Creating seating sections

Use the Seating Section tool to design seating sections in a variety of configurations. You can create features such as rises and custom numbering plans, edit individual seats as needed to create exactly the arrangement you need, and then output the data to editable reports included with Vectorworks. Use the Aisle tool (see Adding aisles to seating sections; Spotlight required) to insert aisles that interact with the seating section. Quick editing capabilities allow you to change specific elements of the plan without using the processor resources to redraw the entire seating section.

You can use a seating section style from the Vectorworks content or create a custom seating section style to quickly create multiple seating sections with the same settings; see Concept: Plug-in object styles.

To draw a seating section object, either use the tool or create a polyline and then select the Create Objects from Shapes command (see Creating objects from shapes). If this command is used, a default focus line is placed and can be moved manually into the desired location.

Use the Data Tag tool after creating a seating section to add a label; see Using data tags.

● Click Style on the Tool bar to select a resource from the Resource Selector.

● Click Preferences to open the Seating Section Preferences dialog box and specify the tool’s default parameters as described in Seating Section settings.

The parameters can be edited later in the Object Info palette as described in Editing seating sections, or in the Seating Section Settings dialog box.

● If using Create from Shape mode, move the mouse over a previously drawn shape until it is highlighted. Click to select it.

● If using Rectangle, Oval, or Polyline mode, click to draw the bounding shape for the seating section.

The cursor changes to indicate placement of a focus line, and layout lines preview the seating angle for the focus line.

4.Click twice to place the seating section’s focus line. The first click controls the angle of straight seats or the radius of curved seats. The second click controls the focus point of the seats. When Display Focus Line is selected in the Object Info palette, the focus point end of the line is indicated by an arrow.

To associate the seating section with an aisle object (Spotlight required), put the seating section and the aisle on the same layer or in the same group; see Adding aisles to seating sections. This association means that if one of the objects is resized, reshaped, or moved, the other object updates automatically. The association between objects lasts only as long as the seating section and aisle physically overlap.

Seating Section settings

The settings are grouped into several panes of related parameters, which are listed on the left side of the dialog box. These parameters vary depending on whether a standard or curved seating type is selected. Select each pane and specify the parameters.

Every pane of the Seating Section Settings dialog box displays a preview of the seating section with the current settings; the preview updates dynamically as the settings are edited.

Creating plug-in object styles allows you to create plug-in objects, such as the seating section, with a combination of parameters that are determined by the style or by instance. Style parameters have a fixed value established by the style; instance parameters can be set independently for each instance of the object in the drawing.

Parameter	Description
(Seating Type)	Select whether to create a Standard (straight) or Curved seating section; depending on the settings, curved seating sections can curve into a complete 360° circle
Use Style	To create a custom seating section, leave the Unstyled setting. To use an existing seating section from the resource libraries, click Use Style; from the Resource Selector, double-click a resource to select it.
Convert to Unstyled	If Use Style is currently set to a style, select this option to convert the object to unstyled; the current values are retained, but all parameters on all panes are set to By Instance to allow editing
By Style/Instance	A graphic indicates whether each parameter is set to By Style and given a fixed value or set to By Instance and editable in the dialog box. By Style/Instance settings are established by the style and cannot be changed from the settings dialog box. To edit the object style, see Editing plug-in object styles; editing the style modifies all plug-in objects in the file that use the style.
Top/Plan Preview	Dynamically displays a Top/Plan preview of the seating section with the currently selected parameters
Use Actual Symbols	Displays the selected Seating Symbol in the preview; if deselected, the preview displays the symbol’s bounding box and center point

