Creating a Referenced Design Layer Viewport

There are two ways to reference design layers that are in other VectorWorks files:

The default method in the VectorWorks Design Series is to create a design layer viewport and then reference the desired design layers from the master file into the viewport, as described here.

In VectorWorks Fundamentals, design layers are imported into the target file when they are referenced. For backward compatibility, the Design Series supports this method. See Adding and Editing Layer Import References

To create a design layer viewport that references a design layer in another file:

1.

If the current file uses layer import referencing, switch to design layer viewport referencing. (From the References tab of the Organization dialog box, click Settings, and click the Design layer viewports option on the Reference Settings dialog box. Any existing referenced layers are automatically converted into referenced design layer viewports.)

2.	Select View > Create Viewport. Alternatively, from either the Organization dialog box or the Navigation palette, select the Viewports tab, and click New.

3.	The Create Viewport dialog box opens. Select the design layer on which to create the viewport.

4.	Click Select Source to open the Select Viewport Source dialog box.

 

Parameter	Description
Current Document / External Document	Select External Document to indicate that the design layers that will display in this viewport are in a different file
Existing Reference	If the master file is already a reference in this file, select this option, and then select the reference from the list
New Reference	Select this option if this is a new reference, and click Choose to open the Open Current-Version Drawing dialog box; locate the master file and click Open to return to this dialog box. The path to the selected file displays below the New Reference field. Referenced VectorWorks files must be the same version as the target file.
Save reference location as	Maintains either an absolute or relative file path reference from the current file to the referenced file. Use the absolute path when the location of the referenced file with respect to the current file is not going to change. Use the relative path when the files might be moved to another computer or platform; as long as the relative path between the files remains the same, the reference can be found. Both files must be saved on the save volume to select this option. The Source File path displays either an absolute or relative path, depending on the selection.
Automatically update out of date reference during file open	Updates the reference each time the target file is opened; when deselected, the reference is updated only when Update is clicked from the References tab of the Organization dialog box
Save referenced cache to disk	Saves a copy of the referenced data with the target file. When this option is deselected, a copy of the referenced data is not saved, which means that the target file size is smaller; the referenced data is refreshed when the target file is opened.

5.	Click OK in the Select Viewport Source dialog box to return to the Create Viewport dialog box.

6.	Specify the design layers and classes to display in the viewport (see Changing the Layer Properties of Design Layer Viewports and Changing the Class Properties of Design Layer Viewports).

7.

Click OK.

The viewport is created on the designated design layer, and the design layer becomes active. The viewport can be cropped, as described in Cropping Design Layer Viewports.

Adding or Editing References for Design Layer Viewports

Workgroup referencing allows you to use information from other VectorWorks files in your file, including design layers, classes, and resources (such as hatches, worksheets, or symbols). Referencing in the Design Series is different from VectorWorks Fundamentals referencing because it uses design layer viewports to reference design layers in other VectorWorks files. One advantage to this method is that all of the layers, classes, and resources from the master file are not automatically imported into the target file. In addition, image and PDF files can be referenced. The Design Series uses this type of referencing by default, but you can choose to use Fundamentals (layer import) referencing for a particular file if necessary.

Use the References tab of the Organization dialog box to create references to VectorWorks, image, and PDF files, and to edit or update existing references. A reference for a design layer viewport can be created when the viewport is created, or it can be created ahead of time from the References tab.

For detailed information about other aspects of workgroup referencing in both Fundamentals and Design Series, see Workgroup Referencing.

To add or edit references when design layer viewport referencing is enabled:

1.	Access the target file, and select Tools > Organization.

The Organization dialog box opens.

2.	Click the References tab.

Referenced files are listed in priority order, along with their current status, whether they are set to update automatically when the target file is opened, and whether they are set to save copies of the referenced items with the file.

 

Parameter	Description
New	Opens the Open File dialog box to select a new reference file
Edit	Opens the Edit Reference dialog box to change the parameters of a selected reference file
Delete	Opens the Delete Reference dialog box to delete a file from the list of referenced files, and to choose whether to keep the referenced layers and resources in the target file; see Deleting References
Update	Manually updates the referenced items from the selected file(s)
Settings	Opens the Reference Settings dialog box to set options for updates of referenced items; see Setting the Referencing Options

3.	To edit a current reference file, select the file and click Edit.

The Edit Reference dialog box opens. Proceed to step 5.

4.	To add a new reference file, click New.

The Open File dialog box opens. Select the desired file, and then click Open to open the appropriate dialog box:

VectorWorks file: New Reference dialog box

Image file: Image Import Options dialog box

PDF file: Import PDF dialog box

Referenced VectorWorks files must be the same version as the target file.

5.	From the New Reference or Edit Reference dialog box, specify the parameters for the workgroup reference.

 

Parameter	Description
Source File	Displays the path and file name of the referenced master file; if the Edit option was selected, click Browse to edit the file location
Save reference location as	Maintains either an absolute or relative file path reference from the current file to the referenced file. Use the absolute path when the location of the referenced file with respect to the current file is not going to change. Use the relative path when the files might be moved to another computer or platform; as long as the relative path between the files remains the same, the reference can be found. Both files must be saved on the save volume to select this option. The Source File path displays either an absolute or relative path, depending on the selection.
Save referenced cache to disk	Saves a copy of the referenced data with the target file. When this option is deselected, a copy of the referenced data is not saved, which means that the target file size is smaller; the referenced data is refreshed when the target file is opened.
Automatically update out of date reference during file open	Updates the reference each time the target file is opened; when deselected, the reference is updated only when Update is clicked from the References tab of the Organization dialog box
Update class definitions for referenced symbols	Updates class definitions along with the referenced symbols that use those classes; this field does not appear if the reference is for an image or PDF file

6.	Click OK to return to the Organization dialog box.