How to Create and Rotate a Viewport in ZWCAD

A viewport is a window that displays graphic objects, and objects outside the viewport will not be displayed.

Knowing how to create a viewport is essential for setting up professional layouts, whether you need a single main view or multiple detailed perspectives. Once created, you can also rotate the viewport to align views with site boundaries, angled geometry, or custom orientations—to match your project’s orientation. This guide walks you through both creating and rotating viewports so you can present your designs clearly and efficiently.

How to Create a Viewport?

To create a viewport in ZWCAD, there are several methods:

Method 1: Create a new layout viewport

1. Switch to layout tab
2. From the View menu, choose Viewports » 1 Viewport.
3. Click to specify one corner of the new viewport.
4. Click again to specify the opposite corner.
5. A new layout viewport appears, showing a default view. To adjust the view, you can double-click inside the viewport to switch to model space.

Method 2: Creating a viewport configuration on a layout

1. Choose a layout tab.
2. Enter VPORTS in the command line and press ENTER.
3. In the Viewports dialog box, open the New Viewports tab, and choose a viewport configuration from the list.
4. Under Setup, choose either 2D or 3D. (When you choose 3D, a set of standard 3D views will appliy to each viewport in the configuration.)
5. Under Viewport Spacing, you can set the spacing between viewports.
6. To change a view, select a viewport in the preview, then choose a view from Change View To. You can select standard views such as top, front, left, right, or isometric, or any saved named view.

Method 3: Placing a named viewport configuration into a layout

1. Choose a layout tab.
2. Enter VPORTS in command line and press ENTER.
3. In the Viewports dialog box, open the Named Viewports tab.
4. Select the saved viewport configuration from the list and click OK.

After creating a viewport, you may need to rotate the view to align with your drawing’s orientation.

How to Rotate a Viewport?

To rotate a viewport, there are two ways depending on whether you want to rotate the internal view along with the viewport or keep the internal view unchanged. The following sections explain each method in detail and when to use them.

Method 1: Rotating the Viewport Only (without changing the internal view)

To rotate a viewport without affecting the view inside it, you need to adjust the system variable VPROTATEASSOC.

Steps:

1. Set VPROTATEASSOC
2. Type VPROTATEASSOC in the command line and press Enter.
3. Set the value to 0, this is to ensure the internal view stays fixed when rotating the viewport.

Rotate the Viewport: 

1. Select target viewport.
2. Use the Rotate tool (or type ROTATE in the command line).
3. Specify the base point and rotation angle.

Result: The viewport rotates around the specified base point, but the view inside it does not change.

Example:

After setting VPROTATEASSOC to 0, you can rotate the viewport as shown in the following illustration:

Method 2: Rotating Both the Viewport and the Internal View

If you want to rotate both the viewport and the internal view together, make sure that VPROTATEASSOC is set to 1 (the default value).

Steps:

1. Set VPROTATEASSOC
2. Double-click inside the viewport to enter model space.
3. Type VPROTATEASSOC and press Enter.
4. Enter 1 (default value) so that both the viewport and the internal view rotate together.

Rotate the View:

Option A: Using MVSETUP

1. Double-click inside the viewport to enter model space.
2. Type MVSETUP in the command line and press Enter (or you can go to View » View Settings).
3. Follow the command prompts: select Align » Rotate View.
4. Specify the base point and rotation angle for the view.

Option B: Using UCS and PLAN

1. Double-click inside the viewport to enter the model space.
2. Type UCS in the command line, and press Enter, this is to create a new coordinate system and set the rotation angle relative to the original coordinates.
3. Type PLAN to rotate align the view with the new UCS.

Result: Both the viewport and the displayed view rotate together.

Example:

To rotate the contents of a viewport, double-click inside it and use either Option A or Option B.

Conclusion

To create a viewport in ZWCAD, use the VPORTS command or the View menu to set up single or multi-viewport layouts. For rotation, set VPROTATEASSOC=0 to rotate only the viewport frame while keeping the internal view fixed, or set VPROTATEASSOC=1 and use MVSETUP or UCS+PLAN inside the viewport to rotate both frame and content together. Choose based on whether you need to preserve the original model orientation or align the displayed view with your drawing’s angle.