One architectural plan has to go out as three sheets: architecture, electrical, plumbing. The common wrong answer is to copy the plan three times and delete something from each copy. From that moment the three copies start drifting apart, and nobody can say which is right.
The right answer needs one model and three viewports, each with a few layers switched off. The vpclip command in AutoCAD and its two companions do exactly that. For the full approach to layouts and plotting see our AutoCAD for Construction course.
Three commands and where they live
Read from the acad.cuix interface file and the acad.pgp file of the 2027 release.
| Command | Alias | What it does |
|---|---|---|
VPCLIP | none | Reshapes a viewport to any closed shape |
VPLAYER | none | Freezes or thaws layers in one viewport at a time |
VPORTS | VIEWPORTS | Creates and divides viewports |
All three only run in a layout, never on the Model tab. Building layouts and setting viewport scales is covered in our article on layouts in AutoCAD.
A non-rectangular viewport, clipped to any shape
A viewport starts life rectangular. But an L-shaped plan, a section that needs circling, or a round enlarged detail all leave a rectangular frame sticking out where it is not wanted.
The test: a layout with two viewports, both 200 × 150. Draw a circle of radius 60 in paper space, then clip the first viewport to it.
| What was measured | Value |
|---|---|
| First viewport before clipping | 200 × 150 |
| First viewport after clipping | 120 × 120 |
| Second viewport | still 200 × 150 |
Exactly the bounding box of a circle of radius 60. The viewport has gone from rectangle to circle, and the one beside it was not touched. Note what the vpclip command in AutoCAD reports as the viewport's size afterwards: the shape's bounding box, not the original frame.
One thing to be clear about: clipping deletes nothing in the model. It only shrinks the window looking onto it. The model is intact and every other viewport still shows everything.
That is worth stating because a clipped viewport looks, on the printed sheet, exactly like a drawing that was cut down. It is not. Everything outside the boundary is still in the model, still measurable, still available to every other sheet. Clipping a viewport is therefore safe on a live drawing set, even where somebody else needs the parts you are hiding.
Autodesk's VPCLIP page lists what can serve as a boundary: "Objects that are valid as clipping boundaries include closed poly-lines, circles, ellipses, closed splines, and regions."
The same page carries one sentence worth reading twice: "The new boundary does not clip the old boundary, it redefines it." So a second clip replaces the first rather than compounding it, and there is no risk of a viewport shrinking away through repeated mistakes.
The command will also let you draw a polygon on the spot when no shape exists yet, and offers delete to return the viewport to its original rectangle. The documentation notes that the delete option only appears once a viewport has actually been clipped.
The vplayer command: per-viewport layer freezing
This is the command that solves the three-sheet problem from the opening, and the least known of the three.
The test drawing holds two layers: IIC-TUONG carrying a polyline, IIC-COT carrying a circle. Freeze IIC-COT in one viewport only, then read each viewport's own data to see which layers are frozen where:
| Viewport | Layers frozen in it |
|---|---|
| The one selected | IIC-COT |
| The other | none |
Two viewports onto one model, both showing everything, differing by exactly one layer. That is the whole mechanism: one model, several different sheets, no copies.
Those figures were read straight out of the two viewport entities rather than judged by eye, so there is no room for guesswork. The same check works on a drawing received from elsewhere: if a sheet prints without something the model clearly contains, it is almost certainly a layer frozen in that viewport rather than deleted geometry. Ten seconds if you know where to look, half a morning if you do not.
The prompts, copied verbatim from the 2027 release:
Command: VPLAYER
Enter an option [?/Color/Ltype/LWeight/TRansparency/Freeze/Thaw/Reset/reMoveoverrides/Newfrz/Vpvisdflt]: F
Enter layer name(s) to freeze or <specify layers by object selection>: IIC-COT
Specify viewport(s) [All/Select/Current/eXcept current] <Current>: S
Select objects: 1 foundThe four choices on the third line are worth learning. Current applies to the active viewport, Select lets you pick one, All applies everywhere. eXcept current applies to every viewport but the one you are in, which is what you want when a layer should appear on exactly one sheet.
Newfrz goes further still: it freezes the layer in viewports that do not exist yet, so sheets added later come out right without being touched.
Three ways to hide a layer, and only one is right here
The worst mistake is reaching for the wrong switch. The layer palette offers three columns that look much alike:
| Switch | Scope | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Off, the lightbulb column | the whole drawing | Hiding something while you draw |
| Freeze, the snowflake column | the whole drawing | Hiding it and skipping it on regeneration |
| VP Freeze | one viewport | Printing several sheets from one model |
The first two hide everywhere, so using them to split sheets breaks: turn the wall layer off for the electrical sheet and the architectural sheet loses its walls too. Only the third works per viewport, and VPLAYER is its command line equivalent. Layers are covered in our article on layers in AutoCAD.
The vports command: creating and dividing viewports
The last command handles building the frames. In a layout it adds viewports and offers ready-made arrangements: two, three or four.
It also runs on the Model tab, but there it means something else entirely: it splits the screen into panes so you can watch the whole drawing and a detail at once, and those panes do not print. This is the common confusion: splitting the Model screen creates no sheets at all.
Sheets have to be built in a layout. The difference between the two spaces is covered in our article on rotating a drawing in a layout.
The order to work in on a multi-sheet set
These three commands only pay off in the right order. Out of order, the work gets redone.
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Draw one model, with layers split properly by discipline |
| 2 | Build the layout, set the paper size and title block |
| 3 | Create the viewports, set their scale, then lock them |
| 4 | Clip to shape where needed, with VPCLIP |
| 5 | Freeze layers per viewport with VPLAYER |
Step one decides everything. Careless layering only shows up at step five, when it turns out there is no way to hide the services and keep the walls. Fixing layers after the layouts are built costs many times what doing it properly first would have.
One small habit at step three: lock each viewport as soon as its scale is set. An unlocked viewport loses its scale to a single stray scroll of the wheel while it is active, and nothing on screen says so.
There is a wider point behind all five steps. Everything here trades a little setup for the guarantee that the sheets cannot disagree with each other, because there is only one drawing behind them. On a small job that guarantee is worth little; on a set that goes through six revisions with three consultants, it is the difference between a coordinated package and an argument about which print is current.
Five things people say that are not true
| What people say | What was measured |
|---|---|
| A viewport has to be rectangular | Clipped to a circle of radius 60, it became 120 × 120 |
| Clipping deletes part of the drawing | The model is intact; the neighbouring viewport still shows everything |
| Hiding a layer in one viewport hides it everywhere | The selected viewport froze IIC-COT, the other froze nothing |
| These commands have aliases for speed | VPCLIP and VPLAYER have none at all |
| Splitting the Model screen splits the sheets | Model panes do not print; sheets must be built in a layout |
Frequently asked questions
How do I get a round viewport?
Draw a circle in paper space, run VPCLIP, pick the viewport and then the circle.
How do I undo a clip?
Run VPCLIP again and choose the delete option. The viewport returns to its original rectangle with nothing lost.
How do I hide a layer on one sheet but not another?
VPLAYER with the Freeze option, then pick the viewport. Do not use the ordinary layer-off switch, which hides it everywhere.
How do I show a layer on exactly one sheet?
Also VPLAYER Freeze, but answer eXcept current at the viewport prompt while standing on the sheet that should keep it.
Will sheets added later be right automatically?
Yes, with the Newfrz option. It freezes the layer in viewports that have not been created yet.
Can I print four views by splitting the Model screen into four?
No. Model panes are for looking only. Four printed views means four viewports in a layout.