About the .WDP File

A .wdp file is a text file that lists the drawing files that make up the set of interrelated drawings. Project Manager updates this file as you add drawings, remove drawings, change the drawing order, change the folder structure, update the project properties, and more.

Note: Text files such as .wdp that are created and managed by AutoCAD Electrical toolset have used the Unicode format since product version 2016. To use any of these files with version 2015 or earlier, open each file in a text editor and save it to the ANSI format.

Here is a general breakdown of the .wdp file format:

Project description	"*[n]" prefix followed by the description value (n=1 to xxx)
Project properties	"?[n]" prefix followed by a property value. Many of these values are also drawing properties carried on the WD_M block. The drawing properties can be set to match the project properties on the WD_M block alert dialog box. The WD_M block alert dialog box displays for permission to insert into a new or non-AutoCAD Electrical toolset drawing. The check box controls the drawing settings: OFF - the settings of the drawing are the defaults carried on the WD_M.dwg library symbol. ON - the settings of the drawing are set to match the "?[n]" settings listed in the .wdp file of the current project.
Default schematic library path	"+[1]" prefix followed by path or semicolon delimited paths. If multiple paths are listed, the search sequence matches the order listed here. Note: The variable, %SL_DIR%, is used to indicate the default library path used during installation or as defined in the wd.env file.
Schematic icon menu file	"+[2]" prefix followed by the icon menu file name. It can be a full path or just the icon menu file name itself (such as ACE_JIC_MENU.DAT or ACE_IEC_MENU.DAT).
Default panel library path	"+[3]" prefix followed by base panel library path or semicolon delimited base paths. If multiple paths are listed, the search sequence matches the order listed here. Note: The variable, %SL_DIR%, is used to indicate the default library path used during installation or as defined in the wd.env file.
Panel icon menu file	"+[4]" prefix followed by the icon file name. It can be a full path or just the icon menu file name itself (such as ACE_PANEL_MENU.DAT).
Cross-Reference Options	"+[5]" followed by: 1’s bit set = automatic/real-time cross-referencing mode is on 2’s bit set = peer to peer cross-referencing mode is on 4’s bit set = Suppress Installation/Location codes when match the drawing defaults mode is on 0 or entry omitted = all options are off
Use MISC_CAT table	"+[6]" followed by: 1=always use MISC_CAT for catalog lookup 2= use MISC_CAT if component-specific table not found 0 or entry omitted = use component-specific only
LINEx entries for reports	"+[9]" followed by comma-delimited list of project description line numbers that are included as a header in reports.
Combined Installation/Location/Tag	"+[10]" followed by: 0= mode is off 1= mode is on 3= mode is on and include Installation/Location as a tag prefix
DESC case mode	"+[11]" followed by: 0= allow entered DESC1-DESC3 to be upper/lower case missing or 1= force all entered DESC1-DESC3 values to uppercase
Wire network mode	"+[13]" followed by: 0 or missing= wire tagging normal mode (wires combined into one wire number assignment) 1=per wire basis mode (each connected wire gets its own wire number assignment)
IEC style Installation/Location tag	"+[14]" followed by: 0 or missing= add prefix to TAG when output to reports 1=suppress adding the prefix to TAG for reports 3=suppress Installation/Location tag prefix when match drawing-wide Installation/Location default values for reports This option is only used when +[10] above is set to 1 or 3.
Auto-fill Installation/Location	"+[15]" followed by: 1= component insert to auto-fill Installation/Location attributes with drawing defaults 0 or missing= do not auto-fill attribute values
Schematic- Panel wire format	"+[16]" for the format that is to deal with wire connection entries when there is no existing terminal pin number text on the panel wiring diagram device footprint, meaning annotation ends up formatted into an Mtext entity, and "+[17]" for format of data written onto target TERMxx/WIRENOxx attributes carried on the panel wiring diagram device footprint.
Auto-hide wire number	"+[18]" followed by: 1= auto-hide a wire number on a wire network when a wire number terminal is present on the network 0= do not hide any wire number text
Wire number offset	"+[19]" followed by: 0 or missing= centering of wire numbers on the wire segment value= offset from left or upper end of wire segment
Alternate WD.ENV	"+[20]" followed by the file name. If this alternative .env file does not exist or cannot be found, the default wd.env file is used.
Wire number by layer	"+[21]" followed by: 0= wire number by layer mode is off 1= mode is on, and "+[22]" holds the layer setup Format of layer setup is semicolon delimited in repeating groups of four elements per layer definition. <layer name>;<tag format>;<starting wire number>;<suffix list>;...
Alternate catalog lookup	"+[23]" followed by: 0= alternate catalog file not defined 1=defined and "+[24]" holds the alternate catalog lookup file name
Exclude wire number range	"+[27]" followed by the wire number ranges to exclude for sequential wire numbering. (blank or missing= no wire numbers excluded) For example, “100-199,500-699.”
Wire number terminal override	"+[29]" followed by: 0= normal wire numbering mode 1= calculate reference-based wire number based on the location not the first terminal in the wire network (or revert to normal wire numbering mode if no terminal in the network).
Calculation of the "CLEN" column	"+[30]" followed by value an amount to add to each end of a calculated wire segment to aid in the calculation of the "CLEN" column (calculated wire length) in a from/to report that is able to map schematic wire connections to panel physical layouts.
Tag/Wire number sort order	"+[31]" followed by: blank or missing= no sort order override 0-7 for the various horizontal/vertical sort orders available
Real-time error checking	"+[32]" followed by: 0= mode is off 1= mode is on
Grid column headers	"+[33]" followed by the column names used as column headers in the Wire Type commands.
Suppress dash	"+[34]" followed by: 1= suppress the dash (-) if it is the first character of a tag when the Combined installation/location component tag mode is on 0 or missing= do not suppress the dash
Panel wire annotation delimiter	"+[35]" followed by the delimiter character used to separate multiple panel wire annotation values for the same wire connection.
Item number mode	"+[36]" followed by: 1= item assignments per drawing 0 or missing= item assignments project wide
Item assignment	"+[37]" followed by: 1= allow item assignment for each part number 0 or missing= allow item assignment for component only
Electrical code standard	"+[38]" followed by the three character suffix which defines the Electrical Code Standard used by Circuit Builder when searching for a specific table in ace_electrical_standards.mdb.

Note: The following options are no longer valid since they are now drawing settings: Cross-reference fill format (+[7]), Cross-reference text between (+[8]) and Cross-reference order (+[28]). Additionally Project scratch database (+[12]) was replaced by the PDS.

All remaining entries give the folder names, drawing names, and any special assignments or descriptions, that are part of the project. The drawing name contains the path relative to the location of the WDP file of the project. The special assignments or description information precede the drawing name they are assigned to.

• = - prefix for a section assignment for a drawing.
• == - prefix for a sub-section assignment for a drawing.
• === - prefix for the optional three drawing descriptions listed in order.
• ====REF - indicates the drawing is marked "For Reference only" in the Drawing Properties.
• =====SUB= - prefix for the folder name in the project structure.

Note: AutoCAD Electrical toolset creates and manages a secondary project file, with an .aepx extension. Do not edit this file directly. If the .aepx file is deleted, it is recreated automatically.