Documentation.

Do this once with the sample job before touching a production drawing.

1. 01Install Layout Points and Datum Label Studio from the download page.
2. 02Restart Vectorworks and add Layout Point and LP Export OneClick to your workspace.
3. 03Open the sample job and place one point.
4. 04Run LP Export OneClick and choose a local, non-synced folder.
5. 05Drop the new field package onto Datum Label Studio and confirm it shows Package verified.
6. 06Choose your label stock and the exact datum, then review the PDF.
7. 07Print the calibration target, measure it, enter the six values and print the correction.
8. 08Print one label, measure it, and only then start the real run.

Requirements: macOS 13+, Apple silicon, Vectorworks versions confirmed at release, Offline workflow. You need an administrator account on the Mac only if macOS asks for one during installation.

Layout Points

1. 01Quit Vectorworks.
2. 02Note which Vectorworks year or years are installed.
3. 03Open Layout Points Installer and follow the guided steps. Select each Vectorworks year you want it in.
4. 04Restart Vectorworks.
5. 05Continue with Vectorworks workspace setup below.

The installer places the plug-in files in your Vectorworks user folder (~/Library/Application Support/Vectorworks/<year>/Plug-ins) and records the previous version so it can be rolled back.

Datum Label Studio

1. 01Open the download.
2. 02Drag Datum Label Studio into Applications.
3. 03Open Datum Label Studio from Applications the normal way.

If macOS refuses to open either download, do not bypass Gatekeeper, change security settings or remove quarantine attributes. Contact support with a screenshot of the message.

Administrators who manage many Macs can use the manual installation described in the advanced notes shipped with each release. First-time users never need Terminal, Xcode or a source checkout.

New plug-ins do not appear in your workspace until you add them. Do this once per Vectorworks year.

1. 01In Vectorworks choose Tools > Workspaces > Edit Current Workspace.
2. 02On the Tools tab, find Layout Point and drag it into the tool set you use for layout.
3. 03On the Menus tab, find LP Export OneClick and drag it into a menu you use, such as File > Export.
4. 04Click OK. Vectorworks saves the workspace.

If you share a company workspace, ask whoever maintains it to add both items so everyone gets them.

Each release includes a sample Vectorworks job and a sanitised sample field package. Neither contains client data. Use them to prove the install and printer before you use a production drawing, and send them with a support request when you need to show a problem without sharing real coordinates.

• Document units are set the way your field crew expects (metres with enough decimals, or millimetres).
• The drawing's origin is the datum the field team will set up on. Georeferencing is off unless you intend it.
• Control points are placed and numbered before layout points.
• The export folder is local and not inside Dropbox, iCloud or another synced folder.
• The package shows Package verified in Datum Label Studio.
• The label stock matches the roll or sheet in the printer.
• Calibration has passed physically for this printer, stock and feed direction.
• One sample label has been measured before the full run.
• On site, one known distance has been checked after instrument setup.

1. 01Select Layout Point in your tool set.
2. 02Choose the point type and check the numbering prefix and starting number.
3. 03Click in the drawing to place the point. Keep clicking to place the next ones: numbering continues automatically.
4. 04Select a placed point to see its live Easting, Northing and Elevation.

Point types separate control points from layout points and group layout points by purpose. Types and numbering are set before you place a run, so the IDs read clearly on the floor.

• Set the type and numbering once, then place the whole run.
• Types and numbering are editable, so you can match the conventions your crew already uses.
• Control points export to the CONTROL file. Layout points export to the POINTS file.
• Keep IDs unique within a job. Duplicate IDs are the most common cause of confusion on the controller.

Layout Points labels every coordinate explicitly as Easting, Northing and Elevation, so no file relies on column position alone. Coordinates come live from supported Vectorworks objects, measured from the drawing's origin in document units.

On the controller, import CONTROL as control points and POINTS as stakeout or reference data, and map the Easting and Northing columns explicitly. After setup, measure one known distance before trusting the job.

LP Export OneClick exports the whole job in one step and writes it atomically: the package appears complete or not at all, so a crash or full disk cannot leave a half-written job that looks finished.

1. 01Choose LP Export OneClick.
2. 02Pick a local folder. A new timestamped job folder is created inside it.
3. 03Wait for the confirmation, then open the package in Datum Label Studio.

