The editor — guides.

For Worldwide: KKE Circuit is available across Global in English. Region: Global (INT).

Basics

How to create a new project

1. From the dashboard, click New Project (top-right).
2. Fill in name (required), company, client, description.
3. Pick Electrical standard: IEC, UL 508A, CSA, AS/NZS, or NEMA. This sets default wire colours, reference designator prefixes and net labels for the whole project.
4. Pick Default page size (A3 most common). Drawings can override this individually.
5. (Optional) Choose a template from your organisation library.
6. Click Create.

How to create a new drawing

1. Open a project.
2. Click New Drawing.
3. Pick a drawing type: Schematic, SLD, Power, Wiring, Terminal, PLC I/O, Sensor, Relay-Board, Panel-Panel, Earthing, Incomer, General Arrangement, P&ID, Pneumatic, Hydraulic.
4. Pick page size (A0–A4) and orientation (portrait / landscape).
5. (Optional) Pick a template — the title block fields will be pre-populated from project metadata.
6. Click Create.

How to switch the page size and orientation

1. Open the drawing.
2. File → Page Setup.
3. Pick page size and orientation. Existing content is preserved; if it falls outside the new page extents, it is shown but printed only within bounds.

How to use the title block and edit placeholder fields

The title block shows fields like {drawing_number} that resolve from project metadata at render time. To edit the values that resolve into placeholders:

1. Project → Settings → Metadata.
2. Edit any field — drawing number, revision, drawn-by, checked-by, approved-by, scale, date.
3. The title block on every drawing in the project updates immediately.

To override a single drawing's title block (e.g. a different drawing number per sheet):

1. Open the drawing.
2. Click the title block to enter Title Block Override mode.
3. Edit the fields locally; they will not affect other drawings.

How to navigate multi-sheet drawing packages

A drawing can contain multiple sheets — the canvas shows tabs at the bottom.

• Click a tab to switch sheet.
• Right-click a tab to rename, duplicate or delete.
• Use the Add Sheet button at the end of the tab strip.
• Sheet numbering (1 of 4, 2 of 4…) updates automatically and resolves into the title block placeholder.

How to save, auto-save, and recover

• KKE Circuit auto-saves every 60 seconds.
• Ctrl+S forces an immediate save.
• The save indicator on the top toolbar shows Saved / Saving / Unsaved changes.
• If the browser tab crashes, the most recent auto-save is recovered on reopening.
• Version history is kept for the last 30 days; restore via Drawing → Version history.

Keyboard shortcuts cheat sheet

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+S	Save
Ctrl+Z	Undo
Ctrl+Shift+Z / Ctrl+Y	Redo
Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V	Copy / paste
Ctrl+D	Duplicate selection
Delete / Backspace	Delete selection
Ctrl+A	Select all
Esc	Cancel current tool / deselect
W	Wire tool
T	Text tool
L	Line tool
R	Rotate (90° CW); during wiring: flip routing axis
M	Move tool
Ctrl+R	Rotate selection where applicable
Ctrl++ / Ctrl+-	Zoom in / out
Ctrl+0	Fit to screen
F	Toggle Ortho mode
G	Toggle grid
Ctrl+F	Find on drawing
Ctrl+K	Open command palette

Mouse and touch controls

Input	Action
Left-click	Select / place
Left-click + drag	Marquee select
Right-click	Context menu
Middle-click + drag	Pan canvas
Scroll wheel	Zoom
Shift + click	Add to selection
Ctrl + click	Toggle in selection
Pinch (touchpad)	Zoom
Two-finger drag (touchpad)	Pan

Placing components

How to place a symbol from the library

1. Open the Library sidebar (left).
2. Browse or search by category, name, manufacturer, or your organisation's P/N.
3. Click a symbol to start placement.
4. Move the cursor to the target location on the canvas; a smart non-overlapping preview is shown.
5. Click to drop. The reference designator increments automatically.

Press Esc or right-click to cancel.

How to use smart non-overlapping placement

When you start placing a part, KKE Circuit checks the cursor position against existing components. If the cursor is over an occupied region, the preview shifts to the nearest empty 20 px grid cell. Click to drop at the suggested cell, or hold Shift to override and drop exactly at the cursor.

How to drag-select and multi-select

• Click on empty canvas and drag → marquee select. Components fully inside the marquee are selected.
• Shift + drag → add to selection.
• Ctrl + drag → toggle.
• Ctrl+A → select all on the active sheet.

How to rotate, duplicate, and align components

• Rotate: select component, press R for 90° CW. Shift+R for 90° CCW. Or right-click → Rotate.
• Duplicate: Ctrl+D clones the selection 20 px down-right.
• Align: with multiple selected, use the Align menu in the toolbar — left, right, top, bottom, centre-h, centre-v.
• Distribute: with three or more selected, Distribute Horizontally / Vertically equalises the spacing.

How to edit component properties

1. Click a component to select it.
2. The right-hand Properties panel opens.
3. Edit reference designator, manufacturer, manufacturer P/N, organisation P/N, description, custom fields.
4. Switch to the Variants tab to see which variant is shown on which drawing type.
5. Switch to the Pins tab to inspect or edit pin definitions.

How to assign reference designators manually vs. auto

• Auto (default): the prefix is set by the project's standard, the number increments per prefix.
• Manual: edit the field in the properties panel; KKE Circuit warns if you create a duplicate.
• Renumber: Project → Renumber sweeps the project and re-assigns sequential numbers per prefix per panel, preserving cross-sheet net labels and BOM links.

Wiring

How to draw a wire

1. Press W (or click the wire tool).
2. Click on a pin (the cursor snaps to the nearest pin). The wire starts.
3. Click intermediate points to bend the wire (Manhattan or freeform).
4. Click on a target pin to terminate.

