Setting Class Properties

Once created, the classes display on the Classes tab of the Organization dialog box, where various properties can be set and edited.

To edit classes:

1. Select Tools > Organization. Alternatively, click the Classes button from the View bar.

The Organization dialog box opens.

2. Select the Classes tab.

A list of the current classes in the drawing displays. Depending on which view option is selected at the top of the dialog box, either details or visibilities of the classes display. The visibility of classes in the drawing area and the active class can be changed in Details view. The visibility of classes in viewports and in saved views can be changed in Visibilities view (see Setting Visibilities in the Organization Dialog Box).

3. To change other class properties, select one or more classes and click Edit to open the Edit Class(es) dialog box.

Click to show/hide the parameters.

Parameter	Description
Name	Displays the name of the class, which can be edited
Description	Click to enter additional information about the class. The description displays as a screen tip when you position the cursor over the class name in the Organization dialog box, Navigation palette, or (on Mac only) the Classes list from the View bar. Descriptions also display in the New Class dialog box, so that you can see descriptions of classes before you import them.
Use at Creation	Applies the graphic attributes displayed in this dialog box when you create an object assigned to this class. If Use at Creation is not selected, you can apply these attributes to the object later by selecting Class Style from the Attributes palette. See Setting Class Attributes for more information about graphic attributes.
Fill
Style	Select one of the following fill styles from the list
None	No fill is applied to the objects in this class If a Renderworks texture will be applied to objects in this class, select a fill style. If the object fill is None, no texture displays when the objects are rendered.
Solid	Applies a solid fill to the objects in this class; click the Color box to select the desired color
Pattern	Applies a patterned fill and color to objects in this class. Click the Pattern box to select the desired pattern, and then select the foreground color and background color from the color boxes below the pattern.
Hatch	Applies a hatch fill to objects in this class. Select a hatch from a library or the current file.
Tile	Applies a tile fill to objects in this class. Select a tile from a library or the current file.
Gradient	Applies a gradient fill to objects in this class. Select a gradient from a library or the current file.
Image	Applies an image fill to objects in this class. Select an image from a library or the current file.
Link Pen Opacity	When selected, the pen opacity automatically changes when you change the fill opacity. Deselect Link Pen Opacity to set the pen opacity to a different value.
Opacity	Specifies the class transparency for the fill (on Windows, the GDI+ imaging Vectorworks preference must be enabled). Drag the slider to the left to decrease the opacity, or enter a percentage in the box to the right of the slider.
Pen
Style	Select one of the following pen styles from the list
None	No pen outline is applied to the objects in this class
Solid	Applies a solid outline to the objects in this class; click the Color box to select the desired color
Pattern	Applies a patterned outline and color to objects in this class. Click the Pattern box to select the desired pattern, and then select the foreground color and background color from the color boxes below the pattern.
Line Type	Applies a line type outline to objects in this class. Select a line type from a library or the current file.
Thickness	Select the line thickness for the class; to use a custom thickness, select Set Thickness from the line thickness list to access the Set Thickness dialog box.
Markers	Select the marker style for each end of lines, arcs, polylines, 2D polygons, or freehand lines in this class. To use a custom marker style, select Custom and specify the marker settings, or select Edit Marker List from the marker style list to set the available marker types (see Editing the Marker List).
Opacity	If Link Pen Opacity is deselected, specifies the class transparency for the pen (on Windows, the GDI+ imaging Vectorworks preference must be enabled). Drag the slider to the left to decrease the opacity, or enter a percentage in the box to the right of the slider.
Use Drop Shadows	Applies drop shadows to objects in this class; click Edit to open the Drop Shadow dialog box (see Drop Shadow Attributes)
Use Text Style __ at Creation	From the list, select a text style to apply to objects in this class. To apply the text style when you create an object in this class, also select the Use Text Style at Creation option. If Use Text Style at Creation is not selected, you can apply this text style to the object later by selecting <Class Text Style> as the Text Style from the Object Info palette.
Walls, Roofs, and Other tabs	Click these tabs to set the texture/surface hatch properties for wall, roof, and other objects assigned to the class. See Applying Textures to Object Classes, Symbols, Walls, and Roofs for more information.
Saved Views	If there are saved views in the drawing, opens the Saved View Visibilities dialog box. Set the visibility for the new class(es) in the saved views (Visible, Invisible, Gray, or Don’t Save). See Setting Visibilities in the Organization Dialog Box.
Viewports	If there are viewports in the drawing, opens the Viewport Visibilities dialog box. Set the visibility for the new class(es) in the viewports (Visible, Invisible, Gray, or Don’t Save). See Setting Visibilities in the Organization Dialog Box.

4. Click OK to return to the Organization dialog box. If objects in an edited class already exist in the drawing, and the class is set to use attributes “at creation,” you are prompted to specify how to apply the changes to the existing objects.

5. Click OK from the Organization dialog box to save the changes.

If multiple classes are simultaneously selected for editing, and some or all of the attribute values are different for the selected classes, the editing fields for those values indicate that the value is unknown. When the OK button is clicked, the currently defined settings shown are applied to all of the selected classes. Any information with an unknown setting is not applied.

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Displaying Classes in Hierarchical Order

Setting Class Attributes

The Attributes Palette

Concept: Resource Libraries

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