In this tutorial, Brandon PT Davis—Theatrical Scenic Designer—demonstrates how to install a custom Vectorworks workspace and template, which is essential when working within a studio, school, or theatre company that provides pre-configured environments for consistency and collaboration.

Brandon walks through a step-by-step process using a real-world example from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). This tutorial focuses on Vectorworks 2021, but the principles apply to most recent versions.

You’ll learn:

• What a workspace and template are, and why they’re essential for collaborative workflows

• How to copy your provided Vectorworks User Folder to the Documents directory

• How to access Vectorworks Preferences and redirect the User Data and Preference Folder to the new custom folder

• Why you should decline saving default settings when prompted, to ensure a clean setup

• Where to locate the Vectorworks application folder and delete the default workspace files

• How to relaunch Vectorworks with only your custom workspace visible

• How to open a company or school-provided basic template file from the “New File” dialog

Pro Tips:

• Always keep your user folder outside the program directory (Documents is safest)

• Don’t go inside the user folder when selecting it in Preferences—select the folder itself

• On Windows: C:\Program Files\Vectorworks 2021\Workspaces
  On Mac: Applications > Vectorworks 2021 > Workspaces

By following this process, you’ll eliminate workspace clutter and ensure every team member works in a standardized, streamlined environment. This is especially useful in academic programs or theatrical production shops where consistency across multiple users is critical.