Setting the Default Dash Styles

The Dash Styles dialog box specifies which dash styles are available for selection.

To set the file’s default dash styles:

1.	Select File > Document Settings > Dash Styles.

The Dash Style dialog box opens.

 

Parameter	Description
Dash styles	Displays a graphical list of the file’s dash styles
New	Opens the Edit Dash Style dialog box, to create a new dash style based on the currently selected dash style. Up to 22 customized styles can be added to the ten default dash styles, for a total of 32 styles. Once at the 32 style limit, this button is disabled.
Edit	Opens the Edit Dash Style dialog box, to edit the currently selected dash style
Delete	Deletes the currently selected dash style; if the deleted dash style has been applied to objects, the Map Dash Style dialog box opens to select the replacement dash style

2.	To create a new dash style, click New; to edit the currently selected style, click Edit.

The Edit Dash Style dialog box opens. Set the dash style by either dragging the levers of the highlighted section on the graph, or by highlighting the desired section with the arrow buttons and specifying Line Length and Gap Length values.

 

Parameter	Description
Dash graph	Levers indicate the distance (in page inches or page millimeters) between dash sections; a section consists of a line and a gap. Drag a new lever from the right edge of the dash graph to add a dash section, or drag a lever to the right to delete a section. Up to ten levers can define a dash style. Define the section visually by dragging the levers of the highlighted section until the line and gap are at the desired distance. The distance between the first two highlighted levers indicates the line length, and the distance between the last two highlighted levers indicates the gap length.
<< or >>	Selects a highlighted section for editing; alternatively, click on the section to highlight
Line Length	Specifies the length of the line, in page units, for the highlighted dash section
Gap Length	Specifies the length of the gap, in page units, for the highlighted dash section
Scale with line thickness	Maintains the proportion between the dash style and the line thickness

The 2D line dash pattern is automatically adjusted to prevent spaces at either end of the line.

3.	Click OK to return to the Dash Styles dialog box.

4.	Click OK to set the default dash styles for the file.

When exporting a file to a version prior to VectorWorks 12, the system truncates the number of dash styles to 24. In the Dash Styles dialog box, dash styles #1-24 are retained; on the Attributes palette and for the Dash Style within View > Rendering > Line Render Options, the first 24 dash styles beneath the solid line dash style are retained.