Using Wall Styles

Un-styled walls can be used in Architect. The use of wall styles, however, facilitates drawing walls by saving the wall preferences settings so that they can be easily applied to other walls. Wall styles are resources that can be imported into other files and shared as office standards. Wall styles, textures, and hatches are provided as default resources (default resources are automatically imported into the current file at the point of use and display in the Resource Browser; see VectorWorks Design Series Default Resources).

If a selected wall style’s parameters are edited, the wall style automatically changes to un-styled, indicating that the edited style must be saved as a new style to save changes (alternatively, the changes can be applied as an un-styled wall, and not get saved).

The basic properties of a styled wall (such as wall height and caps) can be changed from the Object Info palette without requiring a new style definition.

Unused wall styles can be purged; see Purging Unused Objects.

Creating Wall Styles

To create a wall style:

1.	Select the Wall or Round Wall tool from the Building Shell tool set, and then click Wall Preferences from the Tool bar.

The Wall Preferences dialog box opens.

2.	To modify an existing wall style, select the Wall Style from either the default resources or the current file’s resources; see VectorWorks Design Series Default Resources. Alternatively, select Un-Styled as the wall style and set the parameters.

3.	Specify the wall and component parameters as described in Creating Walls in Architect, and Drawing Straight Walls.

4.	Click Save Preferences as Wall Style.

The Assign Name dialog box opens.

5.	Enter a unique name for the wall style and click OK.

If the wall style name already exists, you are prompted to cancel and select a different name, or replace existing walls with the wall style applied with the edited wall style. If replacing wall styles, the Wall Replacement dialog box opens; specify the wall alignment properties.

6.	The new wall style is saved with the file and is listed under Wall Styles in the Resource Browser as well as the Wall Style list in the Tool bar.

A new wall style can also be created by clicking New Resource > Wall Style from the Resources menu in the Resource Browser. A wall style created in this way is not associated with the current wall preference setting, but can be applied later.

7.

Worksheets listing the current wall styles and wall areas in the drawing can be added to the drawing from the VA Create Schedule command or the Resource Browser. From the Resource Browser, open the Libraries\Defaults\Reports~Schedules\Architectural Reports.vwx file that is included with Architect. Drag the Wall Area and/or Wall Style Report worksheet to the drawing. The worksheet is populated with information from the objects in the current drawing.

Editing Wall Styles

To edit a wall style:

1.	Select the wall style from the Resource Browser and click Edit from the Resources menu.

The Edit Wall Style dialog box opens.

2.	Edit the wall and component parameters as described in Creating Walls in Architect, and Drawing Straight Walls.

If a new wall style Name is specified, it replaces the selected wall style name.

3.

Click OK.

4.	If walls with that style already exist in the drawing, the Wall Replacement dialog box opens (see Replacing Wall Styles).

The wall style to apply cannot be selected (the edited style is applied). Select the wall alignment properties.

5.	Click OK to edit the wall style.

Changes apply to any existing walls in the drawing with the edited wall style, and will be used for any subsequent walls created with that wall style.

Applying Wall Styles

By a variety of methods, wall styles can be selected for a wall before drawing it, or applied to existing walls. Once a wall style has been selected for a wall, the Attributes palette is no longer available for changing wall attributes; attributes are set as part of the style.

To apply a wall style prior to drawing the wall:

1.	Select the Wall or Round Wall tool from the Building Shell tool set.

2.	Select the desired style from the Wall Style list on the Tool bar.

Alternatively, click Wall Preferences from the Tool bar. In the Wall Preferences dialog box, select the Wall Style from either the default resources or the current file’s resources; see VectorWorks Design Series Default Resources.

To apply a wall style from the Resource Browser prior to drawing the wall:

1.	Ensure that no walls are selected.

2.	Select a wall style in the Resource Browser, and click Apply from the Resources menu.

Alternatively, double-click on the wall style in the Resource Browser.

3.	The Wall tool is automatically made active and the selected wall style is applied to the wall as it is drawn. (If a round wall is desired, select the Round Wall tool from the Building Shell tool set.)

To apply a wall style to an existing wall from the Object Info palette:

1.	Select one or more walls.

2.	From the Object Info palette, select the wall Style from either the default resources or the current file’s resources; see VectorWorks Design Series Default Resources.

To apply a different (default) style, select Replace (see Replacing Wall Styles).

To apply a wall style to an existing wall from the Resource Browser:

1.	Select one or more walls.

2.	Select the wall style from the Resource Browser and click Apply from the Resources menu. Alternatively, drag the selected wall style from the Resource browser to the wall and click on the wall selection.

The Wall Replacement dialog box opens (see Replacing Wall Styles).

3.	Select the wall alignment properties. The wall style list is disabled (the style selected in the Resource Browser is applied).

A styled wall can be converted to an un-styled wall.

To remove a wall style:

1.	Select one or more walls to un-style.

2.	From the Object Info palette, select Convert to Un-Styled Wall.

The wall is released from its style; its attributes can be edited from the Attributes palette.

Replacing Wall Styles

Wall styles applied to existing walls can be replaced with a different wall style.

To replace a wall style:

1.	Select one or more walls.

2.	From the Object Info palette, select Replace from the Style list.

The Wall Replacement dialog box opens. Specify the new wall style, and then select a component (or the wall) from the current and replacement structure lists. Specify the alignment option for each selection; the preview updates, with a red line showing the replacement alignment.

 

Parameter	Description
Wall style list	From the list, select the wall style that will replace the current style
Previews	The left preview shows the current wall style, and the right preview shows the replacement wall style selected in the wall style list. Preview walls are drawn from left to right, so the “top” of the preview, by default, indicates the left part of the wall as it will be drawn.
Align lists	On the left, the current wall structure is listed; the right list displays the replacement wall structure. Select one wall component from each list and specify its alignment options. The previews update with red lines to show how the replacement wall will align with the current wall.
Alignment options	Select an option for aligning the current structure to the replacement structure
Replacement options	Select whether to replace the current settings for wall height, class, and texture (RenderWorks required for textures) with those of the new wall

If walls with different wall styles were selected for replacement, the current wall preview is blank and components are not listed. Wall alignment can only occur for the left, center, or right of the selected wall(s).

3.	Click OK to replace the wall style of the selected wall(s).