Press R while wiring to flip the routing axis (horizontal-first vs. vertical-first).

Manhattan vs. freeform routing

• Manhattan (default): every segment is horizontal or vertical. Best for schematics — it keeps drawings tidy.
• Freeform: angled segments allowed. Useful for SLDs and one-line ladder diagrams when the strict horizontal/vertical look is too busy.

Toggle in the View → Routing menu, or F for Ortho on/off.

How to set wire colour, cross-section, and cable reference

1. Click the wire to select it.
2. In the property panel, set Colour (a colour picker locked to the project's standard palette), Cross-section (from the cable sizer's dropdown — 0.5 / 0.75 / 1.0 / 1.5 / 2.5 / 4 / 6 / 10 / 16 / 25 / 35 / 50 / 70 / 95 / 120 / 150 / 185 / 240 / 300 mm²), Cable reference (free text, e.g. C-001), Net label (free text).
3. The wire's render updates immediately.

How to add net labels for cross-sheet connectivity

1. Select the wire.
2. In the property panel, set Net label to the desired name (e.g. +24V).
3. The label appears as a tag on the wire on every sheet where the same net is drawn.
4. Cross-sheet merging happens automatically — drawing a wire on Sheet 2 with the same net label +24V makes both wires part of the same net.

How to find and fix floating nets

A floating net is a wire connected to only one pin (the other end terminates in mid-air). KKE Circuit highlights floating nets with a red outline.

1. Drawing → Validate. Floating nets are listed with a click-to-jump.
2. Select the offending wire.
3. Either complete the connection to the intended pin, or right-click → Add net label if the wire is a deliberate cross-sheet stub.

How to add auto-hop arcs over wire crossings

By default, when two wires cross without a junction, the wire on top renders an auto-hop arc (a small semicircle). To disable per-wire: properties panel → uncheck Hop over crossings. To disable globally: View → Wire crossings → No hops.

Annotations & layout

How to add text, leader lines, rectangles, and circles

• Text: press T, click the canvas, type. Editable inline; rich-text formatting (size, weight, italic) in the properties panel.
• Line: press L, click start, click end.
• Leader line: from the annotation toolbar, click leader; click start, drag to end. Add text on the line.
• Rectangle / circle / arc: from the annotation toolbar; click-drag.

For closed shapes (rectangle, circle, arc), set Fill in the properties panel.

How to use the 20px / 10px snap grids

• Components and pins snap to the 20 px grid.
• Annotations (text, lines, rectangles) snap to the 10 px grid for finer placement.
• G toggles grid visibility.
• Hold Shift while dragging to disable snap temporarily.

How to add a company logo to the title block

1. Settings → Branding → Upload Logo.
2. Pick a PNG or SVG. SVG is preferred (sharp at any zoom).
3. Templates and title blocks that reference {org_logo} resolve to your uploaded file.

How to import a DXF as a single component

1. Library → Import DXF.
2. Pick a single DXF file.
3. KKE Circuit parses the geometry into a one-off block.
4. Choose Place on current drawing (single use) or Save as custom symbol (reusable).

Multi-variant symbols

How a single component renders as schematic / SLD / P&ID / panel / terminal automatically

When you place a part on a drawing, KKE Circuit reads the drawing's type and looks up the matching variant on the part. If the variant exists, it is rendered. If not, the schematic variant is used as a fallback. The lookup runs at every render — change the part's variants and every drawing updates.

How to set up the seven variants of a part

1. Open the Library → click the part → Edit.
2. The variant tabs at the top: Schematic / SLD / Three-phase / P&ID / Control / Panel front / Terminal.
3. Click a tab. If empty, click Create variant and draw the geometry on the variant editor. If existing, edit the geometry.
4. Pins are shared across variants by default, but can be re-positioned per variant.
5. Save the part.

Troubleshooting: my symbol shows the wrong variant

• Check the drawing type (top toolbar). The variant is picked from the drawing type.
• Check the part's variant exists for that drawing type (Library → Edit part → tabs).
• If the variant is empty, the schematic fallback is used.

Custom symbol creator

How to create a custom symbol

1. Library → Create Symbol.
2. Set name, category, default reference designator prefix.
3. Open the variant editor (the same canvas as the main editor, scaled to a single symbol).
4. Place lines, rectangles, circles, paths and text on the 20 px grid.
5. Add pins (next subsection).
6. Save.

How to define pins (name, edge, type, kind)

Field	Meaning	Examples
Name	Internal name	T1, L1, A1
Label	Visible label on the symbol	1, 13, +
Edge	Which side of the symbol the pin sits on	N / S / E / W
Type	Electrical role	power / control / PE / signal
Kind	Fluid kind (drives auto-colour)	electric / air / oil / water / hydraulic

Pins of kind water render their connected lines in blue on a P&ID; air renders cyan; oil renders red; hydraulic renders dark red.

How to set fluid kind for P&ID auto-colouring

The fluid kind is set per-pin, not per-symbol — a heat exchanger can have one pair of pins as water (cooling water) and another as oil (process oil). Set kind in the pin properties; on a P&ID, lines drawn between pins inherit the upstream pin's kind for auto-colouring.

How to publish a symbol to the org library

By default, custom symbols are private to the creator. To share with the organisation:

1. Library → custom symbol → Publish to org.
2. Add a description and tags for searchability.
3. Org members see the symbol in their library under Org Library.

Bulk DXF import — turning many DXF files into custom symbols

1. Library → Bulk DXF Import.
2. Drop a folder of DXF files.
3. KKE Circuit creates one custom symbol per file. Symbol name = filename. Geometry parsed automatically.
4. Pins are not auto-detected — open each new symbol and add pins via the variant editor.