Marker Attributes

You can apply line start and line end markers to open objects, including lines, arcs, polylines, 2D polygons, and freehand lines. You can also apply line end markers to the leader lines on callout and dimension objects. Dimensions have other default markers assigned as part of the dimension standard setup, but these cannot be applied or removed through the Attributes palette.

In the Attributes palette, click the Line Start Marker Toggle button, the Line End Marker Toggle button, or both buttons to specify the end(s) to receive the displayed marker. When a marker is applied to an object, the toggle button is highlighted. To always use the same style for both ends of the object, also click the Marker Link Toggle button; whenever the marker style of one end is changed, the other end’s marker style automatically changes to match.

To switch to a different marker style, click Line Startpoint Style or Line Endpoint Style. Select a marker style from the list, or click Edit Marker List to create a new style. See Editing the Marker List for more information.

Select Class Style to use the marker attributes set by the object’s class.

●    If Use at Creation is enabled for the object’s class, the object’s marker style is automatically set by the class.

●    If Use at Creation is disabled for the class, the object only takes on the class style when the Class Style option is selected.

See Setting Class Attributes.

Editing the Marker List

You can customize the set of markers available from the Line Startpoint Style and Line Endpoint Style settings on the Attributes palette. The edited markers are saved with your user preferences, so they are available from one Vectorworks session to the next.

To edit the marker list:

1. Select Tools > Options > Edit Marker List.

The Edit Marker List dialog box opens.

►    Click to show/hide the parameters.

Parameter	Description
Current Marker Types	Lists the marker types that are available for selection when drawing; change the list order by clicking and dragging in the # column
New	Creates a new marker type
Edit	Edits the currently selected marker type
Delete	Deletes the currently selected marker type

2. Click OK to save the list of available marker types.

Creating or Editing Marker Types

To create or edit marker types:

1. From the Edit Marker List dialog box, click New to create a new marker type, or click Edit to change the currently selected marker type.

The Edit Marker dialog box opens.

►    Click to show/hide the parameters.

Parameter	Description
Preview	Displays a preview of the marker’s appearance
General Options	Specifies the marker’s shape and style
Root Type	Specifies the general shape of the marker
Fill	For closed root types, specifies the type of fill
Base	For triangular root types, specifies the shape of the base
Angle	For triangular and hexagonal root types, indicates the angle of the root
Length	Indicates the length of the marker, from base to tip
Width	Specifies the marker width, for marker types that have a width
Half Tick	For marker types except cone and lasso, displays half the marker on the indicated side
Tail	For markers which can be reversed, flips the marker direction to create a tail marker
Thickness Options	Specifies the marker pen thickness
Use Line Thickness	Uses the same thickness as that of the associated line, adjusting automatically along with any line thickness changes
Use Dimension Slash Thickness	Uses the same thickness as the dimension slash, set on the Dimensions tab of the document preferences (see Document Preferences: Dimensions Tab)
Use Custom Thickness	Specifies a custom marker thickness and unit (mils, points, or millimeters)

2. Click OK to create or edit the marker.

The new marker is listed at the top of the marker types list.

►    Click here for a video tip about this topic (internet access required).

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Creating or Editing Marker Types

Using Line Types

The Attributes Palette

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