Projects Tab (Project Manager Dialog Box)

Create and manage projects and the drawings within each project.

Find

 Command entry:  AEPROJECT

Lists the drawing files associated with each open project. Add new drawings, reorder drawing files, and change project settings. Right-click the properties icon for options to move, size, close, dock, hide, or set the transparency for the Project Manager.

Note: You cannot have two projects open in the Project Manager with the same project name.

Right-click menu

Right-click in empty space in Project Manager to display the following options:

New Project	Creates a project. The new project becomes the active project.
Open Project	Activates an existing project by selecting a project .wdp file.
New Drawing	Creates a drawing file and adds it to the active project.

Project Selection menu

You can default to a predefined directory by adding an entry to your .env file. Exit AutoCAD and open the .env file with any generic text editor (such as WordPad). Add this line:

WD_PICKPRJDLG, n:/{your directory}/, AutoCAD Electrical toolset default pick proj

Recent	Activates a project from a list of recent projects or from a file selection dialog box.
New Project	Creates a project. The new project becomes the active project.
Open Project	Activates an existing project by selecting a project .wdp file.
Open Project from Vault	Browses to the vault to activate a project. You must be logged in to the vault.

Buttons

	Open Project	Activates an existing project by selecting a project .wdp file.
	New Project	Creates a project. The new project becomes the active project.
	New Drawing	Creates a drawing file and adds it to the active project.
	Refresh	Refreshes the drawing list inside of the Project Manager. For Vault: Checks for changes and updates the Vault status icons in the drawing list.
	Project Task List	Performs pending updates on drawings files in the active project that have been modified.
	Project-Wide Update/Retag	Updates the related line reference numbers, cross-reference text, device tagging, and signal reference updates on the selected drawing files inside of the active project.
	Drawing List Display Configuration	Configures the display options for the drawing list.
	Publish/Plot	Plots one or more drawings in the active project.

Projects

Displays all the open projects in a list. You can have as many projects open as you need, but only one project can be active at a time. The active project appears in bold text and is always found at the top of the list.

Right-click the project name to display the following options:
Activate	Makes an open project the active project.
Close	Closes an open project. Note: If the project is the only one in the list, you must first activate another project.
Expand All	Expands all folders within the project.
Collapse All	Collapses all folders within the project.
Add Subfolder	Adds a new folder within the project.
Flatten Structure	Moves all drawings out of folders, resulting in a flat list of drawings directly under the project name.
Descriptions	Edits the project descriptions.
Title Block Update	Automates updating title block information for the active drawing or for the entire project drawing set.
Drawing List Report	Generates a report that lists project drawing information such as drawing sheet, descriptions, section, file names, and mapped title block attribute values.
Flip DWG Names to Lower Case	Changes all drawing names in the project to lower case. Note: Not available when a folder name is selected.
Flip DWG Names to Upper Case	Changes all drawing names in the project to upper case. Note: Not available when a folder name is selected.
Sort	Sorts drawings within the project based on selected fields. If the project contains folders, sorts drawings within the folder. Note: Folders are not sorted.
New Drawing	Creates a drawing file and adds it to the active project.
Add Drawings	Adds one or more drawings to the active project.
Add Active Drawing	Adds the active drawing to the active project.
Remove Drawings	Removes one or more drawings from the current project. Note: The drawing file is not deleted, just the reference to the drawing.
Task List	Performs pending updates on drawings files in the active project that have been modified.
Publish	Provides options to plot the project, publish to the Web, publish to DWF, or create a zip file of the project.
Settings	Displays the settings for the project and information about the AutoCAD Electrical toolset environment.
Exception List	Displays a list of drawing files that have different settings from the project definition file (.wdp). Use the Settings Compare tool to display the differences and perform updates.
Properties	Controls project-wide settings including tagging, component cross-referencing options, and catalog lookup file preferences.
Vault	You must be logged in to the vault to see this menu. The status of the selected object determines which vault commands are available for selection.
	Check In All	Adds the project definition file (.wdp) along with its drawing files to the vault. You can vault just the project file using the Project Check In command. You can vault the project file along with its drawing files using the project Check In All command. Note: If files used to support the project (such as .wdl and .wdt) share the same file name as the project, they appear in the Vault Check In All dialog box.
	Check Out All	Reserves and locks the project definition file along with the associated drawing files. If the project definition file is unavailable for checkout, you can still check out the drawings available for editing.
	Check In	Adds the project definition file to the vault and creates a version of the file. Use this option if you want to check in only the project definition file and none of its drawing file dependencies; otherwise use Check In All. Note: If files used to support the project (such as .wdl and .wdt) share the same file name as the project, they appear in the Vault Check In dialog box.
	Check Out	Reserves and locks the master project definition file. Retrieves an updated copy, if necessary. Use this option if you want to check out only the project definition file and none of its drawing file dependencies; otherwise use Check Out All.
	Undo Check Out/Undo Check Out All	Removes the reservation/lock from the master project definition file. The master file is now available for others to check out. Any modifications made to the local copy are not checked back into the vault. Undo Check Out All removes the lock from all the checked out drawing files and project definition file listed in the Project Manager for the selected project.
	Refresh File/Refresh All Files	Retrieves the latest master copy from the vault and copies it into your working folder. The status indicator displaying a red background indicates older files.

