The Vectorworks Landmark Plant Database

Overview
TheplantdatabaseprovidedwiththeVectorworksLandmarkproductmanagesanextensivelistofplantnamesand botanicalinformationwhichcanbeusedtoassociatespecificplantdatawithplantdefinitions. TheplantdatabaseisastandaloneFileMakerapplicationthatopensinaseparatewindow.Thebenefitsofusingthe FileMakerdatabaseforplantdatamanagementincludeimprovednavigation,editing,searching,andfiltering,aswell astheabilitytoimportdatafromindustrystandardsources.Atinstallation,alargesetofplantrecordsisprovided. FileMakerisacomprehensivedatamanagementprogram.Thedetailsofeverymenucommandandoptionare beyondthescopeofthismanual.However,allrelevantinformationforusingFileMakerinconjunctionwiththe VectorworksLandmarksoftwareispresented.FamiliaritywithFileMakerisnotrequiredtousethedatabaseorto managebotanicaldata,ortousethatdatawiththeLandmarksoftware.ThefullversionofFileMakercanalsobeused whenworkingwiththeplantdatabase.ForindepthinformationaboutFileMaker,includingproductdocumentation, visitwww.filemaker.comandnavigatetotheSupportarea.(Theplantdatabasemaynotcontainallthefunctionality documentedforthefullversionofFileMaker.) Thegeneralworkflowconsistsofmanagingthebotanicalinformationintheplantdatabaseapplication,andfrom there,creatingtheplantliststobeusedintheLandmarksoftware.

AccessingthePlantDatabase ImportingPlantDatabaseInformation ManagingPlantDatabaseRecords UsingPlantListDatainVectorworksLandmark

Accessing the Plant Database

Accessingtheplantdatabaseforthefirsttimerequiresinitialsetup. Toaccesstheplantdatabaseforthefirsttime: 1. SelectLandmark>VWPlantsDatabase. TheChoosePlantDatabaseLocationdialogboxopens.

| The Vectorworks Landmark Plant Database

2. Indicatewheretheplantdatabaseinformationistobelocated.Bydefault,theplantdatabaseisstoredlocally,in theuserfolderofthecomputerwhereVectorworksisinstalled.Largerofficesthatwishtosharetheplant databaseamongseveralcomputerscanstoreandaccesstheplantdatabasefromaworkgroupfolderlocatedona centralcomputerorserver.Alternatively,selectBrowsefordatabasefolderandthenclickBrowsetospecifythe desiredlocation. Ifthisisthefirsttimetheplantdatabaseisbeingaccessedanditdoesnotyetexistinthespecifiedlocation,the databaseisautomaticallycreatedinthatlocation.Whenevertheplantdatabaseisopenedinthefuture,itwilluse thedatafromthatlocation.ThelocationcanbechangedatanypointbyselectingLandmark>ChooseVW Plants.Itispossibletomaintainseveralplantdatabasesandswitchamongthemwiththiscommand. 3. ClickOK.Thecreationofanewplantdatabaselocationmaytakeafewmoments. TheVWPlantsdialogboxmayopen.SpecifyausernamefortheFileMakerapplication.

4. ClickOK. TheVectorworksLandmarkplantdatabaseopens,inaseparatewindow.

Importing Plant Database Information |

Oncetheplantdatabasehasbeensetup,itisaccessedimmediatelywhenselectingLandmark>VWPlants Database.Theplantdatabasecanalsobeaccessedwhencreatingaplantdefinition,byclickingOpenVWPlants fromtheGetPlantDatadialogbox.

ViewingPlantDatabaseRecords ManagingPlantDatabaseRecords ImportingPlantDatabaseInformation SearchingforPlants

Importing Plant Database Information

Adefaultsetofplantdatabaserecordsisprovidedatinstallation.Theplantdatabasesupportsseveraldataformatsfor import,includingtabdelimitedfiles,Excelspreadsheets,.xmlfiles,andmanyothers.Theimportfolderfeature allowsmoviesandimagestobeimported.Inaddition,plantlistsfrompreviousversionoftheVectorworkssoftware canbeimported. Toimportplantdatabaseinformation: 1. OpentheplantdatabaseasdescribedinAccessingthePlantDatabase. 2. SelecttheFile>ImportRecordsdatabasecommand,andchoosetheimportoption.Files,folders,or.xmlfiles canbeimported.SelectthiscommandtoimportplantlistsfromVectorworksversionspriorto12.

| The Vectorworks Landmark Plant Database

ToimportplantlistsfromVectorworkssoftwareversion12.x,selecttheFile>ImportVectorworks12PlantList databasecommand. 3. Afterspecifyingthelocationofthefile(s)toimport,fieldmappingisrequiredtoimportthedatacorrectlyinto thecurrentdatabase.(ForVectorworks12.xplantlists,fieldmappingisautomaticallyperformed.) TheimportantmappingfieldsforproperusearedescribedinPlantDatabaseFieldMappinginthe VectorworksHelpsystem.ConsulttheSupportareaofwww.filemaker.comifmoreinformationisrequired.

