New in R219 & R220: Improved exporting to AutoCAD DWG and DXF.

It has been a while since we have blogged, so without further ado, the below are the list of benefits that have changed for these two releases:

1. Automatic shape highlighting when double clicking on terminals.

2. Smarter wire links.

Updated wire links will now automatically pop up the pairing window if you have not paired the wire links. Once you have paired them, double clicking on them will let you jump to whatever target you're linked to.


3. Improved and automated exporting to AutoCAD DWG and DXF formats.

Although Visio comes with built-in AutoCAD DWG and DXF exports, unfortunately it is limited to a single page export and fraught with rendering errors. After prolonged testing, we're happy to release tools that will allow users to export the entire document, without rendering errors.

Also included in these release, a host of updates and fixes that makes using Electra so much more easier. If you have no already, head on over to http://radicasoftware.com/Support.php to download and run the update installer.

Proceed with caution on the new Visio 2013.

After testing Electra on the new Visio 2013, we are happy to report that Electra works extremely well with one single major caveat. Files that are saved in Visio 2013 will lose all functionalities, irrespective of whether if you save them into Visio 2013's new macro enabled xml format (.vsdm) or the older (.vsd) format. This is because Visio 2013 has a bug (confirmed by our correspondence with Microsoft), that causes all password protected macro documents to be unable to save properly without losing all macros (non password protected macros are not affected). So, in effect, this affects all add-ins, not only Electra.

As usual with Microsoft, we have no idea when this will be fixed, but we are not going to hold our breath until then. We felt that we owe our customers more speed and transparency, and have taken a few active steps, so that you can proceed with using Visio 2013, but with caution. Therefore, if you insist on using Visio 2013, here is what you have to do to ensure your files are saved properly without losing Electra functionalities:

How to use older drawings in Visio 2013.

All older drawings made using Electra will have their macros password protected. To save properly, you will need to use the following steps:

1. Open your older drawing in Visio 2013.
2. Press F11 to open the Visual Basic Editor.
3. Click on “View” and select “Project Explorer” as shown below:

4. On the “Project” panel, double click on “Electra_Template” as shown below:

5. You will be asked for a password, and if you don’t have one, please do email us at [email protected] and we will be glad to supply you with a password.
6. Right click on the “Electra_Template” and select “Electra_Template Properties” as shown below:

7. Click on the “Protection” tab:

8. Uncheck “Lock Project for Viewing”, delete password for “Password” and “Confirm password”:

9. Click “OK” and close the Visual Basic Editor then save your drawing.

Essentially, you will have to unprotect your older drawing for it to save properly without losing Electra functionalities.

How to start a new drawing in Electra.

If you have not done so, please go to our Support page and download the latest Electra update (R219). After installing this update, the “New Electra Drawing.vst” template will be essentially non protected, and all files created using this template will not have problems saving in Visio 2013.

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience, and will keep all of our customers updated on this issue as soon as we get some news.

Compile Error after Windows Update on Jan 10th, 2013

Update 3: We have confirmation that the below will solve this compile error problem.

Update 2: We are still awaiting some confirmation, but we believe the below will solve this problem:

1. Re-download the Electra software (release or trial) and re-install Electra using the latest version.
2. Remove .exd files and re-start Electra. More information on how to do this is available here: http://blog.radicasoftware.com/2012/04/compile-error-after-windows-update-on.html

Update 1: At this stage, it seems only Visio 2007 has problems, and Visio 2010 with Electra is working fine.

Unfortunately, after this Windows update, Electra has been broken again. We are throwing all our resources at this at the moment and hope to have a solution soon. New updates will be posted here in this post, so we would recommend NOT updating Windows at this stage.

New in R218: Exporting and Importing the Component Database.

As you use Electra to build up your Component Database, it's clear the interface is best suited for single component only. Try copying, adding or editing multiple components and you will soon find the entire process troublesome. In this release, we make the process of editing or adding multiple components into the database, a breeze.

1. Exporting Component Database to Excel.

Click on Electra tab/menu, then Export | Component Database, and the content of your component database will be exported to an Excel file. The entire database will always be exported and you cannot export only part of the database.



