┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Menu Bar (File, Edit, View, Insert, Tools, Help)      │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Toolbar (Select, Wire, Text, Shapes, etc.)           │
├─────────┬─────────────────────────────┬─────────────────┤
│ Project │                             │  Elements Panel │
│ Panel   │   DIAGRAM CANVAS            │  (Search & Browse)
│         │   (Your drawing area)       │                 │
│ (Folios)│                             │  Properties     │
│         │                             │  (Selected item)│
├─────────┴─────────────────────────────┴─────────────────┤
│ Status Bar (Coordinates, Zoom, Current Mode)          │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Key Panels

Elements Panel (Right Side)

Search box for finding components
Categories for browsing
Drag elements onto canvas
Shows "Master" elements and connections info

Project Panel (Left Side)

Lists all folios (pages) in your project
Add new folios (diagrams)
Organize and rename folios
Right-click for folio properties

Toolbar

Selection Tool — Select and move objects
Wire Tool — Draw electrical connections
Text Tool — Add labels and annotations
Shape Tools — Add rectangles, circles, polygons
Zoom Controls — Magnify/reduce view

Preferences Panel (Windows Menu)

Show/hide panels as needed
Customize workspace layout
Save custom workspaces

Customizing Your Workspace

View → Panels — Show/hide side panels
View → Toolbars — Show/hide toolbars
Drag panels to reposition
Double-click panel tabs to float/dock

Projects & Folios

Creating a New Project

File → New Project creates a blank project immediately — there is no wizard or settings dialog at this step. The new project starts with one empty folio, using whatever border, conductor and title-block defaults the project inherited (see Project properties to change page size, margins and other defaults afterward).

Understanding Folios

A folio is a single page/diagram within your project. QET does not have a "folio type" you choose when creating one — a folio is a folio, and what it ends up showing (single-line, multiline, control logic…) is purely a matter of what you draw on it.

To create a new folio, right-click in the Project panel → Add a folio. It's added immediately, using the project's stored default border, conductor and title-block settings — again, no dialog or type choice.

Organizing Your Project

Rename folios: Right-click folio → Rename
Reorder folios: Drag & drop in Project panel
Delete folios: Right-click → Delete (confirm)
Folio properties: Right-click → Properties
- Title block information — see Title block templates
- Author, date and other title-block fields

Opening & Saving Projects

Opening:

File → Open Recent — Quick access to recent projects
File → Open — Browse for .qet files
Ctrl+O (or Cmd+O) — Keyboard shortcut

Saving:

File → Save — Save current project (Ctrl+S)
File → Save As — Save with new name
QET periodically writes a crash-recovery backup in the background (not a user-configurable "auto-save" — there's no setting for its interval). If QET closes unexpectedly, it offers to restore from that backup the next time you open the project.

File Format:

QElectroTech projects are saved as .qet files
XML-based format, human-readable
Can be opened in text editor if needed

Working with Elements

Finding Elements

Search Method:

Type in the search box at top of Elements panel
Results appear instantly as you type
Click element to select it for placement

Browse by Category:

Expand categories in Elements panel
Categories organized by electrical type (switches, relays, etc.)
Sub-categories for specific component families

The shipped collection's top-level categories are named after their IEC-style numbering — 10_allpole, 20_logic, 30_hydraulic, 50_pneumatic, 60_energy — each holding several levels of sub-categories. There isn't a fixed short list worth memorizing; browse the tree or use the search box.

Placing Elements

Drag & Drop:

Click and hold an element in Elements panel
Drag onto your canvas
Release to place
Element appears at cursor position

Multiple Placements:

Don't release from Elements panel, just click canvas multiple times
Convenient for adding many of the same element

Rotating after placement:

Select the element and press Space to rotate 90° at a time

Selecting Elements

Single Select:

Click on element with Selection tool

Multi-Select:

Hold Ctrl (or Cmd on Mac) and click elements
Or drag a selection box around multiple elements

Select All:

Edit → Select All (Ctrl+A)
Or use Ctrl+A

Moving & Positioning Elements

Move:

Click element to select (handles appear)
Drag to new position
Hold Shift to constrain to horizontal/vertical

Precise Positioning:

Use arrow keys to nudge selected elements
Hold Shift for larger jumps

Snap to Grid:

Elements snap to grid by default
Toggle grid snap: View → Snap to Grid
Adjust grid size: Preferences → Grid

Duplicating Elements

Copy & Paste:

Select element(s)
Ctrl+C to copy
Ctrl+V to paste (appears offset from original)
Drag to final position

Quick Duplicate:

Select element
Edit → Duplicate
New copy appears nearby

Rotating

Select the element(s) and press Space to rotate 90°, or right-click → Rotate. Shift+Space rotates a group selection together rather than each element individually; Ctrl+Space rotates just the labels/text, not the graphics.

