Comparing Versions of the Single Line Diagram

[DeanUser]

How can I retain and compare different versions of the Single Line Diagram throughout the project revision process?

[forumadmin]

If someone is interested in tracking changes between versions of the Single Line for a project, there are a couple of already-existing options.

First, each time the Single Line is run the user is asked whether they want to overwrite or retain older versions. If they retain, the existing Single Lines are left as-is on their layouts. A complete history of old Single Line Diagrams can thus be left in the project drawing.

Second, if one wants to be able to easily see the differences (however small) between two versions of the Single Line for a project, a user can send the versions of the Single Line out to their own DWG files and then use the DraftLogic Electrical ‘Compare’ function to identify/bold/cloud changes between any two versions at a time.

[DeanUser]

What do you mean by 'send the versions of the Single Line out to their own DWG files'? More detail, please!

[forumadmin]

There are a couple of easy options for sending blocks out to their own drawings.

I have always used 'WBLOCK' at the command line because, well, I have used it for over a decade and us old folks are slow to change...

The other option is to have the layout you want to spit out to a DWG as active and select the 'File > Export Layout to Model' option from your menus.

Either option will create a new DWG that includes the information from the layout. The WBLOCK command comes with extra options and you need to select the objects you want to export (in this case do a crossing of everything on the layout), so there is a bit of extra work there. WBLOCK, however, allows you to select the base point of the export to ensure a good match; for consistency I usually specify the end of the conductor line from the MDP that leads to the 'not pictured' utility transformer.

If you have used the exact same printer and paper definition for your different executions of the single line diagram and have not made changes that force a change in its shape (and thus possibly the scale since this report scales as large as it can for the paper) you will end up with a good 'Drawing Compare' result between the two exported DWG Single Line Diagrams.

Attached here as an example is what I got out of Drawing Compare after adding 10kW or so load to a couple of panels in my project. In both cases, the additional wattage was enough to trigger changes in the protection and conductors for the directly affected panels but not enough to trigger changes in the calculated protection and conductors for any parents of those panels further up the power tree. The data that is different is shown in blue by the DraftLogic Electrical Drawing Compare feature, green data is the unchanged between the two versions.

[forumadmin]

A couple final important notes!

Although your drawing may be in millimeters, inches, or another type of units, the Single Line Diagram units will depend on what you specified for your layout (i.e. printer type and paper size). Take this into account when selecting the units for the Drawing Compare operation, as incorrect units specified in the Drawing Compare dialog will leave you with unsatisfactory results--mostly funny cloud arc sizes and buffer sizes.

If you have changed enough for the scale to vary between the versions of the Single Line Diagram but enough of the schematic is the same to make running a compare still useful, you'll get a good compare by ensuring the start point and block scales in both drawings are the same. Go into each DWG and use AutoCAD Properties to check/set the scale and the MOVE command to move both start points to the same point (usually 0,0) and then run the Drawing Compare function.