Advanced Productivity-AutoCAD Electrical Command

Advanced Productivity
24
Set up peer-to-peer component relationships

The following example has a valve representation on an instrument drawing, FE100, and its equivalent on the electrical schematic, SOL2500. They are the same physical device, but carry different tags based on the drawing discipline in which they appear. Though each device is represented as a parent symbol, you can set up a peer-to-peer relationship between them so that the electrical tag name of the schematic automatically cross-references to the instrument drawing, and the tag cross-references of the instrument bubble to the tag of the schematic. The instrument bubble symbol is set up with an optional split tag. Instead of a single TAG1 attribute, it has two tags: TAG1 PART1 and TAG1 PART2. The instrument bubble is also set up as a normal AutoCAD Electrical parent schematic symbol without the wire connection points. It includes two extra attributes beyond what a normal parent symbol carries: WDTAGALT - carries a copy of the schematic TAG1 value of the symbol. WDTYPE - an invisible attribute with a nonblank value indicating the component category. Example: "PI" for P&ID, "PN" for pneumatic, or "HY" for hydraulic
1979
The schematic parent solenoid symbol includes just one extra attribute: WDTAGALT carries a copy of the instrument value of the bubble.
Your drawings must be part of the active AutoCAD Electrical project so that the WDTAGALT value on the instrument drawing is automatically updated when you edit the schematic parent tag name and vice versa. Using AutoCAD Electrical SURF on one automatically includes the other in the surf pick window. 1 Open the Project Manager. 2 Open the project containing the instrument and schematic drawings. 3 On the Project Manager, double-click the schematic drawing to open it. 4 Zoom in so that your schematic symbol is visible.
5 On the Project Manager, double-click the instrument drawing to open it. 6 Zoom in so that your valve representation is visible.
7 On the Project Manager, right-click the project name, and select Properties. 8 On the Project Properties, Cross-references dialog box, Cross-reference Options section, select Peer-to-Peer. 9 Click OK. 10 Right-click the schematic symbol to edit in the drawing (in this case, SOL2500). 11 Select Edit Component from the context menu. 12 On the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, click Tags Used: Schematic.
1980 | Chapter 24 Advanced Productivity
13 Select Show all components for all families. The tag values from the other symbol appear in the list. 14 Select the valve representation (in this case, FE100) with a family code of IN (for instrument). 15 Click Copy Tag. 16 On the Copy Tag dialog box, click WDTAGALT. 17 On the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, click Show/Edit Miscellaneous. 18 Verify that the WDTAGALT value lists the TAG1 value of the valve (in this case, FE100) and click OK. 19 On the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, click OK. 20 On the Update Other Drawings dialog box, click Now to update the drawing. The WDTAGALT value of the schematic symbol is automatically updated and the TAG1 value of the valve (or TAG1 PART1/TAG1 PART2 combined value) appears next to the symbol in the drawing.
The WDTAGALT value of the valve is automatically updated and the TAG1 value of the schematic symbol appears next to the valve in the drawing.
Create automated pin assignments

AutoCAD Electrical consults a Pin List database when a part number is added or an existing part number is changed on a parent schematic symbol. If AutoCAD Electrical finds a match on the part number's MFG, CAT, and optional ASSYCODE values (which ties to the catalog number to make unique parts) in this database table, then the associated contact count and pin number information is retrieved and placed on the parent schematic component.
Create automated pin assignments | 1981
Any device can have pins assigned to it, but common components that carry pin assignments are relays, motor starters, and connectors. Pins are used for:

Error checking Accurate connection information Providing correct connections
You can expand the Pin List database table as needed. Many users have difficulty creating their own database entries so the following procedures simplify this procedure for you.
Basic workflow
Pin lists are directly associated to catalog numbers and therefore are not applied to a component symbol until the catalog number has been assigned. You can use wildcards inside the Pin List database to find the catalog number to apply a single pin list to multiple symbols. The basic workflow for pin numbers being assigned to a symbol is as follows:

Insert a component. On the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, assign a catalog number. Pin List database is queried. Coil pins are applied to the parent symbol's terminal attributes. The Pin List is applied to the parent symbol as xdata or attributes. If the pin numbers are assigned as xdata, there is not a PINLIST attribute since the pin assignment comes from the pin list table.
Setting up COILPINS
The COILPINS column in the Pin List database specifies the terminal pin numbers for a coil or parent symbol of a component. This is generally two pin numbers separated by a comma (such as K1,K2). When a component calls for additional pin assignments on the parent, you can continue the list with each value separated by commas. These values are applied to the TERM01 and TERM02 attributes respectively on the parent symbol. If you set COILPINS = "K1,K2;" then pins K1/K2 are assigned to the parent symbol of a component. In the example below, TERM01 = K1 and TERM02 = K2.
Setting up COILPINS for two wired devices

The automatic pin list look-up and assignment at component insertion time is not limited to relay devices as shown in the example above. You can encode two wire devices like pilot lights or proximity switches into the database file. Insert the Manufacturer and Catalog numbers and fill in the COILPINS filed with the terminal pin numbers. Leave the PINLIST field blank. Now, when you insert one of these devices and do a catalog lookup and part number selection, AutoCAD Electrical quickly looks for a MFG/CAT match in the pin list database. On a match, AutoCAD Electrical pulls out the device's coil pin numbers and inserts them in the newly inserted device.
Setting up a PINLIST
The PINLIST column in the Pin List database specifies the contact types and their respective pin numbers. A two terminal contact has three elements in this format: contact type, terminal pin, terminal pin. Each PINLIST value can have up to 256 characters. Use a value 0-5 to specify the contact type, where:

0 = convertible contact 1 = N.O. 2 = N.C. 3 = Form-C (NO/NC pair) 4 = multiple-pole terminal strips or undefined type 5 = multiple-pin or stacked terminals
If you set PINLIST = "0,13,14;0,23,24" then 0= contact type, 13 (or 23)= TERM01, and 14 (or 24)= TERM02. If you set PINLIST = "0,13,14,*prompt," "*prompt" adds a description label. This optional label is always the last element of the list and is preceded by an asterisk character (if the asterisk is left out, the comment is interpreted as another pin number). To view or manually edit the PINLIST values, select Edit Component, and then click NO/NC Setup on the Insert/Edit Component dialog box.
Create automated pin assignments | 1983
Setting up PEER_COILPINS and PEER_PINLIST

The PEER_ fields in the Pin List database specify pin list assignments for a single part number with two parent devices. You set up the second coil's coil pins and pin list data in the PEER_COILPINS and PEER_PINLIST fields for the common part number. This is commonly used for setting up forward and reversing starters or latching and unlatching relays. You apply the pins to the forward (latching) relay, and then apply the peer pins to the reversing (unlatching) relay. To split the pin list data between two peer coil symbols: 1 Insert the first coil symbol and make the catalog look-up selection. The COILPINS and PINLIST data is found and applied to the coil symbol. Any defined peer coil and pinlist data is also saved on the symbol as invisible xdata. 2 Insert the second coil symbol but do not make a catalog assignment. 3 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, click NO/NC Setup. 4 Click Pick. 5 Select the first coil symbol. The saved peer pinlist data is moved from the first symbol over to this peer symbol. Child contacts can now be auto-annotated with the selected coil's available pin list information and max NO/NC count tracked on a per-coil basis.
Set up AutoCAD Electrical for multiple users

You can manually move any shared files to a new central location after installation by using normal Microsoft Windows operations to cut or copy and paste from their local location to a central shared location. These shared files are located by AutoCAD Electrical as long as they are placed in the AutoCAD Electrical defined path (such as in the project's subdirectory), the path given by the AutoCAD Electrical environment variable, or AutoCAD search paths. NOTE We recommend that you create a backup of your information in another location and remove the shared data from your local drive to ensure that the data is being located correctly.
Shared files
The following shared files can be pasted from your local machine to a shared location. The table lists the file names, default location, and any WD.ENV file lines that must be modified. The main executables and static support files are located under C:\Program Files [(x86)]\Autodesk\Acade {version}\. The user-modifiable support files and database content are found under Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\{username}\Application Data\Autodesk\AutoCAD Electrical {version}\{release}\{country code}\ Windows Vista, Windows 7: C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Roaming\Autodesk\AutoCAD Electrical {version}\{release}\{country code}\ NOTE It is not required that you share these files, but sharing makes it easier for multiple users to work with projects in AutoCAD Electrical.
Databases default_cat.mdb, footprint_lookup.mdb, schematic_lookup.mdb, wd_lang1.mdb, wd_picklist.mdb, wddinrl.xls, ace_electrical_standards.mdb Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\{username}\My Documents\Acade {version}\AeData\Catalogs Windows Vista, Windows 7:C:\Users\{username}\Documents\Acade {version}\AeData\Catalogs WD.ENV file edit: Original path: WD_CAT,%WD_DIR%/catalogs/,AE catalog file path Edited path: WD_CAT,N:Electrical/Shared_Files/Catalogs/,AE catalog file path NOTE These files must be kept in the same location since the program locates them according to the same WD.ENV file entry. Circuit Builder Spreadsheet ace_circuit_builder.xls Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Autodesk\AcadE {version}\Support\
Set up AutoCAD Electrical for multiple users | 1985
Windows Vista, Windows 7: C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\AcadE {version}\Support\ WD.ENV file edit: Original file name: WD_CIRCBUILDER_FNAM,ace_circuit_builder.xls,Circuit Builder spreadsheet file name Edited name: WD_CIRCBUILDER_FNAM,my_ace_circuit_builder.xls,Circuit Builder spreadsheet file name Symbol libraries jic1, jic125, iec2, iec4, jis2, gb2, panel, pneu_iso125 Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Autodesk\Acade {version}\Libs Windows Vista, Windows 7: C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\Acade {version}\Libs
NOTE The symbol library path is stored with each project in its .wdp file and must be modified. AutoCAD Electrical icon menu (Insert Component menus) ACE_AS_MENU.DAT, ACE_GB_MENU.DAT, ACE_HYD_MENU.DAT, ACE_IEC_MENU.DAT, ACE_JIC_MENU.DAT, ACE_JIS_MENU.DAT, ACE_PANEL_MENU.DAT, ACE_PID_MENU.DAT, ACE_PNEU_MENU.DAT, WD_ABECAD.DAT Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\{username}\Application Data\Autodesk\AutoCAD Electrical {version}\{release}\{country code}\Support Windows Vista, Windows 7: C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Roaming\Autodesk\AutoCAD Electrical {version}\{release}\{country code}\Support
NOTE The menu path is stored with each project in its .wdp file and must be modified. Slide images for AutoCAD Electrical menus ACE_GB.slb, ACE_GB.dll, ACE_JIS.slb, ACE_JIS.dll, ace_as.slb, ace_as.dll, ace_hyd.slb, ace_hyd.dll, ace_pid.slb, ace_pid.dll, bb.slb, iec1.slb, iec.dll, loc2.slb, pn0.slb, pn0.dll, pn1.slb, pn1.dll, pn2.slb, pn2.dll, pn3.slb, pn3.dll, pnl2.slb, pnl2.dll, pnl.slb, pnl.dll, s1.slb, s1.dll, s2.slb, s2.dll, Ww.slb
Windows XP:C:\Documents and Settings\{username}\Application Data\Autodesk\AutoCAD Electrical {version}\{release}\{country code}\Support Windows Vista, Windows 7: C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Roaming\Autodesk\AutoCAD Electrical {version}\{release}\{country code}\Support S_LDPC.SLB, WD_LOCAL.SLB, WDSIG.SLB, WDSIG_1.SLB, gepb.slb C:\Program Files [(x86)]\Autodesk\Acade {version}\Support WD.ENV file edit: Original path: *WD_SLB,x:some path/, to override path pointing to ".slb" slide lib support files Edited path: WD_SLB,N:/Electrical/Shared_Files/Slides/, to override path pointing to ".slb" slide lib support files NOTE For the path in the .env file to be recognized, the asterisk (*) in front of the line must be removed. These slide files may be relocated using this path, or they can just be placed in the same location as the menu files. PLC database/images Content of PLC folder (ace_plc.mdb and bitmap files) Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\{username}\My Documents\Acade {version}\AeData\PLC Windows Vista, Windows 7: C:\Users\{username}\Documents\Acade {version}\AeData\PLC NOTE These files must be in a location that is specified as an AutoCAD Support path. They can be placed in a location that is already defined as being a support path, or you can add a new support path pointing to this location. Description selections wd_desc.wdd Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\{username}\Application Data\Autodesk\AutoCAD Electrical {version}\{release}\{country code}\Support Windows Vista, Windows 7: C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Roaming\Autodesk\AutoCAD Electrical {version}\{release}\{country code}\Support
Set up AutoCAD Electrical for multiple users | 1987
NOTE These files must be in a location that is specified as an AutoCAD Support path. They can be placed in a location that is already defined as being a support path, or you can add a new support path pointing to this location. Installation code selection list default.inst Optional file, does not exist by default. To create this file in Notepad, create a file with the project name and an .inst extension (or use default.inst) and save to an AutoCAD Support path so the program can find it. NOTE These files must be in a location that is specified as an AutoCAD Support path. They can be placed in a location that is already defined as being a support path, or you can add a new support path pointing to this location. Location code selection list default.loc Optional file, does not exist by default. To create this file in Notepad, create a file with the project name and a .loc extension (or use default.loc) and save to an AutoCAD Support path so the program can find it. NOTE These files must be in a location that is specified as an AutoCAD Support path. They can be placed in a location that is already defined as being a support path, or you can add a new support path pointing to this location.
Using network deployment

You can alternately install AutoCAD Electrical databases, symbol libraries, part footprint files, and support files to a shared network location, so all users can work from a common standard database and simplifying database management and configuration. To start network deployment, select Network Deployment in the AutoCAD Electrical installation program. Install the Network Installation Wizard (NIW) and run it from the start menu. From the NIW, you can create an image for client installations. Use the Symbols Libraries, Catalog Database and Support Files dialog box to install these files to a shared network location so that multiple users can work from a common standard symbol library and parts database.
NOTE You cannot set up network deployment after installing AutoCAD Electrical as a stand-alone program on individual machines.
Referencing icon menus from other menu files

You can also share custom symbols to be accessed by multiple users. The easiest way to do this is to create and link to your own menu file. You can set up AutoCAD Electrical's icon menuing system so that you can switch back and forth from the default menu file (such as ACE_JIC_menu.dat) to your own menu (for example "special_menu.dat"). 1 Add a line like this to AutoCAD Electrical's ACE_JIC_menu.dat file: Special menu|special_menu.sld|$C=(c:wd_loadmenu "special_menu.dat")(c:wd_insym_go2menu 0) 2 In your new "special_menu.dat" file, add this line so you can switch back to AutoCAD Electrical's default menu: Default Electrical menu|back2wd.sld|$C=(c:wd_loadmenu "ACE_JIC_menu.dat")(c:wd_insym_go2menu 0) 3 In AutoCAD Electrical's default icon menu, select the new entry. Your menu immediately appears. When you want to go back to AutoCAD Electrical's default menu, select Default Electrical menu on your own special menu. AutoCAD Electrical immediately switches back to the AutoCAD Electrical default icon menus.
Show source and destination markers on cable wires

There may be times when you want to show the individual wires of a cable at each end where they connect and yet you want to show the wires coming together to form a single line cable in between the ends. Showing individual wires along the entire run of the cable is too messy or not an option. You can use the Fan-In/Out command set to do this. The Fan-In/Out command relies on special pairs of source/destination markers plus a special layer for the single line part of the cable representation. This layer is defined in the Define Layers dialog box.
Setting up layers
1 In a blank AutoCAD Electrical drawing,
Show source and destination markers on cable wires | 1989
Click Schematic tab Other Tools panel Drawing Properties
drop-down Drawing Properties. 2 On the Alert dialog box, click OK to add the WD_M block. 3 In the Drawing Properties dialog box, click the Style tab. You can select the default Fan-In/Out marker style here along with defining the layers for the wires. Notice that the default layer name for fan in/out single line layers is "_MULTI_WIRE." 4 In the Drawing Properties dialog box, click OK. 5 Click the AutoCAD Layer Properties Manager tool. 6 In the Layer Properties Manager dialog box, change the color of "_MULTI_WIRE" to red and the color of "WIRES" to blue for this example. The color difference illustrates how the feature works. 7 In the Layer Properties Manager dialog box, click OK.
Inserting components
1 Click Schematic tab Insert Components panel Insert Components
drop-down Icon Menu. 2 In the Insert Component: JIC Schematic Symbols dialog box, select Push Buttons. 3 In the JIC: Push Buttons dialog box, select Push Button N.O. 4 Press F9 to turn on SNAP. 5 Insert the push button anywhere on the left-hand side of the drawing. 6 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, click OK-Repeat to insert two more push buttons directly below the first one. 7 In the Insert/Edit Component dialog box, click OK after the last push button is inserted on the drawing. 8 Repeat to insert three Limit Switches N.O. Insert the limit switches anywhere on the right-hand side of the drawing (slightly below the push buttons you inserted).
Adding wires
1 Click Schematic tab Insert Wires/Wire Numbers panel Insert Wires
drop-down Wire. 2 Add a wire to the top push button. Drag the wire to the right. 3 Repeat for the other two push buttons. 4 Add a wire to each of the limit switches. Drag the wires to the left. 5 Press F9 to turn off SNAP. 6 Select all of the wires and verify that they were created on the WIRES layer.
Adding source and destination markers

1 Click Schematic tab Insert Wires/Wire Numbers panel Signal
Arrows drop-down Fan In Source. 2 In the Fan In/Out Source dialog box, select Solid as the Source marker style. 4 Click the left button to set the wire connection orientation.
5 Select in the middle of the wire that is connected to the top push button. 6 In the Signal - Source Code dialog box, enter "cbla" as the code and "RED" as the description. If you enter the color of the wire in the Description field, AutoCAD Electrical reports use this information in the Wire Color field. 7 Click OK. 8 In the Source/Destination Signal markers (for Fan In/Out) dialog box, click Yes to insert the matching destination marker now.
NOTE Because the destination wires are nearby, it is easier to insert them right away. If the wires were on another drawing you could wait until later to add the destination markers. 9 In the Fan-In/Fan-Out Signal Destination dialog box, select Solid as the destination marker style. 10 Click the right button to set the wire connection orientation.
11 Select in the middle of the wire connected to the top limit switch. Notice that the wires for both change from blue to red, and the description RED appears on both. AutoCAD Electrical breaks the wire and changes the appropriate wire piece to the defined layer. When inserting a source marker the wire coming out of the marker changes; when inserting a destination marker, the wire going into the marker changes.
You are prompted to define the next source. 12 Repeat for the middle and bottom wires for each group.
For the middle wire: In the Signal - Source Code dialog box, click Use to enter "CBLA-01" as the code and enter "BLUE" as the description. For the bottom wire: In the Signal - Source Code dialog box, click Use to enter "CBLA-02" as the code and enter "WHT" as the description. Notice that the wires change from blue to red, and the descriptions BLUE and WHT display on both sets of wires. 13 Press Esc to exit the command. 14 Select all of the wires and verify that they are on the _MULTI_WIRE layer.
Creating connecting wires

1 At the command line, type L and press Enter. 2 Click the end of the uppermost wire and drag down across each of the wires connected to the push buttons. Continue dragging past the push buttons and click. 3 Drag your cursor to the right to create a horizontal line, and click. 4 Drag down across the ends of the wires connected to the limit switches, ending on the bottom wire and click. Press Enter to create the lines.
5 Type MA at the command prompt to run the AutoCAD MATCHPROP command. 6 Click the wire connected to the top limit switch. 7 Click each of the lines you just created. The lines change from black to red since they are taking on the properties of the wire you selected.
Press Enter to exit the command.
Adding cable markers

At this point, you have established the link between the push buttons and the limit switches. You can now include a cable marker identifier that is associated with these wire connections in various wire and cable reports.
1 Click Schematic tab Insert Wires/Wire Numbers panel Cable
Markers drop-down Cable Markers. 2 Select to insert a cable marker. 3 Insert the cable marker on the horizontal line. 4 In the Insert/Edit Cable Marker (Parent wire) dialog box, click Catalog Data Lookup. 5 In the Parts Catalog dialog box, select the 3 conductor (second item in list) and click OK. 6 In the Insert/Edit Cable Marker (Parent wire) dialog box, delete the wire color/id value (BLK), and click OK. 7 In the Insert Some Child Components dialog box, click Close.
Use the PLC Database File Editor

AutoCAD Electrical can generate any of hundreds of different PLC I/O modules on demand, in a variety of different graphical styles, all without a single, complete I/O module library symbol resident on the system. Modules automatically adapt to the underlying ladder rung spacing, whatever that value might be, and can even be stretched or broken into two or more pieces at insertion time. This is all possible because AutoCAD Electrical generates PLC I/O modules via a parametric generation technique driven by a PLC database (ACE_PLC.MDB).
Creating new PLC modules

By default, when creating a PLC module the PLC Database File Editor lists as many blank field Terminal Types as there are terminals defined in the New Module dialog box.
1 Click Schematic tab Other Tools panel
Database Editors
drop-down PLC Database File Editor. 2 Click the PLC Database File Editor tool. 3 In the PLC Database File Editor dialog box, highlight PLCs in the PLC selection list and click New Module. 4 In the New Module dialog box, specify the following:

Manufacturer: Allen-Bradley Series: 1746 Series Type: Discrete Input Code (Catalog Number): 1746-IA9 Terminals: 9 Addressable Points: 8
5 Click OK.
You now have a new blank input module with nine terminals and eight addressable I/O points. You now need to define some information for each terminal in the module, the most important being what symbols AutoCAD Electrical should stack together to build the module. Usually the top-most symbol for the module is a little different from the rest so
Use the PLC Database File Editor | 1997
that it can carry some basic information for the module that only needs to occur once in the final symbol.
Assigning Terminal Types

1 In the PLC Database File Editor dialog box, right-click Terminal Type 1 and select Edit Terminal from the context menu. The Select Terminal Information dialog box appears. There are 3 categories for top symbols: Top Input, Top Output, and Top Terminal. Top Input and Top Output are addressable terminals, while the Top Terminal category consists of non-addressable terminals. 2 In the Select Terminal Information dialog box, select Top Input. The available terminals for that category appear along with any recently used terminals. Each terminal shown is slightly different. It may have an input wire connection terminal or have terminals for both input and output, or it may not have a wire connection.
3 Select to use Module Info Input I/O Point Wire Left by selecting the picture and then click OK. The selected terminal is assigned to the Terminal Type in the PLC Database File Editor dialog box. AutoCAD Electrical looks at the block to see what attributes come in when the block is inserted. Some of the attributes come in with predefined values that can be overwritten. You will see these predefined values in the grid below the terminal type list. 4 In the PLC Database File Editor dialog box, multiple-select the next seven terminals, right-click, and select Edit Terminal.
NOTE You can select multiple fields to edit at the same time by dragging your mouse across contiguous fields or by holding down the Control key while selecting non-contiguous fields. 5 In the Select Terminal Information dialog box, select the Input category and look at the available terminals.
6 Select the Input I/O Point Wire Left terminal and click OK. All seven terminals are assigned at the same time.
7 In the PLC Database File Editor dialog box, right-click on the last terminal and select Edit Terminal. 8 In the Select Terminal Information dialog box, select the Terminal category. 9 Click the Terminal Point Wire Right terminal and click OK. As an alternative to the Select Terminal Information dialog box, you can use the drop-down list of predetermined Terminal Types. Click the arrow for the Terminal Type and select from the list of available terminal types.
Setting additional terminal information

