To Work with Signal Arrows

Identify a wire network as a source, then insert a destination arrow on the wire network that continues. You can follow a signal from a source or destination symbol and temporarily display the signal paths on the active drawing.

Insert Source Signal Arrow

1. Click Schematic tab Insert Wires/Wire Numbers panel Signal Arrows drop-down Source Arrow. Find
2. Click the wire near the end for the source arrow.
3. If there is no free end, click OK to add a branching wire stub for the arrow.
4. Enter a unique code on the Source - Signal Code dialog box. This code is used to link the source arrow to its destination arrows.
5. Enter an optional description.
6. Click OK.
7. If the destination does not already exist, and you need to insert it on the active drawing:
   • Click OK to insert the matching destination.
   • Click the wire near the end for the destination arrow.

Insert Destination Signal Arrow

1. Click Schematic tab Insert Wires/Wire Numbers panel Signal Arrows drop-down Destination Arrow. Find
2. Click the wire near the end for the destination arrow.
3. If there is no free end, click OK to add a branching wire stub for the arrow.
4. Enter the code from the source arrow that you want to link with this destination arrow.
5. Click OK. The associated source arrow is updated if real time cross-referencing is active for the project.

Follow a Signal

1. Click Schematic tabEdit Wires/Wire Numbers panelList Signal Code. Find
2. Select the signal marker to list. All source and destination references for the signal code are listed in the three boxed groups.
3. Review the references for the signal code.
4. Click Surf to navigate to any of the references.

Show Signal Paths on Active Drawing

1. Click Schematic tabEdit Wires/Wire Numbers panel Show Signal Paths. Find
2. Redraw to erase temporary graphics.

Add Custom Signal Arrow Styles

To add custom signal arrow styles, do the following steps:

1. Modify the slide files shown in the Insert Signal utilities.

   The preview graphics displayed in the Insert Signal dialog boxes for various signal styles are AutoCAD slide files compiled into a slide library called wdsig.slb. This slide library file is saved in the C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD {version}\Acade\Support\en-US\ folder.

   To add a new style to this slide library, create an AutoCAD slide file and rebuild the slide library to include your new slide. Follow these steps to add a new style (for example, style #5) slide to the library:

   1. Find sig_slb.zip in C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD {version}\Acade\Support\en-US\ folder.
   2. Unzip sig_slb.zip into a temporary folder.

      This zip file contains the .dwg source files used to create the original wdsig.slb slide library file.

   3. Copy slidelib.exe from C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD {version}\ folder and paste it into the temporary folder.
   4. Open drawing sig_sty5.dwg in AutoCAD and modify it to create the desired image for arrow style #5.
   5. To create a slide file called sig_sty5.sld in the temporary folder, at the Command prompt, enter mslide.

      Overwrite the existing sld file.

   6. Run batch file wdsig.bat to re-create the wdsig.slb slide library file. If successful, copy the resulting file to your C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD {version}\Acade\Support\en-US\ folder, overwriting the old version.
   Note: If the resulting slide is too small or off-center, open the source drawing in AutoCAD again. Resize your AutoCAD graphics window to be more square. Center the image and use the MSLIDE command again. Recompile the slide library and check the appearance. Repeat until you are satisfied with the result.
2. Modify the bitmap files shown in project and drawing properties.

   The preview graphics displayed in Project and Drawing Properties dialog boxes for various signal styles are bitmap files saved in your C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD {version}\Acade\ folder.

   1. Create the style in AutoCAD. Use the sig_styx.dwg created in the previous step.
   2. Zoom in on the new arrow style.
   3. Save the file as a bitmap using the following name format: A_STYLExh.bmp, where "x" is the arrow style 1-9.
   Note: If the resulting bitmap is too small or off-center, open the source drawing in AutoCAD again. Resize your AutoCAD graphics window to be more square. Center the image and resave it. Repeat until you are satisfied with the result.
3. Create new source or destination wire signal arrow symbols.

   To create new source or destination wire signal arrow symbols that match the bitmap and slide files created in the previous steps, follow the instructions in the About Symbol Naming Conventions (Source/Destination Wire Signal Arrow Symbols section) in Help.

Modify Signal Arrow Prefix

When a source or destination signal arrow is inserted it is cross-referenced. The cross-reference text can carry a prefix, for example “to” on a source arrow and “from” on a destination arrow. This prefix value is defined on the signal arrow library symbol. You can change the prefix by modifying the library symbol.

1. Open the signal arrow library symbol.

   See the section about signal arrows in the help topic About Symbol Naming Conventions, to determine the name of the signal arrow you want to modify.

2. Enter DDEDIT at the command line.
3. Click the XREF attribute.
4. Edit the Prompt value.
5. Click OK.
6. Save the symbol.

Note: Purge existing drawings of this symbol before inserting this modified symbol.