Recently I was tasked to create a deployment for AutoCAD Electrical where the Catalog and libraries were to be shared. This seemed to be an easy task until you realise how the mapping on each PC works when you are working on OneDrive.
Firstly the default local location for the files that are being shared is C:users\{username}\One-Drive etc. This was causing an issue because when you create the deployment from your Autodesk Account the username will be different on each machine. I then had the great idea to map my files on the local machine to C:\OD\One Drive but when sharing that folder with the other users it came up a bit different so that mapping would not work either.
A third option I tried was to create a mapped folder to my local drive but when trying to install AutoCAD Electrical the install failed with error 1327 which requires you to go into the registry. I checked the error messages and what should be done but nothing was incorrect so I found myself back at square 1.
I realised that I would have to modify the WD.ENV file as well as the support files on AutoCAD to realise the success of this particular installation and setup.
- Install the software from the deployment you created
- If you open AutoCAD Electrical you will get the following error
- The reason for this is that we have not extracted the shared files from the installation to the appropriate folder
- Run the AceSharedContentPacker.bat file in C:\Autodesk\{A78DE52C-D9C0-4A27-B5EF-7C85E039316F}\image\ACAD_E_2025_en-US\x64\en-US\acadecontentlp-ca
- This will extract all the files that will be shared into shared-content in the same folder as the .bat file.
- Once the files have been extracted, copy to the shared folder you specified in the creation of the custom install.
- If you open AutoCAD Electrical it will now open with no issues.
As the folder paths are different in the natural folder location for OneDrive we are going to map (with the same letter) the different folders on each PC. I did mine as Z drive. To ensure that the WD.ENV file utilises that mapped drive for the catalogues you will need to change it by doing the following.
- Open the WD.ENV file in notepad and navigate to the following section.
- Delete everything between WD_CAT, and ,AE catalog file path and insert the file path of your Z drive and the catalog folder
Once this is done we will map the library folders to the correct Z drive folder. Navigate to the below section.
Change it to the following.
These changes should now take effect when you create a new project.
Copy the support folder from
- C:\Users\AldredBoyd\AppData\Roaming\Autodesk\AutoCAD Electrical 2025\R25.0\enu
To a Support folder in your Z drive.
If AutoCAD is not picking up the correct support folder for your ICON menu, you could map the support folder in the Z drive in your Support folders in AutoCAD options but this should no be necessary as AutoCAD Electrical is reading the WD.ENV file for that particular path.
To test we will create a new project as per the below image.
Once this is done right click on the project name and check the properties.
You will notice that the IEC libraries and the footprint libraries have been changed to the Z drive. The schematic icon Menu file and the Panel Icon Menu file might still read AEC_IEC_MENU.DAT AND ACE_PANEL_MENU_IEC.DAT. If this is the case then change the file path to show as per the below image.
Once this has been completed you should have no issues with inserting both panel components form the schematic or panel icon menu as well as inserting catalogue information from the lookup table.
To install on subsequent PC’s share the folder and give edit permissions to all the users that will be accessing the shared catalog and library symbols. Once the folder has been shared, map the folder with the same letter as the original PC. For me it was the Z Drive. Wait until all files have been synched.
Run the installer that was created through the Custom Install in your Autodesk Account. Once the install is done open AutoCAD Electrical. It might ask where the WD.ENV file is. Navigate to the Z drive you created and AEdata. Select the WD.ENV that has been synched.
To further test the installation and configuration, make a change in the Catalog and see if it reflects on the PC’s that are connected to the shared project location.
