Red lines
Can you expand a little bit on what is going on? I can see the break on the wire in the third sheet, but I can't reproduce its creation. For me, your signal arrows behave as expected. I can't actually find anything wrong with them, it all looks good here.
I changed the number of the wire at the source, then did a project wide update/retag. Everything updated as it should, except that it stopped at the wire break on the third sheet. Doing the same thing, but repairing that wire break first, resulted in getting the wire number update all the way through to the final destination.
Was there originally a wire number where that break is? I noticed you're using in-line wire numbers. Are you certain that the break didn't exist before updating your signals? There's nothing about the signal commands that should affect an existing wire, other than to change its number or layer. (Landing a destination signal sometimes prompts you whether or not to update the destination wire's layer to match that of the source wire.) But those two things are it - no other ways (should) exist for the signal commands to affect wires.
When you land a destination signal, it should place a wire number on the wire for you. It looks to me like this happened, but the number was later deleted. Then, when you went back and updated the source, it placed a new wire number for you on sheet 3 - but since the original number was deleted somehow, you were left with a wire break.
When updating signals, you usually don't have to mess with the existing wire numbers at all - they should all update and remain in their current locations. One issue is with inline wire numbers - if the new wire number is longer or shorter than the old one by too much of an amount, the gap between the number and the wire can be too big, or even be so small that the number partially is over the wires. But, nothing about signals should create breaks in wires.
Jim Seefeldt
Electrical Engineering Technician
I changed the number of the wire at the source, then did a project wide update/retag. Everything updated as it should, except that it stopped at the wire break on the third sheet. Doing the same thing, but repairing that wire break first, resulted in getting the wire number update all the way through to the final destination.
Was there originally a wire number where that break is? I noticed you're using in-line wire numbers. Are you certain that the break didn't exist before updating your signals? There's nothing about the signal commands that should affect an existing wire, other than to change its number or layer. (Landing a destination signal sometimes prompts you whether or not to update the destination wire's layer to match that of the source wire.) But those two things are it - no other ways (should) exist for the signal commands to affect wires.
When you land a destination signal, it should place a wire number on the wire for you. It looks to me like this happened, but the number was later deleted. Then, when you went back and updated the source, it placed a new wire number for you on sheet 3 - but since the original number was deleted somehow, you were left with a wire break.
When updating signals, you usually don't have to mess with the existing wire numbers at all - they should all update and remain in their current locations. One issue is with inline wire numbers - if the new wire number is longer or shorter than the old one by too much of an amount, the gap between the number and the wire can be too big, or even be so small that the number partially is over the wires. But, nothing about signals should create breaks in wires.
Jim Seefeldt
Electrical Engineering Technician
Hi Arlene.
Have you tried to run a DWG audit on your project?
There are LOTS of errors in your drawings, and some of these might cause you problems.
I wonder how that happened; I tried a few times yesterday and then again this morning, and I can't replicate it. Your sources and destinations work normally for me. After deleting the destination on sheet three, and repairing that break in the wire, if I insert a new destination on that wire, it places an inline wire number right where that break used to be. That's what made me think that somehow a wire number was inadvertently erased.
I don't know if the errors that appear in an electrical audit are affecting this, but cleaning them up wouldn't hurt.
Are you able to reproduce this wire-break thing on your end or did it just happen the one time?
Thanks for keeping up with the feedback and input as we try to figure this out. I know it's frustrating sometimes, but we'll do our best to get you together.
Jim Seefeldt
Electrical Engineering Technician
I don't know if the errors that appear in an electrical audit are affecting this, but cleaning them up wouldn't hurt.
Are you able to reproduce this wire-break thing on your end or did it just happen the one time?
Thanks for keeping up with the feedback and input as we try to figure this out. I know it's frustrating sometimes, but we'll do our best to get you together.
Jim Seefeldt
Electrical Engineering Technician
I do the live update thing. AEPROJECTPROPS>Cross-References>Real-Time Signal and Cross Referencing. I never have to use the command AEUPDATESIGREF. I tend to use AEREBUILDDB a lot, and anytime I have to make changes to sources/destinations, I rebuild the database before and after. I'm not sure that it does anything super special, but it keeps the xdata associated to the signals cleaned up and that's why I do it.
