Help reducing manual work in ACADE

[vasiqshair]

I just finished a set of drawings for a project. As with most design projects I work on, I strive for making the drawings thorough as this avoids back and forth with the panel builders and saves time overall. However, I am facing challenges in terms of the amount of manual work I have to put in for each drawing.

1) Attribute size and location: I unhid the catalog # and assembly code attributes of the control relays, and they showed up in miniature font size and were located right on top of the coil itself. Using move attribute, I placed them above the coil's NO and NC line references. Then I re-sized them to match the attributes around them. Look at CR11 in the attached drawing. That way the drawing appears nice and professional. If my drawing only had 1 relay, this wouldn't be a big deal. But resizing and relocating attributes for each and every component becomes tiring quickly. I am wondering if ACADE will let the user set the size and location of attributes beforehand so they don't just pop up in random locations in miniature font sizes? Kinda like how the NC/NO references are located on the lower right of the coil. 

2) Pin numbers: I created a dummy coil (CR20) in my drawing to better explain my point. I am using Allen Bradley's 700-HC24A1. ACADE does have this relay in its catalog, and since the component is in the catalog, I'd have thought that actual real-life pin numbers would be assigned to the coil and contacts as they are deployed in the drawing. But that's not the case. But judging from the pin numbers assigned to the NO contacts, it appears that ACADE is following a pattern...just not the right one. The pin numbers should be 9 5, 10 6, 11 7 and 12 8 for the NO contacts, and the coil should be 13 14. So I had to rename pin numbers for every coil and contact in the drawing. Again, manual work. If there's a way to assign the pin number sequence for relays (or components in general) that'd save a bunch of time.

PS: If I hit the 'Save as' button, my ACADE acts strange. So I am posting my drawing as ACADE2018. 

[jseefdrumr · Accepted solution]

1) These attributes never come in randomly; their location in the drawing is determined by their location in the block file, as is their size. You can edit the block file directly to move the attributes and make them larger. Thereafter, all new instances of that symbol will come in with the edits you make. However, for existing symbols, you'd have to use ACADE's Swap/Update Block tool.

2) Pin numbers are defined by the PINLIST, which is held in the catalog entry for the relay's part number. To edit, navigate to the relevant part in the catalog and go to Edit Mode. (The pin list isn't visible until you enter Edit Mode.) See entries in HELP pertaining to COILPINS and PINLIST for additional information on the proper way to format.

I've never edited the pin list for something I already placed into a drawing, so I'm not sure how changing it will affect your existing relays.

Hope this helps,

[vasiqshair]

Thank you. I now have ACADE applying correct pin numbers for every NO and NC contact. But I am still stuck on the attribute locations and size. How do I access the block file? "Edit attribute" only lets me change the name of the attribute. Does it have to do with the block editor? Please advise. 

[Anonymous]

The blocks are stored as individual DWG files. The location of the blocks will vary based on OS, ACADE version, library you are using. On my machine they are in C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\Acade 2020\Libs\NFPA

Once you update the DWG for the block you want to modify you will need to either delete all instances of the block from the schematic(s) and use the 'purge' command, or use the 'Update Block' utility in ACADE. Using the block editor inside a schematic will only update the instances in that specific drawing which is not what you want to do.

[jseefdrumr]

Joe's advice is on point. I'd just like to add one thing...

Since installations can vary based not just on OS but also on which year of the OS, I prefer a different method for finding my block files.

For any block, you can see its name in PROPERTIES. Then, do a search on your computer or network to find its location. From there, open the file directly and make your edits.

An extra benefit of this is, you'll see if there are duplicates of you libraries. I had that happen once when IT came in to do an install. I keep my AeData folder on the network, the one on my hard drive is renamed. When they gave me a new machine and put ACADE on it, they didn't know this had to be done. So, for about a week, my ACADE was pulling symbols and catalog info from the wrong AeData folder and I didn't know until I did a search for a block.