Getting Started with the Worx Plugins
Overview:
You have installed the Worx Plugins and activated your license. Now you want to start using them in AutoCAD, CADWorx, AutoCAD Plant 3D or BricsCAD.
Before You Start:
The Worx Plugins do not add a desktop icon. Most of them run inside your CAD program. You start them from the ECE Worx Plugins tab on the ribbon, or by typing a command. ATTEWorx is the exception: it runs as its own program, outside CAD.
Before you start, check that:
- The Worx Plugins are installed. See Installing the Worx Plugins.
- Your license is activated. See Activating Software Standalone License or, for a network license, Activating Software Network Licensing on a Client Machine. A plugin with no active license will not open.
Steps:
Start a plugin in AutoCAD, CADWorx or Plant 3D
- Start your CAD program and open a drawing.
- Click the ECE Worx Plugins tab on the ribbon.
- In the Worx Plugins panel, click the plugin you want. Its palette opens.
- Click the small arrow under a plugin's button to see that plugin's Manual, What's New and Videos.
You can also type the plugin's command at the AutoCAD command line:
| Plugin | Command |
|---|---|
| ANNOWorx | ANNOWORX |
| BUBBLEWorx | BUBBLEWORX |
| Diagrams | ECEDIAGRAMS |
| ELECTROWorx | ELECTROWORX |
| ISOWorx | ISOWORX |
| LINKWorx | LINKWORX |
| MTOWorx | MTOWORX |
| SHEETWorx | SHEETWORX |
| SOCKETConnector | SOCKETCONNECTOR |
| VIEWWorx | VIEWWORX |
Typing a plugin's command a second time closes its palette.
Start a plugin in BricsCAD
BricsCAD shows the same ECE Worx Plugins tab. ANNOWorx, BUBBLEWorx and MTOWorx run on BricsCAD V24 and newer. The other plugins are AutoCAD only.
Start ATTEWorx
ATTEWorx does not need AutoCAD. Open the Windows Start menu and go to ECE Design > ATTEWorx.
The Worx Support panel
The Support button on the right of the tab has these options:
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Quick Start Guide | Opens the Worx Plugin Startup Manual |
| Support Request | Opens a new support ticket with ECE Design |
| Release Notes | Opens the list of changes in each release |
| Latest Downloads | Opens the download page for the newest version |
| Evaluation Request | Opens a page where you can request an evaluation license |
| Hardware License Manager | Opens the Sentinel Admin Control Center, for HASP key licenses |
| Software License Manager | Opens the ECE License Manager |
| Log Viewer | Opens the Worx log, which helps ECE support find a problem |
If the ECE Worx Plugins tab is missing
The tab comes from RIBBONWorx. If it is not there, load it by hand:
- Type NETLOAD at the command line.
- Browse to the folder that matches your AutoCAD version, and pick the file:
- AutoCAD 2024 and older:
C:\Program Files\ECE Design\Worx Plugins\AutoCAD Legacy\RIBBONWorx.dll - AutoCAD 2025 and newer:
C:\Program Files\ECE Design\Worx Plugins\AutoCAD\RIBBONWorx.Core.dll
- AutoCAD 2024 and older:
- Click Open.
If the tab is gone again the next time you start AutoCAD, see RIBBONWorx or other Worx plugins not staying loaded. If a plugin's command is unknown, see Loading the Worx Plugins.
Notes:
- Only the ribbon loads when AutoCAD starts. Each plugin loads the first time you click its button or type its command. A plugin that does not appear until then has not failed to load.
- AutoCAD remembers which palettes were open when you closed it, and opens them again next time. See Worx Plugins Open Their Palettes When AutoCAD Starts.
- For help with a plugin, start with its Manual and Videos under the arrow on its ribbon button. If you would like a short walkthrough, use Support Request and we will set up a screen share.