There is no flip/mirror action for elements placed on a folio — flipping a symbol is done once, in the element editor, by redrawing or mirroring the symbol itself.

Deleting Elements

Select element(s)
Press Delete key
Or right-click → Delete
Use Ctrl+Z to undo deletion

Drawing Wires & Conductors

Understanding Conductors

A conductor is an electrical connection between elements (the wires/lines).

Types:

Single-line — Simplified representation
Multiline — Individual conductor lines shown

Drawing Wires

Basic Wire Drawing:

Click the Wire Tool (lightning bolt icon)
Click on a terminal (connection point on element)
Move mouse to destination terminal
Click to complete the wire
Wire is drawn, automatically routed

Multi-Segment Wires:

Click first terminal (start point)
Click intermediate points for routing
Click final terminal (end point)
Press Escape to finish

Wire Routing:

Automatic routing typically creates orthogonal (right-angle) paths
Click waypoints to control path
Press Escape to abandon wire

Editing Wires

Modify Wire Path:

Select wire (click on it)
Drag waypoints to adjust routing
Right-click waypoint to remove it

Delete Wire:

Select wire
Press Delete

Wires only connect at terminals — two wires crossing on the canvas don't join unless they actually meet at a terminal.

Wire Properties

Change Wire Appearance:

Right-click wire
Select Properties
Modify:
- Color (from color palette)
- Style (solid, dashed, dotted)
- Thickness (line width)

Conductor Properties:

Right-click wire
Select Conductor Properties
Set:
- Conductor type (phase, neutral, ground, etc.)
- Electrical properties
- Numbering scheme

Text, Labels & Annotations

Adding Text Labels

Text Tool Method:

Click Text Tool (A icon) in toolbar
Click on canvas where you want text
Type your text
Click elsewhere to finish

Quick Labels on Elements/Wires:

Double-click the element or wire — checked directly against source (QetGraphicsItem::mouseDoubleClickEvent() / Conductor::mouseDoubleClickEvent(), both call editProperty()), this opens its Properties dialog, not an inline text box
Find the label field in that dialog and type your text (e.g., "S1")
Confirm the dialog

Labeling Wires

Common wire labels:

Signal names: "L1", "L2", "N", "PE" (ground)
Voltage: "24V AC", "12V DC"
Function: "Enable", "Reset", "Alarm"

To add wire label:

Double-click the wire to open its Properties dialog (not an inline edit — see the note above)
Find and set the label field
Confirm the dialog

Labeling Elements

Common element labels:

Reference designator: "S1" (switch 1), "R1" (relay 1), "M1" (motor 1)
Component value: "100kΩ", "10µF"
Description: "Power Switch", "Start Button"

To add element label:

Double-click the element to open its Properties dialog (not an inline edit — see the note above)
Set the reference (e.g., "Q1") in the label field
Confirm the dialog

Dynamic Text Fields

A dynamic text field can show a live value instead of fixed text — an element's label, a folio number, a manufacturer reference, and more. This is a whole variable language of its own, with different variables valid in different places (an element label isn't the same set as a folio field). See Variables & formulas for the full reference — it's worth reading before guessing at a variable name, since an unrecognized one is silently left as literal text rather than flagged as an error.

Text Formatting

Font & Style:

Select text element
Right-click → Properties
Configure:
- Font family (Arial, Times, etc.)
- Size (points)
- Color
- Orientation (horizontal, vertical, 45°, etc.)

Schema Editing & Formatting

Selection & Organization

Select All Objects:

Edit → Select All (Ctrl+A)

Select by Type:

Edit → Select (submenu for selecting specific types)

Multi-Select Tips:

Hold Ctrl and click to add to selection
Shift+click to select range
Drag box to select all within box

Alignment & Distribution

Align Objects:

Select multiple objects
Right-click → Align
Choose: Left, Right, Top, Bottom, Center

Distribute Spacing:

Select objects (3 or more)
Right-click → Distribute
Evenly space horizontally or vertically

Grid & Snap Features

Grid Settings:

View → Snap to Grid — Toggle snapping on/off
Default grid size is set on the General preferences page — see Preferences reference
Smaller grid = finer positioning; larger = faster placement

Alignment Tips:

Enable snap for neat, aligned diagrams
Disable for free placement
Toggle with keyboard shortcut

Undo & Redo

Undo:

Ctrl+Z (or Cmd+Z on Mac)
Edit → Undo from menu
Undo multiple steps repeatedly

Redo:

Ctrl+Y (or Cmd+Shift+Z on Mac)
Edit → Redo from menu
Redo multiple steps repeatedly

Zoom & Pan

Zoom Methods:

Scroll wheel: Up to zoom in, down to zoom out
+/- keys: Magnify or reduce
Ctrl+Scroll: Fine zoom control
View → Zoom → Fit to Page: Auto-fit diagram

Pan (Move View):

Middle mouse button: Click and drag to pan
Space + drag: Hold space and drag to pan
Arrow keys: Nudge view (when nothing selected)

Reports & Documentation

Generating Reports

There is no separate "Reports" menu — a nomenclature (bill of materials) or wiring list is produced through File → Export, or headlessly via the command line (--export-bom, --export-wiring, --export-nets, --export-links). See Automating QElectroTech for the full list and The project database for what each one actually queries.

