AutoCAD is one of the programs of all time.
Kevin Christensen's notes and guidelines on using AutoCAD to produce electrical drawings, made with reference to standards at #Riveer

map of the problematique

The Hitchhiker's Guide to AutoCAD Electrical Toolset Basics

Fear and panic in the air

new slang

fr fr no cap on god
Some terms used in AutoCAD world and what they mean in context. Mostly directly taken from Autodesk's helpful-ish website.

N.B. - All references are only to AutoCAD 2026.

layers

source: AutoCAD Electrical 2026 Help | About Layers | Autodesk

• Layers are the primary method for organizing the objects in a drawing by function or purpose.
• Layers can reduce the visual complexity of a drawing and improve display performance by hiding information that you don’t need to see at the moment.
• Before you start drawing, create a set of layers that are useful to your work. In a house plan, you might create layers for the foundation, floor plan, doors, fixtures, electrical, and so on.

wire layers

AutoCAD Electrical 2024 Help | To Work With Wire Types/Layers | Autodesk
Each wire is considered it's own layer in AutoCAD Electrical. A lot of #unexpected behavior comes from layer settings and/or having the wrong layer selected. If you get lost, return to _MULTI_WIRE.

blocks

source: AutoCAD Electrical 2024 Help | About Defining Blocks | Autodesk
You can create blocks by associating objects and giving them a name or by creating a drawing to be used as a block.

Block Definitions

Whenever you create a block or insert a drawing as a block, all of the block information in the block definition, which includes its geometry, #layers, colors, #linetypes, and block attribute objects, is stored within the drawing file as non-graphic information. Every block you insert is a block reference to a block definition. Block references are often simply called blocks.

Blocks can be created and saved in several places:

• Within a drawing file intended for use only within that drawing
• Within a drawing template file intended for use by any drawing that starts with it
• As separate drawing files intended to be inserted into other drawings as blocks
• As multiple blocks within a drawing file intended to serve as a block library drawing to be accessed from other drawings
• As online block definitions provided by one of several vendors and services. These blocks are often associated with specific parts or products.

linetypes

source: AutoCAD Electrical 2026 Help | About Linetypes | Autodesk
Linetype is a visual property assigned to geometric objects. Linetypes can be a pattern of dashes, dots, text, and symbols, or unbroken and continuous.

The current linetype setting defines the default appearance of all new geometric objects. You can see which linetype is current in the Properties panel of the ribbon Home tab when no objects are selected.

• The Continuous linetype displays objects with a solid, unbroken pattern.
• The ByLayer linetype displays objects with the linetype assigned to the current layer.
• An explicitly set linetype, for example DASHDOT, displays objects with that linetype regardless of the current layer.
• The ByBlock linetype displays objects with the Continuous linetype until the objects are combined into a block definition. When the block is inserted into the drawing, it displays the current linetype for those objects.

the process

trust it.

1. start a new project by copying the BLANK DRAWING SET.wdp project file into a new project.
2. Edit the #project description with information like the work order # and description of the project.
3. Do a #title block update to update the information in the individual drawing files to match the edits you made to the #project description.
4. Start your drawing with a bus with your 3 phase line inputs.
5. Then add #components
   1. like #wire terminations,
   2. #motors,
   3. and #terminal blocks and disconnects.
   4. and DIN rails and footprints.
6. To make your BOM, #link a table from Excel to AutoCAD.
7. Before checking your drawings into the vault, set the #zoom of your drawings with z enter e enter in the command line.
8. Lastly, export the drawings to a .pdf for the FOR BUILD or AS BUILT documents.

commands

not an exhaustive list; because my sanity is still intact^[1]
Almost everything can be accomplished through the command line in AutoCAD.

shortcuts

space selects the last command
ctrl + C -> normal copy behavior (i.e. #copyclip)
ctrl + shift + c -> #copybase, which allows more precise and repeatable positioning.