Some modules may have terminals that are not used. When you build your PLC module on an AutoCAD Electrical drawing there is a choice inside the Module Layout dialog box to include unused/extra connections. When this toggle is not selected, all terminal entries marked as "Show: When Including Unused" in the PLC Database File Editor are skipped. When this toggle is selected, all entries marked with "Show: When Excluding Unused" are skipped. This gives flexibility to how a module is represented. 1 In the PLC Database File Editor dialog box, make sure all of the terminals are set to Show: Always. 2 Make sure all of the terminals are set to Optional Re-prompt: No. You can trigger AutoCAD Electrical to prompt for a new beginning address number when the parametric build flips from inputs to outputs or vice versa. On the line where you want AutoCAD Electrical to re-prompt for a new output address, select Output. If you want a re-prompt for a new input address, select Input from the list. 3 If you want a prompt for an automatic break in the PLC module, select the toggle in the Break After column. 4 If you want to override the rung spacing for the I/O and wire connection point spacing, enter a value in the Spacing Factor column. When AutoCAD Electrical generates a PLC module, it uses the current rung spacing for I/O and wire connection point spacing. When a Spacing Factor is specified, AutoCAD Electrical sees this spacing factor value on any terminal type I/O point or wire connection entry line, it uses a factor of the rung spacing. For example, a 2 for a given entry inserts this point down two times the rung spacing instead of a full rung spacing. A value of 1.5 inserts the point down an extra half rung spacing. A value of 0.0 puts the particular I/O point at the same location as the preceding one.
Modifying the terminal box dimensions

The Style Box Dimensions dialog box defines the module box dimensions (such as the offset values and line properties) based upon the style number used when the PLC was created. 1 In the PLC Database File Editor dialog box, click Style Box Dimensions. 2 Select Style 2 as the graphic style for your plc module. Styles 1-5 are predefined, styles 6-9 may be user-defined. Select a style number - a sample portion of a PLC module appears.
There are about two dozen symbols (with a file name "HP?*.dwg" where "?" is the style number) associated with each style in the library folder. To create a style, copy an existing style's symbols to one of the unused style numbers (6-9) and edit each library symbol. Library folder: Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Autodesk\Acade {version}\Libs\{library}\ Windows Vista, Windows 7: C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\Acade {version}\Libs\{library}\ 3 Specify the module box dimensions for the selected style. These values set the right, left, top, and bottom offsets for the rectangle that surrounds the module. The optional Split Top and Split Bottom specify the offsets for a split module where Split Top specifies the offset for the top of a split module and Split Bottom specifies the offset for the bottom of the split module. If left blank, the rectangle Top and Bottom values are used. 4 Specify any properties for the lines that make up the box. You can set the color and linetype using the properties fields. To predefine the color, enter "COLOR colorname" into the box. For linetype, enter "LTYPE linetypename" in the box. 5 Click OK.
Modifying the terminal block settings

The Terminal Block Settings dialog box is used to manage the library symbols in the PLC Database File Editor. You can add a terminal to the list by clicking in any box in the last entry of the list. A blank entry line is added to the bottom of the list. You must define the block name, assign it to a terminal category for selection, give it a description, and assign a bitmap to be used for dialog box appears. The list shows the block name, category, unique description, and sample bitmap file for each terminal type.
Block Name As defined when creating the parametric PLC blocks. Block file names adhere to the naming conventions to identify the PLC style numbering in the third position and the orientation in the first position.
Category
Used in the PLC Database File editor to easily find specific types of terminals. These descriptions are used during the terminal type selection process. They need to be maintained as unique This file is also used by the PLC database File editor to display a view of the terminal for selection. Symbols and BMP files need to be created outside of the PLC database file editor. Symbols are found in the standard library search path, while PLC Bitmap images are maintained in the same OS folder as the PLC Database itself Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\{username}\My Documents\Acade {version}\AeData\ Windows Vista, Windows 7: C:\Users\{username}\Documents\Acade {version}\AeData\
Unique Description
Sample Bitmap File
1 In the PLC Database File Editor dialog box, click Settings. The Terminal Block Settings dialog box lists the library symbols for the terminal blocks that appeared in the Select Terminal Information dialog box. Notice that row 1 lists the block file name and sample bitmap file for the terminal we selected for Terminal Type 1. 2 Switch between the various graphic styles. Notice that the block name updates depending on the style and orientation you select. For example, the block name is "HP1WA-DL" for Style 1, Horizontal. If you select Style 4, Vertical the block name changes to "VP4WA-DL". Graphical styles are used during the operation of the PLC Parametric Selection process. These bitmap images appear during normal operation and selection of PLC entries and are found at C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Acade {version}\Acade. Use the same file names that are already there: P_STYLEx.bmp where 'x' is the plc style 1-9. 3 Click View DWG or View Bitmap to view the PLC parametric symbols. 4 After you are done viewing the various symbols, click Cancel.
Adding terminal attributes

1 Select the first terminal in the list of terminals. The attributes associated to the block, along with any predefined values, appear below the Tree Structure section of the dialog box.
Notice that the value for the LINE1 is RACK %%1 and LINE2 is SLOT %%2. The prompting values of %%1 and %%2 are populated with what you type into the text box when prompted. The static text of Rack and Slot appears in the attribute once the PLC module is created. There are multiple prompting variables from %%1 through %%9. Prompting strings can be added to any existing attributes on the terminal block. If you wanted to add additional prompts with out using the existing attributes you would have to modify the block file to add additional attributes such as Line3. Top terminals are the only symbols which can accept prompts during the parametric PLC insertion process. 2 Edit each attribute value for the TAG attributes to read "IN-%%N." Besides the Module Prompt variables, AutoCAD Electrical also supports the use of an address variable. When the module is inserted, the PLC I/O addresses are calculated based on some AutoCAD Electrical settings and the module settings. You can trigger AutoCAD Electrical to include a prefix or suffix to each address value it inserts. The %%N represents the calculated I/O address and the IN- is the prefix that gets added to the address value. You can also use the prompt values. For example, if you want to permanently encode the rack and group numbers (%%1 and %%2 prompts) into each I/O address value, encode each I/O address entry in the date file with "TAGA_=%%1%%2%%N." 3 If you want to assign a text constant to any attribute value, combine a text constant with the variables as shown in the module prompts and addressing examples above.
Inserting the PLC module into the drawing

1 Click Save Module to save the module to the PLC database file. 2 Click Done/Insert. The PLC Parametric Selection dialog box appears. 3 Click OK to insert the new PLC module onto the drawing. 4 Specify the insertion point on the drawing. 5 In the Module Layout dialog box, click OK.
6 In the I/O Address dialog box, specify a beginning I/O address or use the quick picks to select an address (such as I:/00). 7 Click OK. Your module should look like the following. The Manufacturer, Catalog Number, and Description attributes also display at the top of the module (not shown).
Customize Circuit Builder

Circuit Builder overview
The Circuit Builder tool comes prepopulated with data to build and annotate a sampling of motor control circuits and power feed circuits. Circuits include 3-phase, single-phase, and one-line circuit representations. Each circuit is built dynamically, adjusting the power bus to match the wire bus for the drawing, adding wiring between components, and annotating the elements with suggested values based upon the selected load. Each time a circuit is configured, it is added to a history list of circuits. This list provides for quick reinsertion at a later time. Three items control this feature:
The spreadsheet on page 2006 defines the available circuits, circuit types, and defaults for each option within a circuit. The template on page 2010 (.dwg file) for a selected circuit defines the placement for the individual components and the wiring. The electrical standards database on page 2015 provides the values used to annotate the circuit, size circuit components, and provide the appropriate motor wire type.
Workflow
1 Circuit Builder opens the spreadsheet and reads in the first sheet named ACE_CIRCS. 2 Circuit Builder shows the list of defined circuits in the Circuit Selection dialog box. 3 Select a circuit to insert or configure. The associated line from the ACE_CIRCS sheet provides the base drawing template name, and the name of a circuit code sheet. The circuit code sheet is a separate sheet within the Circuit Builder spreadsheet. 4 The base drawing template for the circuit inserts at your selected location. 5 Circuit Builder finds and reads the attributes on all the special marker blocks on the inserted drawing template. 6 Circuit Builder matches each marker block to a specific section in the circuit codes sheet. This section can be a single spreadsheet row or
Customize Circuit Builder | 2005
multiple consecutive rows in the circuit codes sheet. The section identifies one of the following:
The action taken at this marker block location in the circuit. For example, calculate a wire type, insert a wire number, or adjust rung spacing. Provides a list of component insertion options that can be inserted at this point in the circuit. For example, presents a selection list containing a fuse, circuit breaker, or disconnect switch symbol.
Each marker block is processed in sequence, controlled by an ORDER attribute value carried on each marker block 7 A marker block can insert a nested template into the main circuit template. If the nested template carries its own marker blocks, these marker blocks are added to the overall list to process. When all marker blocks have been processed, the circuit is complete.
Circuit Builder spreadsheet

The Circuit Builder spreadsheet, ace_circuit_builder.xls, along with the template drawings that it references, control what is displayed in the Circuit Selection and Circuit Configuration dialog box options. The first sheet in the spreadsheet, ACE_CIRCS, contains the main circuit categories, for example 3ph Motor Circuit, and types, for example Horizontal - FVNR - non reversing. Along with this first sheet, are one or more circuit code sheets. These sheets contain the information necessary to insert or configure a specific circuit selected from the first sheet. The ace_circuit_builder.xls circuit builder spreadsheet can be relocated into any of the normal AutoCAD Electrical or AutoCAD support paths. The default location for the spreadsheet is:
Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Autodesk\AcadE {version}\Support\ Windows Vista, Windows 7: C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\AcadE {version}\Support\
The default spreadsheet name, ace_circuit_builder.xls, can be overridden by setting the environment variable, WD_CIRCBUILDER_FNAM, in the wd.env on page 1984 file.
ACE_CIRCS sheet
Circuit Builder reads the list of circuit categories and types from the first sheet in the spreadsheet, ACE_CIRCS. This information appears in a tree-structure selection window in the Circuit Selection dialog box. The ACE_CIRCS sheet contains the following columns.
CATEGORY A major circuit category displayed at the highest level of the tree structure in the Circuit Selection dialog box. The specific type of circuit within a major category. The circuit types appear at the second level of the tree structure. The drawing template that is inserted when this circuit is selected. If a .dwg extension is not present, it is assumed. The circuit code sheet name that is referenced for the selected circuit template. This circuit code sheet carries the definitions for all the marker blocks in the selected drawing template and any nested templates. Code maps to the ANNO_CODE table in the spreadsheet. Allows you to predefine the description, installation, location, and other key information, for the motor or load and the individual components that might be inserted into the circuit.
TYPE
DWG_TEMPLATE
SHEET_NAME
ANNO_CODE
Circuit code sheets

Once a circuit is selected from the Circuit Selection dialog box (the CATEGORY and TYPE fields from the ACE_CIRC sheet), the associated drawing template is inserted (the DWG_TEMPLATE field), and a related circuit code sheet is ready for reference (the SHEET_NAME field). The inserted drawing template on page 2010 contains special marker blocks. Each marker block contains a CODE attribute with a value. This CODE value is used to match up with a section in the circuit code sheet. The matching section in the circuit code sheet provides the key information on what action is required at this physical location in the circuit. Each circuit code sheet contains the following columns.
CODE Value is matched to the CODE attribute value on the marker block. Each code corresponds to one circuit element in the list or an action/decision that takes place at the insertion point of the marker block.
Circuit Builder spreadsheet | 2007
COMMENTS
Text displayed in the Circuit Elements list in the Circuit Configuration dialog box. The default option for a circuit element is marked with an X. When a circuit is inserted rather than configured, all elements marked with "X" are used to build the selected circuit. Title for the group of options in the middle Select section of the Circuit Configuration dialog box. Each circuit element can have one or more groups of options. For example, the main disconnecting means might have two groups of options, the disconnecting means itself and an optional auxiliary contact. This field can also contain a predefined code to bring up a separate dialog instead of driving the middle Select section of the main Circuit Configuration dialog box. There are two pre-defined codes: !MCC_CTRL - invokes the Select Motor on page 710 dialog box when the Browse button on the Motor Setup section of the Circuit Configuration on page 708 dialog box is selected. It must be combined with the ace_cb_motor_select API call in the LOOKUP_CMD entry. !PF_CTRL - invokes the Select Load on page 711 dialog box when the Browse button on the Load Setup section of the Circuit Configuration on page 708 dialog box is selected. It must be combined with the ace_cb_power_feed_select API call in the LOOKUP_CMD entry.
UI_DEF
UI_TITLE
NOTE Include the ace_cb_wire_select API call in the LOOKUP_CMD entry to invoke the Wire Size Lookup on page 712 dialog box when the Browse button in the Wire Setup section of the Circuit Configuration dialog box is selected.
UI_PROMPT_LIST
The text to display in the middle Select section for each option within this group. A numerical value assigned to the selection from each group. These numerical values are added up and matched to the value in the UI_SEL column. NOTE This value must be inserted as a text value in the spreadsheet and not as a number. An apostrophe character in front of the number forces the spreadsheet software to interpret it as a text value. You can also format the cells specifically as text. The text appears left justified in the cell.
UI_VAL
UI_SEL
A numerical value matched to the sum total of the values in the UI_VAL column for each selection made within a group. The COMMAND_LIST value from this row is used to insert the selected options. NOTE This value must be inserted as a text value in the spreadsheet and not as a number. An apostrophe character in front of the number forces the spreadsheet software to interpret it as a text value. You can also format the cells specifically as text. The text appears left justified in the cell.
COMMAND_LIST
The command calls to insert the selected options. NOTE These calls are generally set up using standard AutoLISP format. Multiple calls can be concatenated in the same cell or in subsequent rows of the sheet. If multiple rows are used, the UI_SEL value cell is repeated. Anything after a semi-colon character is interpreted as a comment
ANNOTATE_LIST
Optional command calls to annotate the circuit element. The ANNOTATE_LIST calls execute after all rows of the COMMAND_LIST calls have executed. Optional command calls to perform the electrical standards database or catalog lookups for the selected circuit element. This field controls the right-hand side of the Circuit Configuration dialog. Optional catalog lookup table name. If the option contains multiple components, such as a disconnect switch and a fuse, there are multiple columns where n increments for each component. The title for the component within the Setup & Annotation section on the Configuration dialog box. If the option contains multiple components, such as a disconnect switch and a fuse, there are multiple columns where n increments for each component.
LOOKUP_CMD
TABLEn
TITLEn
ANNO_CODE sheet
Allows you to predefine the description, installation, location, and other key information for the motor or load and the individual components inserted into the circuit.
ANNO_CODE CODE Value is matched to the ANNO_CODE value from the ACE_CIRCS sheet. Value is matched to the CODE value of the marker block on the circuit template.
Circuit Builder spreadsheet | 2009
ATTRIBUTE
Attribute name on the component inserted at the position of the marker block. Text prompt displayed in the Annotation Presets dialog box. The default value for the attribute if annotation presets are listed on page 708 or applied on page 706. This value can be a text value or an AutoLISP expression that returns a text value. Future
PROMPT DEFAULT
OPTIONS
How Annotation Presets work

1 Make a selection from the Circuit Selection dialog box, for example "Horizontal - FVNR - non reversing". This selection has a value in the ANNO_CODE cell, "ANNO_3M". 2 Circuit Builder finds the group of entries that match up with code "ANNO_3M" in the ANNO_CODE sheet of ace_circuit_builder.xls. 3 If any matching entries are found, the Special Annotation: Presets section of the Circuit Selection dialog box, is enabled. 4 If you select Presets and click the Presets List button, the Annotation Presets dialog box displays. The rows displaying the entries with non-blank DEFAULT values are initially marked as Selected. 5 Edit the attribute values as necessary and click OK. 6 Select to Insert or Configure the circuit. 7 Circuit Builder processes each marker block on the circuit template. If the CODE value matches the CODE value from the ANNO_CODE rows, the attribute values marked as Selected in the Annotation Presets dialog box are applied to the target attributes of the inserted component. If a target attribute is not found, the value is inserted as an Xdata value.
Circuit Builder drawing templates

Each circuit starts with a main drawing template. These main circuit template drawings are named ace_cb1*.dwg. Branching or nested circuit drawing templates are named ace_cb2*.dwg. A branching circuit is a circuit inserted as an option on to the main circuit, for example a control transformer circuit or a power factor correction circuit.
The circuit drawing templates use the following naming convention.

ace_cb1_*.dwg - primary circuit drawing templates ace_cb2_*.dwg - branching or nested circuit drawing templates
The default location for the circuit drawing templates is the schematic library folder:
Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Autodesk\AcadE {version}\Libs\{library}\ Windows Vista, Windows 7: C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\AcadE {version}\Libs\{library}\
One-line template drawings have a 1- suffix. The default location is in a 1- folder under the schematic library folder.
Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Autodesk\AcadE {version}\Libs\{library}\1Windows Vista, Windows 7: C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\AcadE {version}\Libs\{library}\1-
NOTE This template drawing naming convention is recommended but is not required for Circuit Builder to function. A circuit template contains the wiring framework for the circuit and special marker blocks. These marker blocks are nothing more than instances of a standard AutoCAD block, ace_cb_marker_block, carrying three attributes. These marker blocks tell Circuit Builder that some action or decision is required at the insertion point of the marker block. The action can be:

Insert a component. Insert a multi-pole component. Make a wire type assignment to the underlying wire. Insert a wire number on the underlying wire. Decide if a branching circuit is needed. Decide if an underlying wire stretches and connects to a nearby power bus. Decide if underlying wire bus spacing adjusts.
Circuit Builder drawing templates | 2011
Decide if an underlying wire is trimmed. Set up the circuit annotation.
NOTE If you choose to Insert a circuit, bypassing the Circuit Configuration dialog box, the default options, as defined in the Spreadsheet on page 655, for each circuit element are used.
Marker block attributes

CODE This attribute value provides the link between the marker block on the circuit template drawing and a section in the circuit codes sheet. The value on this attribute matches with the CODE column value in the circuit codes sheet for the selected template. This attribute value controls the sequence of circuit element display and insertion within the circuit. Marker blocks are processed in order, from low to high. Assigning the same order value to multiple marker blocks links multiple marker blocks together for processing as a group. For example, to adjust the spacing between multiple wires of a 3-phase bus there are three marker blocks with a common CODE value and a common ORDER value. The ORDER value can be an integer or a decimal number value. Support for decimal number order values makes it easy to add a marker block between two others without having to reorder everything. This attribute value contains miscellaneous annotation values, actions, and flags. Annotation values are in the format <attribute name>=<attribute value>. Actions can include embedded AutoLISP expressions or programs. Flags are key words that include enabling child contacts to link to parents and overriding multi-pole build directions. Flag codes include the following _TAGFMT=<value> - override the drawing property component tag format or wire number format setting for this one instance. _PRETAG=<value> - predefine a default alias tag for parent child linking. This option can be used for situations when the child component is inserted before the parent. For example, the marker block for the child contact has "_PRETAG=MR". When the parent coil is inserted, its marker block also has "_PRETAG=MR". As the circuit completes, the actual tag value of the parent annotates on to the child contact. This action is based upon the matching "MR" alias assigned to each. _WIRENO=<value> - predefine a fixed wire number. WIRENUMBERS=0 - if a required wire type does not exist, create it and mark it as No Wire Numbering. If a required wire type does not exist and this flag is missing or has a value of 1, create it and mark it as Wire Numbering. _WIRETYPE=<value> - predefine the wire type layer name.
ORDER
MISC1
_WIRESKIP=<value> - number of wires to skip over when trying to connect to another wire. _MAXTRAPCOUNT=<value> - maximum search distance to look for a wire connection, given in wire connection trap units. The wire connection trap value is fixed and is displayed on the Drawing properties: drawing format tab on page 231 for the active drawing. _BASE - indicates a base wire, the one that does not move, when setting up to adjust multiple bus wire spacing. If not defined, the wire that is co-linear with the insertion point of the template becomes the default base wire. _L =<value>- each sublist, delimited by "|" characters, can predefine attribute values for individual poles of a multi-pole component, set of terminals, or set of cable markers. _D=<value> - define the build direction override for a multi-pole component. 1=build right, 2=build up, 4=build left, 8=build down. Without an override, the build direction is down for horizontal inserts, and from left to right for vertical inserts. X=<value or AutoLISP expression> - reposition the marker block in the "X" direction. For example, "_X=(* 0.5 DIST01)" means adjust the position of this marker block in the X direction by an amount equal to 0.5 times the bus spacing distance defined by marker block with a CODE attribute value of "DIST01". This example can be used to position a marker block for a single phase motor insertion point, halfway between two power bus wires. _Y=<value or AutoLISP expression> - reposition the marker block in the "Y" direction.
NOTE The flags defined in the circuit drawing marker blocks override any spreadsheet settings.
Marker block functions

All marker blocks have the same block name, ace_cb_marker_block, but can have a wide variety of functions. The specific function assigned to a marker is based on its CODE attribute value and what this code value maps back to in the circuit code sheet for the circuit template. Here are the categories of marker block functions:
Setup Wire Type Blocks that define the circuit properties, such as motor selection. Blocks that define the wire type layers layer to assign to the wire network under the block.
Circuit Builder drawing templates | 2013
Wire Number Nested Circuit
Blocks that define a wire number to assign to the wire under the block. Blocks that define the placement of a branching or nested circuit such as a control circuit at the insertion point of the marker block. Blocks that define the placement of a component, connector, terminal, cable marker, or a multi-pole component at the insertion point of the marker block. Blocks that control rung spacing adjustment for the wires under these blocks. Blocks that are processed as a group must carry common CODE and ORDER attribute values. Blocks that control stretching a wire segment to connect to another wire.
Component
Bus Spacing
Wire Connections
NOTE The name of the marker block cannot be changed. The Circuit Builder command only processes marker blocks named "ace_cb_marker_block".
One-line circuit templates

One-line circuit templates use the same marker block concept as three-phase motor and power feed circuit templates. However, there are a few differences. There is a single line wire that represents a multi-wire bus. Most of the one-line circuit templates contain a special "bus-tap" symbol. The bus-tap symbol can have two functions:
Provide an anchor point for the one-line circuit representation that begins at this location. Break into the one-line bus where the circuit connects.
On a dual circuit one-line template, there are three of bus-tap symbols. One at the normal point where the circuit ties into the bus. There is another version of the symbol on each of the two circuit "legs", each marking the point where that part of the dual circuit starts. These bus-tap symbols allow various reports to report accurately on a one-line circuit, whether a single circuit or a dual circuit representation. The following bus-tap symbols are supplied:

HDV1_BT_1-.dwg - with dot for horizontal one-line circuit VDV1_BT_1-.dwg - with dot for vertical one-line circuit HDV1_BTT_1-.dwg - tee connection for dual horizontal circuit
VDV1_BTT_1-.dwg - tee connection for dual vertical circuit HDV1_BTL_1-.dwg - corner connection for dual horizontal circuit VDV1_BTL_1-.dwg - corner connection for dual vertical circuit
NOTE A WDTYPE attribute with a 1-1 value, identifies a bus-tap symbol.
Circuit Builder database

