EPLAN Form Components Reference

EPLAN Electric P8 — Form Components Reference

Software: EPLAN Electric P8 Topic: Form file structure, anatomy, and property placeholders Level: Beginner Overview

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What is a Form in EPLAN P8?

A form in EPLAN P8 is a template file that defines how an auto-generated report page looks and what data it displays. Think of it as a page layout blueprint — it tells EPLAN where to put data, how to format it, and which properties to pull from the project database.

Project Data  +  Form Template  =  Generated Report Page
(your devices,    (.f?? file)       (terminal list, BOM,
 terminals,                          cable diagram, etc.)
 cables, etc.)

Forms are separate from your schematic data. You can change a form without touching your project, and the next time you generate reports, the output will look different — but the underlying engineering data stays the same.

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Form File Naming Convention

EPLAN form files use the .f?? extension where the number indicates the report type:

Extension	Report Type
.f00	Title page / Cover sheet
.f01	Table of contents
.f04	Cable diagram / Cable overview
.f05	Summarized parts list
.f06	Device tag list
.f08	Structure identifier overview
.f10	Terminal-strip overview
.f11	Terminal diagram
.f17	Connection list
.f22	PLC diagram
.f30	P&ID / Piping overview
.f31	Pre-planning: Pipe class overview
.f32	Pre-planning: Planning object overview
.f33	Pre-planning: Loop diagram
.f34	Pre-planning: Substance overview

The number in the extension is fixed by EPLAN — it determines which type of data the form can access. A .f11 form can only be used for terminal diagrams; it cannot be assigned to a parts list report.

File Location

%APPDATA%\EPLAN\Electric P8\{version}\Forms\

Form files are part of the EPLAN master data, not the project itself. They can be shared across multiple projects.

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Form File Anatomy

A form file is made up of several visual and logical components arranged on a page canvas inside the Form Editor.

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    FORM PAGE                         │
│  ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │              HEADER / TITLE BLOCK              │  │
│  │  Project name | Drawing number | Revision      │  │
│  └────────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
│  ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │                TABLE HEADER ROW                │  │
│  │  Tag | Description | Article No. | Qty         │  │
│  └────────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
│  ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │              ROW TEMPLATE (repeating)          │  │
│  │  %D  |  %T        |  %BN          |  %MC       │  │
│  └────────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
│  ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │                   FOOTER                       │  │
│  │  Page %P of %PT  |  Date %DA  |  Scale         │  │
│  └────────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

The Four Main Areas

1. Title Block (Header) The border frame around the page containing project metadata. Usually appears at the bottom or right edge of the page. Contains static labels (text you type) and dynamic placeholders (variables that fill in automatically).

2. Table Header Row A static row of column labels — e.g., “Device Tag”, “Description”, “Article Number”. This text is fixed and does not change between projects.

3. Row Template (Data Row) The most important part of a report form. This is the repeating row that EPLAN copies once for each data record (each terminal, each cable, each device). It contains property placeholders that are replaced with real values when the report is generated.

4. Footer Optional area at the bottom of the page for page numbers, dates, revision marks, and company information.

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Form Components in Detail

Static Text

Plain text labels you type directly onto the form canvas. These never change — they are the same on every generated page.

Example:  "Device Tag"   "Description"   "Article No."

Lines and Borders

Graphical elements (horizontal lines, boxes, frames) used to create the table structure and title block border. Drawn using the line tools in the Form Editor.

Property Placeholders

The dynamic elements of a form. These are special codes written as %XX or <property name> that EPLAN replaces with real data from the project when generating the report. See the full reference in the next section.

Special Areas

Defined regions on the form that tell EPLAN where to place the repeating data rows, where the header ends, and where the footer begins. These boundaries are set using area markers in the Form Editor.

Area Marker	Purpose
Row area	Defines the repeating data row template
Header area	Content above the data rows
Footer area	Content below the data rows
Title block area	The page border frame

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Property Placeholders (Variables)

Property placeholders are codes embedded in the form that EPLAN replaces with real project or device data during report generation. They are the core of what makes a form dynamic.

How They Look in the Form Editor

In the Form Editor, placeholders appear as text elements with a special code:

%D          →  becomes  →  =GB1+ET1-K1     (device tag)
%T          →  becomes  →  Main contactor  (description)
%P          →  becomes  →  5               (page number)

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Common Placeholder Reference

Project-Level Placeholders

These pull data from the project properties (same value on every page).

