To create a Site Model you require 3-D data for the spot levels of the site. There are several ways to do this. One way of creating your site model is to import an image file showing contours, then trace along the contours of the polygon tool. There is a command that will convert your 2-D polys to 3-D contours.
When you select text, you can use the right-click to choose Check Spelling…. This does not work if you select a call out. You might think that that will stop you from checking the spelling in a callout note. If you select a call out object (or even several of them) then you can go to Text on the Menu bar and choose Check spelling… This will then check the spelling of all of the selected called out notes.
Check the spelling of your callouts. When you select text, you can use the right-click to choose Check Spelling…. This does not work if you select a call out. You might think that that will stop you from checking the spelling in a callout note. If you select a call out object (or even several of them) then you can go to Text on the Menu bar and choose Check spelling… This will then check the spelling of all of the selected called out notes.
You can access this command from the modify menu or from the contextual menu. I prefer to access this from the contextual menu because that makes a quick. Use this command to add two or more shapes together to create a complex shape. In my experience this is the fastest way to create complex shapes.
Massing Models can show shadows in the shadows based on a document preference called Plane Shadows. You can also set the option on your plants to use the same shadows so that massing models and plants all show the same shadow direction, graphic style, and size.
This is where you take two or more three-dimensional objects and you join them together. The strategy with 3-D modeling is to break your object up in the simple manageable chunks, then use Add Solids to join them together. In this image you can see that I created several different colored objects. When when added together you get a single object.
If you ever need to create text that follows a curving path, use this command from the Text menu. as well as creating 2-D text that follows a curving path, this command will also create 3-D text that follows the path.
This is a great way of creating utility scripts in your files. This command will create a custom script that can control the text, symbols, layers, classes, snaps, etc. to set up the utility script for your snaps, set the snaps you want first, then go to the menu bar and choose Tools > Custom Tool/Attribute. Fill in the settings on the dialog box and choose the option to create a script. Give you a script in your file that you can use to reset the snapping whenever you need it. 
Time to wrap up the yearAt the start of this year I started posting regular tips and tricks on my website. I call these my 10 second tips because they only take 10 seconds to read. I try to make them so that you will be able to read these tips each day without spending a lot of time...
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have been working to catch up with my manuals on the Amazon Kindle store. I have been creating new covers for the kindle books.
If you are a subscriber then you do not need to buy the kindle version, you already have access to these manuals on this website. Your manuals have the movie links in them (which the kindle books do not).
I have been working on a project that requires quite a 3-D modeling. To make this quicker I is a combination of Add Solid, Subtract Solid, and Intersect Solid. Using these tools made it extremely quick to model this complex situation. somebody asked me why do i use these particular techniques when I could use other techniques like Taper Face or Section Solid. The Intersect Solid is an interesting technique. It is fast, but more importantly it allows you to go back and adjust your work quickly.
If you set up a saved view while you have the clip cube activated, when you restore that saved view, the clip cube will be reactivated. This is a very handy way to save your clip cubes.
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Vectorworks has some really cool 3D tools, and it's tempting to always look at these instead of some of the basic 3D tools that Vectorworks has. The 3D polygon tool can be used to draw a polygon between 3D objects. You don't need to use automatic working planes, you don't need to set working planes, you just need to draw the 3D object and snap to the 3D geometry you already have.
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Find/Replace Text is a fantastic command for finding and replacing text in your drawings. I once had a client that had to change all of the notes that related to the roof strap bracing. Using this command meant that it will be done at once without having to look for every reference in document.
This command allows you to select multiple objects and modify them. It uses the same concept as the custom selection command, will you have a dialog box to set the criteria for selecting the objects. After making your choices and clicking OK on the selection criteria, you then get the Properties dialog box with all of the objects selected. This dialog box allows you to edit all of the selected objects at the same time.
The clip cube is a fantastic technique for filtering your model in 3D. The clip cube will allow you to filter out the parts of your model that you do not want to see. The easiest way to create your clip cube is to select an object before activating it. You can see from the image how it takes away all the information that you don't require. The clip cube can be adjusted after you activate it using the selection tool.
Loft Surface – Bi-Rail Sweep mode. In this mode you use a cross-section through your object and two rails to control it. This allows you to create very complex shapes very simply. As the rails move closer together to further apart, the profile stretches to match.
Vectorworks 2015 allows you to create blocks of text with variable spacing for the tab settings. This is new. In the past, all of the tab settings were the same width. Now you can create blocks of text with different width settings with the tabs.
Vectorworks allows you to select objects based on a series of custom criteria. This would allow you to select all the walls of a certain wall style, or select all objects of a certain line weight, line color, or a combination of these.
3D Polygon Tool - Vectorworks has some really cool 3D tools, and it's tempting to always look at these instead of some of the basic 3D tools that Vectorworks Has. The 3D polygon tool can be used to draw a polygon between 3D objects. You don't need to use automatic working planes, you don't need to set working planes, you just need to draw the 3D object and snap to the 3D geometry you already have.
Saved views are very useful for restoring a view of your project. They control the view, layers, classes, zoom, rendering, etc. It is a really quck way to jump from anywhere in the project to a specific view. 
Loft Surface – One Rail mode. In this mode you need to have a cross-section through your object and around the want to move it along. This allows you to create very complex shapes very simply.
Vectorworks has a spellchecker allowing you to check the spelling of individual blocks of text, all the selected text, all the text in the entire drawing.
This is a great command for selecting objects that join each other. You will find this command in the contextual menu, so when you right-click on an object you can select all of the objects that join to the selected object. 
This tool is so useful for creating complex curving shapes. There are three modes, No Rail mode, One Rail mode, and Birail Sweep. Each mode has a use, and they have very different results. Watch the movie to find out more. In the fist mode you use series of cross sections to create the object, in the second mode you use a profile and a single rail, in the third mode you use two rails and a profile.
Associated dimensions can be quite powerful, but if you don't want to use associative dimensions there is a document preference that allows you to attend this on or off.
Loft Surface - Loft With No Rail. The Loft Surface tool creates a 3-D object based on NURBS curves or 3D loci. You need to have a series of cross-sections through your object, then you can use the Loft Surface tool to create a skin across these.
Dimensions – Notes with Dimensions. In Vectorworks 2015 they have added the ability to attach notes to your dimensions. The dimension note will always appear on the opposite side to the dimension. It will also seem to the note on the dimension, which means when you move the dimension text relative to the dimension line, your will move as well.
Select Similar Objects – this tool allows you to click on an object, and based on the criteria chosen, select all the objects that match this criteria. This is extremely useful when you want to select all walls of a particular class, wall style, etc.
In the session we focused on site modifies and site modeling in Vectorworks 2015. There have been some important changes in Vectorworks 2015. One of the most important is the ability to see errors in your site model visually. This may not sound like much in improvement, but everybody who sees it comments on how important this change is. We also looked at two of the new road objects, one of which we used to build a car park.
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