Folders

Right-click the folder name to display the following options:
Expand All	Expands all folders within the selected folders.
Collapse All	Collapses all folders within the selected folders.
Add Subfolder	Adds a new folder within the selected folder.
Title Block Update	Updates the title block information. Note: Preselects the drawings within the selected folders in the Select Drawings to Process dialog box.
Drawing List Report	Generates a report that lists project drawing information such as drawing sheet, descriptions, section, file names, and mapped title block attribute values. Note: Preselects the drawings within the selected folders in the Select Drawings to Process dialog box.
Publish	Provides options to plot the project, publish to the Web, publish to DWF, or create a zip file of the project. Note: Preselects the drawings within the selected folders in the Select Drawings to Process dialog box.
Sort	Sorts drawings within the folders based on selected fields. Note: Folders are not sorted.
New Drawing	Creates a drawing file and adds it to the selected folder.
Add Drawings	Adds one or more drawings to the selected folder.
Add Active Drawing	Adds the active drawing to the selected folder.
Rename	Allows you to type in a new folder name.
Remove	Removes the selected folders and all drawings within those folders from the project. Note: The drawing files are not deleted, just the reference to the drawing.
Apply Project Defaults	Applies all project settings to all drawing files in the selected folders.
Vault	You must be logged in to the vault to see this menu.
	Refresh All Files	Retrieves the latest copies from the vault for the drawing files in the selected folders and copies them into your working folder. The status indicator displaying a red background indicates older files.
	Check In All	Adds drawing files in the selected folders to the vault.
	Check Out All	Reserves and locks the drawing files in the selected folders.
	Undo Check Out All	Removes the lock from all the checked out drawing files in the selected folders.
Note: If multiple folders are selected, some options are disabled.

Project Drawing List

Displays the drawings associated with a project. You can select multiple drawings from the project list to open, close, remove, apply project defaults, or paste properties all at once. You cannot select multiple drawings from two or more projects. The active drawing appears in bold text in the list.

	Indicates that the file is a drawing file.
	Indicates that a drawing file is a reference drawing.
Right-click the drawing name to display the following drawing editing options:
Open	Opens the selected drawing in a new window.
Close	Closes the selected drawing.
Copy To	Copies the selected drawing into the same or another open project.
Remove	Removes the selected drawing from the current project.
Replace	Replaces the selected drawing with one that you select from a file selection dialog box.
Rename	Renames the selected drawing.
Drawing Properties	Sets the values for drawing description, section, sub-section, and more. Sets the format for component tags, wire numbers, cross-references, and more.
Apply Project Defaults	Applies default project properties to drawing properties.
Copy	Copies the drawing properties from one drawing to one or more drawings. Note: Drawing-specific information (found on the Drawing Properties Drawing Settings tab) cannot be copied from one drawing to another.
Paste	Applies the copied drawing properties from one drawing to the selected drawings.
Settings Compare	Displays differences between all drawing properties and their associated defaults in the project properties.
You must be logged in to the vault to see the following options:
Refresh File	Retrieves the latest master copy from the vault and copies it into your working folder.
Check In	Adds a file to the vault and creates a version of the file. The first time a drawing file is checked in, the project definition file is checked in at the same time. The project definition file is vaulted first to establish a location in the Vault database.
Check Out	Reserves and locks the master drawing file. Retrieves an updated copy, if necessary. Checks out the drawing files when the project file is under Vault control.
Undo Check Out	Removes the reservation/lock from the master drawing file. The master file is now available for others to check out. Any modifications made to the local copy are not checked back into the vault.

Note: Two projects can reference the same drawing file. If both projects try to modify the same drawing with a project-wide tagging or cross-referencing function it can lead to conflicts.

Details

Details	Displays project, folder, and drawing detail for the selected item. Information listed includes the status, file name, file location, file size, last saved date, number of drawings in a folder, number of subfolders, and the name of the last user who modified the file.
Preview	Displays the last saved thumbnail view for the highlighted drawing in the drawing list.

Note: If multiple items are selected, this pane is blank.

Vault Status Icons

(you must be logged in to the vault) The Vault Status Icons indicate the status of your local copy of the files as compared against the master copy of those same files in the vault.

The Vault Status indicates when the local copy is in sync with the master and when it is not. The tooltips help guide you to the next logical steps - especially when the local copy is no longer in sync with the master. These icons are crucial to the overall understanding of how to work in a vaulted environment.

Icon	Meaning
	File is not in the vault.
	File is in the vault and available to be checked out. The version in your working folder is the same as in the vault. Also referred to as the Latest Version.
	File is in the vault and available to be checked out, but the local version is newer than the latest version in the vault. This status typically means that your local file was changed without checking it out. If you want to save these changes, check out the file with the Don't Get Local Copy option.
	File is in the vault and available to be checked out, but the local copy is out of date. Get the latest version from the vault.
	File is checked out to you and the local version is the same as in the vault. Also referred to as the Latest Version.
	File is checked out to you and the local copy is newer than the latest version in the vault. This status typically means that you changed the file since it was checked out but have not checked it back in.
	File is checked out to you and the local copy is older than the latest version in the vault. This status typically means that you started with a version for the vault that was older than the latest version, and then checked it out to promote it to the latest.
	File is checked out by someone else, and the local copy is the same as in the vault. Also referred to as the Latest Version. This condition typically occurs if the other person did not check changes back into the vault.
	File is checked out to someone else, but the local copy is newer than the latest version in the vault. This condition typically occurs if the other person checked changes into the vault, but kept the file checked out. Use Refresh to update to the latest available version.
	File is checked out to someone else, but the local copy is older than the latest version in the vault. Use Refresh to update to the latest available version.