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Table of contents
No headersAlthough AutoCAD Electrical checks for duplicated schematic component reference designations and wire numbers during the insert or edit process, you have the option of displaying the warning in real time. Real-time error checking is enabled by default in the Project Properties 
Project Settings tab.
If you enter an existing component tag/wire number during the insert/edit process, a warning dialog box displays. This alerts you of the duplication and suggests alternative tag names based on the user-defined format. You can select whether to use the duplicated tag or use a new tag that is suggested (or you can type in a new tag).
Note: The combined value of the component tag and installation code is used for error checking in IEC mode.
An error log file is created for every project if you chose to display the real-time warnings. The real-time warning is saved in the log file named "<project_name>_error.log" and is saved in the User subdirectory. If a log file exists, the new content is added to the same file. A blank line separates one error record from another.
About the .wdn file
The .wdn file is a text file used specifically for auditing terminals. Terminal numbers listed in this file are not checked for duplication. Use wildcards to exclude a range of terminals for duplication checking such as all terminals with a tag name starting with "T" and with terminal number "1." AutoCAD Electrical searches for the <project_name>.wdn file in the same folder as the project definition file (*.wdp). If <project_name>.wdn is not found, AutoCAD Electrical looks for the default.wdn file in the project folder.
- Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\{username}\My Documents\Acade {version}\AeData\Proj\
- Windows Vista, Windows 7: C:\Users\{username}\Documents\Acade {version}\AeData\Proj\
The default .wdn file contains the terminal number filters GND, PE, and E. They are ignored when checking for duplication and are not listed in the Electrical Audit report.
Use the troubleshooting tools
There are many tools to use for troubleshooting your AutoCAD Electrical drawing.
Use the audit tool
Use this tool to identify and clean up some types of problems that affect an AutoCAD Electrical drawing. The Electrical Audit tool displays a report of detected problems for the active project. You can save this file for reference or surf the file to view and correct the errors.
- Click Reports tab Schematic panel Electrical Audit.
When you run the command, the progress bar describes the progress of the audit process. Once the audit is complete, a text box displays the total number of errors found.
- Click Details to view the detected problems.
- (Optional) Click Active Drawing to view the detected problems for the active drawing only.
- Click any of the tabs highlighted with an error icon.
They are the areas where problems were found in your project. If no errors are found, the Details button is not enabled.
- Click an audit record in the dialog box and click Go To (or double-click the audit record).
Once you browse to an error location an 'x' appears in the audit dialog box.
- Fix the error using any of the AutoCAD Electrical editing tools.
After correcting the error, you can select another audit record in the dialog box for correction.
- Click Close after correcting errors, Save As/Save All if you want to save the report, or Print if you want to print the report.
Note: Run the Drawing audit tool to perform wire-related clean-up functions automatically.
Clean the drawings
- Click Project tab Troubleshooting panel Clean DWG Utility.
- On the Clean Drawing Utility dialog box, select the drawings to clean: drawings in the active project, a single drawing, or all drawings in a selected folder.
- (Optional) Click Purge All to run the AutoCAD Purge command and purges all unused items (such as block definitions, dimension styles, layers, linetypes, and text styles).
- Click OK.
- If you selected to clean all drawings in the active project, select the drawings to process and click OK.
New, clean copies of the selected drawings are created and inserted into the drawing.
Use the debug tool
If you receive a message that AutoCAD Electrical is having trouble updating your scratch database file of the project, turn on the Debug Trace. It can help track down the problem. Select one of the following commands:
- Click Project tab Troubleshooting panel MDB Command Trace drop-down MDB Command Trace On.
To turn the tracing off,
Click Project tab Troubleshooting panel MDB Command Trace drop-down MDB Command Trace Off.
- Click Project tab Troubleshooting panel Command Trace drop-down Command Trace On.
To turn the tracing off,
Click Project tab Troubleshooting panel Command Trace drop-down Command Trace Off.
Check, repair, or trace wire and gap pointers
The Check/Repair Gap Pointers utility verifies that the invisible Xdata pointers on both sides of a wire gap/loop are valid. If not, appropriate pointers are established. The Check/Trace a Wire utility single steps through and highlights each connected wire of the selected wire network.
Check/repair wire gaps
Use this utility to create wire number jumps (on the current drawing) without resorting to individual signal source/destination arrow symbols.
- Click Schematic tab Edit Wires/Wire Numbers panel
Modify Wire Gap drop-down Check/Repair Gap Pointers.
- Click the Check/Repair Gap Pointers tool.
- Select each wire segment as directed.
Gap data is added as needed. The result of the check/repair is shown in the command prompt area.
Check/trace a wire
Troubleshoot problems with unconnected or shorted wires and invalid wire crossing gap pointers.
- Click Schematic tab Edit Wires/Wire Numbers panel Modify Wires drop-down Check/Trace Wire.
- Select a wire on the network. You can select "A" to show All Segments. If you prefer to step through wire by wire, press the spacebar.
- Determine whether to pan or zoom the selected wire.
The connected wire segments endpoints are shown in the command prompt area.
Troubleshoot problems with unconnected or shorted wires and invalid wire crossing gap pointers.
Check multiple wires
- Click Reports tab Schematic panel DWG Audit.
