To get the update, use the 'FireCAD Update Utility' link on the desktop, or the 'Check For Updates' command from within the program in the drop-down menu under “File” on the FireCAD Tools ribbon.
Installation Instructions:
Please download the update for the appropriately licensed version(s) of your software.
Close any running instances of AutoCAD, FireCAD, and the Cadgen Database Utility.
Run the installer and follow the prompts to install the updates.
Known Issues:
- FireCAD ribbon menu may disappear after the update.
- Solution
- Type 'MENU' at the command line
- In the dialog the opens up, select 'cgfcad21.cuix', 'cgfcad19.cuix', or cgfcad18.cuix depending on your version, and click open.
- Solution
New Features:
Some of the new features referenced in this update were introduced in the previous FireCAD® Beta Update - March 2021, click the link for documentation about line type labels, branching, and other new features.
- New Project Circuits Editor (atproject_circuits_editor) command and dialog. This new dialog replaces the need to edit project circuits by using the Project Device Editor. It adds the ability to the properties of one circuit at a time, including changing cable size. In addition to the existing properties, new settings are available like default color index, hiding, and locking circuits. The button to open the editor can be accessed from the Circuit Palette or can be used from the command line.
- New Report Exports and Design. Battery calculations and lump sum voltage drop reports can now be exported to Excel. The new commands are available on the 'Reports' ribbon panel and also can be accessed from the command line. All existing standard reports have been redesigned to include columns, totals, and formulas that have been requested by users who have offered valuable feedback over the course of the beta release. See this article (FireCAD report calculation worksheet) for details and an Excel file containing formulas and calculation steps FireCAD used to calculate voltage drop, dB loss, and example reports.
- Device Legend, Bill Of Material. Breakout of existing device quantities added.
- Device Schedule, Voltage Drop, and Speaker Schedule. New circuit settings and totals have been added to the summary header. New columns have been added with additional supporting totals that were previously not shown.
- Device Schedule. Branches are represented by adding a header indicating the branch origin device.
- Addressable NAC Point-To-Point Voltage Drop. Addressable NAC branches are represented by adding a header indicating the branch origin device. Calculations at each branch are started with the standard voltage drop calc with the starting voltage carried from the branch origin. Voltage drop calculations use alarm current only, instead of combining standby and alarm current.
- Show/Hide Branch Numbers. Device branch numbers can be turned on or off per device with the Format Device Labels command.
- Show/Hide EOL. EOL labels can be turned on or off per device with the Format Device Labels command.
- Disable Live Calculations. An option was added to temporarily pause the live EOL voltage calculations while connecting. This can help speed up connections on large projects by disabling the EOL preview in the Usage Summary. The full voltage drop calculation will still be shown in the reports when generated. Total current, watts, and circuit length will still be shown in the Usage Summary when this option is disabled.
- Custom Attribute Locations for Candela, Watt, Subscript. A custom attribute can be added to your device block definitions to populate candela, watts, and subscript in an alternate location. The attributes will be populated if these properties are set on the device. For subscript, a custom property must be set with the name 'subscript' and the value will be used to populate the attribute on the device. Use the 'Format Device Labels' command to turn off candela and watt settings in the default multiline attribute to avoid redundant attributes. These attributes can be pre-defined on custom blocks. The images below show how to add them on the fly.
Define alternate attributes on a device block with the block editor.
The tag names must match exactly.
After using 'ATTSYNC' and 'Refresh Device Labels'-
New commands names for features above:
- atproject_circuits_editor
- atexport_lump_sum_reports
- atexport_battery_calculations
Enhancements:
- Updated Usage Summary Graph and Table views. Additional detail and columns were added to both views to show start voltage, end voltage, voltage drop, and also indicate when a threshold percentage limit has been exceeded with a yellow highlight.
Fixes:
- AutoCAD 2015-2017 compatibility has been fixed. The add-in version will load into all AutoCAD products.
- The unhandled exception when clicking 'Apply' in the enhanced attribute editor has been fixed.
- Removed DYNMODE override on startup.
- Fixed duplicate/incorrect device label issue when using multiple drawing files created with the Duplicate Project Drawing command.
- The project save function was changed to minimize conflicts with OneDrive and other file syncing programs.
For support, please email support@cadgen.com