UI

Recommended settings changes to improve your workflow

crosshair size

• It's also useful to increase the size of your crosshair
• it makes it easier to judge if things are aligned or not on your screen.

right click in the drawing and select options from the context menu. On the second tab, labeled as display there's a slider labeled as crosshair size. Try setting it at 45 and see if it helps

snap

• snap controls the various way placing an item near a reference point will cause it to be placed directly on the correct point.
• snap can be toggled with the little buttons in the bottom right
  

zoom

To set the zoom to fit the entire drawing on screen;
in the command line, type: z <enter> e <enter>

copypasta

it's not plagiarism if it's engineering.

copyclip

copyclip (shortcut ctrl + c) acts exactly how you expect it to work -> the highlighted objects can be duplicated.

copybase

copybase (shortcut ctrl + shift + c) copies a reference point along with the selected objects.

1. select the object
2. ctrl + shift + c
3. left click a reference point (e.g. the origin)
4. on another page, or the same ctrl + v to insert the copied nonsense

pastespec

Autodesk's Documentation
PASTESPEC - the paste special command is accessible from the context menu:

This option brings up the Paste Special dialog box

• This allows you to control how the data is imported by selecting one of the options in the popup.
• E.g. you can #copy a table from Excel to AutoCAD and have it become an AutoCAD native table (if you're a professional), or a bitmap image (if you're a psychopath).

cleanup

cleanliness is next to godliness

• Don't forget to set the #zoom on your drawing to e before you save and exit.

purge

the purge command brings up a function which allows you to delete unused named objects (e.g. #blocks, layers, #linetypes, and styles).
Use purge to:

• clean up your drawing when finalizing it (removing unused parts, simplifying the design, shrinking the file size)
• troubleshoot when #copybase throws an error such as : _pasteclip Duplicate definition of block A$C380B0C36 ignored. And the reference point shows up in a weird/wrong way.

wipeout

AutoCAD 2026 Help | WIPEOUT (Command) | Autodesk
This procedures places an opaque layer below the drawings in a given block.

1. click on the component.
2. type be for "block edit" or click the edit button on the Block section of the Home tab.
3. click ok, then type wi for wipeout
   N.B. - you will find it easier to do the next part if you turn #snap off.
4. Draw a shape under the component
5. send the shape to the back (right click with the shape selected and find Draw Order in the context menu).
6. close block editor and save the block.
   

If that didn't do it, right click on the component (e.g. the #DIN rail) that's supposed to be below and send it to back the same way with the context menu.

radial menu

as much as possible, use commands from the radial menu when moving components:

• scoot moves a component along a wire, or shifts a wire laterally
• strech wire attempts to connect an unconnected wire end to the nearest node
• use align to put #components, wire numbers, etc all on the same line

project management

A project in AutoCAD is a set of drawing files connected by a project file. The organizational and folder structure is contained in the project file. Changing the location and order of files in AutoCAD doesn't change the location of the files on the hardware/server.

vault 101

Because in Vault 101: no one ever enters, and no one ever leaves

• Warning: If you check something out of the vault, it locks everyone else from making changes until you check it back in.
• Use the Project Manager tab to check out/in projects to the vault:
  • Right Click on the project folder, find Vault at the bottom of the context menu, then select Check-In/Out All
  • If you don't have a Vault option, refresh the files with the green arrow icon at the top of the project manager tab.
• The project manager panics if you don't have a file open. Open a new drawing before trying to check out a project file
• If you check out something by accident, use the undo checkout button to remove it rather than checking it back in.
  • The logic being, if you check it back in, it will upload any (unintentional) changes that you may have made to the file.
  • Additionally, it's hard to tell when you have made changes and what the unforeseen consequences may be of those actions.
• If you're #starting a new project, don't check it INTO the vault until you're certain that you've finalized the drawing file and project file names. Make sure they're IAW company SOP, because changing filenames after uploading a project to the vault causes problems.

starting a new project

This is Step 1 of #the process.

• Warning: There is no way to change the name of a project in AutoCAD electrical. The best you can do is copy the project to a new one and delete the old one.

