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Overview of symbol naming conventions

AutoCAD Electrical depends on a specific naming convention to enable some of its automation
features to work. Though not mandatory, follow the naming convention outlined in the following
section if you create new AutoCAD Electrical-smart symbols for use with AutoCAD Electrical. Custom
symbols can take full advantage of the AutoCAD Electrical features.

Cable Marker Symbols

AutoCAD Electrical cable conductor marker symbols follow this convention:

• The first character is "H" or "V" for horizontal wire or vertical wire insertion.
• The next two characters are "W0." A zero (0) means that the symbol does not trigger a wire number
change through it.
• The fourth character is either 1 or 2: "1" for parent marker or "2" for child marker.
• The remaining characters are not specified.
Examples:

HW01.dwg Parent cable conductor marker, horizontal wire insertion

HW02.dwg Child cable marker, horizontal wire insertion

VW01.dwg Parent cable conductor marker, vertical wire insertion

VW02.dwg Child cable marker, vertical wire insertion

Components - General

Schematic components such as relays, switches, pilot lights, and discrete motor control devices (but
not PLC I/O symbols) follow this naming convention:

• 32-character block name maximum, first character is either "H" or "V" for horizontal or vertical wire
insertion.

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• The next two characters are reserved for family type (for example, PB for push buttons, CR for control
relays, LS for limit switches). A zero (0) as the second character of the family type (for example, a 0 in
the overall symbol name) means that the symbol does not trigger a wire number change through it.
(For example, T0 for terminals, W0 for cable markers, C0 for connectors.)
• The fourth character is generally a 1 or a 2: 2 for child contacts and 1 for everything else (parent or
standalone component).
• If the symbol is a contact, then the fifth character is a 1 for normally open, 2 for normally closed.
• The remaining characters are not specified. They are used to keep names unique.

Examples:

HCR1.dwg Control relay coil, horizontal rung insertion

VCR1.dwg Control relay coil, vertical rung insertion

HCR21.dwg Horizontal relay contact, N.O.

HCR22.dwg Horizontal relay contact, N.C.

HCR22T.dwg Horizontal relay contact, N.C., with in-line terminal numbers

VPB11.dwg Vertical push button, parent contact, N.O.

VPB21.dwg Vertical push button, child contact, N.O.

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HLS11.dwg Horizontal limit switch, parent, N.O.

HLS11H.dwg Horizontal limit switch, parent, N.O. Held closed

VLT1RP.dwg Vertical pilot light, red, press-to-test

HW01.dwg Horizontal cable marker, no wire number change through it

Component Location Mark Symbols

AutoCAD Electrical expects the location symbol names to begin with the characters "WDXX."

Configuration and Ladder Master Line Reference Symbols

AutoCAD Electrical expects to find these block inserts:

WD_M.dwg Block insert consisting of about 50 invisible attributes. They carry the settings
of the drawing.

WD_PNLM.dwg Optional block insert consisting of several invisible attributes. They carry the
settings of the drawing for panel layout functions.

WD_MLRH.dwg Block insert that carries the first line reference number of a ladder and
additional information such as rung spacing and ladder length.

WD_MLRV.dwg Same as previous symbol, but for a ladder that lies on its side.

WD_MLRHX.dwg Optional, user-defined alternative to WD_MLRH.dwg. AutoCAD Electrical uses

this symbol name when you select 'User Block' from the Line Reference
Numbers subdialog box of the Drawing Properties Drawing Format dialog
box (on the Drawing Properties Drawing Format dialog box, Format
Referencing section, select Reference Numbers and click Setup).

WD_MLRVX.dwg Same as previous symbol, but for a ladder that lies on its side.

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Note: The ladder line reference block used by AutoCAD Electrical is determined by the ladder
reference configuration selected in the Format Referencing section of the Drawing Properties
Drawing Format dialog box.

Connector Symbols

• The first character is "H" or "V" for horizontal or vertical orientation.

• The next two characters are "CN" for connector.
• The fourth character is either 1 or 2: 1 for parent or 2 for child.
• The fifth character is "_"
• The sixth character is 1-9 for the style number.
• The seventh character:
(Combo) specifies the plug or jack ID: P = Plug, J = Jack (Receptacle)

(Only) specifies the wire direction: 1 = right, 2 = top, 4 = left; and 8 = bottom.

• The eighth character is either "P" or "J": P = Plug, J = Jack (Receptacle)

Examples:

HCN1_14P.dwg Horizontal parent - single (plug) wiring connects from left or bottom

VCN2_18P.dwg Vertical child - single (plug) wiring connects from left or bottom

HCN1_11J.dwg Horizontal parent - single (receptacle) wiring connects from right or top

VCN2_12P.dwg Vertical child - single (plug) wiring connects from right or top

Upon completion of the parametric build connector, a unique new block definition is created. Each
connector is labeled with a unique naming convention within the same project.

