Quick Search

Command	Path	Shortcut	Title/Menu bar
Quick Search	Tools	F

The Quick Search feature accesses commands, tools, and quick preferences from within the drawing area, rather than finding them in menus and tool palettes. Quick Search also provides links to online help topics, Vectorworks University content, and YouTube videos related to the search term. Quick Search is also available when there are no open files, but search capacity is limited.

To use Quick Search:

Select the command.

Alternatively, use the keyboard shortcut or click the icon on the Title bar (Mac) or Menu bar (Windows).

The Quick Search window opens in its initial view.

Enter text in the search box; the window expands and displays search results. The Quick Search window has the following functionality.

Feature	Function
Search field	When you begin to enter text, the Quick Search window expands and displays results. As you enter more text, the search results are refined, and the best matches are sorted to the top of the list. Items you have selected in previous searches are given higher priority in the results. Click the X to clear the search field.
Preferences	Opens the Vectorworks Preferences dialog box; see Vectorworks preferences: Quick Search pane for options to customize the search
Help	Opens the Vectorworks help system
Filters	When Show filters is selected in Vectorworks preferences, click each item type to toggle whether to show it in the search results. When Show filters is deselected, all object types are listed in the search results.
Search results	Items are listed with item type indicator icons and, optionally, with their locations, to help you determine which to select. To select an item from the list, either click the item, or use the down and up arrow keys to navigate and then press Enter. Hold the cursor over an item to access the online help for that item or to set the quick preference directly. Tools and commands that require an open document, object selection or other requirement that is not met when the search is run are grayed in the results. If Show items not in workspace is selected in Vectorworks preferences, the search results include items that match the search term and are available with the active license but are not included in the current workspace. Instead of location information, text indicates the item is not in the current workspace; click an item to open the Workspace Editor and add it. See Modifying commands and tools in a workspace.
Tools	Tools display with their icons and, if Show context is selected in Vectorworks preferences, the name and icon of the tool set they are in. If a tool is in multiple tool sets in the current workspace, it displays multiple times. If Activate tool set on tool selection is selected in Vectorworks preferences, the tool set is opened when you select a tool.
Menus	If Show context is selected in Vectorworks preferences, commands display their menu paths; if a command is in multiple menus in the current workspace, it displays multiple times.
Quick Preferences	Quick preferences display with their icons. The search results include the ability to set the option directly in Quick Search, as a check box to toggle the preference on or off, or as a dropdown to select the needed options.
Help Resources	Online help topics, Vectorworks University content, and Vectorworks YouTube channel videos related to the search term are listed. Click one to open it in the default browser.
Number of items	Indicates the number of items in the current search results

To dismiss the Quick Search window without making a selection, either click outside the window or press the Esc key.

Click the Quick Search window's border and drag it to a new location; it opens in the new location the next time you launch a Quick Search.

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