Tip: Changing the default component tagging in AutoCAD Electrical

Posted on June 12, 2017 by Synergis Application Consultant, Todd Schmoock
In AutoCAD Electrical the project and drawing properties use parameters to identify how updates will be applied to the smart objects.  For example, the NFPA project installed with AutoCAD Electrical has the components tag format set to %F%N.  %F equals family code, and %N equals ladder rung reference so if you look at one of the drawings you may see CR406.  The CR is the family code for relay coils, and the 406 is the rung number of the ladder.  Here is the defined property value:

In this example the CR comes from the TAG1 attribute default value which is set to CR.  So what if your company standard needs to be K for relay coils?  One option would be to modify all of the relay coil symbols and change the default TAG1 attribute value to K.  You could do this for all of the symbols that ship with AutoCAD Electrical that need to change to your company standard.
Another option would be to use the wd_fam.dat file to change these values.  When this file is included with the project AutoCAD Electrical reads the file during component updates, and applies the values defined in the file.
Here are the steps to create the wd_fam.dat file:

1. Open a blank file using a text editor such as Notepad.
2. Enter the family codes you want to map to different values using the format: {old value},{new value}. One line for each mapping value. For example:

LT,LITE

CR,K

CB,QA

3. Save the file as wd_fam.dat. Select a path based on whether it is for a specific project or to be used for all projects. The following search order is used:
   1. User subdirectory: C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Roaming\Autodesk\AutoCAD Electrical {version}\{release}\{country code}\Support\User\
   2. Active project’s .wdp file subdirectory
   3. All paths defined under AutoCAD Options Files  Support Files Search Path