Single-line and Detailed Electrical Diagrams

Before you start drawing, it helps to know which type of diagram you need. A single-line diagram shows what is where. A detailed (multi-line) diagram shows how it works. ProfiCAD handles both.

Single-line (installation plan)	Detailed (circuit diagram)
shows the physical location of equipment (e.g. in buildings)	shows the exact current path and how the circuits work
all conductors of one cable are drawn as a single line	each conductor is drawn as a separate line
How to draw:
place the symbols conductor, protective conductor and neutral conductor over the wire	draw the cable using the cable drawing tool
Symbol examples:
switch single-pole, single-throw
double-pole switch double-pole, single-throw
two-way switch single-pole, double-throw
intermediate switch double-pole, double-throw
transformer

Example: the same wiring in both formats

Automatic cable length calculation for floor plans

When you draw an electrical installation in a floor plan, the program automatically calculates the approximate cable lengths for you. How does it work? In the single-line view, one wire represents one cable. The program takes the length of the wire in the drawing and multiplies it by the page scale.

Example: A 10 cm wire at a scale of 1:50 = a cable length of 5 metres (10 cm x 50 = 500 cm = 5 m).

How to display cable lengths:

1. Create a list of wires.
2. Right-click the header of the list of wires table.
3. Choose Add column and select the variable _len.

💡 Pro tip: Treat the cable lengths in the list as approximate. In practice, always add a 10–15 % reserve for bends, wall penetrations and unexpected routes.