Workflow: Phasing
Difficulty level: Intermediate
Phasing adds the element of time to a project, allowing you to specify the phases in which objects are created, removed, relocated, and stored throughout a multi-phase project; see Concept: Phasing. It's important to set up a phased project correctly from the beginning. An object's phasing data - the phase when an object is created, removed, or stored/relocated, and its status in the active phase - is key to managing the project.
The Architect and Interior templates provided with Vectorworks Architect and Design Suite licenses include the phases and data visualizations needed to complete a basic two-phase renovation project; creating a new file from one of those templates is a great place to start. Alternatively, you can create custom phases and data visualizations, and optionally save them in templates for easy re-use in other projects; see Creating templates. (Data visualizations are also resources available in the Resource Manager.) Establish and activate the appropriate phases and data visualizations before you begin to draw.
While phasing is currently available with any Design Suite product, it is optimized for use in architectural and interiors projects. The phasing tools and commands must be added to the Landmark and Spotlight workspaces using the Workspace Editor. Some industry-specific objects for Landmark and Spotlight do not participate in phasing.
Establish the required phases
Set up the file with the necessary phases before you begin from the start. A single renovation phase can be used for both the demolition and new construction. Many renovation projects require only two phases: one for existing/as built plans, and one for all the demolition and construction. For more complex projects that require more phases, add additional phases as needed. After the phases are added, you can begin working on demolition and new construction with the appropriate phase active.
The order of phases in a file can't be changed later, and phases can't be deleted, because that could create impossible conflicts in the lifecycle of objects. Although you can add phases later, or merge one existing phase into an adjacent phase, those changes may require you to spend time changing the phase assignments for some objects. Every action taken to create, remove/demolish, or relocate an object automatically happens in the active phase, and sets the object's status in the active and all future phases. It's far easier and more efficient to make sure objects are assigned to the correct phase the first time than to change the phases and object statuses later.
If you have a template with the required phases (including the Architect and Interior templates provided with Architect and Design Suite licenses, or any custom templates you or your company have created), use it to create a new file. The phases are automatically added to the new .vwx file. Add or merge phases as needed for the specific project.
Ensure all existing conditions/as built objects are in the first phase. If you're using a file that was set up without phases, or you are importing an existing project from another program, you may opt to start a file with only one phase. Once all existing objects are in that phase, add later phases as needed.
Create and apply the needed data visualizations
Data visualizations control the visibility and appearance of objects by phase. Without using data visualizations, it's impossible to tell which objects are existing and which were added or demolished during a different phase. For example, two instances of a single object that was moved to a new location during the project would look like two different objects. Set up and apply data visualizations before you begin to add objects, so you can identify the status of each object relative to the active phase.
Phasing-related data visualizations and data visualization sets are included in Vectorworks Libraries and in the Architect and Interior templates provided with Architect and Design Suite licenses. Add new data visualizations, or edit the existing ones as needed. If you will need specific data visualizations for future projects, either save them in the same template as the phases, for automatic inclusion when opening a new file from the template, or save them as resources that can be shared and reused later.
Apply the appropriate data visualization(s) for each project phase as you work.
In addition to data visualizations, four document preferences allow you to show component-based objects and/or plug-in objects and symbols in low detail based on their status in the active phase. This option provides context for objects created in the active phase, while giving existing or removed objects a lower emphasis. These low detail preferences are also available for viewports.
Use phasing while you design
Select the active phase on the View bar before you add/remove/relocate any object. The object (or object instance, for relocated objects) is automatically assigned a status relative to the active phase. Object phase assignments can be changed later on the Object Info palette, but it's most efficient if you use the correct active phase as you proceed.
Use the Demolition tool, or the Phase Removed and optional Reuse settings in the Phasing section of the Object Info palette, to remove or demolish objects; simply deleting selected objects removes them entirely from the file, rather than participating in phasing.
Use the Phasing palette - Removed Objects to track objects that have been removed and relocated (or are still available for relocation). The Phasing palette - Removed Objects, context menu commands, and buttons on the Object Info palette provide ways to navigate among different instances of removed or relocated objects, and to place removed objects back into the drawing.
With the correct data visualizations applied, the appearance of objects in the drawing will change as you remove or relocate them, and as you make different phases active, to reflect each object's status in the active phase.
Present the project
Each sheet layer viewport has its own active phase, data visualization, and show as low detail level settings, so you can show what is needed. Set the phase and data visualizations when you create the viewport, or edit them later on the Object Info palette.
Optionally, set up one viewport to display the desired view, render mode, layer and class visibilities, and so on. Then copy the viewport into the same or a different sheet layer, and change the active phase, data visualization, and/or detail levels for each viewport to reflect the phased project through time.