Palette Workflow

The palette is Branch's step-by-step workflow panel — a dockable AutoCAD palette that walks you through a project from zones to export without leaving the drawing. It's the recommended way to drive Branch.

Launch the palette

Two commands

  • LEAFPALETTE — toggle the palette on your current drawing.
  • LEAFSAMPLE — open the bundled sample drawing in sandboxed demo mode. Changes are discarded on exit, so it's safe to explore.

Configure project defaults from BRANCHOPTIONS first, or use the cog button in the palette header at any time.

Flow types

The palette currently exposes three flow types. They share the same eight-step spine; the differences live in how each step interprets the drawing.

Ground Mount — production

Tested end-to-end. This is the flow we recommend for live projects today. All eight steps — including combiner auto-placement and the NEC cable sizing post-processor — are validated against real drawings.

Rooftop — experimental

The rooftop flow is wired up and runnable, but not yet validated end-to-end. Expect rough edges around zones, elevation handling, and homeruns. Use it to explore — don't rely on it for stamped deliverables until we mark it production. Future releases will harden each step; check the release notes.

SolarEdge — experimental

The SolarEdge flow is in place but not validated end-to-end. Optimizer handling, MPPT balancing, and string-sizer guardrails are present but still being shaken out. Use the standalone IMPORTSOLAREDGEPDF command in the meantime if you need a known-good path.

The eight steps

Every flow runs through the same ordered sequence. The Settings cog and the per-zone StringSizer are accessible from the palette header at any time.

  1. Zones — define electrical zones and elevation zones, run StringSizer per zone.
  2. Panel Groups — detect and clean up panel groups; auto-fill incomplete groups.
  3. Solve — generate optimized string connections across all groups.
  4. Equipment — place inverters, combiner boxes, and central inverters; balance MPPT inputs.
  5. Combiners — auto-place L1 combiner boxes (LEAFCOMBINERAUTO) when L1/L2 mode is on. Pass-through otherwise.
  6. Homeruns — route homerun cables and feeders; the NEC cable sizing post-processor picks gauges, conduit, and OCPD ratings.
  7. Export — push schedule tables into the drawing (INSERTSCHEDULES) and export cable data to CSV.
  8. ReOpt — run NREL REopt on the finished design for payback, NPV, IRR, and cashflow.

Step 5 (Combiners) only blocks Next when L1/L2 collector mode is enabled in Branch Options and no combiners have been placed yet. With the standard single inverter tier, it's a pass-through.

Found a bug?

Use the Report Bug button in the Branch toolbar — especially on the experimental rooftop and SolarEdge flows. Each report sharpens the next release.

See also: Command Reference for every command surfaced inside the palette.

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