Attribute Types

Most of the attribute types (fill, pen, opacity, line style, and marker) are specified directly from the Attributes palette. Default attributes specify which options are available from the palette. See Setting Default Object Attributes for more information.

Hatch, gradient, and image attributes are resources, defined or selected from default resources (see Vectorworks Fundamentals Default Resources).

Image and gradient attributes are designed to function like the objects to which they apply. If an object with a gradient or image is rotated, the gradient or image also rotates.

Applying Colors

The Color Palette set provides colors for selection and specifies which colors are available in a Vectorworks file. To access the Color Palette set from the Attributes palette, click on one of the color boxes for Fill color or Pen color, when a Solid style is selected.

A similar interface is available from other areas in the application where colors are specified, although the Color By Class option is only available when accessed from the Attributes palette.

See Setting Default Colors and Palettes for information on how to set up and activate color palettes.

Select an active color palette, and then select the color to apply. To easily find a named color, begin typing; the letters display in the named color display area and the closest color match is selected. Press the Tab key to cycle through the closest matches; pause for several seconds to start the search over.

Select Color By Class to use the color attributes set by the object’s class.

If Use at Creation is enabled for the object’s class, the object’s color is automatically set by the class.

If Use at Creation is disabled for the class, the object only takes on the class color when the Color By Class option is selected.

See Setting Class Attributes.

Fill Attributes

Vectorworks objects can be filled with a solid color, fill pattern, hatch, gradient, or image. Alternatively, set the object fill default to None to create transparent objects with no fill.

 

Fill Style	Description
None	No fill is applied
Solid	Applies a solid fill; click the color box to select the fill color. To set the color by class, select the Color by Class option from the color palette. See Applying Colors.
Pattern	Applies a patterned fill style; click the pattern box to select the desired pattern, and then select the foreground color and background color from the color boxes next to the pattern. To set the pattern colors by class, select the Color by Class option from the color palette.
Hatch	Applies a hatch. Select the desired hatch from either the default resources or the current file’s resources (see Vectorworks Fundamentals Default Resources). If default content is not enabled, Vectorworks asks if a default hatch definition should be created. Another option is to create a new hatch to apply to the object by selecting Hatch from the Attributes palette list to create a new hatch to apply to the object (see Hatch Attributes).
Gradient	Applies a gradient. Select the desired gradient from either the default resources or the current file’s resources (see Vectorworks Fundamentals Default Resources). If default content is not enabled, applies a gradient defined in the Resource Browser; click the Fill Gradient Settings button to specify gradient settings (Gradient Attributes).
Image	Applies an image. Select the desired image from either the default resources or the current file’s resources (see Vectorworks Fundamentals Default Resources). If default content is not enabled, applies an image defined in the Resource Browser; click the Image Gradient Settings button to specify image settings (see Image Attributes).
Class Style	The object takes on the fill attribute set by the object’s class. If Use at Creation is enabled for the object’s class, the object’s fill style is automatically set by the class. If Use at Creation is disabled for the class, the object only takes on the class style when the Class Style option is selected. See Setting Class Attributes.

Pen Attributes

In Vectorworks, the pen setting for object outlines includes solid, dashed, or a pattern line of any thickness.

Pen Style	Description
None	No pen is applied
Solid	Applies a solid pen style; click the color box to select the pen color. To set the color by class, select the Color by Class option from the color palette. See Applying Colors. Select the line thickness for the pen from the Line Style list.
Pattern	Applies a patterned pen style; click the fill pattern box to select the desired pattern, and then select the foreground color and background color from the color boxes next to the pattern. To set the pattern colors by class, select the Color by Class option from the color palette.
Dash	Applies a dashed pen style; click the color box to select the pen color. To set the color by class, select the Color by Class option from the color palette. Select the desired dash style and line thickness from the Line Style list.
Class Style	The object takes on the pen attribute set by the object’s class. If Use at Creation is enabled for the object’s class, the object’s pen style is automatically set by the class. If Use at Creation is disabled for the class, the object only takes on the class style when the Class Style option is selected. See Setting Class Attributes.

Opacity Attributes

In addition to the overall layer opacity settings described in Setting the Design Layer Opacity, an opacity setting is available for individual objects in Top/Plan view. Opacity can be applied to any type of planar 2D object, including 2D walls, text, worksheet backgrounds, and plug-in objects that include a 2D object.

If layer opacity is set in addition to object opacity, the results are additive; for example, a layer opacity of 50% and an object opacity of 50% will display the object at 25% opacity. Similarly, the opacity settings of nested and container objects are combined.

The Quartz (Macintosh) or GDI+ (Windows) imaging Vectorworks preference must be enabled to apply and display the opacity attribute. See Display Preferences.

From the Attributes palette, click the Opacity button to open the Set Opacity dialog box.

Drag the Opacity slider to the left to increase the transparency, or enter an opacity percentage (0‑100) in the box to the right of the slider. Click Set Opacity to make the setting.

Select Use Class Opacity to use the opacity value set by the object’s class.

If Use at Creation is enabled for the object’s class, the object’s opacity is automatically set by the class.

If Use at Creation is disabled for the class, the object only takes on the class style when the Use Class Opacity option is selected.

See Setting Class Attributes. Class opacity can be overridden in viewports.

The opacity setting applies to 2D objects only. For a similar effect in 3D, a transparency shader can be applied with Renderworks (see Creating Textures).

Line Style Attributes

Line style attributes include line thickness and dash style parameters, and apply to the pen style of an object. Apply line thickness attributes to 2D and 3D objects; apply dash styles to 2D objects and walls in 2D views.

From the Attributes palette, select the line thickness and dash style from the Line Style list. When a dashed line style is selected, the Pen attribute automatically changes to Dash. Available dash styles are determined by the Dash Styles command; see Setting the Default Dash Styles.

Line thickness values available in the Line Style list are determined by the Line Thickness command. See Setting the Default Line Thickness for more information. Click Set Thickness to temporarily adjust the line thickness to a value that is not available in the list. The Set Thickness dialog box opens. Select the Thickness Units, enter the Thickness Value, and click OK.

Select Class Thickness to use the line style attributes set by the object’s class.

If Use at Creation is enabled for the object’s class, the object’s line style is automatically set by the class.

If Use at Creation is disabled for the class, the object only takes on the class style when the Class Thickness option is selected.

See Setting Class Attributes.

A line, double line, arc, or circle can be changed to a dimension by selecting the dimension line style. Lines change to linear dimensions, arcs to angular dimensions, and circles to radial dimensions. See Dimensioning for more information on dimensions.

Marker Attributes

Markers can be applied to each end of open objects, including lines, dimensions, arcs, polylines, 2D polygons, and freehand lines.

In the Attributes palette, the active marker type displays for toggled selection for the line start and the line end. When the active marker is selected for the end of an object, the marker selection box is highlighted. Click the starting marker button, ending marker button, or both buttons to specify the end(s) to receive the selected marker. Alternatively, click the Marker Link Toggle button (it becomes highlighted when enabled) to apply the active start marker type to both ends.

To switch to a different marker style, click Line Startpoint Style or Line Endpoint Style. Select the active marker style from the list, or click Edit Marker List to create a new style. See Setting Default Marker Types for more information.

Select Class Style to use the marker attributes set by the object’s class.

If Use at Creation is enabled for the object’s class, the object’s marker style is automatically set by the class.

If Use at Creation is disabled for the class, the object only takes on the class style when the Class Style option is selected.

See Setting Class Attributes.