• Likewise, you CAN change the name of drawing files, but once you upload the project to the vault, any changes to filenames will cause problems. Make sure you have all filenames correct IAW company SOP before uploading the project to the vault.
  

• Next, edit the filenames of your drawing files to match the conventions. You must make these changes before uploading to the vault.

• Trust #the process: You can begin drawing #wires and #components. A good place to start would be drawing a #multiple bus for 3 phase power distribution.

project description

This is Step 2 of #the process.

The Descriptions... item under the project management tab allows you to edit title blocks for the entire project from one single dialog

The Project Description popup lets you edit the data that goes into the #title block or the headers of reports.

• The title block is NOT automatically updated from the project description.
  To change the data shown in the #title block of all the individual drawing files, you need to do a bulk #title block update.

title block

The title block is shown in the #paper space view and can be edited directly by clicking on the box and using the Enhanced Attribute Editor

This is fine for one-off changes, but it's more efficient to do a bulk #title block update when a detail has to change on every drawing in a project -> e.g. when updating FOR BUILD documents into AS BUILTs.

title block update

This is Step 3 of #the process.

The data written to the #title block will be whatever is in the #project description.

N.B. - The title block update will not change any values unless the project is selected as the active project in the Project Manager tab. Otherwise, the Title Block Update will fail silent without an error message.

exporting to pdf

This is the Last Step of #the process.
N.B. - you don't have to have the file checked out to export.

Select all the files you want to export in the project management tab.

Name the file and save it in the appropriate customer folder. You can click "no" on the popup asking you to save the drawing list. The pdf will be produced in the background.

A popup will alert you with the pdf export is complete:
Save the .pdf as order#_AS BUILT.pdf
in the folder: S:\Riveer - ISO Documents\Customer\JOB NAME\Electrical Package\PDF\AS BUILT

Drawing

Drawings are .dwg files which are organized in projects (.wdp files).

Each individual .dwg drawing file is a sheet, which are numbered IAW company SOPs and practices:

Drawing Properties

The Drawing Properties control many of the functions in AutoCAD Electrical toolset. They include:

• #Drawing values: #sheet numbers, installation, location
• #Reference system: ladder, XY Grid, or XZones
• Format: component tag, wire number, cross-reference
• Style: PLC modules, wire crossing, wire connection
• Layers: component attributes and graphics, #wires

If you use a drawing template when you create a drawing, the template can have the Drawing Properties predefined. If not, the drawing properties are inherited from the drawing defaults defined for the project. Click OK-Properties on the Create New Drawing dialog box to override any default drawing properties as you create a drawing.

Drawing Properties can be changed later, but you may need to run multiple commands to update the components, wire numbers, and more. So it is best to define the drawing properties before you start inserting ladders, components, modules, and wires.

The Drawing Properties Dialog is accessible from the Context Menu on the Project Manager sidebar:

Right click on a drawing in the Project Manager to bring up the context menu, then select Proprties and click on Drawing Properties... in that submenu.

Reference Only Drawings

• controlled via a Checkbox in the #Drawing Properties.

You may have drawings that are part of the project but you don't want them processed during project-wide functions. Or perhaps they are not even electrical drawings but they are necessary for the entire design. You can set these drawings as reference only in the drawing properties.
Tagging, cross-referencing, and reporting functions ignore reference only drawings. However, you can select to include them in project-wide plotting and title block updates.

sheet numbers

! left

The page number of a single sheet (i.e. one drawing file) can be changed from the Drawing Settings tab found under #Drawing Properties:

Project Manager -> Proprties -> Drawing Properties...

By convention, sheets are number nonconsecutively.

You can change the #project description from this tab as well, but in a practical sense you'd rather do a #title block update after editing the project description to change the values for all the sheets in the project.

Reference System

The reference system is used to assign unique schematic component tags and unique #wire numbers (if not using sequential tagging). The reference system is also used for #cross-referencing which we cover later.