- Select whether to process the active drawing or the entire project, and click OK.
- Indicate which areas to check for errors. You can look for problems related to missing wires segments which were linked through wire crossing gap pointers. You can also clean up wires pointing to nonexistent wire numbers and erase wire numbers that are not linked to a wire network. Show all valid wire segments by having each outlined in temporary graphics. Temporary graphics are shown as:
- Bright red - regular wires
- Magenta - wires on layers defined as No Wire Numbering.
- Click OK.
The Drawing Audit utility displays a report of wire-related clean-up functions that were performed.
Electrical audit
Detects problems related to wires and components, and describes the problems in a dialog box on a series of tabs.
Ribbon: Reports tab Schematic panel Electrical Audit.
Toolbar: Schematic Reports
Menu: Projects Reports Electrical Audit
Command entry: AEAUDIT
When you run Electrical Audit, a progress bar shows the progress of the audit process. Once the audit is complete, a text box displays the total number of errors found. The Details option lists the detected problems. You can go to the location of an error within the project and correct the error.
Project | Displays the audit information for all the drawings in the active project. |
Active Drawing | Displays the audit information for the active drawing only. If a different drawing becomes active, the display updates for that drawing. If the active drawing is not part of the project, the Active Drawing control is disabled and the Project control is selected. |
Wire - No Connection | Displays the unconnected wires for the active project. The report lists the unconnected wire number, location point, error message, and the drawing where the error occurs. If there is not a record of a wire number, the wire number column is blank. |
Wire Exception | Displays missing or duplicated wire numbers for the active project. The report lists the duplicated wire number, error message, and the drawing where the error occurs. If a wire number is missing, the wire number column is blank. |
Cable Exception | Displays the duplicated cable and wire id for the active project. The report lists the duplicated cable tags or cable tags with duplicated wire id, error message, reference of the cable tag, and the drawing where the error occurs. |
Component - No Catalog Number | Displays components with no bill of material part assignments. The report lists the component reference designation tag, component category, reference of the component tag, error message, and the drawing where the error occurs. |
Component Duplication | Displays the duplicated components. The report lists the component reference designation tag, component category, reference of the component tag error message, and the drawing where the error occurs. |
Component - No Connection | Displays component connections with no connected wires. The report lists the component reference designation tag, component category, reference of the component tag, error message, and the drawing where the error occurs. |
Mixed Component Network | Displays components in the wire network that carry a mixture of different WDTYPE attribute values. For example, a one-line symbol (WDTYPE value of "1-") connected to a schematic symbol (WDTYPE value missing or blank). |
Terminal Duplication | Displays duplicated schematic terminal numbers. The report lists the terminal tag id and duplicated terminal number, reference of the terminal number, error message, and the drawing where the error occurs. Note: Terminal numbers listed in WDN files (located in the same folder as the project definition file (*.wdp)) are not checked for duplications. You can use wildcards to exclude a range of terminals for duplication checking using this text file. |
Pin Exception | Displays duplicated component pin assignments. The report lists the schematic component reference designation tag and component wire connection pin, reference of the component tag, error message, and the drawing where the error occurs. |
Contacts | Displays any children without a parent schematic component. The report lists the component reference designation tag for the child without a parent, reference of the child component tag, error message, and the drawing where the error occurs. |
Recovery Tip | Displays the recovery tip so that you can fix the error. |
Go To | Goes to the error location within the project and correct the error. It is enabled when you select a single audit record in the dialog box. Once you browse to an error location an "x" appears in the left-hand column of the Electrical Audit dialog box. Note: You can also double-click an audit record to go to the error location. |
Save As/Save All | Saves the audit report. Save As saves only the active report while Save All saves the complete audit report. |
Prints the audit report. |
Note: A blank Category value indicates a schematic component.
Drawing audit
Detects problems related to wire numbers in the active project and displays a report of them.
Ribbon: Reports tab Schematic panel DWG Audit.
Toolbar: Schematic Reports
Menu: Projects Reports Drawing Audit
Command entry: AEAUDITDWG
Drawing Audit identifies and cleans up some of the problems that can affect an AutoCAD Electrical drawing. Save the error report file for reference or surf the file to view and correct errors.
Audit drawing or project | Specifies to run the audit on the active drawing or selected drawings in the active project. |
Previous | Redisplays the last audit report that was run. You can then surf to the performed function, save the report, or print the report for reference. |
Surf | Goes to the error location within the drawing where the error occurred and was fixed. |
After you click OK, you can select the type of drawing audit to run. If you selected to audit the project, select the drawings in the active project to audit, and click OK. | |
Wire gap pointers | Looks for problems related to missing wires which were connected through gap pointers. Also see Check / Repair Gap Pointers. |
Bogus wire number and color/gauge label pointers | Looks for and cleans up wires pointing to nonexistent wire numbers (it is the opposite of wire number floaters). Also looks for bad color/gauge label pointers. |
Zero length wires | Looks for and erases zero length line entities on the wire layer. |
Wire number floaters | Looks for and erases wire numbers that are not linked to a wire network (for example, the wire was manually erased but wire number remains). |
Show wires (mark in red) | Draws an outline around each wire entity.
(Available when running on the active drawing only.) |