Placeholder	Property	Example Output
%PN	Project name	EPLAN_Sample_Project_Education
%CN	Company name	Acme Engineering GmbH
%DA	Current date	11.03.2026
%CR	Created by	J. Smith
%AP	Approved by	M. Mueller
%RE	Revision	Rev. 03

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Page-Level Placeholders

These pull data specific to the current page.

Placeholder	Property	Example Output
%P	Current page number	7
%PT	Total page count	24
%PD	Page description	Terminal diagram X1
%PP	Page name / designator	=GB1+ET1/7
%SC	Drawing scale	1:1

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Device / Component Placeholders

Used in the row template of device lists, parts lists, and tag lists. Repeated once per device.

Placeholder	Property	Example Output
%D	Device tag (full)	=GB1+ET1-K1
%T	Description / function text	Main contactor 11kW
%BN	Article / part number	3RT2026-1AP00
%BH	Manufacturer	Siemens
%MC	Quantity	5
%FT	Device type	Contactor

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Terminal Placeholders

Used in terminal diagram and terminal-strip overview forms (.f10, .f11).

Placeholder	Property	Example Output
%TN	Terminal designation	X1:5
%TC	Terminal type	CLIPLINE 2.5
%TT	Target (connection to)	=GB1+ET1-K3:14
%TW	Wire color	BK (Black)
%TCS	Wire cross-section	1.5 mm²
%TCN	Cable name	W5

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Cable Placeholders

Used in cable diagram and cable overview forms (.f04).

Placeholder	Property	Example Output
%CN	Cable designation	W1
%CT	Cable type	NYCWY 3×1.5mm²
%CL	Cable length	15 m
%CF	Cable from (source)	=GB1+ET1-X1:1
%CTO	Cable to (destination)	=GB2+MCC-X2:3
%CSH	Shielded	Yes

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PLC Placeholders

Used in PLC connection diagram forms (.f22).

Placeholder	Property	Example Output
%PA	PLC address	I0.0
%PS	Signal name	Emergency_Stop_S1
%PC	Card designation	DI 32×24VDC
%PSL	Slot number	2
%PCH	Channel number	0

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Placeholder Syntax Rules

1. Case sensitive — %D and %d may behave differently depending on context
2. Must be inside a text element — placeholders only work when placed as text on the form canvas, not in graphical elements
3. Row template context — device/terminal/cable placeholders only work inside the defined row area of the form
4. Project placeholders — work anywhere on the form including the title block
5. Unresolved placeholders — if a placeholder has no matching data, EPLAN leaves it blank or shows a ? depending on settings

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Simple Example: Parts List Row

A row template in a summarized parts list form (.f05) might look like this in the Form Editor:

| %D          | %T                  | %BN           | %BH      | %MC  |

When EPLAN generates the report, each device becomes one row:

| =GB1+ET1-K1 | Main contactor 11kW | 3RT2026-1AP00 | Siemens  |  5   |
| =GB1+ET1-F1 | Motor circuit breaker| 3RV2021-4AA10 | Siemens  |  1   |
| =GB1+ET1-Q1 | Main isolator       | 3LD2203-0TK53 | Siemens  |  1   |

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How to View and Edit a Form

1. In EPLAN P8, go to Utilities → Forms → Open
2. Browse to %APPDATA%\EPLAN\Electric P8\{version}\Forms\
3. Select the .f?? file you want to inspect
4. The Form Editor opens — a graphical canvas where you can see all text elements, placeholders, lines, and area markers
5. Double-click any text element to see or edit its placeholder code
6. Save and close, then regenerate reports to see the effect

⚠️ Always keep a backup copy of the original form before making changes.

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Summary

Concept	What It Is
Form file (.f??)	Template that defines a report page layout
File extension number	Determines which report type the form belongs to
Static text	Fixed labels that never change
Property placeholder	%XX code replaced with real data on generation
Row template	Repeating area — one copy per data record
Title block	Page border with project metadata
Form Editor	EPLAN tool used to view and modify form files

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Related Files

File	Description
eplan_p8_project_structure.json	Full metadata for all 16 project report folders
README.md	General project structure reference
README_Interactive_vs_AutoGenerated.md	Interactive vs. auto-generated page types
README_Form_Components.md	This file

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EPLAN Electric P8 — Engineering Reference Documentation