Circuit Builder uses an electrical standards database to define default values, define engineering calculations, annotate circuits, and provide wire size recommendations. The electrical standards database, ace_electrical_standards.mdb, is located in the catalog folder. The default location is:
Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\{username}\My Documents\Acade {version}\AeData\Catalogs\ Windows Vista, Windows 7: C:\Users\{username}\Documents\Acade {version}\AeData\Catalogs\
Sizing and wire type values are based on information from the electrical standards database. Circuit Builder looks for a match on the motor size, supply voltage, and phase. On a match, Circuit Builder provides the Full Load Amp value, recommended motor power conductor size, and suggested rating values for various branch circuit protection elements such as circuit breakers, fuses, and disconnect switches. The electrical standards database also allows Circuit Builder to provide engineering estimates and green calculations in the area of power conductor size versus energy losses. Designing to meet minimum code requirements can conflict with green design. For example, designing to the minimum conductor size for a given load can provide short-term savings on material cost but run up longer-term expense due to higher heating loses in the wiring. Over the life of the installation, the energy lost in heating up the minimum-sized wiring, instead of reaching the load to do useful work, could be substantial. During wiring sizing, Circuit Builder displays not only a list of the valid wire sizes meeting the ampacity requirements of the load, but also a list of the estimated maximum energy loss cost for each wire size. This set of calculations allows you to make better green design decisions. For example, you decide to oversize the conductors for a motor to reduce conductor heating losses. This results in a higher initial cost for material and installation labor. However,
Circuit Builder database | 2015
this cost is recovered many times over in reduced energy losses in the wiring during the life of the installation. NOTE The ace_electrical_standards.mdb file replaces the mcc.mdb file used in previous versions of Circuit Builder. The electrical standards database contains multiple tables used by Circuit Builder.
MOTOR Contains the values used to populate the Select Motor on page 710 dialog box. Contains the values used to populate the Select Load on page 711 dialog box. This table name can have an optional suffix to relate it to a specific electrical standards code. Options tables contain values defining defaults and options lists specific to an electrical standard. For example, default to copper wiring, AWG size standard, and feet for conductor length units. Wire ampacity tables contain the ampacity ratings for different conductor sizes and insulation temperature ratings. Grounding conductor sizing tables contain the maximum ampacity ratings for different grounding conductor sizes. This information is used to retrieve the minimum grounding conductor size and provide a selection list of larger sizes. Wire insulation tables lists the insulation types, the maximum temperature rating for each, and de-rating factors for each based on a series of temperatures. Conductor Reactance/AC Resistance tables contain values used to estimate single-phase and three-phase voltage drop values. Conduit/raceway descriptions list used with the XL&R_{wire type}_{wire size standard} tables. Fill tables contain the ampacity de-rating factors used when there is more than one current carrying conductor (power wiring, not ground, neutral, or control wires) in the same conduit, duct, or raceway.
FEED
OPT
AMP_{wire type}_{wire size standard} AMPG_{wire type}_{wire size standard}
INSUL_{wire type}_{wire size standard}
XL&R_{wire type}_{wire size standard} XL&R_DESC
FILL
MOTOR_I_DESC
Lists the component type descriptions whose sizing ties directly into the full load amps value (FLA) of the motor or load. The CODE value maps to the MOTOR_I_CALC and MOTOR_I_MAP tables. Lists the formula to calculate the maximum amp value for various types of components on a per motor type basis. Maps the calculated FLA for a component to a specific rating value and an optional catalog assignment.
MOTOR_I_CALC
MOTOR_I_MAP
NOTE Each table name can have an optional suffix to relate it to a specific electrical standards code.
Motor table
The data in the Motor table is used to populate the Select Motor on page 710 dialog box. Filter the selection list by type, voltage, and frequency. The load and FLA values for the selected motor are passed back to the Circuit Configuration dialog box and are used in wire size calculations. The values are also used to calculate breaker size, fuse size, and disconnect switch rating, for the selected motor. The MOTOR table follows this table naming convention:
MOTOR - if no specific electrical standards table is found, the default table name to use. _{standard} - optional suffix to relate it to a specific electrical standards code. For example, an _NEC suffix could mean that the data for the table parallels the National Electrical Code. A suffixed MOTOR table name is not necessary unless you plan to set up the electrical standards database to support multiple standards.
Feed table
The data in the Feed table is used to populate the Select Load on page 711 dialog box. Filter the selection list by type, voltage, and frequency. The load and FLA values for the selected feed are passed back to the Circuit Configuration dialog box and are used in wire size calculations. The values are also used to calculate breaker size, fuse size, and disconnect switch rating, for the selected load.
The FEED table follows this table naming convention:
FEED - if no specific electrical standards table is found, the default table name to use. _{standard} - optional suffix to relate it to a specific electrical standards code. For example, an _NEC suffix could mean that the data for the table parallels the National Electrical Code. A suffixed FEED table name is not necessary unless you plan to set up the electrical standards database to support multiple standards.
Options tables
Options tables contain values defining defaults and options lists specific to an electrical standard. For example, default to copper wiring, AWG size standard, and feet for conductor length units. The OPT table follows this table naming convention:
OPT - if no specific electrical standards table is found, the default table name to use. _{standard} - optional suffix to relate it to a specific electrical standards code. For example, an _NEC suffix could mean that the data for the table parallels the National Electrical Code. A suffixed OPT table name is not necessary unless you plan to set up the electrical standards database to support multiple standards. Description
Default full load amps multiplier value used to determine a maximum load. For example, the full load amps for a motor is rated at 10 amps and the FLA_MULT default is set to 1.25. The minimum wire size calculation for the wiring for the motor is based upon an ampacity rating of not 10 amps but 12.5 amps (10 amps x 1.25). The FLA_MULT factor displays in the Select Motor on page 710 and Wire Size Lookup on page 712 dialog boxes. Continuous load correction factor for wire size ampacity de-rating. If the electrical load is anticipated to be a continuous load, a default de-rating factor can be automatically applied to the wire size ampacity calculation. For example, a given electrical code defines the Continuous load correction factor at a value of 0.8. This means that a given wire size that normally has a maximum rated ampacity value of 20 amps is de-rated to a maximum ampacity of 16 amps when the wiring is to power a motor that is expected to be a con-
Name
FLA_MULT
C_LOAD
Name
Description
tinuous load. The wire size calculation may need to select the next larger wire size.
W_METAL
Default wire metal value used to determine appropriate wire ampacity and wire insulation table names. For example, CU to define copper wiring as the default, AL to define aluminum wiring as the default. Default wire type standard used to determine appropriate wire ampacity and wire insulation table names. For example, AWG or MM2. Maximum allowable % voltage drop in power wiring. This value can be used to help calculate an appropriate wire size when the wire run distance is also defined. Default insulation type used to determine the ambient temperature correction factor. Wire run distance values for pick list in the Wire Size Lookup dialog box. The run distance is used for estimated voltage drop calculations in the motor or load power wiring. Run distance units for power conductors and values for units pick list in the Wire Size Lookup dialog box. Run distance is used in the estimated voltage drop calculation. Units are either "FT" for feet or "M" for meters. Unit cost per kWh. This value is used for estimating a maximum annual cost of energy loss in the power wiring for a motor or load, assuming a continuous full load. KWh cost units character used in the Wire Size Lookup dialog box showing the wire loss estimates. For example, $ for dollar, for euro.
W_STD
V_DROP
W_INSUL
LEN_LIST
LEN_UNITS
KWH_COST
KWH_COST_UNITS
SHORTNAME
The code for the electrical standards name for this table. This code on page 182 is saved in the project .wdp file when the standard is applied to a project. The full name of the electrical standards name for this table. This value, extracted from all the OPT tables, provides the values for the pick list when setting an Electrical Code Standard for a project from the Project properties: project settings tab on page 204. Run distance units for power conductors and values for units pick list in the Wire Size Lookup dialog box. Run distance is used in the voltage drop calculation.
FULLNAME
LEN_UNITS
Name
VOLTS
Description
Default supply voltage value and values for voltage pick list in the Wire Size Lookup dialog box. Default supply phase value and values for phase pick list in the Wire Size Lookup dialog box. For example, 1 for single-phase, 3 for three-phase. Default value for the minimum wire size when displaying paralleled wire option in the Wire Size Lookup dialog box. For example, 1-0 AWG. Default value for the maximum number of wire conductors when displaying paralleled wire option in the Wire Size Lookup dialog box. For example, 4 for up to four paralleled wires per phase. Default ambient temperature correction factor. This value is used in wire type sizing. It must match up with one of the temperature de-rating column labels found in the INSUL_* tables. For example, 30C. Default power factor for a motor. This value is used in estimated voltage drop calculations. For example, 0.85. Default power factor for a power feed. This value is used in estimated voltage drop calculations. For example, 0.85. Defines the expression to calculate the minimum grounding conductor ampacity size. The I in the expression represents the motor or load full load amps (FLA). The result of the expression is then applied to the appropriate AMPG table to determine the minimum grounding conductor size.
PHASE
PARALLEL_MIN_SIZE
PARALLEL_MAX_CNT
T_AMBIENT
M_POWERFACTOR
F_POWERFACTOR
AMPG_MAX
Wire ampacity tables

The wire ampacity tables provide the wire conductor sizes, descriptions, and maximum FLA ampacity values based on wire size and standard insulation temperature ratings. This information is used in the following ways:
Automatically select a default wire size based upon the maximum load amp value displayed in the Select Motor on page 710 or Select Load on page 711 dialog boxes.
Automatically calculate or recalculate suggested wire sizes in the Wire Size Lookup on page 712 dialog box as various parameters and de-rating factors are applied.
The wire ampacity tables use the following naming convention:

AMP - the table name prefix. _{type} - the wire metal type such as CU for copper, or AL for aluminum. _{size} - wire size standard such as AWG, or MM2 for metric. _{standard} - optional suffix to relate it to a specific electrical standards code. For example, an _NEC suffix could mean that the data for the table parallels the National Electrical Code. A suffixed table name is not necessary unless you plan to set up the electrical standards database to support multiple standards.
For example, a table named AMP_CU_AWG_NEC contains the wire ampacity information for copper, AWG sizes, and parallels what is found in the National Electrical Code. Name
SIZE
Description
Wire size code. This value can be automatically pushed into a wire type layer name. For example, 12, 250KCMIL. Wire size description shown on the Wire Size Lookup dialog box. For example, 12 AWG, 250 KCMIL. Imperial cross-section value for the wire conductor size. Maximum ampacity rating values for the wire conductor size for each of these standard ambient temperature ratings. Additional columns can be added or an existing column can be deleted. For example, if local electrical codes do not support 90C, this field can be removed from the table and does not show up as an option in the Wire Size Lookup dialog box.
SIZE_DESC
CIRC_MIL 60C, 75C, 90C
Grounding conductor sizing tables

The grounding conductor sizing tables provide the grounding wire conductor sizes and maximum FLA ampacity values. This information is used in the following ways:
Provide a suggested minimum grounding conductor size based on the amp value returned by the expression defined in the AMPG_MAX entry in the OPT table.
Provide a selection list on the Wire Size Lookup on page 712 dialog box giving this minimum suggested size plus all larger grounding conductor sizes.
The grounding conductor sizing tables use the following naming convention:

AMPG - the table name prefix _{type} - the wire metal type such as CU for copper, or AL for aluminum. _{size} - wire size standard such as AWG, or MM2 for metric. _{standard} - optional suffix to relate it to a specific electrical standards code. For example, an _NEC suffix could mean that the data for the table parallels the National Electrical Code. A suffixed table name is not necessary unless you plan to set up the electrical standards database to support multiple standards.
For example, a table named AMPG_CU_AWG_NEC contains the grounding conductor sizing information for copper, AWG sizes, and parallels values found in the National Electrical Code. Name
SIZE
Description
Wire size code. This value can be automatically pushed into a wire type layer name for the ground wire. For example, 12, 250KCMIL. Wire size description shown on the Wire Size Lookup dialog box. For example, 12 AWG, 250 KCMIL. Maximum amp value associated to this grounding wire size. The value comes from the result of the expression held in the AMPG_MAX entry of the OPT table.
SIZE_DESC
MAX
Wire insulation tables

The wire insulation tables provide the option to de-rate wire conductor ampacity based upon expected maximum ambient temperature.
Automatically select a default wire size based upon the maximum load amp value, displayed in the Select Motor on page 710 or Select Load on page 711 dialog boxes, and the default insulation type and ambient temperature rating defined in the W_INSUL and T_AMBIENT entries of the OPT table.
Automatically calculate or recalculate suggested wire sizes in the Wire Size Lookup on page 712 dialog box as various insulation and temperature de-rating factors are applied.
The wire insulation tables use the following naming convention:

INSUL - the table name prefix. _{type} - the wire metal type such as CU for copper, or AL for aluminum. _{size} - wire size standard such as AWG, or MM2 for metric. _{standard} - optional suffix to relate it to a specific electrical standards code. For example, an _NEC suffix could mean that the data for the table parallels the National Electrical Code. A suffixed table name is not necessary unless you plan to set up the electrical standards database to support multiple standards.
For example, a table named INSUL_CU_AWG_NEC contains the wire insulation information for copper, AWG sizes, and parallels values found in the National Electrical Code. Name
INSUL INSUL_DESC TEMP 25C-80C
Description
Insulation type code. Insulation type description shown on the Wire Size Lookup dialog box. Standard, maximum temperature rating for the insulation type. A series of wire conductor ampacity de-rating factor values for maximum ambient temperature. Columns can be added or deleted. For example, if 30C is the minimum ambient temperature rating, the 25C column can be removed.
Conductor Reactance / AC Resistance tables

The optional conductor reactance/AC resistance tables provide the reactance and resistance values for wire size based on conduit type. These values are used to calculate the voltage drop percentage in power wiring when a run distance is supplied. There are two types of tables for this feature. A conduit type description table and the reactance/resistance data tables. Conduit type description table
The description table, XL&R_DESC, contains the labels used on the Wire Size Lookup on page 712 dialog box for the conduit or raceway type selection list. The labels also map to the columns in the data tables.
Data tables The conductor reactance/AC resistance data tables use the following naming convention:

XL&R - the table name prefix _{type} - the wire metal type such as CU for copper, or AL for aluminum. _{size} - wire size standard such as AWG, or MM2 for metric. _{standard} - optional suffix to relate it to a specific electrical standards code. For example, an _NEC suffix could mean that the data for the table parallels the National Electrical Code. A suffixed table name is not necessary unless you plan to set up the electrical standards database to support multiple standards.
For example, a table named XL&R_CU_AWG_NEC contains the conductor reactance/AC resistance information for copper, AWG sizes, and parallels values found in the National Electrical Code. Name
SIZE C1-C3
Description
Wire size code. A set of reactance and resistance values, semi-colon delimited for the conduit type. The first element is the estimated reactance and the second element is the AC resistance. NOTE see the XL&R_DESC table for the corresponding label for each. Data for additional conduit/raceway types can be added to this table with a corresponding entry added to the XL&R_DESC table.
NOTE See Wire Size Lookup on page 712 for the voltage drop calculation.
Fill tables
When multiple current carrying wire conductors are in the same conduit, duct, or raceway, the wire ampacity may need to be de-rated. Current carrying wire conductors are defined as power wiring, not ground, neutral, or control wires. The Fill table provides the de-rating factor based on the maximum number of power wire conductors. The FILL table follows this naming convention:

FILL - the table name prefix. _{standard} - optional suffix to relate it to a specific electrical standards code. For example, an _NEC suffix could mean that the data for the table parallels the National Electrical Code. A suffixed FILL table name is not necessary unless you plan to set up the electrical standards database to support multiple standards.
MOTOR_I* tables
A set of three tables containing values used for calculating suggested breaker size, fuse size, and disconnect switch ratings for a given motor or load amp value. Each table name can have an optional suffix to relate it to a specific electrical standards code such as _NEC for National Electrical Code.
MOTOR_I_DESC
Lists the component type descriptions whose sizing ties directly into the full load amps value (FLA) of the motor or load. The CODE value maps to the MOTOR_I_CALC and MOTOR_I_MAP tables.
MOTOR_I_CALC
Lists the formula to calculate the maximum amp value for various types of components on a per motor type basis. Each row gives a motor type followed by columns marked with the codes given in the MOTOR_I_DESC table. Each cell contains an expression to calculate a FLA value. The FLA value for the selected motor corresponds to the symbol "I" in the expression. Valid operations are +-*/^. The ^ character is the exponential function. For example, I^2 is I squared, while I^0.5 is the square root of I. If-then-else statements are supported including one level of nested statements. For example,
(if (I > 400) then (I * 8) else (I * 11)) - the calculated amp value is eight times FLA current for 0-400 amps and 11 times for greater than FLA of 400 amps. One level of nesting is supported. (if (I >= 9.0) then (I * 1.25) else if (I < 2.0) then (I * 3.0) else (I * 1.67) - the calculated value is set to (I * 1.67) if I is less than 9 but greater or equal to 2.0 amps. If I is less than 2.0 amps the calculated value is (I * 3.0), and if greater than or equal to 9.0 amps, it is (I * 1.25).
Valid Boolean operations are >, <. >=. <=, =.
MOTOR_I_MAP
Maps the calculated FLA for a component to a specific rating value and an optional catalog assignment. The rating value is annotated to the symbol using the API call c:ace_cb_anno2 in the circuit builder spreadsheet. The optional catalog assignment is defined in the Default field. Use the following format: MFG={manufacturer};CAT={catalog};ASSYCODE={assembly code} If the ASSYCODE value is not needed, use the format: MFG={manufacturer};CAT={catalog}
CATALOGSEL table
Circuit Builder uses the CATALOGSEL table to save the catalog selections made for the motor and other components. The catalog information is saved based on the motor size. If this same motor size is used later on another circuit, these previous catalog selections become the default values when they match up with the configured selections. For example, if the previous circuit was configured with a 10HP motor with time-delay fuses, and a 10HP motor with
time-delay fuses is selected for the new circuit, the previously used catalog selection appears as the default. If the circuit is configured using the Reference an existing circuit on page 721 feature, the values are not used from the CATALOGSEL table but from the referenced circuit. However, if a new motor is then selected from the Select Motor on page 710 dialog box, the CATALOGSEL tables values are checked for a match.
Add a new circuit

To add a new circuit to Circuit Builder there are three main tasks:

Create the circuit drawing template on page 2032 (an AutoCAD .dwg file). Add a reference to this new circuit in the ACE_CIRCS on page 2038 sheet in the ace_circuit_builder.xls spreadsheet. Create or modify a circuit codes on page 2039sheet in the ace_circuit_builder.xls spreadsheet.
NOTE This exercise demonstrates the capabilities of Circuit Builder and the result may not necessarily be electrically valid.
Create the circuit template

It is recommended that you read the Circuit Builder drawing templates on page 2010 topic before continuing. A circuit template drawing is an AutoCAD .dwg file that contains the wiring framework for the circuit. On this wiring framework are positioned special marker blocks. These marker blocks are configured, using attribute values, to tell Circuit Builder that some action or decision is required at the insertion point of each marker block. One marker block might identify where to place he power disconnecting means for the circuit. Another marker block might identify that an underlying wire must be appropriately sized to the motor inserted at yet another marker block on the wire framework of the circuit template. The easiest way to create a circuit template is to copy a similar template to a new name and modify the marker blocks on this copied template. For this example you copy the circuit template ace_cb1_FVNR_H.dwg to a new name. It is the main template for a 3-phase, horizontal, full-voltage, non-reversing motor circuit. You modify this template to create a custom circuit template.
1 Locate the existing circuit template drawing file ace_cb1_FVNR_H.dwg. Copies of the circuit builder templates are installed in each of the schematic library folders, JIC125, IEC2, and so onto. Copy this file to ace_cb1_FVNR_H_custom.dwg. NOTE The circuit template name is not critical and does not affect functionality of Circuit Builder. 2 Open the copied and renamed circuit template, ace_cb1_FVNR_H_custom.dwg, in AutoCAD. Make sure that you have write access to the drawing. This template consists of three wires and some marker blocks. 3 Open ace_circuit_builder.xls in a spreadsheet software for reference. See Circuit Builder spreadsheet overview on page ? for the location of this file. Use standard AutoCAD commands to modify the template and not AutoCAD Electrical commands. It avoids creating a template that contains an extra copy of the AutoCAD Electrical WD_M block. If you accidentally use a command that inserts the invisible WD_M block, either UNDO or erase and purge the WD_M block instance. To erase and purge the invisible block, follow these steps: 1 Enter ATTDISP at the command prompt. 2 Enter ON to make all attributes visible. 3 Locate the block at 0,0. 4 Click Home tab Modify panel Erase. 5 Select the block and press enter. 6 Enter PURGE at the command prompt. 7 Select WD_M in the Block s section. 8 Click Purge. 9 Click Close.
Add a new circuit | 2033
Define wires stretching to connect to bus

The first modification is to change the way the horizontal wires connect to the vertical bus when inserted. The copied template is defined as follows:
Top wire skips over two wires and connects to the left-most vertical bus wire. Middle wire skips over one wire and connects to the middle vertical bus wire. Bottom wire connects to the first vertical bus wire it encounters.
The following changes to the marker blocks reverse it.
1 Zoom in on the left-hand side of the template. You should see three marker blocks, each with a CODE value of WCON. Each one is directly on top of and near the end of one of the wires. 2 Enter ATTEDIT and select the top WCON marker block. You should see the following values:
CODE = WCON - maps back to a row in the circuit codes sheet with a function to stretch the end of the underlying wire to try to make a connection. ORDER = 1.02 - indicates the order of processing for the marker block relative to all the other marker blocks in the template. The order value can be an integer number or a decimal number. The blocks are processed low to high starting at 0. Blocks with the same ORDER value are processed as a group.
MISC1 = _WIRESKIP=2;_MAXTRAPCOUNT=200 - defines any special handling of the marker block. See the Marker block attributes on page 660 topic for a complete list of supported values.
3 Change the MISC1 value to _MAXTRAPCOUNT=200, removing _WIRESKIP=2. The _WIRESKIP value defines the number of wires to skip over when trying to connect to the vertical bus when inserted. Removing this value directs Circuit Builder to connect to the first vertical wire it finds. The _MAXTRAPCOUNT limits the relative distance that circuit builder searches to find a wire to connect to. It is measured in an integer number of wire connection trap on page 232 distance units. If _MAXTRAPCOUNT is not defined or is zero, the search is across the whole extents of the drawing. 4 Click OK. 5 Enter ATTEDIT and select the bottom WCON marker block. 6 Change the MISC1 value to _WIRESKIP=2;_MAXTRAPCOUNT=200, making sure to enter the semi-colon character between the values. It tells Circuit Builder to skip over two vertical wires when trying to connect to the vertical bus and to search up to 200 times the trap distance for a vertical wire to connect to. If none are found within that distance, Circuit Builder will not stretch this wire. 7 Click OK.
Remove unnecessary marker blocks

