Searching for a resource

The Resource Manager has a search box to help you quickly locate a resource using keywords.

To locate and use a resource:

From the Resource Manager tool bar, click the disclosure arrow to the left of the search box and select your search options.

Click to show/hide the options.Click to show/hide the options.

Search option

Description

Everywhere

Search for the resource in all available libraries

Visible File Groups Only

Search for the resource only in the libraries that are currently displayed in the file browser pane

Selected File Only

Search for the resource in the file currently selected in the file browser pane

Include Records

Include records attached to resources in the search

Exact Word or Phrase

Matches only occurrences of the exact search string, not resources that contain all the words

Enter a search string and optionally one or more basic Boolean search operators in the search box and press Enter to execute the search. The search locates the string in resource names, tags, and (if Include Records is selected in the search options) records attached to resources.

Vectorworks recognizes Boolean search operators "" (quotation marks), * (search for strings that begin with the characters indicated), AND, NOT, and OR. Boolean operators can be combined, such as combining two strings inside quotation marks with the word OR, to create precise searches.

The search operators AND, NOT, and OR are case sensitive; they must be entered in all capital letters to function correctly.

The search box retains and displays the last 10 searches; to clear this list, scroll to the bottom of the list and click Clear Recent Searches.

Search example

Possible results

green chair (no quotation marks)

or

green AND chair

Resources with the words green and chair anywhere in the resource name, tags, and optionally record; AND is the default operator

green chair

chair with green stripes

green hatch with chair in the tag

“green chair” (quotation marks)

Resources with the word green immediately followed by the word chair (the exact string inside the quotation marks)

green chair

green c* 

Resources with the word green and any word that begins with the letter c

green chair

chair with green stripes

green couch

car with green in the tag

“green c”* 

Resources with the word green immediately followed by a word that begins with the letter c

green chair

green couch

green car

“green c*” 

Resources with the word green immediately followed by the letter c and an asterisk (the exact string inside the quotation marks); an asterisk inside quotation marks is not a search operator

green c*

cha 

or

cha* 

Resources with any word that begins with the letters cha; for a single word search, an asterisk operator is automatically added to the end of the search string

chair

chain

chandelier

*cam 

or

*cam* 

Resources with any word that has the grouped letters cam anywhere; for a single word search, an asterisk operator is automatically added to the end of the search string

camera

Varicam

sycamore

“green chair” AND table 

Resources with the word green immediately followed by the word chair (the exact string inside the quotation marks) and the word table

green chair with table in the tag

combination symbol named “green chair and side table”

green NOT chair 

Resources with the word green but not chair

green couch

green car

green OR chair 

Resources with the word green or chair

green chair

green couch

red chair

Resources that match the search display in the resource viewer pane. Standard context menu commands are available for the resources, or you can drag the resource to another file if desired. Two additional features are available for search results:

Hold the cursor over a resource to display a tooltip that shows the resource’s name and location.

Right-click on a resource, and select Select Resource Location from the context menu to select the file that contains the resource in the file browser pane.

Using resources in your drawing

Resource Manager

Locating a resource from the drawing

 

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