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SEE Electrical V8R Basic Symbol Creation

Contents
Creating a New Symbol Catalogue .......................................................................................................... 2
Step 1 - Create the Symbol Database .................................................................................................. 2
Step 2 – Add a folder to the new Database ......................................................................................... 2
Creating Basic Symbols ............................................................................................................................ 3
Step 1 – Draw the Graphics ................................................................................................................. 3
Step 2 – Block the Graphics ................................................................................................................. 3
Step 3 – Saving the Symbol ................................................................................................................. 4
Modifying Symbols .................................................................................................................................. 4
Method 1 – Exploding the Symbol ...................................................................................................... 4
Method 2 – Add to Block ..................................................................................................................... 5
Notes on Symbol Creation ....................................................................................................................... 5
Additional Symbols to Create .................................................................................................................. 6
Useful Tools ......................................................................................................................................... 6

1
Creating a New Symbol Catalogue
Symbol databases/catalogues are installed by default into the folder:
‘C:\Users\Public\Documents\IGE+XAO\SEE Electrical\V8R2\Symbols’.

Each catalogue is a separate .SES file (actually an Access database).

The location of the symbols can be changed using the ‘File > System
Settings’

To add a new symbol database where your custom symbols and circuit
macros can be stored follow these steps.

Step 1 - Create the Symbol Database

Right-click in the Symbols dialogue in a space to the right and select ‘New Symbol Database..’.

Enter a suitable name such as ‘Custom’ or your

company name. To keep it near the top you could
prefix it with ‘a_’ since the databases are listed
alphabetically.

Step 2 – Add a folder to the new Database

You cannot add symbols to the new symbol database until
there is at least 1 sub folder. To create a folder right-click
over the new folder and select ‘New Folder’. Enter the
name ‘Standard Components’ as the sub folder name.

The symbol database is now ready to be used.

2
Creating Basic Symbols
To create a new symbol from scratch follow these steps:

Step 1 – Draw the Graphics

Using the ‘Draw’ ribbon menu use the rectangle and line commands to draw the following on a 5mm
(standard) grid.

When creating symbols for quick and easy use in SEE Electrical it is important that the connection
points are positioned on a simple 5mm grid for easy use.
Step 2 – Block the Graphics
Window around the graphics by dragging a selection box either from left-to-right or right-to-left so
that all the graphics are highlighted in red.

Then right-click over the selected items and select ‘Block’ then choose ‘Component’ from the list of
symbol and template types.

Before completing this step a component name prefix is required. Enter ‘D’ and click ‘OK’.

3
Step 3 – Saving the Symbol
Once the symbol has been grouped as a ‘Block > Component’ the device Prefix has been added
together with automatically identified connection points.

Always drag-and-drop from the top-left

connection point as this will become the
insertion point when the symbol is selected for
insertion in the future.

To save this in the new symbol database drag-and-drop into the new symbol folder ‘Custom >
Standard Components’ and type the name ‘Symbol1’ when prompted together with a description
‘Example first symbol created’.

Modifying Symbols
There are 2 main methods of changing an existing symbol, adding items to the block on a page, and
exploding the symbol to make changes before repeating the above steps.

Method 1 – Exploding the Symbol

After the placing the symbol onto the page to test it, right-click and select ‘Explode’ from the pop-up
menu.

After exploding the symbol you will now see the connection points represented as nodes with
attached text. These are sub blocks which should not be exploded further. They can however be copied
or deleted before re-blocking and saving the symbol again.

Move the top connection and leg across by

5mm and then copy it to the right (drag
whilst holding Ctrl). Then change the new
connection point text to ‘3’ and change the
bottom-right text to ‘4’.

Now window around the symbol again to select all elements and right-click to select ‘Block’ followed
by ‘Component’ as before.

Drag-and-drop the symbol from the top-left connection point again over the top of the original symbol
in the symbol database tree and select ‘Yes’ to overwrite the original symbol with this modified one.

4
Method 2 – Add to Block
The second method of modifying the symbol simply adds text or graphics to a symbol without
exploding it first. This modified symbol can then be re-saved.

From the Draw ribbon select the fill option and change this to ‘Solid’ then use the Polygon Area
command to draw the following triangle over the symbol (without first exploding).

Now click on the new triangle to highlight it, right-click and select ‘Add to Block’.

After selecting ‘Add to Block’ click on the main symbol and the graphics will become part of the
existing symbol on the page. At this point the symbol in the database has not been affected.

To update the symbol in the database drag-and-drop the new symbol from the page over the existing
symbol name in the custom folder and select ‘Yes’ to overwrite with the new additional element.

Notes on Symbol Creation

When a symbol is created from scratch the user is prompted for the component prefix but there are
also additional text attributes added to the symbol when it is first blocked. As a default, there is a text
attribute for the Description and Type, both of which
can be filled in and set to display. There are also many
other text attributes that can be inserted to display
useful information such as current ratings or page
references.

5
Additional Symbols to Create
Now try and create the following ‘Component’ symbols:

Useful Tools
SEE Electrical provides a full set of drawing and editing tools to allow accurate and detailed graphics
to be created. Source graphics can also come from .DWG, .DXF, and raster graphics such as .PNG,
.BMP, and .GIF.

From the ‘Edit’ ribbon selecting ‘Trim’ allows an object to be selected first, then
anything that needs removing, which is dissected by the first object, is trimmed
off.

Selecting the ‘Trackers’ button on the quick access toolbar

switches on resizing handles around a selected object.

The grid icon allows for toggling the display of the

grid and finer control of the graphics and text
when reducing the spacing. Make sure the final
symbol falls neatly on a simple 5mm grid.

The snap on/off icon allows for

specific points on an object such as
the end, middle or centre to be
snapped to. This can be useful if a
symbol is off the standard grid and
needs moving back.