding box, along the original X axis
Align Actual Insertion Point	Uses the symbol’s originally specified insertion point
Active Symbol Def	Opens the Resource Selector to select a symbol for placement; double-click a resource to activate it

Once a symbol instance is placed in a drawing, select it to display its properties in the Object Info palette. Depending on the type of symbol, only certain parameters of the symbol instance can be edited; see Concept: Vectorworks Symbols. From the Object Info palette, the location of any symbol instance can be adjusted, and its layer and class association can be changed.