Keep one row per wire with a header row: wire, from, to (or from connector + from pin, to connector + to pin), cross-section, colour and length. Write gauges as mm² or AWG, colours as codes, lengths in mm, and leave a cell empty rather than writing "-" when you do not know a value.
The columns
| Column | Header names that are recognised | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Wire | Wire, Wire no, Circuit · Ltg-Nr., Leitung, Ader · Fir · Przewód | W12 |
| From | From, Source · Von · De la · Od — or two columns: From connector + From pin | X1.3 (or X1 | 3) |
| To | To, Destination · Nach, Ziel · La · Do — or To connector + To pin | X4.7 |
| Cross-section | mm², Gauge, AWG, Querschnitt | 0,35 · 0.5 mm² · 20 AWG |
| Colour | Colour, Color · Farbe · Culoare · Kolor | RD · BK/WH · rt · sw/ws |
| Length | Length · Länge · Lungime · Długość | 840 |
| Optional | Wire part number, terminal, seal, strip length (per end), twist group, cable, signal, notes |
Write it so nothing has to be guessed
- One header row. Title lines above it (customer, drawing number, revision) are fine; a drawing number and revision written there, like "Drawing SYN-0001 Rev A", are picked up.
- Endpoints: either a single cell per end with one consistent separator (X1.3, X1:3 or J49 - 3), or a connector column and a pin column per end. Do not mix the two in one list.
- Splices are endpoints too: SP1 as the from or to of every wire that joins there.
- Cross-section in mm² or AWG, one per cell; a decimal comma (0,35) is read the same as a point.
- Colours as codes — IEC 60757 letters (RD, BK, WH) or the German short forms (rt, sw, ws, ge); a stripe after a slash (BK/WH). Two letters can mean different colours: "bl" is blue in a German list and black in some English ones, so the import asks which language the list is in.
- Lengths in millimetres, as the customer's cut length for each wire. An empty cell means "not given" — it is reported, never treated as zero.
Two optional sheets
- Segments: from node, to node, length — the branch lengths of the harness. Without them the cut lengths still import, but there is no formboard to draw.
- Connectors: designator and housing part number, so each connector is linked to its housing and its cavities can be checked.
In Zorowire
Import reads .xlsx and CSV (comma, semicolon or tab), finds the header row, maps the columns from the names above and shows the result before anything is saved: rows, the mapping you can change, and every assumption it made (a unit, a separator, a colour code it did not know). Nothing is fixed silently.
Questions
Our list has "Von" and "Nach" in German. Does that work?
Yes. German, English, Romanian and Polish header names are recognised, and the mapping can be changed by hand before the import is used.
Do we need connector part numbers in the list?
No. A from-to list with designators and pins imports; connector part numbers can come later, in a Connectors sheet or in the editor.
What happens to a length written as "-"?
It is treated as unknown and listed as a finding, so the wire gets its length from the harness geometry or you fill it in.
Can we import WireViz or harness.design files instead?
Yes: WireViz YAML and .harness files import too. An Excel from-to list is the usual starting point for a shop's own drawings.
Sources
- Zorowire connection-list importer: header names in EN/DE/RO/PL, combined endpoints, gauges, colours, lengths — Zorowire test or research, 2026-11-01
- Wikipedia (de), Farb-Kurzzeichen / IEC 60757 letter codes · retrieved 2026-10-30
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