My library
A custom object you build lives in the design you built it in. My library is the place to keep one that you want again: a shelf unit sized to your own timber, a battery box, a fitted wardrobe - saved once, dropped into any design afterwards.
The library is stored on your account rather than in a design, so it follows you to another device. It is part of VanCAD Pro - saving to it, and opening it again later. If a subscription lapses, nothing you have saved is deleted: your objects are kept, and they are back in the library as soon as it is active again. Copies you have already placed in a design are unaffected.
Save to my library
Section titled “Save to my library”What it is. A row on a custom object’s card in the catalogue, above its Edit and Delete footer. Built-in components do not have one - they are already available everywhere.
What it does. Copies that object’s definition into your library, and flashes Saved to library to confirm.
Options and limits. Re-saving an unchanged object is harmless: it updates the existing entry rather than adding a second one. Entries are matched on the shape itself rather than on the name, so editing an object’s geometry first makes the next save a new entry - which is what you want for a variant, and worth knowing if you only meant to correct something. A rename on its own updates the entry you already have. Without a subscription, pressing it opens the upgrade prompt instead of saving. If a save fails the row says Save failed - retry and pressing it again retries.
What it affects. Your library. The design you are in is untouched, and the object’s copies stay exactly as they are.
My library
Section titled “My library”What it is. The last chip in the catalogue’s category row, showing how many objects you have saved.
What it does. Swaps the catalogue grid for your saved objects.
Options and limits. The list is fetched the first time you open it and kept for the rest of the session, so switching back and forth does not reload it. The search box filters it by name like the rest of the catalogue. An empty library says so and points at the Save row above; without a subscription it shows the upgrade prompt instead.
What it affects. What the drawer shows.
Place a copy
Section titled “Place a copy”What it is. A card in the library grid - the whole tile is the button, as in the catalogue.
What it does. Drops a copy of the saved object into the design you have open, landing it the same way any component lands.
Options and limits. The copy is independent from the moment it lands. Editing the library original later does not change designs you have already placed it into, and editing the placed copy does not change your library. If the copy cannot be fetched the card says so and a second press retries.
What it affects. Your design, and its weight and cost totals. One undoable step.
Delete from library
Section titled “Delete from library”What it is. The footer on a library card.
What it does. Starts the removal of that object from your library, arming a two-step confirmation.
Options and limits. Deleting from the library is permanent - there is no undo for it, because the library is not part of any one design’s history. Copies already placed in your designs are unaffected: they carry their own embedded definitions.
What it affects. Your library only.
Confirm
Section titled “Confirm”What it is. The confirm half of the armed delete.
What it does. Removes the object from your library and drops its card from the grid.
Options and limits. Permanent, as above. The armed state reverts on its own after a few seconds if you do nothing.
What it affects. Your library only.
Cancel
Section titled “Cancel”What it is. The other half of the armed delete.
What it does. Cancels the deletion and returns the card to normal.
What it affects. Nothing.
Subscribe to VanCAD Pro
Section titled “Subscribe to VanCAD Pro”What it is. The button shown in place of an empty library when you are not subscribed.
What it does. Opens the upgrade flow, which is what turns on saving to the library.
Options and limits. Subscribing also brings back anything you saved during an earlier subscription - a lapsed library is kept, not emptied. Copies already placed in a design stay in it whatever your subscription state.
What it affects. Nothing in your design.
What it is. A button shown when your library could not be loaded - usually a connection problem.
What it does. Fetches the list again.
What it affects. Nothing in your design.
Related
Section titled “Related”- The catalogue - where a custom object’s Save row lives.
- The custom-object editor - building the objects you save.
- Saving, accounts and billing - what a subscription includes.