Seating Section settings: Arrangement pane

Parameter	Description
Alignment Type (Standard seating type only)	Select the seating alignment with reference to the Primary Fill Direction and Secondary Fill Direction; in the examples below, the fill direction settings are Left to Right and Top to Bottom ● Shift Rows: seats are aligned with the boundary ● Align Rows: seats in each row are aligned directly behind one another ● Offset Rows: every other row is offset by half the width of the first seat ● Distribute Rows: seats fill the boundary edge-to-edge; spacing is adjusted to distribute seats evenly in each row, with Seat Spacing treated as the minimum value
Placement
Seat Spacing	Specify how far apart to space the seats in a row; spacing is based on the symbol’s bounding box and insertion point
Row Spacing	Specify how far apart to space the rows; spacing is based on the symbol’s bounding box and insertion point
Distance Measurement	Select whether to measure the Row Spacing from the back leg of one row to the front leg of the next, or from the front leg of one row to the front leg of the next
Allowable Distance Past Boundary	If the seating is permitted to go past the seating section boundary, specify by how much
Primary Fill Direction	Select whether to fill the seating section from Left to Right, Right to Left or Center Out for straight sections, and Clockwise or Counter Clockwise for curved sections
Secondary Fill Direction	Select whether to fill the seating section from Top to Bottom, Bottom to Top, or Center Out for straight sections, and from Inside to Outside or Outside to Inside for curved sections
Start Angle	For curved seating sections, specify where the seats start to be placed
Rise	If the seating section is to rise from the front to the back, select how to calculate the rise, and specify the height
(Symbol list)	You can specify more than one symbol in the section
#	Displays the symbols in the fill order for the seating section, with reference to the Primary Fill Direction and Secondary Fill Direction. This is a static field that displays the order. To change the order, you must click each row and then select a different symbol for the row.
Symbol	Displays the current symbol name; to change the symbol, click on the row and then select a new symbol from the Resource Selector
Alignment in Row	Select whether to align the symbols by the top, center, bottom, or insertion point
Add	Click to add a row to the bottom of the list. The active symbol is used by default; select a new symbol from the Resource Selector.
Remove	Click the row with the symbol to remove, and then click to remove the selected symbol from the seating section
Seating Symbol	Displays the currently selected resource; to change it, locate the desired resource, and double-click to activate it. Alternatively, select a symbol to use as the basis for a new seating symbol with customized attributes, or create your own seating symbol, as described in Seating symbol specifications.
Customize	Customizes the selected seating’s default attributes, creating a new hybrid seating symbol; see Customizing seating symbols

Seating Section settings: Section Information pane

Parameter	Description
Name	Name the seating section; Vectorworks automatically assigns each seating section a unique ID, so this name does not have to be unique in the document
Number Seats	Numbers the seats; for a table-and-chair symbol, the table is numbered
Numbering Direction	Select the direction in which to number the seats
Restart on next row	Starts each row with the Start at value; if deselected, the numbering is continuous throughout the section
Start at	Specify the first seat number; alphanumeric values are allowed
Increment	Specify the seat numbering increment
Number Rows	Numbers the rows; for a table-and-chair symbol, the table is numbered
Numbering Direction	Select the direction in which to number the rows
Start at	Specify the first row number; alphanumeric values are allowed
Increment	Specify the row numbering increment
Separator	Select the separator between the row number and seat number in the display
Display Row Number	Select whether to display the row number on every seat, or on one or both ends of the row

Seating Section settings: Limits pane

Parameter	Description
Seats per Row	Select if there is a maximum number of seats allowed per row, and specify the limit
Rows per Section	Select if there is a maximum number of rows allowed per section, and specify the limit
Total Seats	Select if there is a maximum total number of seats allowed per section, and specify the limit
Minimum Seats per Row	For curved seating sections, select if there is a minimum number of seats allowed per row, and specify the limit
Draw Loci	Draws loci where seats could have been placed within the boundary but were not placed due to numerical limits

Seating Section settings: Angle pane

If the seating section object is four-sided and all four corners are 90°, you can specify an angle for the seating within the boundary.

Parameter	Description
Angle Seating	Angles the seating within the boundary. Enter a value or drag the slider to specify an angle between 0 and 180°. For a Curved seating type, each seat turns individually, rather than angling the entire row. The seating angle is connected to the seating section’s focus point. As the Angle Seating value is changed, the focus point automatically moves to maintain the logical link. Likewise, if the focus point is moved, the Angle Seating value is automatically updated.
Angle Based on	Specify whether the angle is based on the left or right side of the boundary
Adjust Boundary with Angle	Reshapes the boundary to conform to angled seating; deselecting this option may result in the loss of seats

Mode	Description
Create from Shape	Converts an existing polyline, polygon, rectangle, circle, or arc to a seating section and applies the current preference settings
Oval	Creates a round seating section
Rectangle	Creates a rectangular seating section
Polyline	Draws a seating section using the selected polyline creation options
Polyline creation options	Selects the method for drawing the polyline upon which the object is based; see Creating polylines
Style	Opens the Resource Selector to select a resource for placement; double-click a resource to activate it
Preferences	Sets the default parameters that are used for each new seating section

Parameter	Description
Class Prefix	Specifies an optional default root class naming standard for all seating section parts
Assign Default Classes With Prefix	Sets the class names for all seating section elements to the standard, using the Class Prefix if there is one, so that they are sorted together
Seating section parts	To control appearance and visibility, select a class from the list of classes present in the drawing, or create a new class. Select <Seating Section Class> to place the part attributes in the same class as the seating section object.