Message: Couldn't find electrical objects in the electrical library.


Reference Number: KB-00958
Last Modified: May 9, 2023

The information in this article applies to:

Chief Architect Premier or Chief Architect InteriorsVertical SeparatorHome Designer Professional



QUESTION

When I open a plan file created in a previous version of Chief Architect, I receive one of the following messages:

  • "Couldn't find electrical objects in the electrical library. Please check your electrical defaults to make sure all of your defaults are set to an available library object."

  • "Couldn't find [ELECTRICAL OBJECT NAME]. Please check your electrical defaults to make sure all of the defaults are set to a valid object."


Why is this happening?


ANSWER

You may receive one of these messages when a plan file is opened, and its electrical defaults reference objects that are not present in the library of the current program version.

There are a number of possible reasons why an electrical object might not be present in the library:

  • The current program version may have default electrical objects that the previous version did not.

  • The missing item may have been an imported object or custom symbol created in the previous program version.

  • The missing item may be an object that was made obsolete by changes to the installed library content.

  •  A plan created without a template file will have missing electrical and other defaults settings.

  • The file may have originated in a much earlier version of the software that did not refer to the library for electrical defaults.

To resolve this issue, update your catalogs by navigating to Library> Update Library Catalogs from the menu. If the message still occurs after updating the catalogs, you may need to change the electrical defaults in the plan.

If the plan file is from a much earlier version of the software, or if the plan was created without a template, it would be wise to recreate the drawing in a new file in the current version.


To change electrical defaults

  1. Open  the plan that one of the these messages is appearing in and select Edit> Default Settings  from the menu.


  2. Expand the Electrical category, select General Electrical, then click the edit button to display the Electrical Defaults dialog.

     Electrical Defaults dialog with a Default Library Object that cannot be found

    • Browse the list of Default Library Objects, clicking on each item in the list as you go.  

    • When an item is selected, its preview displays to the right. If no default object has ever been selected for the selected item in this plan, the preview will be blank.  

    • If a selected item's preview says "Symbol Not Found", then an object has been selected but it cannot be found in the library. Its Symbol Name and expected location in the library will be reported below the list.

    • In either case, click the Library button beneath the list and Symbol Name, and select a new symbol from the library.   


  3. When none of the Default Library Objects display "Symbol Not Found" in their previews, click OK to close the dialog and apply your changes.  


  4. Select File> Save  from the menu to save your changes so that the next time you open this file, the message will not display.