Palettes and tool sets
The workspace contains various palettes for creating and editing objects. Depending on the initial settings, some palettes may be hidden when the program is launched. You can customize which palettes display and where they're placed for each workspace (see Palette features).
For some workflows, such as using the Camera Match feature to set the 3D view of a model to match the perspective view of a photograph, sculpting or editing the contours of a site model, editing the 2D or 3D components of a symbol or plug-in object, and others, an additional palette or tool set displays at the point of use to provide specialized tools and capabilities. These context-specific palettes and tool sets are described in the appropriate sections of the Vectorworks help system.
Palette / Tool set |
Purpose |
Attributes |
Contains a selection of colors, fills, pens, and other object attributes; see The Attributes palette |
Object Info |
Lists context-sensitive object information for viewing and editing; see The Object Info palette |
Working Planes |
Contains controls for adding and modifying working planes; see The Working Planes palette |
Resource Manager |
Accesses and manages the resources available for use in drawings, such as hatches, record formats, worksheets, scripts, symbols, textures, and more. See Resource Manager. |
Navigation (Design Suite product required) |
Provides access to classes, design layers, sheet layers, viewports, and saved views, while the drawing area remains accessible; see The Navigation palette |
Visualization |
Accesses all lights and cameras in the file; see Managing lights and cameras with the Visualization palette |
Script Palettes |
Contains palettes with script resources; see Creating and editing script palettes and scripts |
Basic palette |
Contains a set of basic object creation and editing tools; the Basic palette contains different tools in different workspaces |
Tool Sets palette |
Depending on the workspace, this palette includes the following tool sets, whose tools are grouped by similar functionality; the palette and its tool sets can be customized through the Workspace Editor. Each tool set may contain different tools in different workspaces. The Tool Sets palette has special functionality; see Tool palette features. |
Site Planning (Architect or Landmark required) |
Contains tools for site planning and landscape architecture |
Irrigation (Landmark required) |
Contains tools for irrigation system design |
GIS (Architect or Landmark required) |
Contains tools for georeferencing, geolocating, and adding geographic imagery |
Space Planning (Architect or Landmark required) |
Contains tools for space planning and programming buildings |
Building Shell (Design Suite product required) |
Contains tools for creating building shell elements |
Audio/Video (Spotlight required) |
Contains tools for audio/video design |
Lighting (Spotlight required) |
Contains tools for lighting design |
Cable/Power Planning (Spotlight required) |
Contains tools for cable and power planning and design |
Rigging/Braceworks (Spotlight required) |
Contains tools for rigging |
Event (Spotlight required) |
Contains tools for event design |
Schematics (ConnectCAD required) |
Contains tools for creating schematic network diagrams |
Layout (ConnectCAD required) |
Contains tools for creating equipment layouts |
Cable Route (ConnectCAD required) |
Contains tools for cable route design |
3D Modeling |
Contains tools for creating and editing 3D objects, including solids and NURBS |
Visualization |
Contains tools for changing the drawing view in different ways |
Furn/Fixtures (Design Suite product required) |
Contains tools for creating common furniture and fixtures |
Dims/Notes |
Contains tools for adding dimension and label objects |
MEP (Architect required) |
Contains tools for mechanical, electrical, and plumbing design |
Softscape (Landmark required) |
Contains tools for planting design |
Detailing (Design Suite product required) |
Contains tools for adding architectural detail objects, such as tubing |
Fasteners (Design Suite product required) |
Contains tools for inserting a variety of fasteners such as nuts, bolts, pins, and screws |
Machine Components (Design Suite product required) |
Contains tools for inserting machine components such as gears, bearings, and springs |