Units

The  Vectorworks program provides a wide range of measurement systems to select from and also provides the flexibility to create a customized measurement system. The selected measurement system is applied throughout the drawing, from the measurements that display on the rulers to those used in dimensions and worksheets.

Specifying units

Command

Path

Units

File > Document Settings

The Units command opens the Units dialog box, which organizes units settings on several panes.

Some areas of the program, such as irrigation (Vectorworks Landmark required) have separate unit specifications that are set elsewhere.

To select or change the current measurement system:

Select the command.

The Units dialog box opens.

Specify the units display parameters.

Units settings: Saved settings options

Parameter

Description

Saved Settings Options

See Using saved sets to save and apply saved settings

Units settings: Dimensions pane

The Dimensions pane settings affect the units throughout the drawing and the rounding settings for primary dimensions.

Parameter

Description

Length

 

Units

Select the desired length measurement system from the list.

If this setting is changed from one metric unit to a different metric unit, the Decimal precision and Dimension object precision values are automatically scaled by the same ratio, to maintain the same inherent precision the document had before. If the setting is changed from a non-metric unit to a metric unit, the precision values are automatically set to new default values suitable for the selected metric unit.

Custom

If the Custom unit is selected, click Custom to create a custom length measurement system; see below

Show unit mark

Displays the unit mark along with the unit value; if the Feet & Inches unit is selected, Vectorworks automatically displays unit marks and therefore, Show unit mark is grayed

Show thousands separators in Dimension text

Displays a thousands separator in the values of dimension objects; the separator used (a period or comma) depends on the current regional setting in the operating system.

Separators are for display only; they are not used in the Object Info palette, or in the dimension text as it is being edited.

Rounding style

Rounding only affects how numbers are displayed; if the number 1.23456 is entered with a rounding of .00, the value is recognized as 1.23456 but displays as 1.23

Fractional

Select for fractional rounding

Decimal

Select for decimal rounding

Exact as fractions / non-exact as decimals

Select for a combination of fractional and decimal rounding

Fractional display for Dimensions

If a fractional Rounding style is selected, select a style for the fractions that appear in dimensions:

Standard:

Diagonally stacked:

Vertically stacked:

Rounding precision

 

Fraction precision

If a fractional or combination Rounding style is selected, select the fractional precision value, up to 1/64

Decimal precision

If a decimal or combination Rounding style is selected, select up to ten digits of decimal precision

Dimension object precision

 

Select a precision value for dimension objects; to link the dimension value to the fraction or decimal precision value, click the link button to the right of the precision fields

Decimal rounding base

Select whether decimal rounding is performed using multiples of tenths, quarters, or halves; the option selected is reflected in the Decimal precision field

Dimension rounding base

 

Select whether dimension rounding is performed using multiples of tenths, quarters, or halves; to link the dimension value to the decimal base value, click the link button to the right of the rounding base fields 

Decimal Options

 

Leading zero

For decimal rounding, displays a leading zero

Trailing zero

For decimal rounding, displays trailing zero

Area/Volume/Angle

 

Units

Select the area, volume, and angular measurement systems from the lists.

If this setting is changed from one metric unit to a different metric unit, the Precision value is automatically scaled by the same ratio, to maintain the same inherent precision the document had before. If the setting is changed from a non-metric unit to a metric unit, the precision value is automatically set to a new default value suitable for the selected metric unit.

Custom

If the Custom area or volume unit is selected, click Custom to create a custom area or volume measurement system; see below

Precision

For area and volume measurement systems, select up to ten digits of decimal precision. For angular measurement systems, select to display angular units in degrees (there are 360 degrees in a circle, and the angle mark is °), radians (there are 2pi radians in a circle, and the angle mark is r), or gradians (there are 400 gradians in a circle, and the angle mark is g); also, select up to eight digits of angular precision or specify degrees, minutes, and/or seconds.

Units settings: Dual Dimensions pane

The Dual Dimensions pane contains many of the same parameters found on the Dimensions pane, but its settings apply only to secondary dimensions. If dual dimensions are not being used, these settings have no effect. For more information on dual dimensioning, see Dual dimensioning.

