Use circuitry

Copies windowed circuitry in the active drawing, and includes automatic update of the component tag.

The components are retagged automatically based on their new line reference locations. If the circuit you copied contains fixed wire numbers or component tags, you have the options to keep them or update them based on the new line reference locations.

1. Click Schematic tabEdit Components panelCircuit drop-downCopy Circuit.
2. Select the components and wires to copy. Carefully window (from left to right) around the circuit, making sure to capture the connection wires and dots that tie in to the vertical bus.
3. Press Enter.
4. (Optional) Press M to make multiple copies of the selected circuit.
5. Select the base point and then the second point for the copy.
   • If the circuit contains any fixed wire numbers, specify to keep them or blank them out.
   • If the circuit contains any fixed component tags, specify to keep them or retag all the found tags. Specify to blank orphan contact tags or keep them unchanged.
   • If the circuit contains any terminal numbers, specify to keep them, blank them, or update them for uniqueness within the terminal strip.

Moves windowed circuitry on an active drawing to a new insertion point with automatic component tag update.

Moves the selected circuit to a specified location. Retags components automatically based on their new line reference locations, and updates cross-references.

1. Click Schematic tabEdit Components panelCircuit drop-downMove Circuit.
2. Select the circuit to move. Carefully window (from left to right) around the circuit, making sure to capture the connection wires and dots that tie in to the vertical bus.
3. Press Enter.
4. Select the base point, and then the second point for the move.

Use this tool to save circuit portions for later use.

1. Zoom around the circuit to save so that it fills your screen.
2. Click Schematic tabEdit Components panelCircuit drop-downSave Circuit To Icon Menu.
3. On the Save Circuit to Icon Menu dialog box, right-click in the Symbol Preview window and select Add icon New circuit.
   Note

   You can also click the arrow on the Add tab and select New circuit.

4. On the Create New Circuit dialog box, specify:
   • Name of the icon.
   • Image file to use. Make sure to select Create PNG from current screen image.
   • Circuit drawing file name.
     Note

     If you did not zoom in on the circuit in the previous step 1, you can click Zoom on the Create New Circuit dialog box to zoom around the circuit to save.

5. Click OK.
6. Select the insertion base point of the circuit.
7. Window around the circuit (from left to right), capturing all the appropriate components and wiring and press Enter.

   AutoCAD Electrical processes the circuit and saves it to your AutoCAD Electrical user subdirectory.

   Note

   You can overwrite the user subdirectory using the wd_usercktdir setting in the environment (.env) file. For example, if wd_usercktdir is enabled and set to “N:\Electrical\Circuits”, the new circuit and image file are saved to N:\Electrical\Circuits.

   AutoCAD Electrical creates and adds a new circuit icon (.png) of your circuit to the bottom of the symbol preview window.

Inserts a previously saved circuit you select from the icon menu.

After you specify an insertion point, the circuit inserts and the component tags update. The circuit behaves as if you inserted components and wires one at a time.

You can insert circuits you saved using the Save Circuit to Icon Menu tool or circuits that you saved using WBLOCK command in AutoCAD. You can then edit the component tags, run the wire numbering tool, or add or delete components and wiring.

1. Click Schematic tabInsert Components panelCircuit drop-downInsert Saved Circuit.
2. On the Insert Component dialog box, select the circuit you want to insert into the drawing from the Symbol Preview window.
3. Click OK.
4. On the Circuit Scale dialog box, click OK to use the defaults or specify a scale and then click OK.
5. Specify the insertion point on the drawing.

Inserts WBlocked circuitry (external drawing file) with automatic update of the component tag.

Inserts a previously saved group of components, wires, ladders, and other entities as circuits. Saved circuits insert as a single object and are then exploded. Component tags update according to the tag settings in the drawing. Fixed tags do not update. Saved circuits provide common arrangements of components, such as motor starters or control circuits in projects.

1. Click Schematic tabInsert Components panelCircuit drop-downInsert WBlocked Circuit.
2. On the Insert WBlocked Circuit dialog box, select the circuit you want to insert into the drawing and click Open.
3. On the Circuit Scale dialog box, click OK to use the defaults or specify a scale and then click OK.
4. Specify the insertion point on the drawing.