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.