Parameter

Description

Dual Dimension Length

 

Units

Select the desired length measurement system from the list.

If this setting is changed from one metric unit to a different metric unit, the Decimal precision and Dimension object precision values are automatically scaled by the same ratio, to maintain the same inherent precision the document had before. If the setting is changed from a non-metric unit to a metric unit, the precision values are automatically set to new default values suitable for the selected metric unit.

Custom

If the Custom unit is selected, click Custom to create a custom length measurement system; see below

Show unit mark

Displays the unit mark along with the unit value; if the Feet & Inches unit is selected, Vectorworks automatically displays unit marks and therefore, Show unit mark is grayed

Show thousands separators in Dimension text

Displays a thousands separator in the values of dimension objects; the separator used (a period or comma) depends on the current regional setting in the operating system.

Separators are for display only; they are not used in the Object Info palette, or in the dimension text as it is being edited.

Rounding style

Rounding only affects how numbers are displayed; if the number 1.23456 is entered with a rounding of .00, the value is recognized as 1.23456 but displays as 1.23

Fractional

Select for fractional rounding

Decimal

Select for decimal rounding

Rounding precision

 

Fraction precision

If a fractional or combination Rounding style is selected, select the fractional precision value, up to 1/64

Decimal precision

If a decimal or combination Rounding style is selected, select up to ten digits of decimal precision

Decimal rounding base

Select whether dimension rounding is performed using multiples of tenths, quarters, or halves; to link the dimension value to the decimal base value, click the link button to the right of the rounding base fields 

Decimal Options

 

Leading zero

For decimal rounding, displays a leading zero

Trailing zero

For decimal rounding, displays trailing zero

Units settings: Energos pane

The Energos pane settings affect energy analysis calculations and displays. See Energos energy analysis module for more information.

Parameter

Description

Energos

(Architect required)

 

Units

Select Imperial (US) or metric units for all energy analysis parameters and calculations

Display

Select whether to display R-Value or U-Value for all energy analysis parameters and calculations

Precision

All units used for energy analysis are listed, in addition to three special categories that group the units for convenience. Select the item from the list, and then set its precision value.

All Units: Sets all energy analysis units to the specified precision

Thermal Conductivity: Sets the precision of W/m K or Btu/h ft F units

Other Units: Sets the precision of all units except for the thermal conductivity

Specific Units: Sets the precision of the selected unit of measurement

Units settings: Structural pane

The Structural pane settings affect calculations and displays for Event rigging and structural analysis (Vectorworks Spotlight required).

Parameter

Description

Mass/Distributed Mass/Force

The same parameters are available for each category.

Units

Select the measurement system from the list

Custom

If the Custom unit is selected, click Custom to create a custom measurement system; see below

Precision

Select up to ten digits of decimal precision

Show unit mark

Displays the unit mark along with the unit value

DesignSeries.pngUnits settings: Materials pane

The Materials pane sets the units for the calculation and display of material resources, independently from the document settings. Select the desired measurement system.

Creating a custom unit system

Command

Path

Units

File > Document Settings

To create a customized measurement system:

Select the command.

The Units dialog box opens.

Select Custom from the appropriate Units list, or if editing an existing custom measurement system, select the custom name from the Units list.

Click Custom.

The Custom Units dialog box opens. The available values in each field vary based on the custom unit type.

Click to show/hide the parameters.Click to show/hide the parameters.

Parameter

Description

Unit Name

Name given to the custom measurement system; for example, “Cubit”

Unit Mark

Mark (abbreviation) used to represent a unit in the custom measurement system; for example, “cbt”

Mass for Length units

(Distributed Mass only)

Select the mass units to be distributed across the selected length units

Smaller from Larger

Set the number of custom units that occur per selected unit; for example, “There Are 2 Units Per Inch”

Larger from Smaller

Set the number of selected units that occur per custom unit; for example, “There Are 2 Inches Per Unit

 

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