novedge Vectorworks Webinar Series - 003 The Problem is Counting, The Answer is Worksheets.

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VectorWorks offers the possibility of  creating spreadsheets within the drawing.  That means you can count things, create databases, extract information from objects and do mathematical operations and functions without having to leave VectorWorks.

These spreadsheets, or worksheets as they are called in VectorWorks, are linked to the source of information so the worksheet can be updated when the source changes or to put it another way, if you edit the things in the drawing the spreadsheet can be updated easily.

The most powerful worksheets in VectorWorks are databases linked to Symbols or Plug-in Objects listing the data entered in the different fields.  As you add these objects into the file you can update the worksheet and check the information.  An example of this would be a bracing spreadsheet that tracks the bracing objects in the drawing.  As you add bracing objects the worksheet tracks the number, type and length of the brace and puts this information into the worksheet, telling you if you have achieved enough bracing in each direction.

We can classify the worksheets into a few different groups depending on the nature of the worksheets:

• Count / select objects ( generally symbols ) through the file.  They do not need to have a record attached and they need not be in the same Class or Layer.  We can choose to count symbols on a specific layer or assigned to a specific class.
• Do mathematical operations with the parameters of drawn objects: 
• areas, perimeters, volume etc.  
• Name the objects ( Object Info Palette) and find properties of them and their combinations
• Create reports using symbols with records and list the field values from the symbols in the report.  

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