The copied circuit has marker blocks for a control transformer and power factor correction capacitor. For this custom circuit, these options are not needed and the marker blocks can be removed. 1 To verify which marker block is for the control transformer, switch over to ace_circuit_builder.xls. 2 Open the ACE_CIRCS worksheet. Find which circuit codes sheet is used for the original template you copied over, ace_cb1_FVNR_H.dwg. 3 Locate a row with the name of the original template you copied over, ace_cb1_FVNR_H.dwg, in the DWG_TEMPLATE field. 4 Find the SHEET_NAME value for this row, 3ph_H.
5 Open the 3ph_H worksheet. 6 Find the entry for Control transformer and circuit - non-reversing in the COMMENTS column. 7 Find the CODE value for this row, XF01. This CODE value links the marker block to the circuit code sheet. 8 Switch back to the drawing and locate the marker block with the CODE value of XF01. 9 Erase the marker block using the AutoCAD ERASE command. 10 Repeat the steps to locate and delete the power factor correction marker block, CODE=KVAR1.
Add a marker block

You can add a marker block by inserting the library symbol, ace_cb_marker_block.dwg, or by copying an existing marker block and modifying the attribute values. In this section, you will insert a marker block that directs Circuit Builder to display a list of possible components to insert in the Circuit Configuration dialog box. NOTE This exercise demonstrates the capabilities of Circuit Builder and the result may not necessarily be electrically valid. 1 Determine exactly where in the template you want this specific component inserted as the circuit is built. 2 Enter INSERT at the command line to launch the AutoCAD block insert command. 3 Browse to ace_cb_marker_block.dwg and insert this block at the desired location. A copy of this block is installed in each of the schematic library folders, JIC125, IEC2, and so on. NOTE You could also use the AutoCAD COPY command and copy a nearby marker block into the desired location. 4 Enter ATTEDIT and select the marker block. 5 Enter a value for the CODE attribute, for example USR001.
Use letters or numbers for the value. There is no code naming convention. Make sure it is unique within the circuit codes spreadsheet. This marker block code value maps a row or group of rows in to the spreadsheet. The information in the spreadsheet directs Circuit Builder to perform a specific action at the XY coordinate of this marker block. 6 Enter a value for the ORDER attribute, for example 12. This value can be an integer or decimal number and defines the order that the marker blocks are processed. In this example, 12 is the highest ORDER value on the template. This means that the action defined by this marker block is the last one processed as the circuit is built. 7 Enter an optional value for the MISC1 attribute, such as LOC=FIELD;DESC1=ADDED COMPONENT. This value can carry a number of flags on page 2010 as well as predefine attribute values. When more than one, they are to be semi-colon delimited.
Modify existing marker block

The template has a marker block with a CODE value of X001. Finding the matching code in the circuit codes sheet indicates a multi-pole component insertion. Three terminals are inserted at the location of this marker block. In this section, you add a MISC1 value to predefine the terminal numbers. 1 Enter ATTEDIT and select the marker block with the CODE value of X001. 2 Enter _L=|TERM01=T1|TERM01=T2|TERM01=T3|. This " _L= " prefix marks the beginning of a list of data to annotate on to a multi-pole insertion triggered by the single marker block. In the example here, a multi-pole insertion of three terminals into the three phase bus defined in the template drawing. The "|" symbol separates the attribute groups for each pole of the multi-pole insertion. Multiple attributes within a group are separated by a ";", the second-level delimiter. This example directs Circuit Builder to assign T1 to the TERM01 attribute on the first terminal inserted, T2 on the second, and T3 on the third. NOTE See Assign different attribute values on a multi-pole insert on page 2045 for more information. 3 Click OK.
NOTE Save the circuit template drawing after all the modifications are made.
ACE_CIRCS sheet
The ACE_CIRCS sheet in the ace_circuit_builder.xls spreadsheet controls the circuit options displayed on the Circuit Selection dialog box. In this exercise, you add entry to this ACE_CIRCS sheet so your new circuit option shows up in the Circuit Selection dialog box. 1 Open ace_circuit_builder.xls for edit using a spreadsheet software. See Circuit Builder spreadsheet overview on page ? for the location of this file. 2 Open the ACE_CIRCS sheet. The structure of this sheet controls the tree structure used by Circuit Builder on the Circuit Selection dialog box. You will add a new category, Custom Circuits, with one custom circuit option, My 3-ph motor, within that category. 3 Enter Custom Circuits in the CATEGORY field of the first blank row below the existing entries. It adds a new category to the highest level of the tree display. 4 Enter My 3-ph motor in the TYPE field for the same row. It adds an option within this new category. 5 Enter ace_cb1_FVNR_H_custom.dwg in the DWG_TEMPLATE field in this row. It defines which circuit template drawing to use for this option. This is the circuit template drawing created in the Create the circuit template on page 2032 exercise. 6 Enter 3ph_H_custom in the SHEET_NAME field in this row. It defines the circuit codes sheet name. This is created in the Circuit codes sheet on page 2039 exercise. 7 Save the spreadsheet. NOTE Leave the ANNO_CODE field blank. See Predefine attribute values using annotation presets on page 2072 to learn how to define annotation.
Circuit codes sheet

Once a circuit is selected from the Circuit Selection dialog box (the CATEGORY and TYPE fields from the ACE_CIRC sheet), the associated circuit template drawing, with the marker blocks, is inserted (the DWG_TEMPLATE field). A related circuit code sheet is ready for reference (the SHEET_NAME field). Each marker block contains a CODE attribute with a value. This CODE value is used to match up with a section in the circuit code sheet which defines what to do at the location of this marker block in the template. You can create a sheet or copy an existing, similar sheet. Since the circuit template drawing was copied from ace_cb1_FVNR_H.dwg, it is easier to copy the circuit codes sheet, 3ph_H, and modify it. 1 Open ace_circuit_builder.xls for edit using a spreadsheet software. See Circuit Builder spreadsheet overview on page ? for the location of this file. 2 Copy the 3ph_H sheet and rename it 3ph_H_custom as referenced in the ACE_CIRCS sheet. The changes in the circuit codes sheet must correspond to the changes made to the marker blocks in the circuit template drawing. You can delete the lines in the sheet that match the code values from the marker blocks you deleted, XF01 and KVAR1. If you decide not to delete them from this sheet, it is not a problem. These lines are ignored and not displayed on the Circuit Configuration dialog box if the corresponding marker blocks are not found. 3 Locate the CODE value XF01. 4 Delete all the spreadsheet rows to the point where the next non-blank CODE value begins, such as XF02. 5 Repeat for CODE value KVAR1. Add a section for the new marker block you added with a CODE value of USR001. Add this new section at the bottom of the sheet after the last non-blank row. 6 Enter USR001 in the CODE field in the blank row. 7 Enter Extra Component in the COMMENT field. It is displayed in the left-hand Circuit Elements section of the Circuit Configuration dialog box and is used for selection. 8 Enter Component in the UI_TITLE field.
It is the label that shows up above the selection list in the middle part of the Circuit Configuration dialog box. 9 Enter Red Light in the UI_PROMPT_LIST field in the same row. It is the text shown in the selection list for this item, displayed in the middle part of the dialog box. 10 Enter 1 in the UI_VAL field in the same row. It is a numerical value assigned to the selection from each group. These numerical values are added up and matched to the value in the UI_SEL column. This example only has one value. 11 Enter 1 in the UI_SEL field in the same row. NOTE All UI_VAL and UI_SEL values must be inserted as text values in the spreadsheet and not as numbers. An apostrophe character in front of the number forces the spreadsheet software to interpret it as a text value. You can also format the cells specifically as text. The text should appear left justified in the cell. If any values appear right justified, they must change from numeric to text values. It is a numerical value matched to the sum total of the values in the UI_VAL column for each selection made within a group. The COMMAND_LIST value from this row is used to insert the selected options. 12 Enter (c:ace_cb_insym #xyz nil HLT1R #scl 8 nil) in the COMMAND_LIST field. It is the API call Circuit Builder uses to insert a component. See the API documentation for more information. 13 Enter Selector Switch in the UI_PROMPT_LIST field in the next row. It is the second option within the Extra Component option. The CODE, COMMENTS, and UI_TITLE fields should remain blank. 14 Enter X in the UI_DEF field in this row. It defines the entry as the default option. The default is used when the circuit is inserted using the Insert button on the Circuit Selection dialog box. If the Configure button is selected, the "X" entry is the preselected default in the Circuit Configuration dialog box when the options for this marker block are displayed 15 Enter 2 in the UI_VAL field in the same row. 16 Enter 2 in the UI_SEL field in the same row.
17 Enter (c:ace_cb_insym #xyz nil HSS112 #scl 8 nil) in the COMMAND_LIST field. 18 Enter NO Contact in the UI_PROMPT_LIST field in the next row. 19 Enter 3 in the UI_VAL field in the same row. 20 Enter 3 in the UI_SEL field in the same row. 21 Enter (c:ace_cb_insym #xyz nil HCR21 #scl 8 nil) in the COMMAND_LIST field. 22 Enter None in the UI_PROMPT_LIST field in the next row. 23 Enter 0 in the UI_VAL field in the same row. 24 Enter 0 in the UI_SEL field in the same row. Leave the COMMAND_LIST field blank, meaning that if this option is selected no action is needed.
25 Save the spreadsheet. NOTE A new circuit codes sheet is not always needed. Depending on the circuit and the circuit options, the information can be added to an existing sheet. In this example, a new sheet was created to demonstrate the procedure.
Testing the circuit

Once you create the circuit template on page 2032, modified ACE_CIRCS on page 2038 sheet, and added the circuit codes on page 2039 sheet, you are ready to test your custom circuit. 1 Make sure that you save the spreadsheet changes and close the spreadsheet file. 2 Open a new or existing drawing to insert the circuit. Make sure that the drawing has a vertical 3-phase bus. 3 Click Schematic tab Insert Components panel Circuit Builder
drop-down Circuit Builder.
4 Look for the new category you added, Custom Circuits, on the Circuit Selection dialog box. If it is not there, or is not in the place you wanted, go back to the ACE_CIRCS on page 2038 exercise. 5 Expand the Custom Circuits category and select the circuit you added, My 3-ph motor. If it is not there or is not in the place you wanted, go back to the ACE_CIRCS on page 2038 exercise. 6 Click Configure. 7 Select a location on the 3-phase bus. If the wires do not connect to the bus in the way defined, go back to Define wires stretching to connect to bus on page 2034. 8 Look through the circuit elements on the Circuit Configuration dialog box. If the circuit element for the new marker block, Extra Component, is not there, go back to Circuit codes sheet on page 2039. 9 Select Extra Component in Circuit Elements. If the options, Red Light, Selector Switch, NO Contact, and None are not displayed in the Select section, go back to Circuit codes sheet on page 2039. If the default value for the Extra Component is not Selector Switch, go back to Circuit codes sheet on page 2039. 10 Select a component from the list.
11 Select to insert all the circuit elements. 12 If the component selected for the new Extra Component option was not inserted, go back to Circuit codes sheet on page 2039. 13 If the attribute values for the component are not predefined, LOC=FIELD and DESC1=ADDED COMPONENT, go back to circuit template on page 2032. 14 If the three terminals are not numbered, T1, T2, and T3, go back to circuit template on page 2032.
Circuit Builder - How to

Overview
Circuit Builder is controlled by a spreadsheet, a set of circuit template drawings, and the electrical standards database file. The spreadsheet, circuit template drawings, and the electrical standards database file can be modified to customize Circuit Builder.
Spreadsheet
The spreadsheet defines the available circuits, circuit types, and defaults for each option within a circuit. The default name for the Circuit Builder spreadsheet is ace_circuit_builder.xls. The default location for the spreadsheet is:
Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Autodesk\AcadE {version}\Support\ Windows Vista, Windows 7: C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\AcadE {version}\Support\
The ace_circuit_builder.xls spreadsheet can be relocated into any of the normal AutoCAD Electrical or AutoCAD support paths. The circuit builder spreadsheet name can be overridden by setting the environment variable, WD_CIRCBUILDER_FNAM, in the wd.env on page 1984 file.
circuit template drawings

The template for a selected circuit defines the placement for the individual components and the wiring. The circuit template drawings use the following naming convention.

ace_cb1_*.dwg - primary circuit template drawings ace_cb2_*.dwg - branching or nested circuit template drawings
The default location for the circuit template drawings is the schematic library folder:
Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Autodesk\AcadE {version}\Libs\{library}\
Circuit Builder - How to | 2043
Windows Vista, Windows 7: C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\AcadE {version}\Libs\{library}\
One-line circuit templates have a 1- and the default location is in a 1- folder under the schematic library folder.
Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Autodesk\AcadE {version}\Libs\{library}\1Windows Vista, Windows 7: C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\AcadE {version}\Libs\{library}\1-
NOTE New templates do not have to follow this naming convention.
Electrical Standards database file

Circuit Builder uses an electrical standards database to define default values, define engineering calculations, annotate circuits, and provide wire type analysis. The electrical standards database, ace_electrical_standards.mdb, is located in the catalog folder. The default location is:
Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\{username}\My Documents\Acade {version}\AeData\Catalogs\ Windows Vista, Windows 7: C:\Users\{username}\Documents\Acade {version}\AeData\Catalogs\
See also:

Circuit Builder spreadsheet on page 2006 Circuit Builder drawing templates on page 2010 Circuit Builder database on page 2015
Add a multiple catalog option

Some components need multiple catalog entries. Define them in the Circuit Builder spreadsheet to add them in the Setup & Annotation section of the Circuit Configuration dialog box. 1 Open the Circuit Builder spreadsheet, ace_circuit_builder.xls. 2 Find the circuit CATEGORY and TYPE, for example CATEGORY: 3ph Motor Circuit and TYPE: Horizontal - FVNR - non reversing.
3 Open the circuit code sheet with the same name as the SHEET_NAME value, for example SHEET_NAME: 3ph_H. 4 Find the component, for example CODE: PB01, COMMENTS: Stop, UI_PROMPT_LIST: Stop. Notice the values in TABLE0: PB and TITLE0: Push Button. It indicates that the component can have a main catalog value. The TABLE0 value is the table name for the catalog lookup. The TITLE0 value is the title for the section in the Setup & Annotation area of the Circuit Configuration dialog box. 5 Add a value in the TABLE1 and TITLE1 cells. For example, if the push button requires a cover and it is found in the MISC_CAT table of the catalog lookup database file, enter TABLE1: MISC_CAT and TITLE1: Cover. 6 Save the spreadsheet. The next time Circuit Builder is run using the configure option, an extra catalog section appears for this component.
Assign different attribute values on a multi-pole insert

There are two ways to predefine attribute values for a multi-pole component.

On the marker block for the component in the circuit template drawing. In the Circuit Builder spreadsheet circuit codes sheet.
NOTE The attribute value defined on the marker block overrides any value defined in the spreadsheet.
Marker block method

1 Open the circuit template drawing that contains the marker block for the component. 2 Find the correct marker block for the component. 3 Edit its MISC1 attribute value using the format _L=|{attribute name}={attribute value} | {attribute name}={attribute value}. For example, to assign different terminal numbers to the multi-pole insertion of three motor terminals, enter _L=|TERM01=T1|TERM01=T2|TERM01=T3|.
NOTE The MISC1 attribute value can contain multiple special text flags which direct Circuit Builder to handle the component or underlying wire in a special way. When you add new values, do not overwrite any other special flag values. Separate each one with a semicolon. 4 Save the circuit template drawing.
Spreadsheet method
1 Open the Circuit Builder spreadsheet, ace_circuit_builder.xls. 2 Find the circuit CATEGORY and TYPE, for example CATEGORY: 3ph Motor Circuit and TYPE: Horizontal - FVNR - non reversing. 3 Open the circuit code sheet with the same name as the SHEET_NAME value, for example SHEET_NAME: 3ph_H. 4 Find the specific component, for example CODE: X001, COMMENTS: Motor terminal connections, UI_PROMPT_LIST: Square. There can be multiple selections within the group. For example, there is a selection for the type of disconnecting means, and a selection to include an auxiliary contact. Each selection is assigned a numerical value from the UI_VAL field. The values are added to determine the appropriate action for this combination of selections. The sum is matched to a value in the UI_SEL field. Once this match is made, the COMMAND_LIST value, ANNOTATE_LIST value, and so on, are used to insert and annotate the selections.
5 Edit the API call in the COMMAND_LIST column for this component. For example, the last argument of this Insert Multi-pole Component API call is used to predefine MISC1 coded values with nil when nothing extra is defined. Before and after are shown: Before: (c:ace_cb_multipole #xyz nil "HT0001" 3 #scl 4 nil) After: (c:ace_cb_multipole #xyz nil "HT0001" 3 #scl 4 _L=|TERM01=T1|TERM01=T2|TERM01=T3|) NOTE See the API documentation for more information. 6 Save the spreadsheet.
Assign attribute values using AutoLISP

An AutoLISP expression can be used to define a calculated or special value for an attribute on a component. For example, you can calculate related values such as Kilowatt (KW) based upon a selected horsepower value. See Map motor parameters to the motor symbol attributes on page 2063 to map the entered horsepower. 1 Open the circuit template drawing that contains the marker block for the motor symbol. 2 Find the correct marker block for the motor symbol. 3 Edit its MISC1 attribute value using the format {attribute name}=(AutoLISP expression). For example, convert the HP value to Kilowatts and push this value out to attribute RATING5 on the motor symbol. Enter this expression on the MISC1 attribute of the marker block: RATING5=(rtos (* @1@ 0.746) 2 2) The "@1@" maps to the second entry (list is zero based) held in the #data global variable, which is the entered horsepower value. Multiplying by 0.746 converts the horsepower (HP) to Kilowatts (KW).
Conditionally trim or remove a wire segment

As Circuit Builder dynamically builds the circuit, a circuit element selection can require that a wire is trimmed back or removed. For example, the circuit can include an option for an indicator light. If no indicator light is selected, the wire framework for it must be removed. 1 Open the circuit template drawing that contains the marker block for the optional component. Take note of the value of the ORDER attribute. 2 Find the wires to remove or trim if the optional component is not selected. 3 Add marker blocks on each wire with the same ORDER attribute value as the optional marker block for the component. 4 Assign the same CODE value to each trim wire marker block, for example XY01.
5 Save the circuit template drawing. 6 Open the Circuit Builder spreadsheet, ace_circuit_builder.xls. 7 Find the circuit CATEGORY and TYPE, for example CATEGORY: 3ph Motor Circuit and TYPE: Horizontal - FVNR - non reversing. 8 Open the circuit code sheet with the same name as the SHEET_NAME value, for example SHEET_NAME: 3ph_H. 9 Find the optional component, for example CODE: LT01, COMMENTS: Light, UI_PROMPT_LIST: Light. 10 Edit the API call in the COMMAND_LIST column for the option that would require a wire trim or removal. For example, add this command call for the "No light" option in the spreadsheet: (c:ace_cb_trim "XY01" nil) where XY01 is the CODE attribute value assigned to each wire marker block. NOTE See the API documentation for more information. 11 Save the spreadsheet.
Conditional component insertion

As Circuit Builder dynamically builds the circuit, a circuit element selection may require a conditional component insertion. For example, there may be an option to insert either a start push button or a N.O. relay contact at the insertion point of a marker block. If a momentary push button is selected then a seal contact should be inserted around the push button at the location marked with a separate marker block. However, if the N.O. relay contact option is selected, then no seal contact is needed and wires must be trimmed or removed. 1 Open the circuit template drawing that contains the marker block for the selected component, for example the momentary push button. Take note of the value of its ORDER attribute. 2 Find the wire that should receive the conditional component. Add a marker block with the same ORDER attribute value. 3 Assign a unique CODE attribute value to this conditional marker block, for example XY02. 4 Find the wires to remove or trim if the conditional component is not needed. 5 Add marker blocks on each of these wire segments. Edit the ORDER attribute value to match the one on the marker block for the conditional component. 6 Assign the same CODE value to each wire marker block, for example XY01. This CODE value should not be the same as the one assigned to the conditional component marker block.
7 Save the circuit template drawing.
8 Open the Circuit Builder spreadsheet, ace_circuit_builder.xls. 9 Find the circuit CATEGORY and TYPE, for example CATEGORY: 3ph Motor Circuit and TYPE: Horizontal - FVNR - non reversing. 10 Open the circuit code sheet with the same name as the SHEET_NAME value, for example SHEET_NAME: 3ph_H. 11 Find the optional component, for example CODE: PB02, COMMENTS: Start, UI_PROMPT_LIST: Start. 12 Edit the API call in the COMMAND_LIST column for the option that would require the conditional insert. Multiple API calls can be used to insert multiple components. For example: (c:ace_cb_insym #xyz nil "HPB11" #scl 8 nil)(c:ace_cb_insym "XY02" nil "HMS21" #scl 8 nil) Note the difference in the second call. Instead of passing the #xyz global variable name that carries the XY coordinate of the main marker block, it passes the "XY02" code name. This means that the "HMS21" symbol will insert wherever marker block "XY02" is located in the inserted template. 13 Edit the API call in the COMMAND_LIST column for the option that requires a wire trim or removal. For example: (c:ace_cb_trim "XY01" nil) where XY01 is the CODE attribute value assigned to each wire marker block. Instead of passing the XY coordinate as the first argument, the "XY01" code name is passed. It instructs Circuit Builder to find all marker blocks with CODE attribute value "XY01" and with the target ORDER value and trim or remove their underlying wires NOTE See the API documentation for more information. 14 Save the spreadsheet.
Control the multi-pole insertion direction

The default build direction for a multi-pole component is down for horizontal bus wires, and left to right for vertical bus wires. You can override the default build direction. 1 Open the circuit template drawing that contains the marker block for the multi-pole component. 2 Find the correct marker block for the component.
3 Edit its MISC1 attribute value using the format _D={digit}, where 1=build left to right, 2=build up, 4=build right to left, and 8=build down. For example, if the template has a vertical 3-phase bus and the disconnection means that marker block is located over the right-hand wire, give its MISC1 attribute a value of "_D=4". It causes the child poles of the multi-pole insert to move to the left to pick up the remaining two bus wires.
Control the bus wire spacing

You can set up a circuit template so the wire spacing between two or more parallel bus wires is auto-adjusted. A marker block is positioned on each wire and its CODE value references the (c:ace_cb_rung_spacing) API call in the spreadsheet. The marker blocks with a common ORDER value are processed as a group. One of the marked wires is designated as the "base" wire, meaning that it is the one that does not move. The other marked bus wires in the group are then positioned set distances away from the base wire.
The base wire is determined in one of two ways:
The base wire is the marker block that has a MISC1 attribute with a value of "_BASE". If no MISC1 attribute has a _BASE value, the underlying wire that comes closest to being colinear with the insertion point of the template is the one that becomes the base wire.
A template can carry multiple groups of marker blocks indicating that the underlying bus wires should auto-adjust. The CODE value can be the same for all groups, but each group must have its own ORDER value.
Define the wire type

There are three ways to define the wire type.

