Adding Symbol Attributes - insert/edit is valid only for this session

[Anonymous]

Good Morning,

I am looking into the feasibility of our company using Autocad Electrical for providing our customers with point to point electrical diagrams.

We would like to provide our drawing with a simple to understand BOM for our customers to review, from what I understand this involves adding our unique components (eg. a handwash unit) in using the icon wizard and then add attributes and wire connections using the symbol editor.

I have successly added components with a very basic block drawing within the icon menu as shown.

I then enter the symbol builder and choose my handwash block to add attributes:

I then go to add data to the TAG1attribute, please notive the message highlighted.

I can enter data and add the atributes to the block, but once saved and i re insert the block all attributes have disappeared.

Please can anyone advise on what I am doing wrong?

Thankyou

Richard Berrington

[ccad2509]

first thing did you save the block externallty ? you then insert the block again and you will get a message redifine block or somethinmg like that (not at a cad station at the moment) what there is is a bug in the symbol editor that doenot overwrite the current block definition in your drawing if you havent saved your block externally does thjat make sence ?

[Anonymous]

The block is saved as a DWG file on my desktop, it was drawn using standard Autocad. When I right click on a block i get the options: reset block, block editor and edit block in place. I'm not to sure on what you mean by "saving the file externally"? Thanks for your help

[jseefdrumr · Accepted solution]

Did you run a symbol audit? See the first image. The command can be found in the Edit panel. In addition, when you save the block, you should see a line in the bottom left corner that says something like '2 Errors Found In Drawing'. Was that there?

Also note that in my image, there are big red check marks next to the attributes in the list. This indicates that they are present in the drawing. In your screenshot, you show the dialog for Insert/Edit Attribute, which allows you to add new entries to that list. In the second and third images, I circled in red where I added one to demonstrate.

Now, look at the blue circle in the third image. This is the icon for Insert Attribute, which is how you place an attribute from that list into the drawing. First select the attribute(s), then select the icon I circled. You can place all attributes at once simply by highlighting them all before clicking the insert icon.

I'm not sure why your edits aren't coming in. I've never needed to add new attributes before. I'm confused on the 'Insert/Edit is valid only for this session' thing. But the workflow I've described has always worked for me.

Hope this helps,

Jim

[Anonymous]

Yes there are 2 errors - wire connectors are not aligned to the insertion point & no horizontal wire connectors present, this is because I require vertical connectors! Its not that I cannot create new attributes as such, the problems that I cannot save added vaules to Autodesks reuired attributes. Ill fix the 2 errors and see if it will save. Once saved will my wires autoroute to the connectors on my custom components? ATM they are over lying my components but I have assumed that is because they have noting to snap to? Thanks

[jseefdrumr · Accepted solution]

Yes, in order for ACADE to automatically trim wires upon insertion, your X?TERM attributes must be in alignment.

As for adding values to the attribute list (sorry I thought you were doing that by accident), I'm not sure why you can't keep your edits. When I try to do that to one of my custom blocks, it works. My added attribute appears upon insertion and everything is OK.

Are you purging your old block definitions before inserting your edited block? If not, then ACADE will automatically insert the previous version (ie, the one that is already defined in the drawing). The command for this is PURGE.