Once exported, you can then proceed to modify, add or edit accordingly.

2. Importing an Excel file into the Component Database.

To import an Excel file back into the Component Database, we strongly suggest that you use the template as it is exported above. After modifications, simply click on the Electra tab/menu, Import | Component Database.



Click on the Browse button to browse for the Excel file, an then click on the Import button. The status of the import will be visible on the status window.

3. Important points to note during import.
• Component information will NEVER be deleted during import.

Because the entire database is exported, you may find it easier to work with your data by deleting part of it in the Excel file. When the same data is imported, the deleted data are simply ignored, and no deletion will be performed on the database. This ensures that the database is not accidentally deleted or overwritten.

To delete information from the database, you will need to use the Electra interface or modify the database directly by opening it in Access.

• The header (first row) of the Excel file must be exactly the same as it is exported.

For Electra to understand the data, the header or first row of the Excel file must be exactly the same as it was exported. This ensures that your data are consistent and easily readable by Electra, and correctly imported into the database.



• Duplicate component information will be ignored.

Before Electra modify or add component information from Excel back into the database, the information is checked, to see if they already existed in the database. If duplicates are found, then these information are ignored and the user notified accordingly on the status window. This is to ensure that the database stays small, fast and very usable, without duplicates.

In addition to a host of other things that we've done in this release, we sincerely hoped that you can now modify component database information much more easier, faster and your productivity greatly improved.

New in R217: Greatly Improved Terminal Generation.

After the hiccups lately, and settling those troubles, we thought we'd take the opportunity to make a new release which is long due. Mainly, terminal generation is much improved, in addition to some algorithm changes which results in faster generation of terminals and also wire detection.

1. Automatic Terminal Block Numbering

Previously, when you drop a TerminalBlock symbol onto a drawing, you will be required to type in a terminal block number yourself, but no more. Terminal blocks now have automatic numbering and their numbering will be automatically incremented when Electra detects that you already have such a terminal block on your drawing. We hope this makes your work a little easier and faster.

2. Custom Terminal Numbering

When you drop a terminal symbol on a wire, the terminal numbering will show "0" to denote that it's currently not numbered. Rather than wait until you generate Terminal Listing, and for Electra to automatically number your terminals, you can now set your own numbering simply by selecting a terminal symbol, and typing away.



Once you type in any numbering or text, during terminal listing generation, Electra will automatically pick up these data to be reflected in your terminal listing.

Bear in mind though, when you use a TerminalBlock and select "Renumber Terminals", Electra will change what you typed back to it's normal format (X1-1).

3. Multitier Terminal Blocks.

Terminal blocks in Electra can now handle multi-tier terminals as shown on the left. Essentially, you still generate terminal listing by right clicking on a TerminalList symbol and selecting "Generate Listing".

After terminal listing generation, you would have to arrange your terminals, and ensure they are arranged in parallel, either vertically or horizontally for the Terminal Block symbol to be able to recognize the multitier terminals, as below:



Once you have arranged your terminal listings, drop a TerminalBlock symbol onto your drawing, and encapsulate all stacked terminal listing with a Terminal Block and Electra would be able to automatically identify stacked terminals, therefore automatically count stacked terminals as a single unit, and also renumber them accordingly as seen below:


4. Improved algorithms for even faster generation speed.

Both terminal listing and wire detection algorithms have been improved, resulting in as much as 4 times higher generation speed. We're obsessed and geeky about these things, but only in a good way, so hopefully it'll help you get the circuits done a little bit faster.

Compile Error after Windows Update on 15th August 2012 [SOLVED]

To solve the compile error: Please re-download your Release/Trial software again from our website and re-install Electra. This latest download contains recompiled codes that will remove the errors. Also make sure to backup before re-installing Electra.

If you are still having problems, after the above follow the steps listed in the following post to delete the .exd files and you will be good to go.

Compile Error after Windows Update on 11th April 2012.

We're elated to have patient customers who worked with us and gave us feedback to help remedy this issue, without which we would not be able to do this as fast as we need to. Greatest appreaciation goes to Bill Cory (USA), Paul Van Zyl (South Africa) and Dan Quinn (New Zealand). Thanks guys, makes our efforts well worth it.