On the marker block for the wire in the circuit template. In the Circuit Builder spreadsheet circuit codes sheet. Based on motor size selection.
Marker block method

1 Open the circuit template drawing that contains the marker block for the wire. 2 Find the correct marker block for the wire. 3 Edit its MISC1 attribute value using the format _WIRETYPE={layer name}, for example, _WIRETYPE=BRN_10AWG.
Spreadsheet method
1 Open the Circuit Builder spreadsheet, ace_circuit_builder.xls. 2 Find the circuit CATEGORY and TYPE, for example CATEGORY: 3ph Motor Circuit and TYPE: Horizontal - FVNR - non reversing. 3 Open the circuit code sheet with the same name as the SHEET_NAME value, for example SHEET_NAME: 3ph_H. 4 Find the specific wire, for example CODE: WT01, and COMMENTS: Assign motor wire type - phase 1. 5 Edit the API call in the COMMAND_LIST column for this wire. For example, the last argument of this Set Wire type API call is used to predefine MISC1 coded values with nil when nothing extra is defined. Before and after are shown:
Before: (c:ace_cb_set_wiretype #data 1 nil nil) After:(c:ace_cb_set_wiretype #data 1 nil _WIRETYPE=BRN_10AWG) NOTE See the API documentation for more information. 6 Save the spreadsheet.
Based on motor size selection

You can apply the minimum wire size for a selected motor load to the wire type layer name. The value, which is extracted from the ace_electrical_standards.mdb database, can be substituted for any @WSIZE@ string found in the _WIRETYPE= value. Use this variable in the MISC1 attribute on the wire marker block or in the spreadsheet as part of the wire type API call. Marker block method 1 Open the circuit template drawing that contains the marker block for the wire. 2 Find the correct marker block for the wire. 3 Edit its MISC1 attribute value using the format _WIRETYPE=@WSIZE@, for example, _WIRETYPE=BRN_@WSIZE@. NOTE The MISC1 attribute value can contain multiple special text flags which direct Circuit Builder to handle the component or underlying wire in a special way. When you add new values, do not overwrite any other special flag values. Separate each one with a semicolon. 4 Save the circuit template drawing. Spreadsheet method 1 Open the Circuit Builder spreadsheet, ace_circuit_builder.xls. 2 Find the circuit CATEGORY and TYPE, for example CATEGORY: 3ph Motor Circuit and TYPE: Horizontal - FVNR - non reversing. 3 Open the circuit code sheet with the same name as the SHEET_NAME value, for example SHEET_NAME: 3ph_H. 4 Find the specific wire, for example CODE: WT01, and COMMENTS: Assign motor wire type - phase 1.
5 Edit the API call in the COMMAND_LIST column for this wire. For example, the last argument of this Set Wire type API call is used to predefine MISC1 coded values with nil when nothing extra is defined. Before and after are shown: Before: (c:ace_cb_set_wiretype #data 1 nil nil) After:(c:ace_cb_set_wiretype #data 1 nil _WIRETYPE=BRN_@WSIZE@) NOTE See the API documentation for more information. 6 Save the spreadsheet.
Define the wire type as no wire numbering

There are two ways to define the wire type and set it to no wire numbering.

On the marker block for the wire in the circuit template. In the Circuit Builder spreadsheet circuit codes sheet.
Marker block method

1 Open the circuit template drawing that contains the marker block for the wire. 2 Find the correct marker block for the wire. 3 Edit its MISC1 attribute value using the format _WIRENUMBERS=0;_WIRETYPE={layer name}.
_WIRENUMBERS=0 defines the layer as No Wire Numbering. Any wire without this flag is created as a normal wire numbering layer by default. NOTE This flag applies only if the wire layer does not exist and is created when the circuit is inserted.
_WIRETYPE={layer name} defines the layer name.
Spreadsheet method
1 Open the Circuit Builder spreadsheet, ace_circuit_builder.xls. 2 Find the circuit CATEGORY and TYPE, for example CATEGORY: 3ph Motor Circuit and TYPE: Horizontal - FVNR - non reversing. 3 Open the circuit code sheet with the same name as the SHEET_NAME value, for example SHEET_NAME: 3ph_H. 4 Find the specific wire, for example CODE: WT01, and COMMENTS: Assign motor wire type - phase 1. 5 Edit the API call in the COMMAND_LIST column for this wire. For example, the last argument of this Set Wire type API call is used to predefine MISC1 coded values with nil when nothing extra is defined. Before and after are shown: Before: (c:ace_cb_set_wiretype #data 1 nil nil) After:(c:ace_cb_set_wiretype #data 1 nil _WIRENUMBERS=0;_WIRETYPE=BRN_10AWG)
_WIRENUMBERS=0 defines the layer as No Wire Numbering. Any wire without this flag is created as a normal wire numbering layer by default. NOTE This flag applies only if the wire layer does not exist and is created when the circuit is inserted.
_WIRETYPE=BRN_10AWG defines the layer name.
NOTE See the API documentation for more information. 6 Save the spreadsheet.
Format the numeric tag of the motor symbol in a wire number

You can include the motor symbol tag number assignment in connected wire number assignments. It requires coordination between the motor symbol insertion and the wire number insertion. The motor symbol must insert before the wire number. The order of insertion is controlled by the ORDER attribute value on the marker blocks within the circuit template drawing. The marker block ORDER attribute value for the motor symbol must be a lower number than the ORDER value of the marker block for the wire number in the circuit template drawing. When the wire number is inserted, the motor tag value can be incorporated in to the wire number. 1 Open the Circuit Builder spreadsheet, ace_circuit_builder.xls. 2 Find the circuit CATEGORY and TYPE, for example CATEGORY: 3ph Motor Circuit and TYPE: Horizontal - FVNR - non reversing. 3 Open the circuit code sheet with the same name as the SHEET_NAME value, for example SHEET_NAME: 3ph_H. 4 Find the motor symbol, for example CODE: MTR03, COMMENTS: Motor symbol, UI_PROMPT_LIST: 3ph motor. There can be multiple selections within the group. For example, there is a selection for the type of disconnecting means, and a selection to include an auxiliary contact. Each selection is assigned a numerical value from the UI_VAL field. The values are added together to determine the appropriate action for this combination of selections. The sum is matched to a value in the UI_SEL field. Once this match is made, the COMMAND_LIST value, ANNOTATE_LIST value, and so on, are used to insert and annotate the selections. 5 Edit the API call in the ANNOTATE_LIST column for this component. For example, it might look like this with two API calls concatenated: (c:ace_cb_anno #data 0)(c:ace_cb_save "@MOTOR_NUM@" "TAG1*" nil 1) The second one, c:ace_cb_save, saves the TAG1 attribute value on the motor in to memory under an index tag of @MOTOR_NUM@. This value can be referenced when the subsequent wire number marker blocks are processed. NOTE See the API documentation for more information on c:ace_cb_save. 6 Save the spreadsheet.
7 Find the marker blocks for the wire numbers that are tied to the motor tag. These could be on the main circuit template or on a nested template drawing. Open the circuit template drawing. 8 Find the correct marker block for the wire number. 9 Edit its MISC1 attribute value using the @MOTOR_NUM@ in the format where you want the motor tag value. For example, _TAGFMT=@MOTOR_NUM@-%N or to predefine a wire number, _TAGFMT=@MOTOR_NUM@-T1A.
NOTE The MISC1 attribute value can contain multiple special text flags which direct Circuit Builder to handle the component or underlying wire in a special way. When you add new values, do not overwrite any other special flag values. Separate each one with a semicolon. 10 Save the circuit template drawings.
Format the numeric tag of the motor symbol into other component tags
You can include the motor symbol tag number assignment in other components in the circuit. It requires coordination between the motor symbol insertion and the insertion of the other components. The motor symbol must
insert before these other components. The order of insertion is controlled by the ORDER attribute value on the marker blocks within the circuit template drawing. The marker block ORDER attribute value for the motor symbol must be a lower number than the ORDER values of the marker blocks for the other components in the circuit template drawing. When the other components are inserted, the motor tag value can be incorporated into the subsequent component tags. 1 Open the Circuit Builder spreadsheet, ace_circuit_builder.xls. 2 Find the circuit CATEGORY and TYPE, for example CATEGORY: 3ph Motor Circuit and TYPE: Horizontal - FVNR - non reversing. 3 Open the circuit code sheet with the same name as the SHEET_NAME value, for example SHEET_NAME: 3ph_H. 4 Find the motor symbol, for example CODE: MTR03, COMMENTS: Motor symbol, UI_PROMPT_LIST: 3ph motor. There can be multiple selections within the group. For example, there is a selection for the type of disconnecting means, and a selection to include an auxiliary contact. Each selection is assigned a numerical value from the UI_VAL field. The values are added together to determine the appropriate action for this combination of selections. The sum is matched to a value in the UI_SEL field. Once this match is made, the COMMAND_LIST value, ANNOTATE_LIST value, and so on, are used to insert and annotate the selections. 5 Edit the API call in the ANNOTATE_LIST column for this component. For example, it might look like this with two API calls concatenated: (c:ace_cb_anno #data 0)(c:ace_cb_save "@MOTOR_NUM@" "TAG1*" nil 1) The second one, c:ace_cb_save, saves the TAG1 attribute value on the motor in to memory under an index tag of @MOTOR_NUM@. This value can be referenced when the subsequent component marker blocks are processed. NOTE See the API documentation for more information on c:ace_cb_save. 6 Find the component you want the tag to follow the motor tag, for example CODE: CAP01, COMMENTS: Power factor correction capacitor. 7 Edit the API call in the COMMAND_LIST column for this component. For example, it might look like this: (c:ace_cb_insym #xyz nil "VCA113_1-" #scl 8 "%N=@MOTOR_NUM@")
The last argument of this API call, %N=@MOTOR_NUM@, tells Circuit Builder to use the TAG1 value from the motor, saved as @MOTOR_NUM@, as the number part of the tag for this component. For example, if the component tag format is defined on page 222 as %S-%F-%N, the numeric part of the motor tag is used for the %N part of the generated component tag. You can also define this using a fixed _TAGFMT option. Using this approach overrides the component tag format defined on page 222 for the drawing. Some examples:
"_TAGFMT=%F@MOTOR_NUM@" - used with the component family code string, %F. "_TAGFMT=%S-@MOTOR_NUM@%F" - used with the SHEET_NAME value of the drawing, %S. "_TAGFMT=CA@MOTOR_NUM@" - used with a defined text prefix.
8 Repeat for each component that should base the tag value off the motor tag value. 9 Save the spreadsheet. NOTE It can also be done by defining the MISC1 attribute on the marker blocks for each component as described in Format the numeric tag of the motor symbol in a wire number on page 2058.
Link a child contact to the parent

As Circuit Builder dynamically builds the circuit, each component receives a component tag. A child contact must link to a parent component to receive the same component tag as the parent. The parent and child components are automatically linked by Circuit Builder if they each have the same default tag value. For example, the motor starter coil and auxiliary contacts both have a default value M. There can be more than one parent/child relationship within the overall circuit with the same default tag. The overall circuit includes the main circuit template and any branching or nested circuit templates. For example, a reversing motor starter has two starter coils, forward and reverse. Each parent coil must link to the correct child auxiliary contacts and power contacts but they might all have the same default tag value, M. To accomplish the correct parent/child links follow these steps.
1 Open the circuit template drawings that contain the parent and child marker blocks. There can be more than one circuit template drawing involved, for example a main template with power contacts and a nested template with the starter coils and interlocking auxiliary contacts. 2 Find the correct marker block for each component that requires a new default tag link. 3 Edit the MISC1 attribute value adding _PRETAG={new default tag link}. For example, add _PRETAG=MF for the forward motor coil and contacts, and _PRETAG=MR for the reverse motor coil and contacts.
NOTE The MISC1 attribute value can contain multiple special text flags which direct Circuit Builder to handle the component or underlying wire in a special way. When you add new values, do not overwrite any other special flag values. Separate each one with a semicolon (:). 4 Save the circuit template drawings. When Circuit Builder inserts the nested circuit containing the child contacts, it matches these predefined tag values with the correct parent coil.
Map motor parameters to the motor symbol attributes

When a motor circuit is selected, a special motor setup/annotation function is called. This special function is flagged by a marker block on the template with a CODE value which maps to a line in the circuit codes sheet marked "!MCC_CTRL" in the UI_TITLE field. This function references the ace_electrical_standards.mdb file to determine full load current and wire size values for a selected set of motor input parameters. The values generated by this motor setup/annotation function are not automatically written to attributes on the components or wire types on the circuit. These values are saved as an indexed list in an AutoLISP global variable called #data. Global means that the data is saved in memory and is available while the Circuit Builder continues to construct the circuit. As Circuit Builder processes subsequent marker blocks of the circuit, it can be set up to pull one or more of these saved values from the global and push them out to attributes on the components or used to format appropriate wiretype layer names This motor setup/annotation must be flagged to happen early on. It is done with an ORDER value which is set to a low number or 0. For example, if the motor full load amps value is used to determine the main disconnect circuit breaker sizing, this data must be in memory before the main disconnecting means marker block is processed.
The elements in the first sublist of the "#data" list are held in memory in the following order. The values related to the motor are held in the first eight elements. See the API documentation for a complete list of elements. 0 Motor Type 1 Power 2 Units 3 Voltage 4 Phase 5 Hertz (Hz) 6 Speed (RPM) 7 Full Load Amps (FLA) NOTE Circuit Builder numbers this indexed list starting at 0 rather than 1. There are two ways to map these values to the attributes on a component.
On the marker block for the motor, fuse, or circuit breaker symbol in the circuit template drawing. In the Circuit Builder spreadsheet circuit codes sheet.
Marker block method

1 Open the circuit template drawing that contains the marker block for the motor, fuse, or circuit breaker symbol. 2 Find the correct marker block for the symbol. 3 Edit its MISC1 attribute value using the format {attribute name}=@#@. Replace the # with the appropriate index digit to map the correct element. For example, to map the horsepower to the RATING2 attribute, enter "RATING2=HP: @1@". To also map the full load amp value to the RATING4 attribute, enter "RATING2=HP: @1@;RATING4=Full load: @7@ amps". Remember, the indexed list of values is zero based.
Spreadsheet method
1 Open the Circuit Builder spreadsheet, ace_circuit_builder.xls. 2 Find the circuit CATEGORY and TYPE, for example CATEGORY: 3ph Motor Circuit and TYPE: Horizontal - FVNR - non reversing. 3 Open the circuit code sheet with the same name as the SHEET_NAME value, for example SHEET_NAME: 3ph_H. 4 Find the motor symbol section, for example CODE: MTR03, COMMENTS: Motor symbol, UI_PROMPT_LIST: 3ph motor. There can be multiple selections within the group. For example, there is a selection for the type of disconnecting means, and a selection to include an auxiliary contact. Each selection is assigned a numerical value from the UI_VAL field. The values are added to determine the appropriate
action for this combination of selections. The sum is matched to a value in the UI_SEL field. Once this match is made, the COMMAND_LIST value, ANNOTATE_LIST value, and so on, are used to insert and annotate the selections. 5 Edit the API call in the COMMAND_LIST column for this motor symbol. For example, the last argument of this Insert Component API call is used to predefine MISC1 coded values with nil when nothing extra is defined. Before and after are shown: Before:(c:ace_cb_insym #xyz nil "HMO13" #scl 8 nil) After:(c:ace_cb_insym #xyz nil "HMO13" #scl 8 RATING2=HP: @1@) NOTE See the API documentation for more information. 6 Save the spreadsheet.
Override the default tag format

There are two ways to override the drawing tag format for a component.

On the marker block for the component in the circuit template drawing. In the Circuit Builder spreadsheet circuit codes sheet.
Marker block method

1 Open the circuit template drawing that contains the marker block for the component. 2 Find the correct marker block for the component. 3 Edit its MISC1 attribute value using the format _TAGFMT={format}, for example, _TAGFMT=DISC-%N.
Spreadsheet method
1 Open the Circuit Builder spreadsheet, ace_circuit_builder.xls. 2 Find the circuit CATEGORY and TYPE, for example CATEGORY: 3ph Motor Circuit and TYPE: Horizontal - FVNR - non reversing. 3 Open the circuit code sheet with the same name as the SHEET_NAME value, for example SHEET_NAME: 3ph_H. 4 Find the specific component, for example CODE: Q001, COMMENTS: Disconnecting means, UI_PROMPT_LIST: Disconnect switch and fuses. There can be multiple selections within the group. For example, there is a selection for the type of disconnecting means, and a selection to include an auxiliary contact. Each selection is assigned a numerical value from the UI_VAL field. The values are added to determine the appropriate
action for this combination of selections. The sum is matched to a value in the UI_SEL field. Once this match is made, the COMMAND_LIST value, ANNOTATE_LIST value, and so on, are used to insert and annotate the selections. 5 Edit the API call in the COMMAND_LIST column for this component. For example, the last argument of this Insert Multi-pole Component API call is used to predefine MISC1 coded values with nil when nothing extra is defined. Before and after are shown: Before: (c:ace_cb_multipole #xyz nil "HDS11F" 3 #scl 4 nil) After: (c:ace_cb_multipole #xyz nil "HDS11F" 3 #scl 4 _TAGFMT=DISC-%N) NOTE See the API documentation for more information. 6 Save the spreadsheet.
Override the default wire number format

There are two ways to override the drawing wire number format for a wire number.
On the marker block positioned over the wire in the circuit template drawing. In the Circuit Builder spreadsheet circuit codes sheet.
Marker block method

1 Open the circuit template drawing that contains the marker block for the wire number. 2 Find the correct marker block for the wire number. 3 Edit its MISC1 attribute value using the format _TAGFMT={format}, for example, _TAGFMT=%N-T1.
Spreadsheet method
1 Open the Circuit Builder spreadsheet, ace_circuit_builder.xls. 2 Find the circuit CATEGORY and TYPE, for example CATEGORY: 3ph Motor Circuit and TYPE: Horizontal - FVNR - non reversing. 3 Open the circuit code sheet with the same name as the SHEET_NAME value, for example SHEET_NAME: 3ph_H. 4 Find the specific wire number, for example CODE: WN01F, and COMMENTS: Insert wire number on network, use drawing defaults, mark it as fixed. 5 Edit the API call in the COMMAND_LIST column for this component. For example, the last argument of this Insert Wire Number API call is used to predefine MISC1 coded values with nil when nothing extra is defined. Before and after are shown: Before: (c:ace_cb_wnum nil nil 1 nil)
After:(c:ace_cb_wnum nil nil 1 _TAGFMT=%N-T1) NOTE See the API documentation for more information. 6 Save the spreadsheet.
Predefine attribute values

There are three ways to predefine attribute values for a component.

On the marker block for the component in the circuit template drawing. In the Circuit Builder spreadsheet circuit codes sheet. Annotation presets on page 2072 - provides the ability to select which attribute values to apply when the circuit is inserted.
NOTE An annotation preset value overrides the attribute value defined on the marker block. The attribute value defined on the marker block overrides any value defined in the spreadsheet.
Marker block method

1 Open the circuit template drawing that contains the marker block for the component. 2 Find the correct marker block for the component. 3 Edit its MISC1 attribute value using the format {attribute name}={attribute value}, for example, DESC1=MOTOR.
Spreadsheet method
1 Open the Circuit Builder spreadsheet, ace_circuit_builder.xls. 2 Find the circuit CATEGORY and TYPE, for example CATEGORY: 3ph Motor Circuit and TYPE: Horizontal - FVNR - non reversing. 3 Open the circuit code sheet with the same name as the SHEET_NAME value, for example SHEET_NAME: 3ph_H. 4 Find the specific component, for example CODE: PB01, COMMENTS: STOP, UI_PROMPT_LIST: Push button - Standard. There can be multiple selections within the group. For example, there is a selection for the type of disconnecting means, and a selection to include an auxiliary contact. Each selection is assigned a numerical value from the UI_VAL field. The values are added to determine the appropriate action for this combination of selections. The sum is matched to a value in the UI_SEL field. Once this match is made, the COMMAND_LIST value, ANNOTATE_LIST value, and so on, are used to insert and annotate the selections.
5 Edit the API call in the COMMAND_LIST column for this component. For example, the last argument of this Insert Component API call is used to predefine MISC1 coded values with nil when nothing extra is defined. Before and after are shown: Before: (c:ace_cb_insym #xyz nil "HPB12" #scl 8 nil) After: (c:ace_cb_insym #xyz nil "HPB12" #scl 8 DESC1=CONVEYOR;DESC2=SYSTEM RESET) NOTE See the API documentation for more information. 6 Save the spreadsheet.
See also:
Predefine attribute values using annotation presets on page 2072
Predefine attribute values using annotation presets

Annotation presets allow you to:
Predefine description text, installation, location values for individual components in the circuit. Select which attribute values to apply to the circuit when it is built. Edit the attribute values before the circuit is built. 1 Open the Circuit Builder spreadsheet, ace_circuit_builder.xls. 2 Open the ACE_CIRCS sheet. 3 Find the circuit CATEGORY and TYPE, for example CATEGORY: 3ph Motor Circuit and TYPE: Horizontal - FVNR - non reversing. 4 Assign a code value in the ANNO_CODE field if there isnt one, for example ANNO_3M. 5 In AutoCAD Electrical, open the circuit template drawing listed in the DWG_TEMPLATE field, for example ace_cb1_FVNR_H.dwg. 6 Open the ANNO_CODE sheet in the spreadsheet. This sheet provides a link between the circuit you select (identified by the ANNO_CODE value), a specific marker block (identified by its CODE value), and a specific attribute on the marker block.
7 Enter the ANNO_CODE value from earlier in the ANNO_CODE field of a blank row, ANNO_3M. For this example, you define some attribute values for the motor symbol. 8 In AutoCAD Electrical, find the marker block that defines the insertion point for the motor symbol. Find the CODE attribute value, for example MTR03. 9 In the spreadsheet, add a new line in the ANNO_CODE table for each attribute you wish to predefine. For example:
ANNO_CODE = ANNO_3M. It is the value from the ACE_CIRCS sheet for this circuit. CODE = MTR03. It is the value from the CODE attribute on the marker block. ATTRIBUTE = LOC. It is the attribute name you want to predefine. PROMPT = Motor - Location code. This is the text used on the Annotation Presets on page 708 dialog box. This dialog box is displayed if you select the Presets - List button when the circuit is inserted. Default = FIELD. It is the attribute value to apply to the LOC attribute when the motor symbol is inserted.
10 Repeat for each attribute value you want to predefine. The ANNO_CODE and CODE values should be the same for each attribute on this motor symbol. 11 Save and close the spreadsheet. You are now ready to test the changes. 12 Click Schematic tab Insert Components panel Circuit Builder
drop-down Circuit Builder. 13 Select the circuit CATEGORY and TYPE, CATEGORY: 3ph Motor Circuit and TYPE: Horizontal - FVNR - non reversing. 14 Select the Presets button in the Special Annotation section. 15 Select the Lists button next to Presets. The Annotation Presets dialog box displays. Any attributes with non-blank values are selected by default and applied to the symbol when it is
inserted. You can select which attribute values to apply or edit the values as necessary. 16 Select OK. 17 On the Circuit Selection dialog box, select Insert. The circuit is built and the attribute values are applied.
Predefine a wire number

Predefine a wire number on the wire number marker block on the circuit template drawing. 1 Open the circuit template drawing that contains the marker block for the wire number. 2 Find the correct marker block for the wire number. 3 Edit its MISC1 attribute value using the format _TAGFMT={wire number}, for example, _TAGFMT=24COM.
NOTE The MISC1 attribute value can contain multiple special text flags which direct Circuit Builder to handle the component or underlying wire in a special way. When you add new values, do not overwrite any other special flag values. Separate each one with a semicolon. 4 Save the circuit template drawing. NOTE To get a fixed wire number, you must adjust the API call in the spreadsheet to indicate it. See the API documentation for more information.
Set circuit element defaults

