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SoftSymbols™
 
 
What others are saying
When I started using Vectorworks some 16 years ago I was fortunate to come across the Field Template SoftSymbol range not long after. They are the absolute benchmark for high quality, detailed and most of all clearly drawn symbols. They are the first ones I reach for when starting a new design and as a side by side comparison with the stock supplied VW symbols…well there is no comparison.
Max Conwell
Lighting Designer, Naked Eye Lighting Ltd., www.nakedeyelighting.com
Some [lighting designers] have always drawn their own symbols. If that’s the path you choose, that’s fine. For everyone else, there’s Steve Shelley and his SoftSymbols™. The range of products covered is remarkable. The price, given the amount of work that must be involved, remarkably low. Which is perhaps why they’re so widely used, particularly by lighting designers and their associates in America - a country that really does care about beautiful light plots. If you do too, check them out: this is a working classic, still in use daily...
Rob Halliday
Lighting Designer and Author for Light and Sound International, February 2020
What makes SoftSymbols so useful is that they are thoroughly researched, well made and above all, stick to some rigorous drafting standards that are maintained across the whole catalog.
Mark Doubleday
Lighting Designer, UK
Soft Symbols are my Vectorworks symbol library of choice, and have been since my tenure as Hubbard Street’s Lighting Director. Steve has created a product that is incredibly thorough, thoughtful, and well-organized. It looks great at any scale, is appropriate for every type of lighting gig, and could only have come from someone with his level of experience and attention to detail. It is an invaluable resource to me and will continue to be my go to library for the foreseeable future.
Matt Miller, Freelance Lighting Designer/Director
Chicago, IL
SoftSymbols are the symbol library of choice for the Lincoln Center Festival, and for all my other professional activities. They are cleanly built, graphically sophisticated, and the libraries are by far the most complete. There’s no other choice as far as I’m concerned.
Aaron Copp, Lighting Coordinator, Lincoln Center Festival, and freelance lighting designer
New York, NY
I did the Lab Rep Plot revisions with SoftSymbols. LOVE IT! So does the crew and the union House Elec. We also think the twenty-or-so production teams coming into the Lab this spring (who’ll receive print copies of this drawing) will love it too. I cannot tell you how happy I am to have SoftSymbols™ - I trust my layouts again, since your symbols are the same size as the objects they represent (DUH!), and my drawings look more like my drawings again. Woo hoo!
Martha Mountain, Freelance Lighting Designer
Washington DC

SoftSymbols™ 4.1 Object Libraries

In the summer of 2023, Field Template™ began the process to update a select collection of SoftSymbol Object Libraries to the next level, updating them to Version 4.1. Between the increasing speed of fixture innovation and the constant evolvement of the Vectorworks application, updating SoftSymbols libraries has become an even greater challenge. With a refocused grasp on the extensive formulas required to upgrade and update, we are now proud to begin the introduction of Version 4.1.

Slimming Down 3D

Over the years, our basic philosophy has remained unchanged; while older lighting devices may be "discontinued," no resources are deleted from any object libraries. Somewhere in the world, the lighting devices continue to be included in inventories and in light plots. So over time, SoftSymbol object libraries inevitably require more storage space. Simultaneously, the number of lighting devices in any given light plot seems to increase. Field Template strives to keep document size to an absolute minimum to avoid document bloat, and avoid slowing down computing speed, To that end, we convert SoftSymbols 3D components to "Generic Solids," eliminate the assembly history from 3D objects, reducing the disk space required by each resource, and thus keep overall document size to a minimum.

Updating Resources into Vw2024

The 2024 version of Vectorworks again required many changes within the Light Info Record, not to mention the need for updated scripts and recipes to internally move data about. Once again, with the leadership of Kevin Linzey, and the assistance of Justin Van Hassel, an updated procedure is now established. Fngers are crossed more libraries will be updated at a much more rapid pace.

Version 4.1 Libraries

The current SoftSymbol 4.1 Object libraries currently includes:

Ayrton Lighting 4.1 Pack is certified to contain all variations of the latest Ayrton Lighting product lines, including the Rivale movers, the Cobra laser moving lights, the Zonda series, the Domino movers, and the Kyalami laser fixture.

Electronic Theatre Controls 4.1 Combo Pack is certified to contain all variations, beam spreads, and both notation choices of the ColorSource V and VXT lighting devices, as well as the Source Four LED Series 3 product lines, the latest fos/4 Fresnels, the latest Fresnels, and the expanded ColorSource product line.

High End Lighting 4.1 Pack has expanded to over 230 resources, and is certified to reflect today's current High End product lines, including the Halcyon movers, the SolaPix 19 XT, the Talen, the Ministar and the Hyperstar movers.

Robe Lighting 4.1 Pack has been updated to over 390 resources. The Robe Lighting 4.1 Pack is certified to contain the complete catalog of lighting devices, including the Painte movers, additions to the Esprite and Forte product lines, the T12 and TX1 PosiProfile fixtures, the HolyPATT and MolyPATT, and the Footsies.

Peering into the Future!

Step by step! We'll announce future additions as they become available.

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