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HCN1_14P_nnn Horizontal connector; where "nnn" is a random number for uniqueness

VCN1_18P_nnn Vertical connector; where "nnn" is a random number for uniqueness

Hydraulic Symbols

The maximum number of characters for the block name is 32.

• The first character is "H" or "V" for horizontal wire or vertical.

• The next two characters are the first two letters of the family name (for example, FI for filters, CY for
cylinders, PM for pumps). See Overview of Hydraulic and P&ID symbols for a list of symbol family
names.
• The fourth character is "1" for hydraulic symbols - stand-alone component.
• Use "_" and enter a meaningful name corresponding to the symbol.

Example:

HCYL1_plunger_cyl.dwg Horizontal standalone cylinder; plunger_cyl is the meaningful name

for the symbol

Inline Wire Marker Symbols

Construct dumb inline wire marker symbols with a tiny piece of "pigtail" line entity at each connection
point. It can be small, but it must be present for AutoCAD Electrical to correctly "see" the in-line
inserted block as it traces the wire network. Inline wire marker symbols follow this naming convention:

• The first character is "H" or "V" for horizontal wire or vertical wire insertion.

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• The next three characters are "T0_"
• The remaining characters are undefined.

Example:

HT0_RED.dwg "RED" inline marker, horizontal wire insert

One-line Symbols

One-line symbols follow the same naming convention as schematic parent and child symbols. To
make the symbol names unique, the one-line symbol block names have a "1-" suffix. However, the
symbol name does not define the symbol as a one-line symbol. A one-line symbol is defined by the
existence of a WDTYPE attribute with a value of "1-" on the symbol, or a value of "1-1" for a one-line
bus-tap symbol.

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The bus-tap symbol can have two functions:

• Provide an anchor point for the one-line circuit representation that begins at this location.
• Break into the one-line bus where the circuit connects.
On a dual circuit one-line template, there are three bus-tap symbols. One at the normal point where
the circuit ties into the bus. There is another version of the symbol on each of the two circuit "legs",
each marking the point where that part of the dual circuit starts. These bus-tap symbols allow various
reports to report accurately on a one-line circuit, whether a single circuit or a dual circuit
representation.

The following bus-tap symbols are supplied:

• HDV1_BT_1-.dwg - with "dot" for horizontal one-line circuit

• VDV1_BT_1-.dwg - with "dot" for vertical one-line circuit
• HDV1_BTT_1-.dwg - "tee" connection for dual horizontal circuit
• VDV1_BTT_1-.dwg - "tee" connection for dual vertical circuit
• HDV1_BTL_1-.dwg - "corner" connection for dual horizontal circuit
• VDV1_BTL_1-.dwg - "corner" connection for dual vertical circuit
Note: A WDTYPE attribute with a "1-1" value, identifies a bus-tap symbol.

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P&ID Symbols

The maximum number of characters for the block name is 32.

• The first character is "H" or "V" for horizontal wire or vertical.

• The next two characters are the first two letters of the family name (for example, GV for diaphragm
valves, IN for instruments, N for nozzles). See Overview of Hydraulic and P&ID symbols for a list of
symbol family names.
• The fourth character is "1" for P&ID symbols - stand-alone component.
• Use "_" and enter a meaningful name corresponding to the symbol.

Example:

VTK1_ver_tank.dwg Vertical standalone cyclone; ver_tank is the meaningful name for the
symbol

Panel Layout Footprint Symbols

There is not a required naming convention to follow, but the name must adhere to the AutoCAD
32-character block name limit.

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Parametric Twisted Pair Symbols

A parametrically generated twisted pair representation consists to two instances of the same symbol
(there are no parent/child versions). This symbol must carry attribute ACE_FLAG with a value of "3."
Parametric twisted pair symbols follow this naming convention:

• The first four characters are "HT0_" or "VT0_" for horizontal or vertical parametric symbols.
• The remaining characters can be anything (default is set to "TW")

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Examples:

HT0_TW.dwg Horizontal parametric connector symbol

VT0_TW.dwg Vertical parametric connector symbol

PLC I/O Parametric Build Symbols

These symbols begin with "HP" or "VP" (horizontal rung versus vertical) followed by a digit 1 through
9. The digit corresponds to the selected PLC module style or look. (1 through 5 are provided in the
AutoCAD Electrical library, 6 through 9 can be user-defined).

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Plug/Jack Connector Pin Symbols

AutoCAD Electrical connector symbols follow this convention:

• The first character is "H" or "V" for horizontal wire or vertical wire insertion.
• The next two characters are "C0" if the connector does not trigger a wire number change through it.
(The "0" means that the wire number does not change, or "CN" if the connector DOES trigger a wire
number change.)
• The fourth character is either 1 or 2: 1 for parent marker or a 2 for child marker.
• The remaining characters are not specified.

Splice Symbols

Splices follow this naming convention:

• The first four characters are "HSP1" or "VSP1" for horizontal or vertical splices.
• The fifth through seventh characters are "001", "002", "003," and so on.