The first sheet of the Circuit Builder spreadsheet, ACE_CIRCS, defines circuit categories, types, main templates, and associated circuit code sheet names. These circuit code sheets include a default option for each circuit element. For example, the circuit template has a marker block that references a main disconnecting means in the circuit code sheet for the template. The circuit code sheet lists four options:

Circuit Breaker Fuses Fused Disconnect Disconnect Switch (non-fused)
When the Circuit Configuration dialog box opens, and you select Main Disconnecting Means from the Circuit Elements tree structure, the Fused Disconnect option is selected. If you select Insert, instead of Configure, to insert the circuit without user prompts, the Fused Disconnect is used for the main disconnecting means. If you always want a different option selected or used as the default, this value can be changed. 1 Open the Circuit Builder spreadsheet, ace_circuit_builder.xls. 2 Find the circuit category and type in the ACE_CIRCS sheet, for example Category: 3ph Motor Circuit and Type: Horizontal - FVNR - non reversing. 3 Find the value in the SHEET_NAME column, for example 3ph_H. Open the worksheet by selecting on the 3ph_H tab. 4 Find the circuit element by looking at the values in the COMMENTS and UI_TITLE columns. For example, COMMENTS: Disconnecting Means and UI_TITLE: Main Disconnect. Notice there are multiple options for this circuit element as listed in the UI_PROMPT_LIST column. The current default option is indicated by an X in the UI_DEF column. 5 Move the X in the UI_DEF column to the row containing the option you want as the default, for example Circuit Breaker. Make sure that only one row for the group contains an X. 6 Save the spreadsheet.
Set up component auto-sizing

Circuit Builder can calculate the rating for components in the circuit based upon some multiple of the full load amp value of the motor or load. For example, the electrical code standard might state that a disconnect switch must be rated not less than 115% of the load amperage. An expected maximum load of 28 amps would require a disconnect switch rated at not less than 115% of 28 amps, or 32.2 amps. If standard switch ratings are 30 and 60 amps, a 60 amp switch would be selected. Such an automatic calculation can be accomplished by creating a relationship between the call in the ANNOTATE_LIST field value in the circuit codes sheet on page 2006 of the circuit builder spreadsheet, and the MOTOR_I_* tables in the electrical standards database on page 2015.
Here is how it is defined:
The CODE value of the marker block on the inserted circuit template drawing, points at a group of rows in the circuit codes sheet. These rows define the types of components that can be inserted at the location of this marker block. The row for the inserted component, either the default component or the component selected on the Circuit Configuration dialog box, contains an ANNOTATION_LIST column value. The ANNOTATE_LIST column value contains a call to the API function c:ace_cb_anno2. This function includes a code argument like A1. The code argument should match a code value in the MOTOR_I_DESC table of the electrical standards database file.
Here is an example for a disconnect switch entry: (c:ace_cb_anno2 nil A1 RATING1 0 nil) In this example, A1 is the code to match in the MOTOR_I_DESC table (for Disconnect switch non-fused), and RATING1 is the attribute on the inserted disconnect switch symbol to receive the final calculated amp value.
The MOTOR_I_CALC table also has a column of data with a label that matches the code used in the C:ace_cb_anno2 call.
The cell in the MOTOR_I_CALC table contains an expression using I to represent the full load amps of the motor. This expression is evaluated using the actual full load amps for the motor. The calculated value is used to determine the value to assign to the attribute. Valid operations are +-*/^. The ^ character is the exponential function. For example, I^2 is I squared, while I^0.5 is the square root of I. If-then-else statements are supported including one level of nested statements. For example, (if (I > 400) then (I * 8) else (I * 11)) means the calculated amp value is eight times FLA current for 0-400 amps and 11 times for greater than FLA of 400 amps. One level of nesting is supported. (if (I >= 9.0) then (I * 1.25) else if (I < 2.0) then (I * 3.0) else (I * 1.67) means the calculated value is set to (I * 1.67) if I is less than 9 but greater or equal to 2.0 amps. If less than 2.0 amps it is (I * 3.0) and if greater than or equal to 9.0 amps it is (I * 1.25). Valid Boolean operations are >, <. >=. <=, =.
The MOTOR_I_MAP table contains a row with a matching code value, such as A1.
The result of the calculation, made from the expression in the MOTOR_I_CALC table, is compared to the MAX values in the MOTOR_I_MAP table to determine the appropriate RATING value. In the earlier example, the 28 amp motor load multiplied by 1.15 yields 32.2 amps minimum for A1. This means that a match is made on the record with a MAX value of 60 and yields a 60A switch rating. The RATING value is assigned to the attribute specified in the c:ace_cb_anno2 call, for example RATING1. Define an optional catalog assignment to the component by adding a value in the DEFAULT field in the MOTOR_I_MAP table. The format is
MFG={manufacturer};CAT={catalog}. For example, an A3 entry for 15A time-delay fuses might look like the following example: MFG=BUSSMAN;CAT=KTK-R-15 When a component has multiple calculated values such as a disconnect switch with fuses, the two RATING attributes for the component are semicolon delimited, as shown in this example: (c:ace_cb_anno2 nil A7 RATING1;RATING2 nil 0) The MOTOR_I_MAP table contains corresponding semicolon delimited values in the RATING column.
NOTE See the API documentation for more information on the Circuit Builder API calls.
Stretch and connect wiring from a nested template

A marker block is placed at or near the end of a wire on the circuit template that indicates to Circuit Builder that the wire should try and connect to a nearby wire. The marker block should be placed at or near the end of the wire that must stretch. There are two options that can be used in the MISC1 attribute value.
_WIRESKIP=n n is the number of wires to skip over before connection is attempted. If the _WIRESKIP flag is missing or set to 0, Circuit Builder stretches and connects to the first wire it encounters. If the value is 1, it skips over one wire before trying to make a connection. n is the number of trap distance units to search for a wire connection. To see the trap distance value for a drawing, look on the Drawing Properties dialog box, Drawing format tab. The
_MAXTRAPCOUNT=n
trap distance cannot be set. It is calculated from the drawing scale. NOTE If this value is not defined on the marker block, Circuit Builder uses a distance value equal to 200 times the trap distance value of the drawing.
The CODE value of the marker block must tie in to the (c:ace_cb_stretch_wire_connect #xyz nil #misc1) API call in the spreadsheet. The values on the MISC1 attributes are used for the #misc1 argument.
NOTE If the marked wire has a terminal at its end, Circuit Builder stretches the wire and moves the terminal. It stretches based on the origin of the connected terminal rather than the end of the wire.
Build your own symbols

Build your own symbols
You can use the Symbol Builder to create an AutoCAD Electrical symbol or to convert existing non-AutoCAD Electrical symbols. This utility builds an AutoCAD Electrical symbol by either adding AutoCAD Electrical attributes to
the geometry of the symbol or by converting text entities to AutoCAD Electrical attributes. You can also use AutoCAD attribute definition and editing commands to do the same thing. Use this tool to quickly pick and place attributes. It tracks what attributes are present and checks your work to make sure that any AutoCAD Electrical required attributes are not omitted. For this exercise, you create a symbol and add AutoCAD Electrical attributes to the new geometry. Symbol Builder works in the Block Editor environment. You can add or modify the geometry of the symbol using standard AutoCAD commands within this environment.
Create a parent schematic symbol

In this exercise, you create a power supply using the Symbol Builder tool. NOTE If you exit out of the Symbol Builder, restart it, and on the Select Symbol/Objects dialog box, click Select objects and select any graphics and attributes you added so far. You can then resume from where you left off. 1 In an AutoCAD drawing, draw a rectangle on the drawing.
NOTE You can also create and modify the graphics for the symbol in the Block Editor environment. 2 Click Schematic tab Other Tools panel Symbol Builder drop-down
Symbol Builder. 3 In the Select Symbol/Objects dialog box, Attribute template section, browse to the Library path Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Autodesk\Acade {version}\jic125 Windows Vista, Windows 7: C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\Acade {version}\jic125 4 In the Attribute template section, choose Symbol: Horizontal Parent.
Build your own symbols | 2083
5 In the Attribute template section, choose Type: Generic. 6 In the Select from drawing section, click Select objects and select the rectangle. 7 Select OK.
Add attributes
In this part of the exercise, you insert some AutoCAD Electrical attributes from the Symbol Builder Attribute Editor. You are not limited to these attributes, and you can include your own user-defined attributes on the AutoCAD Electrical block files. NOTE The TAG1 attribute is the only one required for a parent schematic symbol. The other attributes in the Required section are expected on a parent schematic symbol, however the symbol is recognized as a parent symbol without them. 1 If the Symbol Builder Attribute Editor is not visible, Click Symbol Builder tab Edit panel Palette Visibility Toggle.
2 Select the TAG1 attribute.
3 box.
Select the Properties tool to launch the Insert/Edit Attributes dialog
4 Change the height to 0.125 and Justify to Center. 5 Enter PS as the Value. It is the default code used as the %F value of the tag format (such as CR , PB, LT) 6 Select OK.
Click the Insert Attribute tool.
8 Select an insertion point for the attribute. NOTE You can also right-click and select Insert Attribute or drag the attribute to insert it.
9 TAG1.
Select DESC1, click the Insert Attribute tool, and insert it below
10 Repeat to insert the INST and LOC attributes above TAG1. 11 Select MFG, CAT, and ASSYCODE. Click the Insert Attribute tool, and insert them near the center of the rectangle. NOTE If the CAT and ASSYCODE attributes are not listed they are inserted with MFG as a group. 12 Repeat to insert the FAMILY attribute near the center of the rectangle.
13
With FAMILY still highlighted in the Symbol Builder Attribute Editor, select the Properties tool. Enter PS as the Value and OK. This assigns the %F value to the FAMILY attribute inserted.
Add wire connection attributes

You can define wire connection points and terminal text for the library symbol. When you add a wire connection, you select the style, the direction the wire connects from, and whether to include the optional TERMxx and TERMDESCxx attributes. In this exercise, wire connection attributes are inserted at the left, bottom, and right side of the symbol. 1 If the Symbol Builder Attribute Editor is not visible,
Click Symbol Builder tab Edit panel Palette Visibility Toggle.
2 Expand the Wire Connection section of the Symbol Builder Attribute Editor. 3 Expand the Direction/Style list and select Others to launch the Insert Wire Connections dialog box.
4 On the Insert Wire Connections dialog box, select Terminal Style: Screw. 5 Select Connection Direction: Left. 6 Check Use this configuration as default. This directs Symbol Builder to use the current Terminal Style and Scale as the default in the drop-down list. 7 (Optional) Enter L1 as the TERM01 value. This sets L1 as the default terminal pin number when the symbol is used. 8 (Optional) Select TERMDESC01 in the Pin Information section and click Delete. This directs Symbol Builder not to insert the optional TERMDESCxx attribute with the wire connection attribute. 9 Click Insert and select in the center of the left-hand side of the rectangle as shown. The wire connection attribute, X4TERM01, and the terminal pin attribute, TERM01, are inserted.
10 Back on the Symbol Builder Attribute Editor, expand the Wire Connection list and select Bottom/Screw.
11
Select the Insert Wire Connection tool and insert the terminal in the bottom center of the rectangle.
12 Select Right/Screw from the Wire Connection Direction/Style list. 13 Select the Insert Wire Connection tool and insert the terminal in the center of the right-hand side of the rectangle.
14 In the Pins section, enter GND in the TERM02 value, and L2 in the TERM03 value.
Finishing the parent symbol
1 Click Symbol Builder tab Edit panel Done. 2 Click Base Point: Pick point and select the center of the rectangle. 3 Select Wblock. Wblock creates the symbol .dwg file, while Block creates the symbol for this drawing file only. 4 Enter the Name and file path or keep the default. AutoCAD Electrical provides a default name for the new symbol based on the attribute template selected. Avoid changing the first four letters of the file name and limit the total length to 32 characters. 5 (Optional) If you are going to add the symbol to the icon menu at a later time using the Icon Menu Wizard on page 1231, check Icon image. Enter the image name and folder. 6 (Optional) Click Details to see the Symbol Audit on page 359 dialog box listing potential issues with your symbol. 7 Select OK. 8 Select Close Block Editor from the block editor toolbar. 9 (Optional) Select Yes to insert the symbol on the drawing and select a location. If you place the component on an existing wire, the wire breaks. The component tag is assigned.
Additional options
The additional options for creating a symbol listed are not used for this example, but you can use them when creating your own symbol.
Optional Attributes: The attributes listed in this section are allowed on a parent symbol. You can also add attributes to the Required or Optional list using the following steps. 1 Select the Add Attribute tool to launch the Insert/Edit Attributes dialog box.
2 Enter the attribute name as the Tag value. 3 Enter all property values.
4 Click Insert to insert the attribute or OK to add it to the list without inserting it.
Link Lines: Inserts Link Line attributes so the program can draw dashed link lines between a parent symbol and its related child contact. It requires special attributes at the point where the dashed line connects to the symbol. 1 Expand the Link Lines section. 2 Select a direction from the Direction list.
Select the Insert Link Lines tool.
4 Select a location for the Link Line attribute.
RATING or POS sections: You can add up to 12 Rating and Position attributes. If the attribute template contains a RATING1 or POS1 attribute, or you add one, these sections are available on the Symbol Builder Attribute Editor. 1 Expand the RATING or POS section.
Select the Add Next tool.
3 Pick an insertion point.
Convert Text to Attribute dialog box: If you selected existing text entities from the Select Symbol/Objects dialog box, or added text while in the Block Editor environment, this option converts existing text entities to AutoCAD Electrical attributes in the same location as the original text.
Select the Convert Text to Attribute tool from the Symbol Builder toolbar to launch the dialog box.
2 Select a text entry in the list and click the arrow pointing at the attribute name. 3 Repeat for all text entities. 4 Click Done. The text entity is converted to the attribute. The text value becomes the default value for the attribute.
Convert text: If you selected existing text entities from the Select Symbol/Objects dialog box, or added text while in the Block Editor environment, this option converts a single text entity to an AutoCAD Electrical attribute in the same location as the original text. 1 Select an attribute on the Symbol Builder Attribute Editor.
Select the Convert Text tool.
3 Select the text entity. The text entity is converted to the attribute. The text value becomes the default value for the attribute.
Audit Symbol: At any time you can audit on page 359 the symbol to find any potential issues with your symbol and symbol name.
Create a schematic terminal symbol

In this exercise, you create a schematic terminal using the Symbol Builder tool. NOTE If you exit out of the Symbol Builder, restart it, and on the Select Symbol/Objects dialog box, click Select objects and select any graphics and attributes you added so far. You can then resume from where you left off. 1 In an AutoCAD drawing, draw a rectangle on the drawing.
NOTE You can also create and modify the graphics for the symbol in the Block Editor environment. 2 Click Schematic tab Other Tools panel Symbol Builder drop-down
Symbol Builder. 3 In the Select Symbol/Objects dialog box, Attribute template section, browse to the Library path
Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Autodesk\Acade {version}\jic125 Windows Vista, Windows 7: C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\Acade {version}\jic125 4 In the Attribute template section, choose Symbol: Horizontal Terminal. 5 In the Attribute template section, choose Type: Terminal with wire number. 6 In the Select from drawing section:, click Select objects and select the rectangle. 7 Select OK.
Add attributes
In this part of the exercise, you insert some AutoCAD Electrical attributes from the Symbol Builder Attribute Editor. You are not limited to these attributes, and you can include your own user-defined attributes on the AutoCAD Electrical block files. NOTE The TAGSTRIP attribute is the only one required for a schematic terminal. The other attributes in the Required section are expected on a schematic terminal, however the symbol is recognized as a schematic terminal without them. 1 If the Symbol Builder Attribute Editor is not visible, Click Symbol Builder tab Edit panel Palette Visibility Toggle.
2 Select the TAGSTRIP attribute.
3 box.
4 Change the height to 0.125 and Justify to Center. 5 Select OK.
7 Insert the attribute above the rectangle.
Select WIRENO, click the Insert Attribute tool, and insert it above TAGSTRIP. Use the Properties tool to change it to Justify = Center.
9 Select MFG, CAT, and ASSYCODE. Click the Insert Attribute tool, and insert them near the center of the rectangle. NOTE If the CAT and ASSYCODE attributes are not listed they are inserted with MFG as a group.

You can define wire connection points for the library symbol. When you add a wire connection, you select the style and the direction the wire connects from. In this exercise, wire connection attributes are inserted at the left, right, top, and bottom of the terminal so that it can be inserted in either horizontal or vertical wires. 1 If the Symbol Builder Attribute Editor is not visible, Click Symbol Builder tab Edit panel Palette Visibility Toggle.
2 Expand the Wire Connection section of the Symbol Builder Attribute Editor. 3 Select Left/None. NOTE If the default terminal style is not None, select Others and change the default style to None. This wire connection style contains attributes only.
Select the Insert Wire Connection tool and insert the wire connection in the center of the left-hand side of the rectangle. Use the Midpoint OSnap to insert the wire connection attribute in the middle of the line.
5 The wire connection insertion remains active until you press Enter. Press R{spacebar} and insert the wire connection in the center of the right-hand side of the rectangle. 6 Press T{spacebar} and insert the wire connection in the center of the top of the rectangle. 7 Press B{spacebar} and insert the wire connection in the center of the bottom of the rectangle. Press Enter.
Finishing the terminal symbol
1 Click Symbol Builder tab Edit panel Done. 2 Click Base Point: Pick point and select the center of the rectangle. 3 Select Wblock. Wblock creates the symbol .dwg file, while Block creates the symbol for this drawing file only. 4 Enter the Name and file path or keep the default. AutoCAD Electrical provides a default name for the new symbol based on the attribute template selected. Avoid changing the first four letters of the file name and limit the total length to 32 characters. One-line symbols follow the same naming convention as schematic parent and child symbols. For convenience the one-line symbols provided have a 1- suffix. However, the symbol name does not define the symbol
as a one-line symbol. This is defined by the WDTYPE attribute on page 325 value of 1- on the symbol, or a 1-1 on a one-line bus-tap symbol. 5 (Optional) If you are going to add the symbol to the icon menu at a later time using the Icon Menu Wizard on page 1231, check Icon image. Enter the image name and folder. 6 (Optional) Click Details to see the Symbol Audit on page 359 dialog box listing potential issues with your symbol. 7 Select OK. 8 Select Close Block Editor from the block editor toolbar. 9 (Optional) Select Yes to insert the symbol on the drawing and select a location. If you place the terminal on an existing wire, the wire breaks. The terminal tag is assigned.
Create a one-line parent symbol

In this exercise, you create a one-line circuit breaker parent using the Symbol Builder tool. NOTE If you exit out of the Symbol Builder, restart it, and on the Select Symbol/Objects dialog box, click Select objects and select any graphics and attributes you added so far. You can then resume from where you left off. 1 In an AutoCAD drawing, draw the symbol graphics. NOTE You can also create and modify the graphics for the symbol in the Block Editor environment. 2 Click Schematic tab Other Tools panel Symbol Builder drop-down
Symbol Builder. 3 In the Select Symbol/Objects dialog box, Attribute template section, browse to the Library path where the one-line symbols are stored: Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Autodesk\Acade {version}\jic125\1Windows Vista, Windows 7: C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\Acade {version}\jic125\14 In the Attribute template section, choose Symbol: Vertical Parent.
5 In the Attribute template section, choose Type: (CB) Circuit breakers. 6 In the Select from drawing section, click Select objects and select the graphics. 7 Select OK.
Add attributes
In this part of the exercise, you insert some AutoCAD Electrical attributes from the Symbol Builder Attribute Editor. You are not limited to these attributes, and you can include your own user-defined attributes on the AutoCAD Electrical block files. The TAG1 and WDTYPE attributes are the only required attributes for a one-line parent symbol. The other attributes in the Required section are expected on a one-line parent symbol, however the symbol is recognized as a one-line parent symbol without them. The WDTYPE on page 325 attribute value must have a value of 1- for a one-line symbol or 1-1 for a one-line bus-tap on page 659 symbol. 1 If the Symbol Builder Attribute Editor is not visible, Click Symbol Builder tab Edit panel Palette Visibility Toggle.
2 Select the TAG1 attribute.
3 box.
4 Change the height to 0.125 and Justify to Center. The value is predefined as CB since the Circuit breaker template was selected. It is the default code used as the %F value of the tag format (such as CR , PB, LT) 5 Select OK.
7 Select an insertion point for the attribute.
NOTE You can also right-click and select Insert Attribute or drag the attribute to insert it.
Select WDTYPE, click the Insert Attribute tool, and insert it. The WDTYPE attribute has a value of 1- and is invisible by default. It is required to identify the symbol as a one-line symbol.
9 TAG1.
Select DESC1, click the Insert Attribute tool, and insert it below
10 Repeat to insert the INST and LOC attributes above TAG1. 11 Select MFG, CAT, and ASSYCODE. Click the Insert Attribute tool, and insert them near the center of the rectangle. NOTE If the CAT and ASSYCODE attributes are not listed they are inserted with MFG as a group. 12 Repeat to insert the FAMILY attribute near the center of the rectangle.

