X17 Electrical Connection Updates and Note Leader Detaching

[PitMan71]

I’m running into a couple of issues that seem like software bugs, but I wanted to check with the group to see if others are experiencing the same thing or if I may be missing something.

 

First – Electrical connections

When I initially create my electrical plan, everything connects and behaves as expected. However, if I go back later and make small adjustments—like nudging a switch to accommodate a wider doorway—I sometimes notice the switch disconnects from the circuit or no longer appears to be connected. I don’t remember this happening in X16.

I’ve also noticed a few related behaviors:

If I delete a switch from a 3-way setup, the remaining switch doesn’t automatically update. I usually have to delete and recreate it.

If I add a second switch to an existing set of recessed cans to create a 3-way, neither the existing switch nor the newly added one updates to reflect the 3-way configuration.

The only workaround I’ve found is reconnecting all the cans, which adds extra steps and time.

 

Second – Leaders disconnecting from notes

I’ve also noticed leaders occasionally disconnecting from the notes they’re attached to. This becomes more noticeable when the leader is attached to an object and the note contains a macro.

My normal workflow is to place the text (text or rich text), then use the diamond handle on the text box to create the leader. I’m not sure if there’s something I’m doing incorrectly, but it seems somewhat random when the leader detaches.

 

General thought

One thing I’ve always appreciated about Chief is the intelligence built into many of the tools—electrical connections, smart switches, leaders attached to objects, etc. When those systems are working, they’re incredibly efficient and help produce clean, professional drawings quickly.

However, when they behave inconsistently, it can slow things down quite a bit. Tasks that should take seconds can turn into several minutes of troubleshooting, and there’s always the risk that something small gets overlooked in the process, potentially resulting in errors in the final construction documents.

 

Curious if others have seen similar behavior in X17, or if there’s a workflow adjustment that helps avoid these issues.

[DBCooper]

Regarding electrical connections, I spent some time playing with this and couldn't see any problems.  I even tried things like turning off snaps to see if that changes things.  If you can get this to happen repeatedly, then you should probably report it to Chief.  You could also post a plan here to see if someone else has the same issues.

 

Also, just as an FYI, you can always just turn off the auto switching and then manually place your 3-way and 4-way switches and they won't ever change after that.

 

Edited Thursday at 08:30 PM by DBCooper

[JKEdmo]

3 hours ago, PitMan71 said:

Second – Leaders disconnecting from notes

I’ve also noticed leaders occasionally disconnecting from the notes they’re attached to. This becomes more noticeable when the leader is attached to an object and the note contains a macro.

My normal workflow is to place the text (text or rich text), then use the diamond handle on the text box to create the leader. I’m not sure if there’s something I’m doing incorrectly, but it seems somewhat random when the leader detaches

 

Yes - dealing with this right now on elevations.  I reported this to Chief a few months back and they acknowledged it as a bug:

 

 

 

Jim

 

[PitMan71]

18 hours ago, DBCooper said:

Regarding electrical connections, I spent some time playing with this and couldn't see any problems

I worked in another one of my plans yesterday and it didn't have any issues. Im going pay more attention to see if I can find what's going on and then report it to chief.

[PitMan71]

18 hours ago, DBCooper said:

You could also post a plan here to see if someone else has the same issues.

Here is the plan that I was having issues with when I made the post. Some of the devices are connected, but most are not.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/4bpqkpyasf9xzkn3whi91/260011-24B.plan.zip?rlkey=73f9y4vgdokeuqskxxm9xr6gd&dl=0

Thanks for having a look.

[DBCooper]

So some of your switches are set to "auto change" but most look like they are not.  Not sure how you got there though.  Maybe you set them this way on purpose?  Maybe you placed some from the library instead of from the plan defaults?  I *think* placing from the library always turns off this option.  Maybe you replaced ones in the plan with library ones?  I played around with the replace but I got some mixed results so not sure about this one.  Regardless, if they are not set to "auto change" then they will not become 3-way or 4-way switches when wiring them.

 

Also, some of your electrical connections are attached to the electrical objects and some are not.  Not sure how you got here as well.  The easy way to tell if a connection is attached is to select the connection.  If the end handle is a filled circle, then it is attached (to something but it might not always be what you want if you have multiple objects close or overlapping).  If the end handle is open, then it is not attached to anything.  If your switches are set to "auto change", then they can switch from 3-way, 4-way, or  back to 1-way, whenever the connection is made or broken.  Not sure if there is something you can do that would cause all the connections to all get lost but it certainly wouldn't surprise me if there was.  

 

None of this actually explains how you got into this state.  Hopefully, it will give you some things to watch for to see if you can figure it out.  If you do find something, then you should let us know and then maybe report it to Chief too.

 

[PitMan71]

This is the response from Chief Support.

Hi Shane,

I have tried to reproduce this condition without any success. While we have not been able to determine how the connections got into this state, I have found a faster solution than replacing all of those connections. I was able to use the marquee select tool to select all of the electrical connections at once, use open object, then click OK. Doing so restored the connections when testing on Mac and PC here. See if that works for you as well.

Kind Regards,
Brian

What he suggested to fix this condition worked BTW.

[PitMan71]

5 hours ago, DBCooper said:

Maybe you set them this way on purpose?

Yes.... Fan/Light combos. So that both switches don't report three way.

[winterdd]

Projects I started in X15 and then continued in X17 went nuts with electrical. All wiring detached from the switches.