Modifying Tool Palettes and Tool Sets

Modify tool palettes and tool sets, and assign keyboard shortcuts to tools, as needed. Tools can only be added to tool sets, not to tool palettes.

To provide more drawing space, stack the tools that have similar functionality.

To add, modify, or delete a tool palette or a tool set:

1.	Access the Workspace Editor dialog box as described in Creating or Editing a Workspace.

2.

Click the Tools tab. The left side of the dialog box displays all available tools, grouped by category. The right side of the dialog box displays the tool palettes, the tool sets, and the tools that are currently assigned to the workspace. Modify the tool palettes and the tool sets as described in the following table.

For the Basic palette, the edit tools and the tools for 2D and 3D object creation are listed in the View/Draw tool set.

The Don’t Put in Workspace folder may display on the Tools tab. It contains plug-in objects that are inserted in the drawing by VectorWorks tools. Do not move the plug-in objects from this folder into the workspace, or VectorWorks will not be able to locate them.

 

Option	Description
Add a new tool palette	Click-drag the New Tool Palette command from the Create list to the Palettes list; click the item’s text label and type the new palette’s name in place of New Tool Palette
Add a new tool set	Click-drag the New Tool Set command from the Create list to the Palettes list; click the item’s text label and type the new tool set’s name in place of New Tool Set
Change a tool set icon	To change the default icon for the tool set, select the tool set, click Set Tool Set Icon, and use the dialog that opens to select a 22 x 22 PNG image file to use
Add a tool or a tool category to a tool set	Click the plus sign (Windows) or triangle (Macintosh) to expand the list of tools; click-drag the tool (or the entire group of tools) from the Tools list to the desired position in the Palettes list
Move an item	Click-drag the item in the Palettes list to the desired position
Delete an item	Select the item in the Palettes list and press the Delete key, or (on Windows) drag the item outside of the Palettes list display area. If you delete an item that has other items stacked beneath it, all of the stacked items are deleted along with the main item; to prevent this, move the stacked items to another location first.
Change the name of a tool palette or a tool set	Select the item from the Palettes list, click the item’s text label, and type the desired name; tools cannot be renamed

3.	If desired, assign or change the combination of keys to use as a shortcut to access a tool.

 

Shortcut Key Combination	Description
Macintosh
Use key	Assigns this key to access this tool
Use Option + key	Assigns the combination of the Option key and another key to access this tool
Use Shift + key	Assigns the combination of the Shift key and another key to access this tool
Use Option + Shift + key	Assigns the combination of the Option key, Shift key, and another key to access this tool
Windows
Use key	Assigns this key to access this tool
Use Alt key	Assigns the combination of the Alt key and another key to access this tool
Use Shift + key	Assigns the combination of the Shift key and another key to access this tool
Use Alt + Shift + key	Assigns the combination of the Alt key, Shift key, and another key to access this tool

If a keyboard shortcut is already in use, the option to reassign the shortcut to the current tool is provided. If the shortcut is reassigned, the original tool no longer has a shortcut.

4.	If necessary, modify or delete a keyboard shortcut.

 

Option	Description
Modify a keyboard shortcut	Select the shortcut from the Palettes list; select a new shortcut key combination and/or enter a different key for the shortcut (if that key is reserved by VectorWorks or is already in use, a message displays)
Delete a keyboard shortcut	Select the shortcut key from the Palettes list and press Delete or Backspace

5.	Click OK to close the Workspace Editor dialog box.