Using Trace Elec Pro is very comfortable, the product has a multiple document interface, the context menus make designing very easy, user actions return instant results and a browser allows to quickly access any of the projects components.

The user management tool can allow or prevent users to use certain commands according to the user profile.

A Trace Elec Pro file is a collection of AutoCAD drawings, database tables and documents in a tree structure that represents the project.
All elements that manage the project are stored in a database and every level of the tree structure has specific attributes that can be used in the project's drawing title blocks.

Revision management : The projects are provided with 2 revision indexes (minor and major) and indexes on "Drawing office" and "Client" level.
The revision can be configured according to the different methods of use.

Sheet management by the server: Access to the drawings is managed by a server application. When a user tries to open a drawing that is already open elsewhere, the server application will prevent it from being opened again and shows the name of the person currently using the file.
If a function requires updating multiple drawing throughout the entire project, the server will automatically perform this update in the background.
Open drawings will also be update in real-time, even when they are opened by another user.

Drawing handling : The drawings can be re-arranged with a simple mouse click.
A part of a drawing or an entire drawing can be inserted into another drawing, launching an automatic recalculation of IDs, locations, terminal strips and functions.

Printing a project : The Trace Elec Pro printing tool presents the project's tree structure to easily select the sheets to be printed.
The Trace Elec Pro server application creates a queue and manages the open files.

Archiving : A complete file can be archived into a ZIP-file which includes all drawing files as well as the complete intelligence (symbols, templates, databases, …).
This allows to easily file a project or share it with third parties.

Locations and functions : Every sheet is assigned a default location and function but can contain elements from different locations and/or functions.
This can be done by drawing location boundaries or by directly assigning a symbol to any other location and/or function.

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Instead of letting the user look after the electric coherence of the schematics, all objects in Trace Elec Pro have the necessary intelligence to be managed as electrical components. Drawing lines are therefore considered as electrical connections and the user can configure as many as needed according to their function (power, command, 24V, …). Editing these connections automatically modify their properties, assuring thus the electrical coherence of the circuits.

Each connection can be given specific properties (graphical (colour, line type) and electrical (number of wires, voltage, …)) as well as specific behaviour such as wire numbering.
This way, Trace Elec Pro commands "know" which connections to treat, symbols adapt to the connection and inconsistencies and/or errors are reported to the user.

When a symbol is inserted, its orientation and scale will automatically be set to those of the connection and it will automatically inherit the electrical properties of that connection.

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Trace Elec Pro comes with an extensive library of standard symbols according to the major international standards.

Other symbols can be added to the library very easily using a wizard that allows managing the connection points, attributes, text styles, …

Black box : Complex components can be represented by their external contour using black boxes.
These black boxes are managed exactly the same way as symbols taken from the library (ID, device terminal numbering, cross references, …)

          

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Identifying the different components in a project is vital.
Trace Elec Pro has a wide range of techniques to determine a component's ID.
Trace Elec Pro can be configured to follow the CEI750 standard (=+- prefixes) as well as any specific denomination technique

The ID can be determined automatically, semi-automatically or manually depending on the users needs (client specification, CEI standard, equipment specification, habits, …).

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In order to be able to preserve and extend know-how, creating and using standard layouts is an essential functionality.
Trace Elec Pro provides a complete wizard that makes it very easy to add standard layouts to the library by just selecting the respective assemblies.
IDs, chosen material and the complete context are automatically saved along with the subassembly.
When a standard layout is inserted, Trace Elec Pro will translate everything to the new context and create lacking elements (locations, terminal strips, …)

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An essential part of the design is to choose the right equipment to realise the project.
Choosing a device and associating it to an ID can be done while inserting the symbol or at any other time during the design cycle.
Trace Elec Pro has an innovating search engine based on a unique technology that links key codes to the symbols.

References can be searched using multiple criteria according to the available parameters (family, voltage, nominal values, thermal tuning, …).
The function codes allow to search optimally and to easily find the reference that best fits the different criteria.
It is also possible to conduct a search based on part of the device's description or keywords and to filter on manufacturer or user preferences.

If necessary, Trace Elec Pro will help the user find auxiliary devices or accessories.

When a device has been chosen, the cross reference tables will be updated accordingly and the device terminals and attributes will reflect the respective information in the catalogues. The terminals can afterwards even be edited manually.

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The availability of manufacturers' references and keeping them up-to-date is a strategic element in the relationship Trace Software - Users - Manufacturers.
Given the great number of catalogues, their international nature and the need to keep them up-to-date, it is a must to have commitments with different manufacturers.
Trace Software co-operates with numerous manufacturers in order to supply our mutual customers with the databases they need to fully enjoy the functionality of the software.