Adding Additional Plant Data

AdditionalplantdatasetsmaybelocatedinthePlantDatabase\VWPlants\AdditionalDatasetsfolder.Thesefiles typicallycontainregionalplantsetsprovidedbyadistributororotherplantsetsinstalledwiththeVectorworks Landmarksoftware.Thefieldmatchinghasalreadybeenperformedforthesedatasets,andtheyareeasytoaddtothe plantdatabase. ToaddplantdatafromtheAdditionalDatasetsfolder: 1. OpentheplantdatabaseasdescribedinAccessingthePlantDatabase. 2. SelecttheFile>AddAdditionalPlantDatadatabasecommand. Selectthefiletoimport.Fieldmappingisautomatic,andtheplantinformationisaddedtotheplantdatabase.

ViewingPlantDatabaseRecords ManagingPlantDatabaseRecords AccessingthePlantDatabase SearchingforPlants

Viewing Plant Database Records

EachplantentryanditsassociatedbotanicalinformationisconsideredarecordinFileMaker.Severalviewmodes displaytherecordsinwaysdesignedtofacilitateperformingrelatedtasks.Whentheplantdatabasefirstopens,the recordsoperateinBrowsemode,withFormsdisplayed. Tofamiliarizeyourselfwiththedifferentdisplaymodes,andviewtheplantrecordsinavarietyofways: 1. OpentheplantdatabaseasdescribedinAccessingthePlantDatabase. 2. SelecttheView>StatusAreadatabasecommandtoenableviewingcontrolsandstatustotheleftoftherecord form. TheseitemscanalsobefoundontheViewmenu.
Toggle among the view modes Displays the current view mode Toggle between the data and the web views View the previous or the next record (Browse or Preview modes) Displays the total number of plant records and their sort status

Scroll through the records Displays the current record number; enter a record number to display

3. Selecttheviewmodeandlayoutdependingonthetasktoaccomplish.

Searching for Plants | Mode or View

Browse Find Preview Form List Table DataView WebView

Description
Displaysplantrecordinformationandallowsediting Displaysablankformforspecifyingsearchcriteria Displaysplantrecordinformationasitwillbeprinted Displayseachrecordasanindividualformorpage Displaysrecordsconsecutivelyinascrollablelist Displayseachrecordasaniteminatable,forsortingandreordering Displaysplantrecordinformation Displaysaspecialbrowser(usingthedefaultsystembrowser)forlocatingplant imagesandinformation

AccessingthePlantDatabase SearchingforPlants ManagingPlantDatabaseRecords AccessingPlantInformationfromtheInternet CreatingPlantListsforVectorworksLandmark

Searching for Plants

TheplantdatabasecanbesearchedwheninFindmode(seeViewingPlantDatabaseRecords).Flexible,sophisticated searchescanbeconductedbycombiningsearchcriteria. Tosearchforplants: 1. OpentheplantdatabaseasdescribedinAccessingthePlantDatabase. 2. SelecttheView>FindModedatabasecommandorclickFindmodefromtheStatusAreacontrols. Ablankformopens. 3. Enterthecriteriaforsearching. ExamplesincludesearchingfortheLatinnameLiatris,LightRangeSun,withaHeight>35ft. ClicktheOmitbuttonintheStatusAreatoexclude,ratherthansearchfor,thecriteria.UsetheSymbolslistfor evenmorespecificsearches. 4. ClickFind. 5. TheviewmodeautomaticallyswitchestoBrowse,andtherecordsthatmeetthesearchcriteriaaredisplayed. TheresultsofasearchcanbesavedtoaplantlistintheVectorworksLandmarksoftware.Toreturntoviewingall theplantrecords,selecttheRecords>ShowAllRecordsdatabasecommand.

