Generating Reports in FireCAD

Overview

This guide covers generating FireCAD reports, from selecting circuits to placing report tables in your drawing. It also explains how report validation works and how to keep reports up-to-date.

Prerequisites

• A FireCAD project must be open
• Devices must be connected to circuits
• Run ATVALIDATE to ensure the database reflects the current drawing state

Step 1: Choose a Report Type

FireCAD provides several report types, each with its own command:

Step 2: Select Output File

When you run a report command, a Save File dialog appears. Choose where to save the Excel file.

Step 3: Select Circuits/Panels

The Select Circuits Dialog opens for circuit-based reports:

1. Left pane — Check the panels and circuits to include
2. Right pane — Configure report settings:
   • Column selection and ordering
   • Assembly component display options
   • Text formatting (uppercase, decimal precision)
   • Scale and text height
3. Click Accept to generate

For BOM and Legend reports, the circuit selection pane is hidden since all devices are included.

Step 4: Review the Report

After generation:

• Report tables are placed in the AutoCAD drawing
• The Excel file opens automatically
• A fingerprint is embedded in the report's XData for future validation

Keeping Reports Up-to-Date

How Fingerprinting Works

When a report is generated, FireCAD calculates a hash (fingerprint) of the data and embeds it in the report table. Later, the Design Assistant can recalculate the fingerprint from current database values and compare — if they differ, the report is flagged as out-of-date.

Detecting Out-of-Date Reports

1. Type ATDESIGN_ASSISTANT to open the Design Assistant
2. Validation automatically checks all placed reports
3. Out-of-date reports show as yellow or red warnings

Refreshing a Report

When the Design Assistant flags a report as out-of-date:

1. Click the Refresh button on the validation result card
2. The old report table is deleted from the drawing
3. A new report is generated with the same selections and settings
4. The new report is placed at the same location as the original

You can also manually refresh any report by running ATREFRESH_REPORT.

Report-Specific Notes

Battery Calculations

• Requires panel devices with AssemblyBatterySizeList configured in the database
• Calculates: (Standby Current x 24hr + Alarm Current x 5min) x 1.2 derating factor
• Validates against NFPA 72 Section 10.6.7.2

Point-to-Point / Voltage Drop

• Requires cables assigned to circuits (set in Project Circuits Editor)
• Uses Starting Calculation Voltage and Min Voltage from circuit settings
• Device order matters — hierarchical order is preserved (not sorted)

Bill of Materials / Device Legend

• Includes all devices in the project, not filtered by circuit
• No circuit selection needed

Tips

• Always run ATVALIDATE before generating reports to ensure data is current
• Use the Design Assistant's auto-refresh feature to catch out-of-date reports immediately after saving
• Column selections and report settings are remembered between sessions
• Use the Previous Version Report Style checkbox for legacy report formatting without column customization

Quick Reference

What's Next

• Validating Your Design — Full design validation workflow
• Data Maintenance — Clean up and maintain data integrity

FireCAD is the industry-leading AutoCAD add-in for fire alarm system design — from circuit layout to wire routing to code-compliant reports.
Learn more and get started at getfirecad.com →

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