🗒️ Editor's Note
Welcome to the very first issue of the Vekta newsletter. As long as Vekta is a plugin, I plan to make a weekly update email to go out on Mondays. My plan is to write this myself, being Travis - the human on the project. So, there will be some grammar mishaps, less-than-ideal wording, maybe even some spelling mistakes if I’m writing this while tired. I hope that the absence of em-dashes and choppy sentences is refreshing. It is for me at least. Let’s get into it.
🐘🐘 Let’s start with the elephants in the room.
A section devoted to our reader’s most asked questions. (Or at least it would be if there were readers. This is more of a “guess what the FAQ would be and learn what insecure questions Travis is asking himself”)
What is “Vekta” and why should you care?
Vekta is a plugin for Vectorworks to help you save time. It’s designed to be a tool that I would have hoped Vectorworks had natively in the year 2026. Why should you care? Well - If you use Vectorworks you should care. If you don’t use Vectorworks? You probably shouldn’t care.
Why did you make “Vekta”?
Quite simply, I want to save time while drawing. It’s a crappy feeling to think there’s a faster way to do something that would give me back hours in the day, and I’m just not using it yet. Hours are finite.
Who is “Vekta” for?
Anyone who uses Vectorworks and wants to dramatically speed up their workflows.
Won’t the Vectorworks developers just make a tool like this natively in the Vectorworks? Why you?
Great question, Travis. This may sound harsh, but I’ve been using Vectorworks for 10 years, had my fair share of crashes, and had many moments of being excited about a new feature released, only to realize it felt like the feature got 80% of the way there. So I wanted to create a very capable shortcut tool I would use as a full-time Vectorworks user myself. And if you’re reading this and choose to use it, know I will listen and ship features, bug fixes, and updates quick.
So, AI inside Vectorworks - Sounds gimmicky at best and dangerous and unreliable at worst. Why should I trust it?
AI really in the last number of months has proven itself to be genuinely helpful and reliable in my eyes. I have done quite a few safety audits with powerful models and have done a lot behind the scenes to make sure there are safeguards. That said, you can read the commitments, and see the details on the security we’ve implemented. As for anything in life - I believe the benefit has to outweigh the risk and cost. I hope that you find value in Vekta greater than the risk of using it.
🎬 Getting started
I installed Vekta - now what?
First things first. Don’t get ahead of yourself and try to open this and start using it live on a project file that’s due tomorrow. Take a little time to get to know it.
Vekta is a little sandboxy on purpose. It’s meant to feel catered to how you use it. Here’s what I would do first:
Make a list of the top 5-10 tasks that you do on every project in Vectorworks that take the most time. Be specific.
From that list identify any that might be manual entry or repetitive.
Start a new conversation in Vekta (just start writing in the dialog box in the bottom of the palette) and ask Vekta to try to do the task you want it to do. Trial and error is expected here. You might have to go back and forth to find the right wording to get the results you want.
If your prompt was successful there are two ways to save that prompt to use on a project:
Scripts - When you have a repeatable task that doesn’t need reasoning, use scripts. Ex. Tag all doors on the Floor Plan layer with the “Door tag” symbol
Skills - When you need reasoning to execute the task, you’ll record skills, which are just saved prompts that you can recall anytime. Ex. Cross reference the Door Schedule, use “Single Door Tag” symbol for single doors and “Double Door Tag” for double doors, make a new class for every door type there is and put the matching door tag on the corresponding door tag layer.
Save your skill or script and try running it! You can put any skill, script, saved view, or macro onto a Shotbox button (or Stream Deck if you have one) and try triggering it!
If you haven’t installed the beta yet, it’s free! Follow the link below:
🎯 Tip of the week
This week we’ll focus on a huge time-saver: Macros.
Try recording a macro. You can record one traditionally like many other programs by hitting record and making button presses, placing objects, changing classes & layers, etc. My favorite way to use them? A one-click paste of your most used groups of objects for any file you’re in.
Copy/cut a group or number of objects you want to be able to place with 1 button press. Think - 3 trusses at 20’ high with a lighting package - already data tagged, labeled, and addressed you want to just easily place in a new file with one button press.
Hit record.
Paste in place.
Hit stop. Name and save your macro.
Go to your recorded macro settings For most of us you’ll probably want a relative playback in the macro settings. After choosing “Relative” the “Insertion Point” option will become available to be choose. After choosing that you will follow the prompts and “Pick by click” the insertion point.
Run it! You can run it right from the palette, or place it on a shotbox or streamdeck button to play it back any time you need it!
🗞️🪲Weekly Features & Fixes
(The only section co-written by AI. It tracks all the features and fixes for me)
Features
Macros got two upgrades. New Recorded / Active toggles for layer and class let one macro either keep its objects where you captured them or collapse them onto whatever you're working on now. Per-plan step limits are also gone on every paid tier.
Undo works. Every Vekta action wraps as a single named step (like "Undo Vekta: Place Circuits"), so one Cmd-Z reverts exactly what the tool did instead of a surprising pile of objects.
Version notifications and updates. A new ‘About Vekta’ menu shows your installed plugin, palette, and Stream Deck versions with a check-for-updates button. A banner surfaces when anything is out of date.
Faster page management on the Skills, Macros, and Scripts tabs, a UI refresh on all tabs to have a dropdown for settings, and search improved on all tabs to include all tabs when searching for a skill, macro or script.
Stream Deck macros now route through the palette the way Shotbox does, so click-to-place actually works.
Public /security page linked from the footer. Honest posture on data handling and what the internal review found and fixed.
Fixes
Security batch. Security improvements from most recent audit findings
Macros. Recorded data tags attach to the exact object you tagged, so tags land on their own fixture in a dense plot. Recorded shapes carry their record data on playback, and Data-Manager records now replay onto plug-in objects like Braceworks equipment.
Chat assistant fixes for bulk layer moves, showing or hiding a class inside a viewport, and finding doors embedded in walls (including IFC).
Hit reply if you have any questions on Vekta or want to connect!
Until next week,
Travis
Travis is the creator of Vekta and has been a Vectorworks user for over 10 years working in AV integration and live events.
I made Vekta to help you create more of what makes your work special. Designing a lighting plot, working through architecture concepts, or engineering an AV system instead of repetitive tasks.
I’d be honored if you took a chance and tried Vekta. You can sign up for the beta below, it’s free!