This guide outlines essential best practices for correctly setting up projects in ARES Electrical, starting with the configuration file and covering the main areas that affect user experience, project quality, and company standards.
Best Practices for Correct Project Configuration
When creating a new project, ARES Electrical prompts the user to select a .cfg configuration file, which contains several global definitions that govern the project's behavior.
Starting with the Configuration File (.cfg)
Inside the Electrical settings... menu, you’ll find multiple configuration sections:
General Settings:
Define when blocks are updated, the default names used within the project, the automatic update behaviors, and the default report templates.
Page Settings:
Control page property behaviors, when to prompt for property input, page numbering configurations, default page groups and their functions, and index settings.
Component Settings:
Specify how tags are assigned, what properties are displayed, how components/symbols are inserted, and how cross-reference tables behave.
Wire Settings:
Configure default spacing between wire paths, wire insertion behavior, crossing wire behavior, property fields, available snaps during insertion, wire number blocks, wire derivation behavior, and more.
Cable Settings:
Set rules for cable numbering, position of numbers, and the block used to display cable information in the schematic.
General Project Behavior:
Configure revision properties, panel layout routing preferences, export settings, and rules that control how the Project Compiler evaluates the schematic.
Project Workflow Best Practices
Once the configuration file is selected, the general workflow is straightforward and efficient:
Start by inserting wires from the Wires Palette to build your schematic circuit layout.
Place symbols and components on top of these wires, using the Library Palette.
Create new pages using the Pages Palette or the ribbon menu.
Special page groups, such as cover pages, index pages, or symbol lists, can also be added from these menus.
Page Configuration with the Page Wizard
To configure how pages will be displayed and structured:
Use the Page Wizard to define:
The title block and sheet structure.
What information is shown on the page.
Group settings like initial numbering, rows/columns, and default properties.
The CAD blocks used are fully editable using standard CAD tools.
Library Customization
The ARES Electrical component library is fully flexible and designed as a starting point or reference.
All items can be duplicated, edited, or even created from scratch.
This allows companies to tailor the library to include all frequently used components and ensure they’re readily available for insertion in any project.
Suggested Teaching Materials
A full user manual will soon be available to consolidate and simplify access to everything needed to get started with ARES Electrical.
Until then, we strongly recommend exploring our Help Center, which contains:
Technical articles
Troubleshooting guides
Use-case solutions based on real support cases
Feel free to explore and suggest additional topics you believe would be helpful.
Still have questions?
Feel free to contact our support team at [email protected].