AccessingthePlantDatabase ViewingPlantDatabaseRecords ManagingPlantDatabaseRecords AccessingPlantInformationfromtheInternet CreatingPlantListsforVectorworksLandmark

| The Vectorworks Landmark Plant Database

Managing Plant Database Records

Editing Plant Records
PlantdatabaserecordscanbeeditedinBrowsemode,whetherinform,list,ortableview(seeViewingPlantDatabase Records). Toeditplantrecords: 1. OpentheplantdatabaseasdescribedinAccessingthePlantDatabase. 2. SelecttheView>BrowseModedatabasecommandorclickBrowsemodefromtheStatusAreacontrols. 3. Selecttheplantrecordtoeditbyscrollingorsearching. 4. Changesmadetothefieldsandcheckboxesareautomaticallysaved. Usefuleditsinclude: MarkingaplantasaFavorite(tosearchforfavoriteplantslater) IndicatingtheProjectInformation(totrackplantsbyproject) Addingcustominformationtodropdownlists Placinganimage,video,audio,pastedtext,orlinktoanembeddedobjectintooneofthreecontainers; rightclickonanimagecontainertoaccesstheoptions Addingimagecreditsanddatasourceinformationtoavoidcopyrightissues AddingextraplantorprojectinformationthatisusefulintheVectorworkssoftware

SwitchbetweenmetricandimperialunitsfortheHeightandSpreadfieldswiththeEdit>Options>Use ImperialValueListsorUseMetricValueListsdatabasecommands.

Image container

Accessing Plant Information from the Internet |

ProjectIDnumbersandfavoritescanbeeasilybeaddedtoallplantsfoundbyasearch,withtheRecords>Add ProjectIDandRecords>MarkAsFavoritedatabasecommands.ThesefieldscanbeaccessedintheVectorworks softwareandareusefulfortrackingandfindingplants.IftheProjectIDisnolongerneededatthecompletionofa project,searchforallplantswiththatIDandthenselecttheRecords>DeleteProjectIDdatabasecommandto removeit.

Adding Plant Records

Toaddaplanttotheplantdatabaselist: 1. OpentheplantdatabaseasdescribedinAccessingthePlantDatabase. 2. SelecttheView>BrowseModedatabasecommandorclickBrowsemodefromtheStatusAreacontrols. 3. SelecttheRecords>NewRecorddatabasecommand. Newrecordsareappendedtotheendoftherecordset. 4. Entertheplantinformation.Informationissavedautomatically.

Deleting Plant Records

Toremoveaplantfromtheplantdatabaselist: 1. OpentheplantdatabaseasdescribedinAccessingthePlantDatabase. 2. Locatetherecordorrecordstodelete,bysearchingorscrolling. 3. SelecttheRecords>DeleteRecorddatabasecommandtodeleteanindividualrecord,orRecords>Delete FoundRecordstodeleteafoundsetofrecords. Confirmthedeletion;thisactioncannotbeundone.

AccessingthePlantDatabase ViewingPlantDatabaseRecords SearchingforPlants AccessingPlantInformationfromtheInternet CreatingPlantListsforVectorworksLandmark

Accessing Plant Information from the Internet

IfaccesstotheInternetisavailable,plantimagesandinformationareeasilyobtainedfromwithintheplantdatabase window.Imagescanbecopieddirectlyintothedatabase(imagecreditscanalsobespecified). ToaccessplantinformationfromtheInternet: 1. OpentheplantdatabaseasdescribedinAccessingthePlantDatabase. 2. Locatetheplantrecordthatrequiresimagesorinformation. 3. SelecttheView>SwapDataView/WebViewdatabasecommandtotoggletowebview. Inwebview,asearchisautomaticallyconductedforthecurrentplant,anditsinformationandimagesare displayed.

| The Vectorworks Landmark Plant Database

4. Clickonthewebviewtabstofindplantinformationfromfourdifferentsources. 5. Clickthebuttonstonavigatethroughthewebpagesofeachtabortoresettheviewtotheinitialsearch(basedon Latinname).

Forward

Back

Reset

6. ToeasilycopyanimagefromtheInternettotheplantdatabase,selectCopy(Windows)orCopyImage (Macintosh)fromtheimagecontextmenu.ThenselectPasteBitmap(Windows)orPaste(Macintosh)fromthe imagecontainercontextmenu.ImagecreditscanbeaddedintheImageCreditsareaundertheimages,toavoid copyrightissues. Imagefilescanalsobesavedandinsertedintothedatabaselater,asdescribedinEditingPlantRecords.