Select your reference system in Drawing Properties -> Drawing Format tab -> Format Referencing section. Use the Setup button to define the specifics for the referencing type you choose.

styles

! right

Styles control the appearance of #source arrows and #destination arrows, PLC terminals, etc. These are set under #Drawing Properties -> Styles

If you have started a new project per the instructions, you should not have to change any of these values.

wires

Wires are important for Electrical Engineering^[2].

• All the controls you care about are under the Schematic Tab at the top.
• If you notice #unexpected behavior, check that you're on the correct layer.

multiple bus

From the schematic tab, select multiple bus


This will bring up a set of options. Set the spacing as shown: 1.0 space horizontal and 0.5 spacing vertical.

• Starting at:
  • Empty Space (Multiple Wires) allows you to draw parallel wires for a distribution bus
  • Another Bus (Multiple Wires) allows you to start from existing wires (e.g. pull 3 wires from a main distribution bus for a 3 phase motor)

wire colors

wire colors are changed in the #radial menu after right clicking on a wire.

wire numbers

Wire numbers are added from the top bar

The numbering format is set in #Drawing Properties -> wire numbers

They can be set manually by the #radial menu, but should be set automatically by the line numbers and page numbers where they originate.

N.B. - the color of the text of the wire number is controlled by the layer. If you manually set a wire number (e.g. it's fixed) then it will indicated with white text as opposed to the default green text.

wire annotation settings

These are found in Panel -> Wire Annotation

cable markers

These are used to indicate colors of an external cable connected to the panel.

1. Found in Icon Menu->Miscellaneous->Cable Markers.
2. Select Multiple connected
   

cross-referencing

wires from a given page and line can be cross referenced to other sheets or to other locations on the same drawing.

cross-references are assigned via #source arrows and #destination arrows. The appearance of these arrows are assigned with the #styles tab found under #Drawing Properties.

source arrows

1. The source arrow button will bring up a dialog where you'll enter a code for wire number to page/line number
   1010 to 321 as an example:
   

2. click ok and then either follow the prompts to insert a matching destination arrow (if the destination is on the same page) or click no, and swap to the other page.

destination arrows

1. select destination arrow from the same button which selects the source arrow

2. on the dialog, click Recent
you can filter the codes by Show Unpaired which should have very few codes.

3. click on the correct source and click ok.
4. The wires should update w/r/t color and number, but frequently it won't so, select any parts which are wrong and update them as shown in those sections.

components

Components do things. And sometimes stuff.
They're added from the schematic tab with the icon menu button:

• [!] you can hide attributes (e.g. redundant amperage ratings on a 3 pole) circuit breaker
  right click -> #radial menu ->attributes drop down menu at the bottom

The schematic uses Ladder Logic symbols to explain the function of components.

components abbreviations

wire terminations

terminal blocks and disconnects

motors

• put 3 phase motors on the middle line
• each motor needs a circuit breaker or fuse sized for the load.
  • Here's a .pdf explaining how to size the circuit breakers or fuses
• and a set of NO relays to start/stop the motor
• and an overload protection

motor rating

right click -> #radial menu -> edit component -> show all ratings button at the bottom left

This brings up a page with 4 lines for the motor's rating:

1. 10
2. HP
3. voltage
4. Amperage

DIN rail

For the uninitiated, DIN rail is a standard mounting hardware standard published by the Deutsches Institut für Normung.

You will probably need to do a #wipeout when you place components on a drawing of a DIN rail so that you don't see the rail through the component.

tables

You do not want to make a table in AutoCAD. You want to make a table in micro$lop Excel and copy it into AutoCAD or link it to AutoCAD.

link a table from Excel to AutoCAD

Importing Excel spreadsheet tables into AutoCAD-based products
I haven't done this one yet but it CAN'T be more work than doing it the other way

updating an existing table

1. check out the relevant .xls file from the vault.
   1. It should be stored in the same folder as the electrical drawings.
   2. You'll need to use the standalone AutoCAD Vault program to find the spreadsheet file.
2. Edit the excel file and save it.
3. You'll see a popup in AutoCAD Electrical telling you that the Data link has changed.
4. Click Update tables using the data link: <filename> to incorporate the changes into the drawing file
   
