Design SuiteGraphic legends

The Graphic Legend tool creates annotated graphic legends and schedules on sheet layers (not available on design layers). For example:

Electrical and plumbing symbol legends

Keys to fill or pen attributes

Detail schedules for windows, doors, or partitions

In each cell, the legend can show one or more views of the object, or it can show a specific attribute applied to the object, such as the line type or material.

A number of common graphic legends are provided in the Vectorworks resource libraries. You can modify these legends or create custom styles.

Adding graphic legends

Tool

Tool set

Graphic Legend

Dims/Notes

To add a graphic legend:

Activate the sheet layer where the legend will be placed, and click the tool.

Do one of the following:

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

Click Preferences to open the Graphic Legend Preferences dialog box and define the source object for the legend. See Defining the legend source.

Click and drag to draw the approximate bounding rectangle for the legend. The legend is placed in the drawing, with a cell for each unique item that matches the source definition. If necessary, drag the handles to reshape the legend.

From the Object Info palette, fine-tune the legend's appearance as described in the following sections.

Filtering by viewport

Changing the cell visibility and sorting

Defining the legend image

Changing class properties

Editing the cell layout

Editing the title layout

Similar to a sheet layer viewport, you can add annotations to the legend. If there are auto-dimensions, you can edit them if necessary. Right-click a cell and select Edit Annotations from the context menu to enter object editing mode (see Object editing mode). In editing mode, the active image displays as normal, while all other objects in the legend are dimmed. Add dimensions, text, callouts, and other annotation objects to the active image as needed. Use the floating Annotation Edit palette to annotate different portions of the legend as follows:

Cell: Select a different cell from the list

Image ID: If the current cell has multiple images, select a different image from the list

Pick Cell Image: Click the button, and then click on the desired image to select it

Exit object editing mode to update the object and return to normal drawing mode.

To use auto-dimensions on all cell images, see Defining the legend image. To include the same static or dynamic text fields in each cell, see Editing the cell layout.

If desired, use the Attributes palette to change the fill and pen attributes of the legend.

To save the graphic legend for future use, create a plug-in object style; see Custom plug-in object styles without catalog options.

Graphic legend settings

Editing graphic legends

 

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