Creating Plant Lists for Vectorworks Landmark |

7. SelecttheView>SwapDataView/WebViewdatabasecommandtoreturntothedatabaseview.

AccessingthePlantDatabase ViewingPlantDatabaseRecords CreatingPlantListsforVectorworksLandmark

Creating Plant Lists for Vectorworks Landmark

PlantlistsaretheconnectionbetweentheFileMakerplantdatabaseandtheVectorworksLandmarkproduct.Creating plantlistsfromtheentireset,orfromfoundsets,intheplantdatabaseallowsthatdatatobeattachedtoplantsinthe Vectorworkssoftware.Createasmanyplantlistsasnecessary;theappropriateplantlistisselectedfortheplant definition.Thedataattachedtoaplantbecomespartoftheplantdefinition,andcanbeaddedtoplantingplansand displayedbyplantIDtags. Plantlistsarecreatedfromtheplantdatabase;plantlistscanalsobecreatedautomaticallybasedonplantcategory. Tocreateaplantlistfromtheplantdatabase: 1. OpentheplantdatabaseasdescribedinAccessingthePlantDatabase. 2. Searchfortheplantstoincludeintheplantlist(seeSearchingforPlants).Theplantlistiscreatedfromafound setofrecords,orfromalltheplantrecords.LargerplantliststakelongertoloadintotheVectorworksLandmark product. 3. SelecttheFile>CreateVectorworksPlantListdatabasecommand. TheCreatePlantListdialogboxopens.Provideanamefortheplantlist.

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| The Vectorworks Landmark Plant Database

4. ClickOK. Theplantlistfileisatabdelimitedfilesavedinthelocationoftheplantdatabase.

Plant Lists from Categories

Tocreateplantlistsbasedonplantcategory: 1. OpentheplantdatabaseasdescribedinAccessingthePlantDatabase. 2. SelecttheFile>CreateCategoryPlantListdatabasecommand. Aplantlistiscreatedforeachcategory.Iftherearenoplantsfoundforacategory,nolistiscreatedforthat category.Plantswithoutacategoryassigned,orwithacustomcategory,arenotincluded.Inaddition,anAll plantlistcontainsallplantsregardlessofcategory. 3. Theplantlistsaretabdelimitedfilessavedinthelocationoftheplantdatabase.

Plant Lists for Existing Tree Species

Bydefault,allplantsinthetreecategoryofthedatabaseareincludedintheSpeciesDatadialogboxforaccessbythe ExistingTreetool.Ifdesired,searchtheplantdatabaseforthetreesyourequire,andthenaddonlythesetreestothe existingtreespecieslist.(SeetheVectorworkssoftwarehelpsystemforinformationonexistingtrees.) Tocreateacustomexistingtreespecieslist: 1. OpentheplantdatabaseasdescribedinAccessingthePlantDatabase. 2. Searchforthetreestoincludeintheexistingtreespecieslist(seeSearchingforPlants). 3. SelecttheFile>CreateExistingTreeListdatabasecommand.Thiscustomizestheexistingtreelisttouseonly theplantsfoundinthedatabasesearch.

UsingPlantListDatainVectorworksLandmark

Using Plant List Data in Vectorworks Landmark

PlantlistinformationisavailabletoplantdefinitionsfromthePlantDatatab. Touseplantlistdatainaplantdefinition: 1. CreatetheplantdefinitionasdescribedinDefiningPlantsintheVectorworkssoftwarehelpsystem. 2. IntheEditPlantDefinitiondialogbox,clickGetPlantData. TheGetPlantDatadialogboxopens.

Using Plant List Data in Vectorworks Landmark |

11

Parameter
PlantList

Description
Selecttheplantlistthatcontainstherequiredplantinformation;allplantlistscreated fromtheplantdatabaseandsavedinthedatabaselocationarelisted.Aprogressbar indicatesthestatusoftheplantlistimportwhenitisusedforthefirsttime,andallows theimporttobecanceled. Openstheplantdatabase,forlocatingplantinformationandcreatingplantlists OpensExplorer(Windows)orFinder(Macintosh)tothefoldercontaininggenerated plantlists TogglesbetweenplantlistdisplaybyLatinnameorcommonname Findsaplantintheplantnamelistbymatchingtypedcharacters Liststheplantsincludedinthecurrentlyselectedplantlist.Selectaplanttoviewits botanicalinformationontheright,andtousethatdataintheplantdefinition. Displaysthebotanicalinformation(fromtheplantdatabase)fortheplantselectedin thenamelist

OpenVWPlants Explore NameListDisplay NameFind NameList PlantData

3. Selecttheplantnameanddatatoincludeintheplantdefinition,andclickOK.

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| The Vectorworks Landmark Plant Database

4. ThePlantDatatabdisplaysthedatafromtheplantdatabase.