Electrical FAQs

I created my own electrical switch, but now I cannot seem to pull an arc from it?

Make certain that the Electrical symbol was saved as an Electrical symbol and not to a standard symbol library.

When I create a custom Electrical symbol, how do I get the green reference points that the electrical connections attach to?

The green reference points are Construction Points. Use ctrl + Right Mouse Click (or Tools > Construction Point) to place the Construction Point where you want the electrical connection to join the symbol. It will initially appear as a red plus sign. When you add the symbol to the Electrical Library, it will become the green reference point. If you are going to modify some of your existing electrical symbols, they should be exploded before adding them back to the library.

How can I control the visibility of my electrical symbols in Drawing mode?

You can control the visibility of Electrical symbols in Drawing mode by going to Options > Visible Items and select Drawing mode from the left side of the dialog. On the right side of the dialog, with Drawing Items highlighted, check or uncheck Electrical Symbols to control the visibility. These settings can also be set under the System Options to control default visibility for new drawings.

How do I include light sources when creating new Electrical Symbols?

Light sources can be added prior to saving an electrical symbol to a library. Typically, Atmospheric Lights are used in symbols and can be added from the draw menu in 3D mode. Edit the light source to have the desired effects prior to saving the symbol. Once the new symbol has been added to an Electrical Symbol library, the light sources will appear in 3D Mode and in the camera control within 3D.