In this advanced Vectorworks tutorial, Brandon PT Davis—Theatrical Scenic Designer—walks through the process of adding 2D annotations, dimensions, labels, and detail viewports in a sheet layer. This is an essential step for preparing professional drafting plates used in scenic and production design.

The tutorial begins with a brief review of setting up Viewports from your Design Layer using a crop rectangle. Brandon then shows how to:

• Name your Viewports clearly (e.g., 1-1 Wall Plan)

• Modify grid settings and layout spacing for clean visual hierarchy

• Access Annotations by double-clicking into a viewport

From there, the focus shifts to dimensioning strategies:

• Use Constrained Chain Dimensions for continuous, linear measurements

• Differentiate between Constrained and Unconstrained modes

• Adjust drawing label styles, display scale, and label line modes

• Insert section line markers and update drawing references manually

• Hotkeys like D for Drawing Label and N for Dimension Tool improve speed

Brandon also shares several efficiency tricks:

• Add 2D human figures from the Resource Manager to scale your drawing

• Use callout tools to label materials and scenic components

• Create Detail Viewports to highlight small elements like molding, and scale them independently (e.g., ½” = 3”)

A clever trick with white-filled rectangles is shown to mask intersecting dimension lines, helping keep drawings clean and readable.

Finally, the tutorial concludes with publishing to PDF using File > Publish, including how to group sheets into reusable sets for large drawing packages.