On 15th August 2012, Microsoft rolled out the following updates affecting Windows XP and Visio 2003.

• KB2722913: MS12-052: Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer: August 14, 2012 : This update has been confirmed to be error free and will not cause you problems.
  
  
• KB2687323: MS12-060: Description of the security update for Office 2003 and Office 2003 Web Components: August 14, 2012 : This update will cause Electra to break and will not be able to run.
  
  Solution: Download the full release or the Trial installer again and re-install Electra and the installer will remove these errors.
  
  
• KB2687324: MS12-043: Description of the security update for XML Core Services 5.0 when it is installed together with Office 2003 Service Pack 3: August 14, 2012 : This update has been confirmed to be error free and will not cause you problems.
  
  
• KB2596615: MS12-057: Description of the security update for 2007 Office system (MSO): August 14, 2012 : This update has been confirmed to be error free and will not cause you problems.
  
  
• KB2596856: MS12-043: Description of the security update for XML Core Services 5.0 when it is installed together with Office 2007, Office Compatibility Pack, Office Word Viewer, Expression Web, or Expression Web 2: August 14, 2012 : This update has been confirmed to be error free and will not cause you problems.
  
  
• KB2687403: Description of the Outlook 2003 Junk Email Filter update: August 14, 2012 : This update has been confirmed to be error free and will not cause you problems.
  
  

At the moment, you will see a compile error when you open a new drawing or even old drawings, and we are in the midst of finding a solution. Will update as soon as possible.

How to share symbols, templates and databases.

While Electra automate your electrical CAD drawings and increase your productivity, the ability to share your work with fellow colleagues is even more powerful. For example, if a colleague has created a symbol, you can simply use it instead of recreating it again. In Visio and Electra, sharing resources with the entire team is simply super easy:

Note: It is assumed that you have installed and activated both Visio and Electra on all user computers.

Sharing Component Database

By sharing the component database, new component entries by you or any colleagues will be usable throughout the entire team. Follow the steps below to share your database:

• Browse to "C:\Program Files\Radica\Electra\" folder and copy the database file, "Electra6.mdb" to a network folder, say "Z:\Electra\".
• Start a new drawing by double clicking on "New Electra Drawing.vst".
• Click on menu Electra | Document Options | Files tab | Component Database, and click on "Browse" to set the database path to "Z:\Electra\".
• Repeat the above for ALL USER COMPUTERS.

That's it. Your database is now shared among team members.

Sharing symbols and stencils

To share symbols and create a template to automatically load all shared stencils, follow the steps below:

• Browse to "C:\Program Files\Radica\Electra\" folder and copy all stencils (.vss) with the exception of "Electra.vss", to your network folder, say "Z:\Electra\".
• Make sure Visio can find your stencils and templates:
  • For Visio 2010, click on menu File | Options | Advanced | File Locations.
  • For Visio 2003/2007, click on Tools | Options | Advanced | Files Paths.
  • Change both the stencil and template file path from "C:\Program Files\Radica\Electra\" folder to "Z:\Electra\".
• Repeat setting of "File Locations" above for ALL USER COMPUTERS.

Sharing templates

Now that you've shared the component database and stencils, it's time we tied it all up and ensure that everytime any one of your team members opens a new drawing, all stencils will be loaded properly, and everyone shares and uses the same resources:

• Open a new drawing by double clicking on "New Electra Drawing.vst".
• Right click on the stencil icons on the left of your screen and close all stencils (except Electra.vss).
  
• Click on "More Shapes" or File menu, then on "Open Stencils", and browse to open all stencils on the network location ("Z:\Electra\" folder).
• Click on File, then "Save As", and make sure the "Save As Type" is "Template".
• Save the file as a template and give it a name like "New Company Template" at the network location ("Z:\Electra\").
• Create a link on all computers with Electra to point to this new template, on the desktop.

That's it. From now on, instead of using “New Electra Drawing” to start a new drawing, your team members will click on “New Company Template” to start a new drawing, and this new template will automatically load the shared stencils on the network location (instead of local stencils). Modifications made on shared stencils will be accessible to all team members.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please leave a comment.