Specifying ConnectCAD settings

Prior to beginning the schematic design, set up the default ConnectCAD settings. The settings apply to the current file.

Parameter	Description
Device Units
Power Units	Specify watts or kilowatts for device power requirements
Weight Units	Select the units for weight measurements (use kilograms for best results)
Circuit Labels Offsets
Circuit number offset (grid spaces)	Sets the position, in grid spaces, of the circuit number label
Connector type offset (grid spaces)	Sets the position, in grid spaces, of the connection type label

3. Click the Panel Settings tab to set up the jackfield and terminal panel parameter defaults.

Parameter	Description
Labelling	Select the option to apply the set parameters to the drawing. Enabling these settings overrides any existing custom labels.
Group ID series	Sets the sequence of the letters and numbers available from the Group list in the Term Panel Setup or Jackfield Setup dialog box
Panel ID series	Sets the sequence of letters and numbers available from the Panel list in the Term Panel Setup or Jackfield Setup dialog box. The label type determines how these are used. For example, for jackfields labeled AB, CD, EF..., each character pair is taken from this list. For an A, B, C... label style, these are taken one by one.
Jackfield label type	Select a labeling style for jackfield labels
Term panel label type	Select a labeling style for terminal panel labels
Delimiter char	Specifies the delimiter character for numeric styles
Jackfield panel sizes/ Term Panel sizes	Sets the maximum number of holes available for each panel type (video, audio, data, and optical)

4. Click the Numbering tab. Select a standard numbering system to use, or add a custom system.

Parameter	Description
Cable numbering systems	Specifies the numbering system to use for drawing circuits, when circuits are created or renumbered. Several standard systems are included by default. Click in the first column, or select a system and click Set as current, to use that numbering system (a check mark indicates the currently selected system).
Add	Opens the Edit Numbering System dialog box, to create a custom numbering system. The currently selected system displays for reference; enter a new System name and System description, and then add or edit rules to create a custom system.
Edit	Opens the Edit Numbering System dialog box, to edit the currently selected numbering system. ● Click Add to open the Edit Numbering Rule dialog box; edits made here create a new rule that is appended to the end of the rules list. ● Click Edit to open the Edit Numbering Rule dialog box, where you can change the Match rule parameters/prefix and the Number format. Use the Format tag help list for reference. ● Click Edit as text to open the Edit Numbering Rule dialog box, which displays the currently selected rule as a formula for editing directly. ● Click Remove to delete the currently selected rule. ● Click and drag in the # column to reorder the rules.
Remove	Deletes the currently selected numbering system
Set as current	Select a numbering system and click Set as current to use it as the current numbering system. A check mark indicates that it is the currently selected system.

Cable numbering rules

Every cable numbering system consists of a set of rules listed in the Edit Numbering System dialog box; when designing a numbering system, place the most specific rules first, and then the more general rules.

The cable numbering rules can seem complex at first; studying the existing rules is helpful when trying to understand how the rules are created and applied.

Each rule consists of two parts: matching criteria plus a cable number format that is applied when the criteria match. The rules are applied, in order, until one that meets the criteria is found; then, the number format from that rule is applied to the circuits.

Matching criteria

The matching criteria in each rule consist of two parts. Both must be met for the rule to be considered a match, and for the numbering format to be applied to the circuits.

Each part allows the selection of a parameter (including combinations of source, destination, socket, device, name, and more options selected from the list) and a prefix value or text that you enter. The ? is a wildcard character for the prefix. For example, a Parameter of Src_Dev_Name and Prefix of ?DA searches for source device names that begin with any character plus DA, so the search will find source devices labeled ADA and VDA.

Numbering format

Once both conditions of the matching criteria have been met, the numbering format is applied to the circuits. The numbering format consists of letters and numbers plus tags that extract data from the matching criteria, either Match rule 1 or 2. Any text that is not part of a tag is inserted into the cable number as is.

For example, for a matching rule 1 (Src_Dev_Name of ?JF_) that results in VJF_A and a matching rule 2 (Src_Skt_Name of PORT) that results in PORT02, a rule of %s#1#2 results in a cable number of V0102.

The tag help list shows which characters to use to extract the data and convert it to text or a number.

● % inserts the suffix as text (the suffix from either the first or second Match rule)

● # inserts the suffix as a number (the suffix from either the first or second Match rule)

Editing as text

The Edit as text option displays the entire currently selected numbering rule as a formula that contains both the matching criteria and the numbering format. The editor allows you to create “normal” rules like the ones created by the Edit Numbering Rule dialog box, or custom rules using any circuit parameters and more than two match conditions.

● = means IF matches succeed, THEN generate the circuit numbering using this format

For the example above, the text version of the formula is this: Src_Dev_Name^?JF_&Src_Skt_Name^PORT=%s#1#2

● each match rule is defined as a parameter value that begins with (^) a matched string (either ?JF or PORT).

● the & indicates that both match rules must match for the criteria to be met.

● the = means that if the matches succeed, generate the circuit numbering using the %s#1#2 rule, creating a V0102 number.

Command	Path
ConnectCAD Settings	ConnectCAD