Electrical Design Software | Elecdes Design Suite by Scada Systems Ltd

How to Redefine Symbols when Inserting

Insert Causes Symbol Redefinition

The Elecdes and Paneldes symbol insertion functions can update the definition of the symbol that is stored in the drawing from a new symbol file definition.

This may be required if the original symbols that are inserted into drawings are modified so the drawings into which the originals where inserted are no longer consistent with the updated symbol files.


This functionality eliminates the requirement to erase all of the old symbols, purge the drawing and re-insert the new symbols.

When a symbol definition is redefined all of the occurrences of that symbol on the drawing will have their graphical representation updated to that of the updated symbol definition. However this does not include the attributes of the block. If attributes have been added to the symbol these will not be reflected in the symbols on the drawing after symbol redefinition.


To update the symbols to have consistent attributes you should use the AutoCAD "ATTSYNC" command. Refer to the AutoCAD help for details about using the ATTSYNC command.

Elecdes and Paneldes can synchronise attributes of a symbol upon its insertion. This will eliminate the need to use the AutoCAD ATTSYNC command. When the attributes of a symbol are synchronised all occurrences of that symbol on the drawing will have the attributes updated to that of the updated symbol definition. However it is important to note that attributes of symbols that have been re-positioned in the drawing will be updated according to the position in the inserted block definition.


It is not recommended to use the symbol redefinition system on a permanent basis. The use of this system has negative performance implications. It should be used when necessary and disabled at all other times.

Procedure

  1. Choose Preferences from the Elecdes Menu. You will be presented with the Elecdes Preferences Dialog.

  2. Go to the General tab page

  3. In the Insert Symbol Options group box, tick Insert Causes Symbol Redefinition to enable symbol redefinition when inserting.

  4. When enabling the symbol redefinition system a message describing the performance implications will be displayed.

    • Symbol redefinition should normally be disabled for performance reasons.

  5. To synchronise symbol attributes, tick Synchronise Attributes.

  6. This functionality will take effect once a new symbol is inserted on a drawing.

You can choose to display on the CAD package command line the full path of the symbol while inserting a symbol by CHECKING the option Report path of inserted symbols.