Clients who signed a maintenance contract will benefit updates of these catalogues which they will automatically receive thanks to this contract.

Furthermore, a tool allows the user to add his proper references to the existing or custom catalogues.

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Within a project, the cross references (XREF) are dynamically created and maintained between master and slave elements that have equal ID's in the same location.
The XREF tables, represented either graphically or listed, are generated automatically near the master element and allow to easily find the other components in the reference.

When specific material is associated to an element, colours will indicate used, unused and inconsistent elements in the cross reference.
The graphics for the XREF tables (graphical and list) can be freely customized.

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The equipotential management allows to designate and reference all connections and all circuits within the installation.
This also makes it possible to manage the installation's wiring and cabling.

Each circuit is determined by its equipotential, generated by a sophisticated numbering algorithm that uses user-defined parameters and the installation's environmental variables.
This allows numerous numbering possibilities using prefixes, suffixes, sheet numbers, locations, … which can be configured for individual connection types.
A counter allows automatic incrementation and can be linked to each connection and/or location.

The references

Equipotential references between different sheets can be specified easily and interactively using a dialog that shows the outgoing and incoming sheet.
It is also possible to attach a label (e.g. +24, -24, …) to a connection on different sheets.
Trace Elec Pro will thus automatically propagate the equipotentials, maintain them if updated and place the reference symbols on the involved connections.

Wiring order

When there are different possibilities to connect different elements in a complex maze (a maze with T-connections), Trace Elec Pro allows to manage in what order the elements need to be connected.
The wiring order can be determined automatically or manually.
The wiring order will influence the representation of the terminal strips and allows making wiring lists.

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Trace Elec Pro has utilities to manage terminals and complete strips which allows to work on the different components of the installation.

Synoptic diagram

In the synoptic diagram, the different locations in the installation (cabinets, control panels, junction boxes, …) can be defined and it presents a synthetic overview of the installation.
It also allows to configure terminal strips and possible cable paths and to define the length of the cables.

Terminals

In the drawings, terminal symbol are inserted as regular symbols, one by one or several at once.
The orientation of the terminal is determined on insertion but can be inverted at any time using the terminal editor.
All terminal types can be used, either passing or breaking the equipotential of the connection.
The ID of the terminal can be determined either automatically or semi-automatically and depends on the project's configuration.

The cables can be selected from a catalogue database that is provided in the software.
All necessary tools are present to allow full editing of the cables.
Non-used cable wires can be connected to spare terminals.
When cables are modified or deleted, the spare terminals will be kept or deleted as required.

Once a cable has been connected, the schematics will be updated, indicating the cable information (cable ID, wire colour, …) and the modified terminals will be updated.

Terminal strip drawings

Once the terminal strips and cables have been defined, the terminal strip drawings can be generated automatically in a graphical or matrix representation.
These drawings can be configured at will using a complete configuration tool.
The direction of the strips, the number of strips and the number of terminals per sheet can also be determined and every type of terminal can be represented in a specific, user-defined manner.
The terminal strip accessories will give a graphical identification.

Every modification of the schematics will automatically update the terminal strip drawings.

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Trace Elec Pro has a list generator wizard that allows to create all different types of lists in different languages either as a drawing in the project or as an external file.

Multiple generators are supplied by default: sheets list, parts list, cable list, equipotential list and wiring list generators. Custom lists can be added when needed.

For all other needs, the Trace Elec Pro databases can be directly accessed by SQL-based database reporting tools.

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Trace Elec Pro has a cabinet layout tool that allows to draw all referenced material for a certain cabinet. For a given location, the list of contents is presented in a tree structure.
The cabinet can be chosen, taking a given load factor into account.
The system manages the front and side views of the cabinet and each component is represented either by a scaled rectangle or by a label, defined in the manufacturer's catalogue.

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Electrical design is undoubtedly the kind of design that has the widest range of different techniques and working methods.
The software will often be used by engineering departments who have different clients with different conventions.
The software has by default supplied with the usual settings and corresponding the European CEI standard.
Nevertheless, nearly anything can be configured at will : graphics, behaviour, background templates, numbering algorithms, naming, orientations, texts, layers, list layout, text fonts, cross reference symbols, …

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The PLC module in Trace Elec Pro makes it possible to graphically represent PLC's (racks or modular blocks) in the project, to create input/output sheets for the different types of PLC and to edit the lists of corresponding materials.

The PLC manager uses specific symbols that can be inserted and has a tree structured ID management that allows to cross reference the different I/O's, cards and racks.
A PLC can be drawn using either an entire card or separate I/O's.

Trace Elec Pro is supplied with a PLC catalogue, containing both the PLC equipment and accessories, in which the user can add his own references at will.