Making, symbolizing & placing windows

In which we demonstrate the creation, customization, placing, and symbolizing of windows.

Place a window in the front wall.

Click the Window tool in the Building Shell toolset, then click on the wall you wish to put it in.

Customize its basic configuration.

The Wall Settings dialog appears:
(1) in the General section:
(2) set the Top Shape to Segment
(3) Turn on Transom, setting the Rise to 6 and the Spring to 9
(4) Make the Sash Operation Double Hung
(5) Set the Overall Width to 36 (3'0")
(6) Overall Height to 60 (5'0")
The Elevation Reference should be left at the default of Head of Window.
NOTE: The Elevation of a window is not the same as its Height. The Height of a window is its dimension from top to bottom; its Elevation Reference is the point by which it is placed in relation to the finished floor: by default, it is placed by the top of its Head, at the same height as a standard door: 6'8". The alternative is to set its Elevation by its Sill – which is typically used in the case of smaller windows, placed higher up, known as "clerestorey windows".
NOTE 2: In versions prior to 2010, the Corner Window is not available.

Give it a sill.

This is done in the Parts section. Note that there are three sill types to choose from: choose Brick, in this instance, since our exterior walls are brick veneer. Leave the default settings for now as is.

Add a trim.

Still in the Part popdown, choose Trim, and give it an Interior and Exterior Trim of 4".

Add muntins.

Under Muntins:
- Apply to: Top\Bottom sashes, Pattern: Colonial.
- In Vertical bars, enter 3
- Horizontal bars, enter 1

Add Exterior Shutters.

Under Exterior Shutters:
- Turn on Include Exterior Shutters
- Choose Custom, and click on the Choose Symbol popdown to choose a Shutter Louver type.

Add a lintel.

Still in Part, choose Lintel, Include Lintel, leave the default dimension settings, but choose (3)Drop as the style.

Label it W-01

In the Data section, turn on On Schedule, and leave the default label of W-01 – then OK.

Customize the window label bubble.

Choose Hexagon from the Bubble Shape popdown, and turn on the Keep ID Horiz checkbox on.

Create symbol from the window.

As we did with the door symbols. Name this by its vital statistics: W-01-3660H80-DH – i.e., 36" wide, 60" high, placed by its Head at 80" above finished floor, double-hung.

Flip the symbol window if necessary.

If the sill is facing outwards, click Flip in its Obj Info palette to Flip it out.

Switch to an Isometric view

Use a View from your Saved Views popdown, or use the standard Views popdown.

Render it using OpenGL.

Create a symbol of it.

Place it at equal increments in a wall.

Rather than do this manually, VectorWorks has a special tool for this, in the Building Shell toolset: Duplicate Symbol in Wall (1).
Click on it, then click anywhere on the intended wall where you want the symbol series to be placed.
NOTE 1: This only works with symbols – not unsymbolized windows and doors.
A dialog appears, asking the distance of the first instance from the wall end, then the distance between one instance and the next. For now, leave the default settings of Next Click on both counts, and OK.

Set the distribution manually.

With the Next Click setting, wherever you click first will determine the distance of the first window from the wall end, and as you move your cursor, a ghosted outline of the duplicates appears as well. Unless you prescribed a certain number of Copies in the previous dialog, VectorWorks will fit in as many instances as it can along this stretch of wall.

Delete – and start again.

Immediately after placing windows in this way, they are still selected, you can delete them by simply pressing delete on your keyboard. Another method is simply to Edit > Undo (⌘Z ; Windows: Ctrl+Z).
Since this is no longer the first time we're calling on this tool, we have to call up its Settings dialog manually, by clicking on the tool's preferences button in the Mode Bar (2).

Enter specific settings for duplication.

Enter 3'9" for the first instance, and 6'8" for the remainder, and OK.

View the result in Isometric.

Tweak the window symbol.

Double-click any of the window instances to edit the underlying symbol. Within the Edit Symbol space, click the window, then its Settings… button in the Obj Info palette.

Remove Exterior Shutters.

Go to the Parts section, and turn off the Exterior Shutters option.

Reduce depth of sill.

Reduce the Depth of the sill to a more manageable 6".

Remember to Exit the Symbol space…

– in order to return to the main drawing.

View result.