Do not edit, rename or remove files inside a package. Export again instead.

Each export is one timestamped job folder containing label data, Leica-format CONTROL and POINTS files, a manifest and SHA-256 checksums.

Package verified means the manifest, the checksums and the files agree. It does not prove who created the package, it is not tamper-proof, and it cannot tell you whether the drawing was right.

1. 01Open Datum Label Studio.
2. 02Drop the job folder or its ZIP onto the window, or open it from the File menu.
3. 03Check for Package verified. If it does not appear, see Troubleshooting before printing.
4. 04Review the list of IDs and coordinates. They are locked to the source and cannot be edited by accident.

You can also open a CSV or TSV file. A plain file has no manifest, so it cannot be verified. Review it line by line before printing.

Map point groups to departments and give each department a name and a colour. The colour prints on the label so each crew can find its own marks quickly. Datum Label Studio remembers your departments on that Mac.

CONTROL labels always print yellow and black. They are the reference marks every other point is set out from, so a department colour can never restyle one.

The exact datum is the one point on the label that goes directly over the surveyed position. Choose it to suit how the label is physically placed.

The highlighted target prints on the label so there is no doubt on the floor.

Preview and export an exact-size vector PDF, then review the whole print run before printing: count, order, departments, control labels and the datum on each label.

Print at 100 percent or actual size. Any "scale to fit" option in a print dialog changes every dimension. An exact-size PDF does not by itself prove the physical result.

Calibrate every printer, stock and feed-direction combination you use. Physical output depends on the printer, driver, stock, feed direction, imageable area, calibration and measurement.

1. 01Select the printer and label stock in Datum Label Studio.
2. 02Print the calibration target.
3. 03With a steel rule or calipers, measure the four gaps between the printed frame and each cut edge of the label: top, right, bottom and left.
4. 04Measure the two printed ruler lengths, horizontal and vertical.
5. 05Enter all six values. Datum Label Studio calculates the correction for that printer, stock and feed direction.
6. 06Print the corrected target and measure it again. Repeat until it passes.
7. 07Print one real label and measure it before the production run.

Datum Label Studio saves the correction on that Mac and applies it whenever you print with the same printer, stock and feed direction.

Updates are manual. There is no automatic updater and neither component checks for updates.

1. 01Read the release notes for anything that changes your workflow.
2. 02Download the new version and check its SHA-256.
3. 03Quit Vectorworks and Datum Label Studio.
4. 04Install exactly as the first time. Your departments and printer corrections are kept.
5. 05Run the sample job once before production.

If an update causes a problem mid-production, go back to the version you trusted.

1. 01Quit Vectorworks.
2. 02Run the Layout Points rollback tool included with the installer. It restores the version that was installed before the last update.
3. 03Restart Vectorworks and place one test point.

To go back further, install any earlier release from the previous releases list. For Datum Label Studio, replace the app in Applications with the earlier version.

1. 01Quit Vectorworks and run the Layout Points uninstall tool.
2. 02Quit Datum Label Studio and move it from Applications to the Trash.
3. 03Optional: to remove saved label edits, departments and printer corrections, delete ~/Library/Application Support/Datum Label Studio and ~/Library/Preferences/agency.tc.datumlabelstudio.plist. Back them up first if you may need them.

Field packages you exported are yours and are never removed by uninstalling.

• Datum Label Studio currently runs on Apple silicon Macs only. Intel Macs are not supported.
• There is no automatic updater. Updates are downloaded and installed manually.
• Physical output varies by printer, driver, stock, feed direction and imageable area. Calibrate every printer and stock combination before production printing.

The current list is kept on the changelog.

Layout Points and Datum Label Studio work locally. They do not upload drawings, coordinates or field packages, and they contain no product telemetry.

A Dropbox, iCloud or other synced folder is uploaded by that provider, even though the products never upload anything themselves.

This website is separate from the products. Analytics load only after you accept cookies and never include project data. The release list, support form and any attachment you send are handled under the privacy policy.

Every public version is listed on the changelog with its date, checksums and changes.

Use the support form. Include the component and version, your macOS and Vectorworks versions, the printer and label size, and what you expected to happen. Do not attach production coordinates or client data unless you are authorised to share them.