Be aware that if you turn on real-time signal and cross-referencing, that certain commands will then do things you haven't seen them do before. Anything you do that forces a change to something on another drawing - like changing a source's wire number, or swapping a contact from NO to NC, will make ACADE immediately update the linked component, whether it's a wire tied to a source, or a child tied to a parent, etc. Sometimes it will temporarily open a new drawing to do this. Just let it do its thing. Trying to input commands while it does this can cause ACADE to hang up because it's still paying attention to the command line while it's running the script that controls the real-time updating. But, this is preferable to me than trying to remember on my own to pay attention to the task list and executing it.
As for fixed wire numbers, if you need to use them on a wire that has sources/destinations, I would always place the original fixed wire number near the source arrow. From there, use the Wire Number Copy command to show the wire number at its destination(s).
The color for the fixed wire number is dependent on the settings you have applied to the layer WIREFIXED. When you make a wire number fixed, ACADE switches it from its original layer to this one. So, if the color of a fixed wire number isn't to your liking, you can change it in the layer settings and each fixed wire number will be that color. Personally, I like the color change because it allows me to know without having to click on a component, whether or not it's got a fixed tag, and same for wires.
If you want to change the size or position of the attributes in the sources and destinations, you'll have to make edits to their blocks. Remember that if you do this, you'll need to either A) use the Swap/Update Block command on the existing symbols, or B) delete the symbols, use PURGE to remove them from the drawing database, and then re-insert. I've never used Swap/Update on a signal arrow, so I can't tell you how well those symbols behave with that command.
Jim Seefeldt
Electrical Engineering Technician
Be aware that if you turn on real-time signal and cross-referencing, that certain commands will then do things you haven't seen them do before. Anything you do that forces a change to something on another drawing - like changing a source's wire number, or swapping a contact from NO to NC, will make ACADE immediately update the linked component, whether it's a wire tied to a source, or a child tied to a parent, etc. Sometimes it will temporarily open a new drawing to do this. Just let it do its thing. Trying to input commands while it does this can cause ACADE to hang up because it's still paying attention to the command line while it's running the script that controls the real-time updating. But, this is preferable to me than trying to remember on my own to pay attention to the task list and executing it.
As for fixed wire numbers, if you need to use them on a wire that has sources/destinations, I would always place the original fixed wire number near the source arrow. From there, use the Wire Number Copy command to show the wire number at its destination(s).
The color for the fixed wire number is dependent on the settings you have applied to the layer WIREFIXED. When you make a wire number fixed, ACADE switches it from its original layer to this one. So, if the color of a fixed wire number isn't to your liking, you can change it in the layer settings and each fixed wire number will be that color. Personally, I like the color change because it allows me to know without having to click on a component, whether or not it's got a fixed tag, and same for wires.
If you want to change the size or position of the attributes in the sources and destinations, you'll have to make edits to their blocks. Remember that if you do this, you'll need to either A) use the Swap/Update Block command on the existing symbols, or B) delete the symbols, use PURGE to remove them from the drawing database, and then re-insert. I've never used Swap/Update on a signal arrow, so I can't tell you how well those symbols behave with that command.
Jim Seefeldt
Electrical Engineering Technician
Ramesh.kambang makes a good point. When you change the description at the source, you have altered its unique identity, and the destination will eventually lose its connection to that source. Updating won't fix it, because ACADE will try to match the description that exists in the destination with a source carrying the same description. You will have to re-establish this link via the Edit Component command, and select the source from the project list.
Jim Seefeldt
Electrical Engineering Technician
Jim Seefeldt
Electrical Engineering Technician
Using a fixed wire number ensures that it won't change if you use any of the automatic wire number commands. If you never try to number wires on a drawing-wide or project-wide basis, there's really not much of an advantage, because you're adding the numbers on a selective basis where ACADE only numbers the wires you pick. So, in theory, they also only change when you tell them to.
Jim Seefeldt
Electrical Engineering Technician
Jim Seefeldt
Electrical Engineering Technician
I'm not sure how, but there is a short circuit. I have delete the wires between the 24VDC and R9-R10 and put the wire again and the problem was solved.
I just noticed the short circuit when moving down (SCOOTing) the 0VDC wire.