You can define wire connection points for the library symbol. When you add a wire connection, you select the style, the direction the wire connects from, and whether to include the optional TERMxx and TERMDESCxx attributes. In this exercise, wire connection attributes are inserted at the top and bottom of the symbol. 1 If the Symbol Builder Attribute Editor is not visible, Click Symbol Builder tab Edit panel Palette Visibility Toggle.
2 Expand the Wire Connection section of the Symbol Builder Attribute Editor. 3 Expand the Direction/Style list and select Top/None.
This style contains just the wire connection attributes with no graphics. Select Others to display the Insert Wire Connections dialog box for selecting other styles.
Select the Insert Wire Connection tool and insert the wire connection attributes. The wire connection attribute, X2TERM01, and the terminal pin attribute, TERM01, are inserted.
5 Back on the Symbol Builder Attribute Editor, expand the Wire Connection list and select Bottom/None.
Select the Insert Wire Connection tool and insert the wire connection attributes. The wire connection attribute, X8TERM02, and the terminal pin attribute, TERM02, are inserted.
Finishing the one-line parent symbol
1 Click Symbol Builder tab Edit panel Done. 2 Click Base Point: Pick point and select the center of the symbol. 3 Select Wblock. Wblock creates the symbol .dwg file, while Block creates the symbol for this drawing file only. 4 Enter the Name and file path or keep the default. AutoCAD Electrical provides a default name for the new symbol based on the attribute template selected. Avoid changing the first four letters of the file name and limit the total length to 32 characters. NOTE One-line symbols follow the same naming convention as schematic parent and child symbols. For convenience the one-line symbols provided have a 1- suffix. However, the symbol name does not define the symbol as a one-line symbol. 5 (Optional) If you are going to add the symbol to the icon menu at a later time using the Icon Menu Wizard on page 1231, check Icon image. Enter the image name and folder. 6 (Optional) Click Details to see the Symbol Audit on page 359 dialog box listing potential issues with your symbol.
7 Select OK. 8 Select Close Block Editor from the block editor toolbar. 9 (Optional) Select Yes to insert the symbol on the drawing and select a location. If you place the component on an existing wire, the wire breaks. The component tag is assigned.
See also:
Create a parent schematic symbol on page 2083
Convert a non-AutoCAD Electrical block

1 Click Schematic tab Other Tools panel Symbol Builder drop-down
Symbol Builder. 2 Browse to the existing block to select the symbol to create or edit. 3 In the Select Symbol/Objects dialog box, Attribute template section: Browse to the Library path for example Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Autodesk\Acade {version}\jic125 Windows Vista, Windows 7: C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\Acade {version}\jic125 4 In the Attribute template section: Choose Symbol: Horizontal Parent for example. 5 In the Attribute template section: Choose Type: Generic for example. 6 Select OK. 7 Convert existing attribute or text objects to AutoCAD Electrical attributes. 8 Add wire connections on page 350 as needed.
9 Click Symbol Builder tab Edit panel Done. A default symbol name is supplied which you can keep or change as needed depending on the symbol type and symbol naming conventions on page 282
Converting attribute definition or text objects

If the existing symbol contains attribute or text objects you can convert these to the expected attributes for the symbol type. 1 If the Symbol Builder Attribute Editor is not visible, Click Symbol Builder tab Edit panel Palette Visibility Toggle.
Select the Convert Text to Attribute tool to open the dialog box. All the attributes and text objects contained in your non-AutoCAD Electrical block are in the left-hand list. The AutoCAD Electrical attribute names are in the right-hand list.
3 Select an existing attribute/text from the left-hand list. Click the arrow next to the attribute in the right-hand list. 4 Repeat for each non-AutoCAD Electrical attribute or text object you want to convert. 5 Select Done.
Create a panel footprint

A panel footprint symbol can be in either of two general forms: a to-scale physical representation of the device or a generic wiring diagram representation whose main purpose is to show wire connection annotation information. The procedure for creating a panel footprint is like that of creating a schematic symbol with the following differences:
Panel footprint symbols do not have to carry the wire connection attributes that schematic symbols almost always carry. There are no parent/child versions of a symbol for panel footprint symbols. Some of the attribute names are different. A panel symbol must have the P_TAG1 or P_TAGSTRIP attribute rather than the TAG1 or TAGSTRIP attribute.
The symbol block naming for the panel footprint does not follow the special naming convention. The first four or five characters of the block name for a panel symbol is not as critical as it is for schematic symbols.
In this example, you take geometry (either geometry you just drew, existing geometry, or a vendor representation) and convert it to an AutoCAD Electrical panel footprint using the Symbol Builder. 1 Click Schematic tab Other Tools panel Symbol Builder drop-down
Symbol Builder. 2 In the Select Symbol/Objects dialog box, Attribute template section, browse to the Library path Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Autodesk\Acade {version}\jic125 Windows Vista, Windows 7: C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\Acade {version}\jic125 3 In the Attribute template section, choose Symbol: Panel Footprint. 4 In the Attribute template section, choose Type: Generic. 5 In the Select from drawing section, click Select objects and select the existing objects or an existing block. 6 Select OK.
Add attributes to the symbol

In this part of the exercise, you insert some AutoCAD Electrical attributes from the Symbol Builder Attribute Editor. You are not limited to these attributes and you can include your own user-defined attributes on the AutoCAD Electrical block files. NOTE The P_TAG1 attribute is the only one required for a panel footprint symbol. The other attributes in the Required section are expected on a panel footprint, however the symbol is recognized as a panel footprint without them. 1 If the Symbol Builder Attribute Editor is not visible, Click Symbol Builder tab Edit panel Palette Visibility Toggle.
2 Select the P_TAG1 attribute.
3 box.
4 Change the height to 0.125, Justify to Center, and Visible. 5 Select OK.
7 Insert the attribute above the symbol graphics. NOTE You can also right-click and select Insert Attribute or drag the attribute to insert it.
Select DESC1 and DESC2, click the Insert Attribute tool, and insert them below the P_TAG1. Use the Properties tool to change them to Height = 0.125, Justify = Center, and Visible.
9 Insert the LOC, INST, MFG, CAT, and ASSYCODE attributes. NOTE If the CAT and ASSYCODE attributes are not listed they are inserted with MFG as a group.
Finishing the panel symbol
1 Click Symbol Builder tab Edit panel Done. 2 Click Base Point: Pick point and select the insertion point for the graphics. 3 Select Wblock. Wblock creates the symbol .dwg file, while Block creates the symbol for this drawing file only. 4 Enter the Name and file path or keep the default. AutoCAD Electrical provides a default name for the new symbol based on the attribute template selected.
5 (Optional) If you are going to add the symbol to the icon menu at a later time using the Icon Menu Wizard on page 1231, check Icon image. Enter the image name and folder. 6 (Optional) Click Details to see the Symbol Audit on page 359 dialog box listing potential issues with your symbol. 7 Select OK. 8 Select Close Block Editor from the block editor toolbar. 9 (Optional) Select Yes to insert the symbol on the drawing and select a location.
Additional Options
The additional options for creating a symbol listed are not used for this example, but you can use them when creating your own symbol.
Optional Attributes: The attributes listed in this section are allowed on a panel footprint. You can also add attributes to the Required or Optional list using the following steps. 1 Select the Add Attribute tool to launch the Insert/Edit Attributes dialog box.
2 Enter the attribute name as the Tag value. 3 Enter all property values. 4 Click Insert to insert the attribute or OK to add it to the list without inserting it.
RATING section: You can add up to 12 Rating attributes. If the attribute template contains a RATING1 attribute, or you add one, this section is available on the Symbol Builder Attribute Editor. 1 Expand the RATING section.
Select the Add Next tool.
3 Pick an insertion point.
Convert Text to Attribute dialog box: If you selected existing text entities from the Select Symbol/Objects dialog box, or added text while in the
Block Editor environment, this option converts existing text entities to AutoCAD Electrical attributes in the same location as the original text.
Select the Convert Text to Attribute tool from the Symbol Builder toolbar to launch the dialog box.
2 Select a text entry in the list and click the arrow pointing at the attribute name. 3 Repeat for all text entities. 4 Click Done. The text entity is converted to the attribute. The text value becomes the default value for the attribute.
Convert text: If you selected existing text entities from the Select Symbol/Objects dialog box, or added text while in the Block Editor environment, this option converts a single text entity to an AutoCAD Electrical attribute in the same location as the original text. 1 Select an attribute on the Symbol Builder Attribute Editor.
Select the Convert Text tool.
3 Select the text entity. The text entity is converted to the attribute. The text value becomes the default value for the attribute.
Audit Symbol: At any time you can audit on page 359 the symbol to find any potential issues with your symbol.
Adding attributes using templates

An alternative to using the Symbol Builder to add attributes to the panel footprint, is to use an attribute template to add attributes automatically. You can have certain attributes added to any footprint automatically at footprint insertion time. The templates are located
Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Autodesk\Acade {version}\Libs\panel\ Windows Vista, Windows 7: C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\Acade {version}\Libs\panel\
You can set up to have visible attributes added to any footprint automatically at footprint insertion time. There are five attribute template drawings:
wd_ptag_addattr_comp.dwg wd_ptag_addattr_trm.dwg wd_ptag_addattr_wtrm.dwg wd_ptag_addattr_itemballoon.dwg Wd_ptag_addattr_pnltermstrip.dwg component footprints terminal with terminal number terminal with wire number as terminal number balloons terminal footprints (when inserted by Level/Sequencing tools)
When a panel footprint is inserted, the following steps are performed if the appropriate attribute template exists. 1 Find the center of the footprint by collecting and averaging the objects that make up the footprint. 2 Insert the attribute template at the calculated center of the footprint. 3 Make sure there are no duplicate attributes. If duplicate attributes are found, the attribute from the footprint is kept. 4 Re-block the added attributes with the inserted footprint. 5 Add the schematic data to the footprint. The data is added as attribute data if the target attribute exists. If the target attribute does not exist, the data is added as invisible xdata.
Create a Symbol Builder attribute template

Symbol Builder provides some family attribute templates. Each template contains the required and optional attributes for a certain type of symbol. Based on the options selected on the Select Symbol/Objects dialog box in Symbol Builder, an attribute template is used. The attributes on the template are listed in the Symbol Builder Attribute Editor making it easy to insert them on your symbol. AutoCAD Electrical does not provide an attribute template for every type of symbol. Consider creating your own if you expect to create a number of new symbols. There are three basic steps to creating a Symbol Builder attribute template.
NOTE Wire connection attributes are not included in the symbol attribute templates but are in separate wire connection templates on page 2107. 1 Create a drawing file following the naming convention AT_{symbol}_{type}.dwg containing the AutoCAD Electrical attribute definitions. 2 (Optional) Add the xdata and indexed attributes which tell the Symbol Builder Attribute Editor how to handle each attribute. 3 (Optional) Add the symbol type to the _FAMILY_DESCRIPTION table in the catalog database file.
Attribute template naming convention

Attribute templates follow the naming convention, AT_{symbol}_{type}. The {symbol} and {type} values appear in the lists on the Select Symbol / Objects on page 342 dialog box. The selections from these lists direct Symbol Builder to the appropriate attribute template. The {symbol} value appears in the Symbol list in the Select Symbol/Objects dialog box. Certain codes are recognized by Symbol Builder, such as HP for Horizontal Parent. You can use an existing recognized code or use the full text, such as AT_Horizontal Parent_{type}.dwg. The {type} value appears in the Type list in the Select Symbol/Objects dialog box. You can also map abbreviations for the {type} in the _FAMILY_DESCRIPTION table of the catalog database, default_cat.mdb.
Indexed attributes and xdata

An attribute template can contain an attribute definition that can be indexed. For example, AutoCAD Electrical allows up to 12 Rating attributes. If the attribute template contains an attribute RATING(x) this attribute can be indexed in Symbol Builder. Certain optional xdata directs the attribute display in the Symbol Builder Attribute Editor. Use the Xdata Editor on page 1694 to add or modify the xdata on an attribute definition.
VIA_WD_GROUP Possible values "Required" or "Optional". The default value is Required if the xdata is not present. The value provides an attribute description inside the Symbol Builder Attribute Editor.
VIA_WD_TOOLTIP
VIA_WD_MULTIATT
The value defines a group of attributes to insert together. The value lists all the attributes which are inserted along with the attribute with this xdata. The attributes listed are not displayed in the Symbol Builder Attribute Editor. For example, if you want DESC2 and DESC3 inserted when you insert DESC1, add this xdata with the value DESC2,DESC3 to the DESC1 attribute definition. NOTE MFG, CAT, and ASSYCODE are a default group. To insert them separately, add this xdata to the MFG attribute with a blank value.
VIA_WD_INDXMAX
The value provides the maximum number of times to index an attribute such as RATING. The default value is 12 if the xdata is not present. The value provides the display order.
VIA_WD_SEQ
Symbol type
Edit the _FAMILY_DESCRIPTION table in the catalog database, default_cat.mdb, to map the symbol name type value to a description. This description is used in the Type list on the Select Symbol / Objects on page 342 dialog box. For example, if the attribute template name is AT_HP_PS.DWG but you want Power Supply shown in the list on the dialog box, add an entry with PS in the Family column, and Power Supply in the Description.
Creating a custom wire connection style

Symbol Builder inserts a wire connection template drawing when adding a wire connection to your symbol. The list of wire connection styles is built dynamically based on the template drawings found in the symbol library path. The wire connection template name indicates that it is a wire connection template, the wire connection type, and direction. AutoCAD Electrical comes with some schematic wire connection styles. If additional styles are needed, create the wire connection templates for a new style. To create a complete style, create a wire connection template for each wire direction. To add a new schematic style, create the following wire connection template drawings.

BB?11.dwg BB?12.dwg BB?13.dwg
BB?21.dwg BB?22.dwg BB?23.dwg BB?31.dwg BB?32.dwg BB?33.dwg
The ? is replaced with the next available digit. AutoCAD Electrical allows up to ten styles using the digits 0-9. You can create them using new drawings or by copying a set of existing wire connection template drawings to the appropriate names and modifying as needed.
Starting a wire connection template from a new drawing

1 Start a blank new drawing. 2 Draw the graphics for the wire connection. 3 Use the AutoCAD ATTDEF command to add the wire connection attribute definition. The insertion point of the attribute definition is the location AutoCAD Electrical uses to connect the wire. The wire connection attribute tag is X?TERM01. The "?" character position is used to identify the preferred wire connection direction:

1: wire connects to the attribute from the right 2: wire connects to the attribute from above 4: wire connects to the attribute from the left 8: wire connects to the attribute from below 0: special for motor connections that radiate from a circle
4 (Optional) Add the TERM01 attribute definition. 5 (Optional) Add the TERMDESC01 attribute definition. 6 (Optional) Add a custom drawing property to define the style description. This value is the text displayed in the terminal style list in Insert Wire Connections dialog box.

Select File Drawing Properties. Select the Custom tab.
Select Add. Enter Terminal style for the custom property name. Enter the style description for the value. Select OK to save the drawing property.
7 Save the drawing to the appropriate library folder following the wire connection template naming convention.
Wire connection template naming convention

First two characters are BB. Optional characters which indicate the symbol type for this wire connection.
Parent or child schematic symbol Panel footprint or nameplate Schematic terminal with terminal number Schematic terminal following the wire number Panel terminal
Blank PTWN STTN STWN PTWN_NOTERM
One or two characters indicating the terminal style. It is a single number, 0 through 9, for schematic symbols. For a panel symbol, the single number is followed by an underscore. Last two characters are digits that indicate the wire direction.
00 11 12 13 21 22 23
Radial, wire connects from an angle Left and top Left Left and bottom Top Top, left, bottom, and right Bottom
31 32 33
Right and top Right Right and bottom
Supplied wire connection templates

Template Name
BB012, BB021, BB023, BB032 BB000
Symbol Type
Schematic parent or child Schematic parent or child Schematic parent or child Schematic parent or child Schematic parent or child Schematic parent or child Schematic parent or child Schematic terminal with terminal number
Terminal Style
None
Attributes in the template

X?TERMn, TERMn
None
X0TERMn
BB111 to B133
Screw
X?TERMn, TERMn
BB211 to BB233
Small Screw
X?TERMn, TERMn
BB311 to BB333
Circle, number inside Square, number inside Fixed PLC
X?TERMn, TERMn
BB411 to BB433
X?TERMn, TERMn
BB511 to BB533
X?TERMn, TERMn, DESCA01, DESCB01, TAGA01 X?TERM01, TERM01
BBSTTN012, BBSTTN021, BBSTTN023, BBSTTN032 BBSTWN012, BBSTWN021, BBSTWN023, BBSTWN032 BBPTWN0_12, BBPTWN0_21,
None
Schematic terminal following wire number
None
X?TERM01
Panel footprint
One wire number
X?TERMn, TERMn, TERMDESCn, WIRENOn
Template Name
BBPTWN0_23, BBPTWN0_32 BBPTWN1_12, BBPTWN1_21, BBPTWN1_23, BBPTWN1_32 BBPTWN2_12, BBPTWN2_21, BBPTWN2_23, BBPTWN2_32 BBPTWN_NOTERM0_12, BBPTWN_NOTERM0_21, BBPTWN_NOTERM0_23, BBPTWN_NOTERM0_32 BBPTWN_NOTERM1_12, BBPTWN_NOTERM1_21, BBPTWN_NOTERM1_23, BBPTWN_NOTERM1_32 BBPTWN_NOTERM2_12, BBPTWN_NOTERM2_21, BBPTWN_NOTERM2_23, BBPTWN_NOTERM2_32 BBPTWN_NOTERM3_12, BBPTWN_NOTERM3_21, BBPTWN_NOTERM3_23, BBPTWN_NOTERM3_32
Symbol Type
Terminal Style
Attributes in the template
Panel footprint
One wire number
X?TERMn, TERMn, TERMDESCn, WIRENOn
Panel footprint
Two wire numbers
X?TERMn, TERMn, TERMDESCn, WIRENOn, WIRENOnA
Panel terminal, no levels
No levels
WIRENOL, WIRENOR, TERM, TERMDESCL, TERMDESCR
Panel terminal, one level
One level terminal
WIRENOL, WIRENOR, L01PINL, L01PINR, TERM
Panel terminal, two levels
Two level terminal
WIRENOL, WIRENOR, L01PINL, L01PINR, TERM, L02WIRENOl, L02WIRENOR, L02PINL, L02PINR, L02TERM WIRENOL, WIRENOR, L01PINL, L01PINR, TERM, L02WIRENOl, L02WIRENOR, L02PINL, L02PINR, L02TERM, L03WIRENOL, L03WIRENOR, L03PINL, L03PINR, L03TERM
Panel terminal, three levels
Three level terminal
The ? is replaced with the appropriate wire connection direction number on page 312 and the n is replaced with the two digit sequential number. If your template contains only one wire connection attribute, always use 01. The 01 is replaced with the next available value when the wire connection template is inserted using Symbol Builder.
Add your own symbols, circuits, and commands to the icon menu
AutoCAD Electrical supplies two default icon menus: one for schematic symbols and the other for panel symbols. Each menu is driven by a text file. AutoCAD Electrical defaults to icon menu ACE_<standard>_MENU.DAT (where <standard> = JIC, IEC, GB, HYD, JIS, PID, or PNEU) for schematic symbols and ACE_PANEL_MENU.DAT for panel symbols. These menu files are located in
Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\{username}\Application Data\Autodesk\AutoCAD Electrical {version}\{release}\{country code}\Support\ Windows Vista, Windows 7: C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Roaming\Autodesk\AutoCAD Electrical {version}\{release}\{country code}\Support\
You modify or expand the icon menus by editing the underlying icon menu text file. You can use a generic text editor and edit it manually or you can use the AutoCAD Electrical Icon Menu Wizard. Use the Icon Menu Wizard dialog box to select the function to be performed when the icon is selected from the icon menu.

Add component: Inserts a symbol Add circuit: Inserts a prebuilt circuit. This causes AutoCAD Electrical to insert and explode the .dwg name supplied. Add new submenu: Starts a new submenu. Add command: Performs a command. Use Command for inserting three-phase schematic symbols and panel footprints.
Add components to the icon menu

The Icon Menu Wizard can be used to add or modify icons for both the schematic and panel symbol libraries. 1 Create an AutoCAD Electrical compatible library symbol. For schematic symbols, follow the guidelines regarding the symbol ".dwg" file naming convention on page 282 and required attributes on page 306.
2 Click Schematic tab Other Tools panel Icon Menu Wizard. 3 In the Select Menu File dialog box, select to modify the schematic menu file, and click OK. 4 In the Icon Menu Wizard dialog box, select Add Component to add a new icon to the menu. NOTE You can also right-click in empty space and select Add icon Component.
Three pieces of information are needed for the new icon button. 5 On the Add Icon - Component dialog box, specify the image file name and graphic to appear in the icon button. The image name can be manually typed into the edit box. You can browse to an existing .sld or .png file to assign to the icon, use an image file that matches the active drawing name, use an image file that matches a picked block on the drawing, or use an image with the same name as the block name entered for the block name. NOTE Browse cannot be used if you are using a slide library (instead of individual <slide>.sld files). Manually enter these as "library name(slide name)". For example, "S1(hpb11)." If you have not created the slide image and want to have it created automatically from the current screen image, select Create PNG from current screen image. The Icon Menu Wizard runs the AutoCAD MSLIDE
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command on your current screen image to create the .png and .sld file. If the file does not exist, then Create PNG from the current screen image is selected by default. If you do not want to create the image from the current drawing's displayed image, switch it off. If you want to redo an existing image, click this switch on. 6 Specify the block name to insert on the icon. The symbol's file name can be typed into the edit box or you can browse for an existing WBlocked ".dwg" file to assign to the icon, insert the full active drawing as a block, or select an existing block on the current drawing. 7 Click OK. The new menu button appears in the menu and the text you entered for the icon label appears in the tooltip or in the list if you set the viewing option to either Icon with text or List view.
8 Select the appropriate Insert Component command and test your new symbol insert.
Add an icon menu page

You can add new menu pages to the AutoCAD Electrical icon menu, and then populate them with your own custom symbols. Each new page can have icon selections that cascade down to other new menu pages. Once you click OK, your trigger icon and new submenu page are added. 1 On the Icon Menu Wizard dialog box, select Add New submenu to add a new icon to the menu. NOTE You can also right-click in empty space and select New Submenu.
The Create New Submenu dialog box appears. Here you can select the function that will be performed when the icon is selected from the icon menu. Three pieces of information are needed to trigger the new menu page. 2 On the Create New Submenu dialog box, specify the image file name and .sld or .png graphic to appear in the icon button. The image name can be manually typed into the edit box. You can browse to an existing .sld or .png file to assign to the icon, use an image file that matches the active drawing name, use an image file that matches a picked block on the drawing, or use an image file with the same name as the block name entered for the block name. NOTE Browse cannot be used if you are using a slide library (instead of individual <slide>.sld files). Manually enter these as "library name(slide name)". 3 Specify the submenu's title. 4 Click OK. 5 Select the appropriate Insert Component command and test your new symbol insert.
Add an icon to trigger a command

An icon can be configured to trigger an AutoCAD command, trigger an AutoCAD Electrical command, or run a program. For example, "Rectangle" can be typed into the edit box so that every time you click the box, it runs the AutoCAD Rectangle command. 1 On the Icon Menu Wizard dialog box, click Add Command. NOTE You can also right-click in empty space and select Add icon Command. 2 On the Add Icon - Command dialog box, specify the name to appear on the icon and the image file to use on the icon button. 3 Specify the command to execute when the icon button is selected. Click List to select from a list of AutoCAD Electrical Commands for Panel and Schematic multi-pole symbol inserts. This makes it easier for you to build the appropriate command to insert a multi-pole symbol or a panel symbol. To see the command line parameters for a specific AutoCAD Electrical command, select the command in the list and the parameters
display at the right. If quotation marks are shown, then enclose the parameter value within quotation marks. NOTE If you select an API command that requires parameters you must manually enter the additional parameters as indicated. Commands that require parameters should be inside of parenthesis. If you use one of the AutoCAD commands from the list, no parenthesis are needed. For example, to add an icon that inserts a black flush push button, Allen-Bradley, catalog number 800T-A2A, with no rotation, select the command WD_INFP from the list. When you return to the Command dialog box, you must enter in the rest of the parameters.

