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Connection nodes are the dots that appear where two or more wire segments are connected on a schematic when diagonal wire connections are not used. The ability to control the appearance of these nodes with the user interface is not possible at this time. Until this request is implemented, appearance of the connection nodes, such as their size and color, can be affected by modifying the design file containing the graphics that are inserted when a connection is made. This document describes that technique.
The connection node design file is stored locally on each workstation even in network configurations, so if it is modified it would need to be replaced on each workstation that is to use the new definition.
It is possible to keep multiple versions of the connection node design file and swap them in and out of the RequiredSymbols folder to achieve the connection node appearance needed for the current design situation.
If the desired connection node appearance is simply a different color, and the same color should apply to all nodes on a page, the color of the "Default" level could be changed to the desired node color using Level Manager.
If multiple node colors are required on a single page, or other changes such as size are required, or changing the color of the Default level adversely affects other elements, follow the procedure below.
Make a backup copy of SOLIDNODE.dgn. This file can be found in the "\RequiredSymbols\ANSI-IEEE" and "\RequiredSymbols\IEC" subfolders of the Program folder for promis.e or the Program folder for Substation as the case may be.Backup the file found in the folder corresponding to the drawing standard being used.
Open or create a schematic page.
Draw two wires that connect so a node appears.
From the pull down menus along the top of the application, select Element > Cells.
On the resulting Cell Library dialog, right-click the SOLIDNODE name and select "Open for Editing". If SOLIDNODE is not listed, perform step 3. If prompted to open the file as Read-Only because "The file is write-protected", as will be the case with Windows 7, choose "Yes". The SOLIDNODE.dgn file will open.
If the file opened as Read-Only, select File > Save As and save the SOLIDNODE.dgn file to a temporary, writeable location that such as the Desktop. Do this before attempting to modify the appearance of the connection node.
Modify the properties of the circle using Element > Information or other tools.
Note: While modifying SOLIDNODE.dgn, the fill will not be shown in the default "Wireframe" display style; select another display style such as Filled Hidden Line to view the fill.
Select File > Save to save the SOLIDNODE.dgn file.
Open a page using Project Manager to close the SOLIDNODE.dgn file, or close the software.
If working on SOLIDNODE.dgn in a temporary location due to step 6, use Windows Explorer to move or copy the SOLIDNODE.dgn file from the temporary location to the location noted in step 1, electing to overwrite the original.
The changes made to SOLIDNODE.dgn will appear for nodes created by subsequent wire connections.
A single connection node can be updated by deleting enough wire segments so that the node disappears and then redrawing the deleted wire segments.
To update the appearance of all connection nodes on a page:
Backup the project first. If the process is not done correctly, symbols can be replaced by connection nodes.
Select Utilities > Key-in from the main pull-down menus.
Key in MDL LOAD REPCELL A tool box with a Replace Cells button should appear.
Open the project page.
Draw two temporary wires that connect so a node appears. The node should have the new desired appearance.
"Show Extended Settings" on the Element Selection tool by clicking the down arrow icon on it.
Select the Element Type tab.
Select "Cell". All the cells, including the connection nodes should appear selected on the page.
"Cell", along with other element types should now appear at the top of the list, highlighted. Important: Deselect "Text" to deselect the schematic symbols. If any other symbols besides connection nodes remain selected on the page, use the Subtract function on Element selection to deselect them so they do not get replaced with connection nodes.
Select the Replace Cells tool from the tool box that appeared in step 2.
On the resulting Replace Cells box, set Method to "Replace", Mode to "Global", and set the Use Active Cell check box. The field next to Use Active Cell should read SOLIDNODE. If not, click the magnifying glass icon and double-click SOLIDNODE, right-click to cancel placement of the cell, and go back to step 8.
The status bar at the bottom of the application window should read "Replace Cells > Accept/Reject Selection Set". Left-click to Accept and replace the cells.
An alert should appear indicating the number of cells that will be replaced and prompting "Are you sure?" Select Yes.
Make a backup copy of SOLIDNODE.dwg. This file can be found in the "\RequiredSymbols\ANSI-IEEE" and "\RequiredSymbols\IEC" subfolders of the Program folder.
Open the SOLIDNODE.dwg in the appropriate path listed in step 1 using File > Open. If prompted to open the file as Read-Only, as will be the case with Windows 7, choose "Yes".
Make the desired changes.
Save and close SOLIDNODE.dwg.
Subsequently created pages will use the new node definition.
Type INSERT at the command line to insert a block
Insert the modified SOLIDNODE.dwg somewhere on the page.
Elect to redefine the block definition when prompted.
Keywords: S-21040, TFS 6693, junction