5. Alternatively, right click on the table and select Update Table Data Links to trigger the update.

copy a table from Excel to AutoCAD

There seem to be some problems with copying a table. This process will bring the data in with a minimum of fuss. Copy the data you want from excel then import it using #pastespec:
!#pastespec

modify the table

By default, all kinds of stuff are wrong. For example, numbers seem to have trailing decimals even if they didn't in Excel

N.B. - all of these settings, when changed, will be applied to ALL selected cells. One click can edit the entire table.
one more thing - AutoCAD seems to scale fonts based on absolute size (e.g. nominal character height in inches or mm). 0.18" seems readable.

1. click on the table. With a table selected you get a contextual tab called Table Cell. Under the Table Cell tab at the top you can edit these settings (among others):

   1. Data Format - select whole numbers to remove decimals or text
   2. alignment is controlled with a button showing the current cell's setting (e.g. Top Left)
   3. Borders and background are also editable here

2. The Properties tab with the Table selected shows values for EVERY cell. If individual cells/rows/columns are selected, then Properties shows data for only the selection. Some useful fields to modify:

   1. Cell Width
   2. Cell Height - PROTIP: ~2x the font size seems to work well
   3. alignment
   4. background color
   5. border color
   6. border lineweight
   7. Geometry - (X,Y,Z) coordinates
   8. Table Height
   9. Table Width

3. Once you're satisfied with the graphic design, switch to the #viewport and position it so that you can see the table on the printable layout.

viewport

A Complete Guide to Viewports in AutoCAD
The viewport is AutoCAD jargon for the window system. The goal of the system is to allow you to see both the infinite design canvas in 1:1 scale and to create a printable layout based on a finite paper size.

changing views

You can switch between the views with the toolbar in the bottom right.

model space

This is the default view. It's an infinite vector space and all dimensions can be seen at a 1:1 scale

paper space

This is the view for exporting to paper. The size of the viewable area is determined by the paper selected. The #title block is visible in this view and can be edited directly.

adjusting the viewport

notes in progress

troubleshooting

Some solutions that I have found.

duplicate definition of a block

When attempting to use #copybase to position a block precisely, I found the following error:

_pasteclip Duplicate definition of block A$C380B0C36  ignored.
Duplicate definition of block 480VAC COLOR CODE  ignored.

and copybase failed to copy the reference point. I solved this using the #purge command multiple times. To avoid breaking things that I didn't understand, I only purged the blocks which were causing me trouble

I checked the box for nested items:

• purge nested items
  But nevertheless, I had to repeat the process for a non-purgable block (named 480V code) which appeared to be nested within problem child with the excel reference for a name (highlighted above). After purging twice, I was able to #copybase with the selected reference point as intended.

text color not editable in a copied table

• I ran into an issue when trying to #copy a table from Excel to AutoCAD that the text was black in the #model space view, which made it really annoying to edit the table.

Attempted fixes:

• I tried to change the layers and backgrounds, but couldn't make it look any different or change all the cells at once.
• I tried to change the color of the text in excel while copying it, but none of my changes allowed the text color to invert between light and dark mode properly
  • (i.e. if I copied it with white text, it was white in #paper space and #model space)
  • This was the case both with black font and with automatic font color.

Eventually, I found a solution, but it's not a very good one:

1. click on the text on an individual cell until it's editable. Select all the text.
   

2. Go to the contextual menu at the top and change the text color to ByLayer or ByBlock -in this case, it doesn't matter which because they're both white/black based on the light/dark background color.
   

3. Then repeat the process for every cell that you need to change. Luckily if you imported black text, aside from being illegible in #model space, it will still display properly in #paper space for when you export and print it.

unexpected behavior

If something isn't working as expected, like #wires aren't editable or the #radial menu doesn't appear where you expect it to, check on the Home tab if you're not on the wrong #layer. You should be on _MULTI_WIRE. Also check that your layer isn't frozen (hidden).