In this tutorial, Brandon PT Davis—Theatrical Scenic Designer—introduces the Resource Manager, one of Vectorworks’ most powerful tools for managing textures, symbols, hatches, and other file assets. Whether you're drafting a full set or building out a scenic rendering library, mastering the Resource Manager will streamline your workflow and help keep your files organized.

Brandon begins by showing how to dock the Resource Manager panel using the pushpin icon and explains the structure of its two main panes:

• The File Browser Pane (left side), which displays local and cloud-based libraries, including your working file, Vectorworks libraries, and saved favorites.

• The Resource Viewer Pane (center), where you can preview and manage assets such as symbols, textures, and resource folders.

Key features covered include:

• Creating custom folders to group textures or symbols by category

• Drag-and-drop functionality to move assets between folders

• Changing view modes (e.g., from top/plan to isometric or OpenGL) to preview assets visually

• Using the Search Bar and dropdown filter to locate resources across the file, libraries, or online cloud content

• Adding cloud-based resources, such as prebuilt glass textures, directly into your drawing

• Editing downloaded resources without affecting the original source

Brandon also walks through creating a new Renderworks Texture, naming it, assigning a color, and adding it to a custom folder. Although the full texture creation process is covered in a separate video, this tutorial provides a solid foundation.

Pro Tips:

• Use the Resource Manager > New Resource button to add custom materials, styles, and textures.

• Double-click resources to apply, or drag them into your drawing.