Examples:

HSP1001.dwg Horizontal splice #1

VSP1001.dwg Vertical splice #1

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HSP1003.dwg Horizontal splice #3

Source/Destination Wire Signal Arrow Symbols

AutoCAD Electrical wire signal arrow symbols follow this convention:

• The first four characters of these symbol names are either "HA?S" for source signal arrows or "HA?D"
for destination symbol arrows. The "?" character is the arrow style digit (1 through 4 are provided in
the AutoCAD Electrical library and 5 through 9 can be user-defined).
• Characters 5 through 11 can be user-defined.

You can create your own arrow styles using these unused digits (for example, HA5S... and HA5D...).
For example, copy Autodesk\Acade {version}\Libs\jic1\ha1s*.dwg to ha5s*.dwg and Autodesk\Acade
{version}\Libs\jic1\ha1d*.dwg to ha5d*.dwg. Access each copied arrow symbols in AutoCAD and edit
to suit. Then, to access your new arrow style, set the default arrow style to "5" in the Drawing
Properties Styles dialog box.

Standalone Cross-reference Symbols:

Same naming convention as the Source/Destination Signal symbols (that is, HA?S* and HA?D*) but
without a WIRENO attribute present on the symbol.

Stand-alone PLC I/O Point Symbols

These symbols begin with "PLCIO" and can be up to 32 characters long. There is no naming
convention referenced by AutoCAD Electrical other than the "PLCIO" prefix.

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Examples:

PLCIO50E1761-L16AWA.dwg AB 1761 model L16-AWA with 0.5 unit rung spacing

PLCIOI1T.dwg Standalone input point, single wire connection

Standalone Terminal Symbols

Stand-alone terminals follow this naming convention:

• The first two characters are "HT."

• The third character is "0" if the wire number does not change through the terminal, "1" if the terminal
symbol should trigger a wire number change.
• The fourth character is an underscore (_) if the terminal carries no attributes for AutoCAD Electrical to
process (such as a dumb, unannotated terminal symbol). Otherwise, the fourth through eighth
character positions of the symbol file name are user-defined.
Examples:

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HT0001.dwg Square terminal with annotation, wire number does not change

HT1001.dwg Same as previous symbol, but wire number changes through the terminal

HT0_01.dwg Dumb, square terminal with no annotation, no wire number change

User-defined Symbols

AutoCAD Electrical user-defined symbols follow this convention:

• The first character is "H" or "V" for horizontal wire or vertical wire insertion.
• The next two characters are "ZA" through "ZZ."
• The remaining characters can be user-defined.
Wire Dot Symbols

AutoCAD Electrical expects this symbol name to be "WDDOT.dwg."

Wire Number Symbols

An AutoCAD Electrical wire number is a block insert consisting of a single wire number attribute. The
origin of the block insert lies on its wire with the wire number attribute floating above, below, or off to
the side of the insertion point of the block.

Examples:

WD_WNH.dwg Wire number for horizontal wire insertion

WD_WNV.dwg Wire number for vertical wire insertion

WD_WCH.dwg Extra wire number copy for horizontal wire

WD_WCV.dwg Extra wire number copy for vertical wire

AutoCAD Electrical also supports inline wire numbers that follow the value of the main wire number.
An inline wire marker has a block name that follows that of a terminal symbol that does not trigger a
wire number change.

Examples:

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HT0_W1.dwg Inline wire number marker, horizontal wire insertion, short wire number

HT0_W3.dwg Inline wire number marker, horizontal wire insertion, longer wire number

VT0_W1.dwg Inline wire number marker, vertical wire insertion, short wire number

VT0_W2.dwg Inline wire number, vertical wire insertion, medium wire width, vertical wire
insertion

Family type

The second and third characters of the symbol name are reserved for family type (for example, PB for
push buttons, CR for control relays, LS for limit switches). The family type can be used to determine
the catalog lookup table name and the tag name for a component. The library symbols supplied with
AutoCAD Electrical use the following family types.

Family Type Description

AM Ammeters

AN Buzzers, horns, bells

BA Batteries

BV Ball Valves

C0, CN Connectors/pins

CA Capacitors

CB Circuit breakers

CR Control relays

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DB Distribution blocks

DI Diodes

DN Device networks

DR Drives

DS Disconnect switches

DV Device boxes

EN Enclosures/hardware

FL Level switches

FM Frequency meters

FS Flow sensors

FT Foot switches

FU Fuses

GV Gate valves

LR Latching relays

LS Limit switches

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LT Lights, pilot lights

LV Globe valves

MO Motors

MS Motor starters/contactors

OL Overloads

PB Push buttons

PC Pull cord switches

PE Photo switches

PG A-plug switches

PM Power meters

PS Pressure switches

PW Power supplies

PX Proximity switches

RE Resistors

SP Splices

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SS Selector switches

SU Surge suppressors

SV Solenoids

SW, TG Toggle switches

T0, T1 Terminals

TC Thermocouples

TD Timer relays

TS Temperature switches

VM Volt meters

VR Variable resistors

WO Cables, multi-conductor cables

XF Transformers

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