"family" is used for the catalog file lookup table name "mfg" is used for the footprint lookup "cat" is the actual catalog number "assycode" is the catalog number assembly code (often blank) "footprint" is the library symbol name
WD_INFP "PB11" "AB" "800T-A2A" "" "AB/ABPB3" 4 Click OK.
Add circuits to the icon menu

Add Circuit is the same as Insert Command except that the block file is made up of more than one AutoCAD Electrical block definitions and related wire lines. 1 On the Icon Menu Wizard dialog box, click Add Add circuit. NOTE You can also right-click in empty space and select Add icon Add circuit. Three pieces of information are needed for the new icon button. 2 On the Add Existing Circuit dialog box, specify the image file name and .sld or .png graphic to appear in the icon button. The image name can be manually typed into the edit box. You can browse to an existing .sld or .png file to assign to the icon, use an image file that matches the active drawing name, use an image file that matches a picked block on the drawing, or use an image file with the same name as the block name entered for the block name.
NOTE Browse cannot be used if you are using a slide library (instead of individual <slide>.sld files). Manually enter these as "library name(slide name)". 3 Specify the circuit name to insert on the icon. The symbol's file name can be typed into the edit box or you can browse for an existing WBlocked ".dwg" file to assign to the icon or insert the full active drawing as a block. 4 Click OK. The new menu button appears in the menu. 5 Select the appropriate Insert Component command and test your new symbol insert.
Change the icon's image

There are times when you might want to change the image associated with an icon menu choice. The AutoCAD Electrical Icon Menu Wizard provides a quick, easy way to reassign or reshoot a slide image. Slides can be saved as individual files in the AutoCAD Electrical search path or they can be maintained inside of a library of slide files called the slide library. NOTE If you make custom slides or slide libraries for the menu, copy them to the same subdirectory as the menu file since AutoCAD Electrical looks for menu slides in the active icon menu file's directory. 1 On the Icon Menu Wizard dialog box, right-click an icon button to edit and select Properties. 2 On the Properties dialog box, specify the image file name and .sld or .png graphic to appear in the icon button. The image name can be manually typed into the edit box. You can browse to an existing .sld or .png file to assign to the icon, use an image file that matches the active drawing name, use an image file that matches a picked block on the drawing, or use an image file with the same name as the block name entered for the block name. If you have not created the .png image and want to have it created automatically from the current screen image, select Create PNG from current screen image. The Icon Menu Wizard runs the AutoCAD MSLIDE command on your current screen image to create the .png and .sld file. If the file does not exist, then Create PNG from current screen image is selected by default. If you do not want to create the image from the current drawing's displayed image, switch it off. If you want to redo an existing image, click this switch on.
NOTE Browse cannot be used if you are using a slide library (instead of individual <slide>.sld files). Manually enter these as "library name(slide name)". 3 Click OK. The new menu button appears in the menu. 4 Select the appropriate Insert Component command and test your new symbol insert.
Edit the DAT file with a text editor

There may be times when you want to bypass the Icon Menu Wizard and edit the menu DAT file directly. It is important to maintain the menu file structure, otherwise your menu may not activate properly. An AutoCAD Electrical menu ".dat" file is a text file that can be viewed and edited with any text editor (ex: WordPad or Notepad). See Overview of the icon menu file on page 1260.
Best practices for icon menu changes

We recommend that you create your own icon menu and leave the AutoCAD Electrical icon menu intact. This provides you with easier migration when upgrading to the next version of AutoCAD Electrical. You can set up the AutoCAD Electrical icon menu system so that you can flip back and forth between the default ACE_<standard>_MENU.DAT (such as ACE_JIC_MENU.DAT) and your own "my_menu.dat." 1 Copy the standard menu into a new file name instead of creating the file from scratch. Open the new DAT file with a text editor and remove everything except for the top portion of the file (shown below). **M0 D0 JIC: Schematic Symbols NOTE The line D0 is only needed if the menu must be compatible with AutoCAD Electrical versions prior to 2008. Rename the title line to indicate that this is your very own personal menu file. 2 Add a line like the following in the ACE_<standard>_MENU.DAT file. My schematic menu|mymenu.sld|$C=(c:wd_loadmenu "my_menu.dat")(c:wd_insym_go2menu 0)
NOTE Make sure this text is all on one line. 3 In your new "my_menu.dat" file, add a line like the following one so that you can jump back to the default AutoCAD Electrical icon menu. Default AutoCAD Electrical menu|back2wd.sld|$C=(c:wd_loadmenu "ACE_JIC_MENU.DAT")(c:wd_insym_go2menu 0) The result should be: **M0 D0 My Menu: My Companies Symbols AutoCAD Electrical menu|back2wd.sld|$C=(c:wd_loadmenu "ACE_JIC_MENU.DAT")(c:wd_insym_go2menu 0) 4 In the AutoCAD Electrical default icon menu, click the new "My menu" entry. Your menu should immediately appear and remains the default for subsequent component inserts. If you want to go back to the AutoCAD Electrical default menu, click the "AutoCAD Electrical menu" button you added to your custom menu. AutoCAD Electrical flips back to the default icon menu and it now remains the default for subsequent inserts.
Configure projects for various drawing standards

AutoCAD Electrical has multiple configuration options so that you can configure your drawings in a manner that fits your needs. You can configure drawings for IEC standard or automatically override family tag codes.
Configure for IEC standard

Below is a list of configuration options (both project properties and drawing-specific properties) that are most commonly used when dealing with the IEC drawing standard and a description of each. Project Properties Project Properties are configured by right-clicking on the project name in the Project Manager and selecting Properties. The options configured here are project-wide options, such as the paths to symbol libraries, or drawing default options for new drawings that are created in the selected project. The drawing
Configure projects for various drawing standards | 2119
options defined in the Project Properties dialog box can also be applied to any drawing in the project if needed. Project Settings Tab
Schematic Libraries AutoCAD Electrical contains two specific IEC-type symbols, IEC2 and IEC4. The main difference between these libraries is the size of the text associated with them. IEC2 symbols have a text size of 2.5 for the main text items such as Component Tag, Installation, Location, Component Description, and so on. IEC4 symbols have a text size of 3.5 for the Component Tag and a text size of 2.7 for Installation, Location, Component Description, and so on.
Schematic Icon Menu File
AutoCAD Electrical contains one IEC-specific icon menu file: ACE_IEC_MENU.DAT.
Components Tab
Component TAG Format In IEC you may want your components to be tagged with Sheet Number, Family Code, followed by a number that is either sequential or reference-based. To do this, in the Tag Format edit box, enter: %S%F%N where %S = the sheet number, %F = the family code defined for the component being inserted and %N = the numbering scheme for the active drawing (either sequential or reference-based). For sequential numbering, you can enter a starting number to use as a starting component number. For reference-based numbering, you can use one of the following numbering formats: X-Y Grid X Zones Reference Number
Components Tab
Component TAG Options Defines most of the specific tagging options to conform to the IEC tagging mode. Select the option that best fits your needs: Combined Installation/Location Tag Mode: Uses the combined installation/location tag for interpreting component tag names. For example, 100CR relay contact marked with location code PNL1 is interpreted as being associated with a different relay coil than relay contact -100CR marked with location code PNL2. If this setting is not selected, both contacts are associated with the same parent relay coil, 100CR.
By selecting this option, your component tags are automatically prefixed with the =, +, and - where applicable.
Suppress dash when first character of tag: Suppresses any single dash character prefix in an IEC tag that does not have a leading Installation/Location prefix (for example, "-K101" dash is suppressed to "K101" but "+LOC1-K101" remains unchanged).
When switched OFF, it automatically adds a single dash character to an IEC tag that does not already have a single leading dash prefix and does not have a leading Installation/Location prefix. For example, tag "K101" becomes "K101" but "+LOC1-K101" remains unchanged. NOTE This suppression takes place automatically in reports; and takes place graphically only when a component is inserted, edited, or retagged.
Format Installation/Location into tag: Specifies to exclude the Installation and Location code values as part of the tag when displaying. For example, if this is not on, a tag might show up
Components Tab
as K16 in the Surf dialog box. But if selected, the tag might show up +AAA-K16 (where AAA is the location). Suppress Installation/Location in tag when match drawing default: Suppresses Location and Installation values on components if they match the drawing default values. Suppress Installation/Location in tag on reports: Specifies to exclude Installation and Location values as part of the tag when displayed in reports. Upon insert: automatic fill Installation/Location with drawing default or last used: Fills the Installation and Location edit boxes on the Insert/Edit component dialog box and the attributes on the block with drawing default or last used values (if no drawing default).If not selected, these edit boxes and attributes are not filled in and are assumed.
Cross-reference Tab
Cross-reference Format In IEC, you may want to configure your cross-referencing text to display the Sheet Number - Reference Number. To do this, in the Same Drawing edit box, enter %S-%N (or click the %S-%N button). You can also define the format of the crossreferencing text that references other drawings in the Between Drawings edit box. Select this if you want to suppress IEC prefixes. NOTE You must run the Component Cross-reference command to update any existing cross-referencing text. In IEC, it is common to display a representation of the type of child component (Normally Open, Normally Closed or Form-C contact) in either a graphical or table format. If you select the graphical
Suppress Installation/Location codes when matching the drawing defaults
Component Cross-reference Display
Cross-reference Tab
(nontable) format, you can define details of the graphical format by clicking Setup.
Styles Tab
Wire Style In IEC, it is sometimes preferable to display wire connections as tee markers instead of connection dots. To do this, in the Wire Tee section, select the appropriate angle tee marker from the list.
Drawing Format Tab

Ladder Defaults In IEC, the most common ladder orientation is Horizontal. In the Ladder Defaults section, configure how to display your horizontal ladders. Defines the type of referencing that is used to replace the %N value for component tag and wire number formats. In IEC, the most commonly used format is X Zones. NOTE If you want AutoCAD Electrical to place the labels for the X-Y Grid or X Zones referencing style, use the appropriate command from the Insert Ladder toolbar. X-Y Grid: All referencing is tied to an X-Y grid system of numbers and letters along the lefthand side and top of the drawing.Set your drawing's vertical and horizontal index numbers and letters, spacing, and origin in the X-Y grid setup dialog box.
Format Referencing
TIP Use negative spacing values for Horizontal or Vertical if you want to change the X-Y grid system's origin to be other than the upper left-hand corner of the drawing
X Zones: Similar to X-Y Grid, but there is not a Y-axis. Set your drawing's horizontal labels,
Drawing Format Tab

spacing, and origin on the X Zones setup dialog box.
TIP Use negative zone spacing value if you want the zone reference origin to be at the right side of the drawing.
Scale
Scale for IEC drawings is normally set to mm full size.
Drawing Properties Drawing Properties are configured by either right-clicking on the drawing name in the Project Manager and selecting Properties Drawing Properties, or by selecting Properties Drawing Properties. The options configured here are only applied to the drawing that they were configured on. NOTE Options that are duplicated on the Drawing Properties and Project Properties dialog boxes are not described in this section. Drawing Settings Tab
IEC-Style Designators Defines Installation and Location codes that are used for drawing defaults when placing components on the drawing and no override Installation or Location values are given on the specific component. These values are used when the Combined Installation/Location tag mode option is selected (described previously in Project Properties section).
Automatically override family tag codes

A components family name can be overridden at insertion time, during a later edit, or automatically using the wd_fam.dat mapping file. The wd_fam.dat file overrides the family tag code of library symbols by mapping the codes to new values. The tag code of a symbol is used in generating the tag-ID of inserted components, such as the PB of tag-ID PB101. AutoCAD Electrical searches for this mapping file in the following order: 1 User subdirectory
Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\{username}\Application Data\Autodesk\AutoCAD Electrical {version}\{release}\{country code}\Support\User\ Windows Vista, Windows 7: C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Roaming\Autodesk\AutoCAD Electrical {version}\{release}\{country code}\Support\User\ 2 Active project's .wdp file subdirectory 3 All paths defined under AutoCAD Options Files Support Files Search Path Depending on how you want to override component family names, you can move the wd_fam.dat file into the various locations mentioned above.
To always substitute a new family value for all projects you create, place the file in the User folder. (option 1) To use AutoCAD Electrical defaults most of the time but sometimes override them with project-specific defaults, place the file in the project folders for the project you want to override. You can have different defaults for each project. (option 2) If you want a default override from the AutoCAD Electrical default values, but sometimes want a project override to the global override, you will want to use option 3 and 2. Place the file somewhere in the AutoCAD support path, like C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Acade 200x\Acade, and then when you want to override these values, place the file in the project folder.
Switch JIC and IEC standards

You can have projects that require working in the JIC standard and other projects that require the IEC standard. To switch from one standard to another change:

Schematic library folders Schematic icon menu Component tagging options
The library folders and icon menu are project settings. The component tagging options are on a per-drawing basis and must be applied to each drawing.
Project settings
1 Click Project tab Project Tools panel Manager. 2 Right-click on the project name in Project Manager. 3 Select Properties. 4 Select the Project Settings tab. 5 Expand the Schematic Libraries section. 6 Remove any folder names you no longer want and add any that you need. For example, remove the JIC folder and add the IEC library folder. NOTE AutoCAD Electrical searches for a symbol in the order the folders are listed. 7 Expand the Schematic Icon Menu File section. 8 Remove the menu you do not want and add the menu you need. For example, remove the ACE_JIC_MENU.DAT file and add the ACE_IEC_MENU.DAT file. 9 Click OK.
Drawing settings - change as a project setting

Component tagging options can be changed as a project setting and applied to a group of drawings.
1 Click Project tab Project Tools panel Manager. 2 Right-click on the project name in Project Manager. 3 Select Properties. 4 Select the Components tab. 5 In the Component TAG Options section, check the Combined Installation/Location tag mode option for IEC tagging, uncheck it for JIC tagging. If using IEC tagging, set any of the other tagging options.
6 Highlight all the drawings in Project Manager you wish to apply the project settings to. 7 Right-click and select Properties Apply Project Defaults. NOTE When the project settings are applied to a drawing, all settings are applied, not specific ones.
Drawing settings - change a single drawing

Component tagging options can be changed on a per-drawing basis.
1 Click Project tab Project Tools panel Manager. 2 Highlight the drawing in Project Manager that you wish to change. 3 Right-click and select Properties Drawing Properties. 4 Select the Components tab. 5 In the Component TAG Options section, check the Combined Installation/Location tag mode option for IEC tagging, uncheck it for JIC tagging. If using IEC tagging, set any of the other tagging options. 6 Click OK. NOTE You can change the component tagging options on the active drawing by
selecting Drawing Properties.
See also:
Configure for IEC standard on page 2119
Use Autodesk Vault with AutoCAD Electrical

Autodesk Vault allows you to keep a history of your design changes. You can review how your designs have progressed and rollback to a previous version if necessary. Vault also acts as a central shared secured repository of drawings
Use Autodesk Vault with AutoCAD Electrical | 2127
and data with the ability to search for required information across multiple drawings and projects. The AutoCAD Vault add-in works within AutoCAD Electrical, adding data management tools to the interface. Through the AutoCAD Vault add-in, you can add files to a vault, and check files in and out. The add-in works with both DWG and image files. In AutoCAD Electrical, you work on one project at a time. The project file (.wdp) lists all the drawings that are part of a project. When you make a change in one drawing, all files related to that drawing automatically update.
Perform vault tasks with the Project Manager

When working with AutoCAD Electrical and Autodesk Vault, you check out projects or individual drawings from a vault location to edit. You can perform all vault tasks within the Project Manager when you are logged into the vault. You can also manage the relationships between a project file and its dependents in the vault, while standard project management operations continue to be available. NOTE Access to vault folders depends upon the permissions you are granted. You cannot see files or folders that you do not have permissions for viewing. AutoCAD Vault ARX adds vault features to the Project Manager once logged into the Vault. The vault commands are available by right-clicking on a project or drawing within the AutoCAD Electrical Project Manager. You can use the Project Manager to:
Log in and out of the vault Upon initial start-up of AutoCAD Electrical, you are not logged into the vault. You must log into Autodesk Vault to work with projects in the vault. You can also log into the vault using the File Vault menu Check projects in and out of the vault The most basic requirement of the vault is that you never work directly on a file in the vault. You must check out the project to the working folder on your local drive to edit it. When you finish working on the project, you must check the project back into the vault. When a project file and its related drawing files are checked out of a vault, only the files that are not currently checked out are downloaded. If the working copy of a file is older than the version in the vault, you are prompted to replace the working copy. If the working copy is currently checked out, it is not replaced.
TIP If you want others to view updates you made to a project and you want to continue modifying the project, select the Keep Checked Out option on the Check In dialog box. This checks in the updates you made to the project and keeps the project checked out to you. NOTE You must have all references of a project file downloaded to your working folder to edit the project file.
View the status of files in a design The status icons indicate the status of your local files as compared to the same files in the vault. You can tell when the local copy is in sync with the vault and when it is not. The tooltip for each status icon describes the state of the file and suggests the next logical step. The status of a local file is updated when it is saved to disk. NOTE The vault status icons are only available in the list view and only appear when you are logged into the vault.
Setup for single user vs. multiple users

You can perform vault operations on the entire project or individual drawing files listed within the project in AutoCAD Electrical. However, in a multiple-user design environment, you can choose to check out and edit individual files as they are needed rather than checking out the entire project at once while still maintaining drawing file dependencies and versions. After you change the files and check them back into the vault, the associated files simultaneously update. Use the Project Manager to perform all vaulting operations. In AutoCAD Electrical, you can select a file (or multiple files) within a project to:

Check in (all) Check out (all) Get latest (all)
Workflow overview 1 Start AutoCAD Electrical. 2 Log into Vault.
3 In a single user environment, if you did not set a working folder yet, start Autodesk Vault Explorer and set a working folder on your local computer and then switch back to AutoCAD Electrical. In a multiple-user design environment, set the working folder on a shared network resource for the entire project team. This allows simultaneous access for all users on the same dataset and maintains the data consistency. 4 Open a project you want to add to the vault. 5 Add the opened project to the vault using the Check In or Check In Folder command. 6 Use the Open from Vault or Check Out command to open and check out the file from the vault. 7 To work on more files in the project, check out multiple files to the working folder using the Check Out All command in the Project Manager. 8 When you finish modifying the files, check them back into the vault using the Check In All command in the Project Manager. All related files update.
Best practices for vault commands

Below are the suggested workflows for using the most common vault commands with AutoCAD Electrical. Open from vault Use Open from the Vault to access files in the vault for viewing or editing. To modify a file from the vault, the file must be checked out to you and worked on from your local drive. You must be logged into the Autodesk Data Management Server to open and check out a file. 1 In the Project Manager, select Open Project from Vault from the project selection menu. 2 In the Select file dialog box, navigate to the project definition file, and then select it. To maintain the relationship between the drawing files that are defined in the project file, you must check out all files specified in a project file when opening a project from Vault. 3 Click Open. Get latest version
Get Latest Version retrieves a read-only copy of the most recent design data that is checked in. You cannot modify it until you check it out using Autodesk Vault Explorer or the Vault add-in for AutoCAD-based products. 1 In the Project Manager, select a file. 2 Right-click and select:
Get Latest Version to get the most recent version of the selected project file. Get Latest Version for All to get the most recent version of the selected project file and all of the related files.
3 In the Get Latest Version dialog box, click OK. The most recent versions of the selected files are downloaded from the vault. If the working copy of a file is newer than the most recent version of the file in the vault, you are prompted to chose either losing changes made to the current working copy or to not get the latest version of that file. 4 Click Settings to get the parents and children of the selected file. Get previous version Get Previous Version retrieves a past version of a file or a project and places a read-only copy in your working folder. Historical versions can never be modified. You can only create a new version of a file. 1 In the Project Manager, right-click a file or project, and then click Get Previous Version. 2 In the Get Previous Version dialog box, select a version of the file or project to retrieve. 3 If the file has parents and children to get, click Settings, and then specify which related files are retrieved as well. 4 Click OK. A read-only copy of the file is placed in the local working folder. You can view the file but you cannot modify it. To modify the file, you must check it out.
Create a project version

Project versions are controlled by project file (.wdp) versions. The project file acts as the parent for all drawings in the project and each version of the .wdp
is associated to the latest versions of the drawing at that instance. You can edit individual drawings of a project and create versions of the drawings as needed. When you want to take a project snapshot (create a project version), check out the .wdp and check it back in. Even if the .wdp is not modified, if any drawings have newer versions, a newer version of the .wdp is created, associating all newer drawing versions. TIP Use Vault Explorer to examine the relationship between versions of the project file and corresponding drawings.
Roll back to a previous project version

You can roll back to a previous project version using Vault Explorer, restoring the project file (.wdp) and all associated drawing and project configuration files to a previous version. 1 Close the project and drawings in AutoCAD Electrical. 2 Using Vault Explorer, examine the .wdp file and corresponding drawing versions. 3 Select the desired .wdp file. 4 Click Get Previous Version.
Automatically check in drawings

Some operations in AutoCAD Electrical (such as project-wide or reporting tools) cause Vault to automatically check out all affected drawings. These drawings can be automatically checked in when modifications are complete. When asked whether to check the file in, click Yes or Yes to All. If you do not want to be prompted to check in your drawings since you want the check-in to happen automatically, in the Options dialog box, select Check In dialog on auto check in. When files are checked in, comments are automatically added to help identify and distinguish between the versions of the files that are automatically created. You can modify the comments as desired during check-in unless you suppressed the Check In dialog box.
Shared sandbox guidelines

A shared workspace is a working folder located on a shared server for all users to access. The shared workspace configuration can be used with:
Autodesk Vault
Autodesk Vault Explorer AutoCAD Vault Add-in Microsoft Vault Add-in
You can choose to work in a local or shared working folder according to your design requirements. A shared working folder is highly recommended for the AutoCAD Electrical environment, especially in a multi-user situation, because it enables you and your design team to keep all files up-to-date. To use a shared workspace, the system administrator should preset a consistent working folder for all project members to use. Assign the working folder location to the root level ($) of the vault. A shared working folder cannot be assigned to a subfolder. NOTE If Inventor add-in clients will access the same vault, do not enforce a shared working folder. If Inventor and AutoCAD Electrical are sharing the same vault, the vault administrator cannot enforce the shared working folder. Each AutoCAD Electrical user must set the working folder individually to point to a common network drive. Rules For Using Shared Working Folders Using a shared workspace means multiple users may be working on the same files. All your vault operations are protected as long as you log into the vault before working on the files. The following guidelines will help prevent you from overwriting the changes made by someone else, and vice versa. 1 Remain logged into the vault at all times. You can use the Vault auto login option so you are automatically logged into the vault when AutoCAD Electrical starts. 2 If a file is currently checked out to another user, you cannot perform the following operations:

Get Latest Version Get Previous Version Check Out
3 You cannot check out a file that is currently opened for read-write by another user. 4 You can still check out a file that is opened for read only by another user.
5 You can open a file in read only when it is currently checked out to someone else using the same working folder. 6 Ensure that the drawings are checked back into the vault after you finish working on them so they are available to other users who need to modify them.

Advanced Productivity-AutoCAD Electrical Command

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Advanced Productivity-AutoCAD Electrical Command

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Advanced Productivity

Set up peer-to-peer component relationships

1980 | Chapter 24 Advanced Productivity

Create automated pin assignments

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Error checking Accurate connection information Providing correct connections

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Setting up COILPINS for two wired devices

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Setting up PEER_COILPINS and PEER_PINLIST

Set up AutoCAD Electrical for multiple users

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Using network deployment

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Referencing icon menus from other menu files

Show source and destination markers on cable wires

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Click Schematic tab Other Tools panel Drawing Properties

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Show source and destination markers on cable wires | 1991

Adding source and destination markers

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Show source and destination markers on cable wires | 1993

Creating connecting wires

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Press Enter to exit the command.

Adding cable markers

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1 Click Schematic tab Insert Wires/Wire Numbers panel Cable

Use the PLC Database File Editor

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Creating new PLC modules

1 Click Schematic tab Other Tools panel

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Assigning Terminal Types

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Setting additional terminal information

Modifying the terminal box dimensions

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Modifying the terminal block settings

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Sample Bitmap File

Adding terminal attributes

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Inserting the PLC module into the drawing

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Customize Circuit Builder

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Circuit Builder spreadsheet

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Circuit code sheets

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Circuit Builder spreadsheet | 2009

How Annotation Presets work

Circuit Builder drawing templates

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The circuit drawing templates use the following naming convention.

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