Export & Printing

Printing Diagrams

File → Print (Ctrl+P) first opens your OS's native print dialog to pick a printer (paper size, duplex, colour vs. grayscale — whatever your driver offers; these are not QET settings). Confirming there opens a print window with a live preview — the same window used for File → Export to PDF, which skips the OS dialog and goes straight here. That window lets you choose which folios to include, whether to keep conductor colours, and set up the page via a separate Page setup button (disabled on Windows when exporting to PDF). There is no separate "Print Preview" menu item and no manual scale setting — a folio is fit to the page automatically.

Wire (conductor) labels are ordinary diagram content, not a separate print feature. They print or export as part of the folio like any other item — there's no toggle to include or exclude them specifically (unlike terminal markers, which do have one — see Preferences reference §3).

QET has no built-in physical wire-marker/ferrule label printer. For that, export the wiring list as CSV (Project menu, or --export-wiring) and feed it into a label printer's own software — see Automating QElectroTech, which covers the real-world workflow (Brady, WAGO, Phoenix Contact) and a known limitation with duplicate rows on large jobs.

Exporting Diagrams

Export Formats:

PDF — Professional documents, best for sharing
PNG — Raster image, good for web
SVG — Vector format, editable in other software
DXF — CAD format for collaboration (outlines and text only, see limitations)

Export Process:

Select folio(s) to export
File → Export
Choose format and location
Configure export options
Click Export

Preferences & Settings

Edit → Preferences opens five pages: General, New project, Export, Print and Shortcuts. There is no separate "Display" or "Grid" category — both live inside General. See Preferences reference for what each page actually controls.

Advanced Topics

Creating Custom Elements

Using the element editor covers drawing an element in QET's built-in editor — tools, terminal placement, and the save-time checks. Linking elements covers making it a master, slave or terminal. Elements XML documents the resulting file format directly, for anyone generating .elmt files without the editor.

Element Collections & Libraries

Managing collections covers organizing folders, moving and deleting elements, and which of the three collections (common/custom/company) you can actually write to.

Multi-User Workflows

QET has no built-in multi-user or shared-editing feature — a .qet file is edited by one instance at a time, the same way any other document is (see The project database for why: even the in-memory query cache is per-process, not shared). Two practical options if several people need to work on the same project:

Split by folio. Since a project is folios inside one file, agreeing who owns which folio avoids collisions entirely.
Version control (Git or similar) on the .qet file. This works for taking turns, but a genuine merge conflict is a conflict in raw XML, not a structured diagram merge — resolving one means editing the XML by hand or picking one side wholesale. Plan for "one person at a time," not simultaneous editing.

Scripting & Automation

QET has no embedded scripting language. Automation is done from the outside:

the headless command line — --export-pdf, --export-bom, --export-wiring and more, with real exit codes for use in scripts
direct XML editing — .qet and .elmt are plain XML

See Automating QElectroTech and the CLI Reference.

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

"Element won't connect to wire"

Click directly on terminal (small dot)
Not all points on element are connectable
Check element properties for terminal definitions

"Wires crossing without connecting"

Wires only connect at terminals
Crossing lines don't automatically join
Use explicit connection at terminal points

"Diagram is slow/laggy"

Large projects with many elements slow responsiveness
Reduce zoom level to improve performance
Disable grid display if not needed
Close unnecessary panels

"File won't open"

Corrupted file or compatibility issue
Try opening in text editor to check XML validity
Restore from backup if available

Keyboard Shortcuts

Action	Windows/Linux	macOS
New	Ctrl+N	Cmd+N
Open	Ctrl+O	Cmd+O
Save	Ctrl+S	Cmd+S
Print	Ctrl+P	Cmd+P
Undo	Ctrl+Z	Cmd+Z
Redo	Ctrl+Y	Cmd+Shift+Z
Select All	Ctrl+A	Cmd+A
Copy	Ctrl+C	Cmd+C
Paste	Ctrl+V	Cmd+V
Delete	Delete	Delete
Rotate selection	Space	Space
Rotate group as one	Shift+Space	Shift+Space
Zoom In	Ctrl++	Cmd++
Zoom Out	Ctrl+-	Cmd+-
Fit to Page	Ctrl+9	Cmd+9