Announcement
July 18, 2017

Posted on July 18, 2017 by Synergis Application Consultant, Todd Schmoock
When working with AutoCAD Electrical the symbols are smart.  A big part of what makes them smart are the attributes in the blocks that make up the symbols.  Some attributes have their visibility on, and some have them off.  For example, manufacturing and catalog attribute data is off by default, and the description attributes are on by default.  Sometimes you want attributes that are off by default on, and attributes on by default off.
 
One way to accomplish this is right clicking on a symbol and selecting the List/Edit option from the attribute flyout option:

This option list all of the attributes found in the symbol in a dialog box.  You can toggle the visibility on and off.  The attributes that are visible have an ‘*’ to the left of the name.  Here is an example:
The problem with this workflow is how you have to right-click on each symbol to control the attribute visibility.  There are two tools that can make this job easier by allowing you to select more than one symbol at a time to toggle attribute visibility on and off.  These tools are located on the schematic ribbon under the Edit Components section.  They are called “Hide Attribute (Window/Multiple)” and “Unhide Attribute (Window/Multiple)”, and are under the Move/Show Attribute flyout.
AutoCAD Electrical uses a naming convention and unique attributes to make the symbols in a schematic smart.  Most of the time you can use the symbols as designed without modifying the visibility of the attributes, but there are times when attribute visibility has to be turned on or off.  Knowing the tools to accomplish this can save time and frustration.