PRIME STRUCT CIVIL ARCHITECT MEP
APPLICATION STARTUP GUIDE

Switchboard

// PROJECT MESH v3.0 — NODE-BASED AEC COORDINATION

A visual coordination canvas for the AEC industry. Map consultant relationships, track deliverable dependencies, manage multi-discipline workflows, and keep every wire on the right connection — all from a single local interface.

REACT + VITE RUNS LOCALLY EXCEL IMPORT MULTI-PROJECT AEC INDUSTRY
Switchboard Canvas
Node-based visual canvas. Drag consultant nodes, draw wires between output and input ports to represent deliverable dependencies.
Projects Table
Excel-style table listing all projects. Create, edit, filter, sort, and import projects from the provided Excel template.
Calendar View
Living calendar showing wire due dates across all projects. Filter by project, consultant, or wire category.
Multi-Project
Toggle the active project from the top-right project switcher. Each project has its own independent canvas, nodes, and wires.
Wire Inspector
Click any wire on the canvas to open an inspector panel showing label, category, priority, due date, notes, and status.
Excel Import
Import projects from Excel using the provided template file. Duplicate project numbers are automatically skipped.
Before starting, make sure you have downloaded both files: switchboard_v3.jsx (the application file) and switchboard_project_template.xlsx (the Excel import template).

You need Node.js installed on your Windows machine.

1
Go to nodejs.org in your browser
2
Download the Prebuilt Installer (LTS) — the large green button. LTS = Long Term Support, the stable version recommended for most users.
3
Run the installer and click through — Next, Next, Finish. When asked about "Tools for Native Modules" — leave that checkbox unchecked.
4
Once installed, open a new terminal window to continue.

Run these commands once to create your local application. Open a terminal: Win + R → type cmd → press Enter.

1
Create the project
If asked to confirm installing a package, press Y and Enter.
TERMINAL
npm create vite@latest my-switchboard -- --template react
2
Move into the project folder
TERMINAL
cd my-switchboard
3
Install dependencies
This installs the React libraries the app needs to run.
TERMINAL
npm install
4
Install the Excel import library
This installs SheetJS, which powers the Excel import feature in the Projects tab.
TERMINAL
npm install xlsx
5
Copy the application file into the project
Open the project folder in File Explorer by running the command below. Navigate into the src folder, open App.jsx in Notepad (right-click → Open with → Notepad). Select all, delete, paste in the full contents of switchboard_v3.jsx, then save and close.
TERMINAL
explorer .
6
Start the application
The terminal will display a local web address. Copy it and paste it into any browser.
TERMINAL
npm run dev
BROWSER ADDRESS
http://localhost:5173
The application is running locally on your machine. It is not on the internet — only you can access it at this address.

Once set up, you don't need to repeat the steps above. Each time you want to run Switchboard:

1
Open a terminal: Win + R → type cmdEnter
2
Navigate to your project folder: cd my-switchboard
3
Start the app: npm run dev
4
Open http://localhost:5173 in your browser. To stop the app, click in the terminal and press Ctrl + C.
Updating to a new version? Open src/App.jsx in Notepad, select all, delete, paste in the new file contents, save. If npm run dev is already running the app will hot-reload automatically. You never need to re-run npm install unless starting fresh on a new machine.
ACTION HOW
Move a nodeClick and drag the node card
Start drawing a wireClick an output port (right side of a node)
Complete a wireClick an input port (left side of another node)
Cancel wiringClick the ◎ WIRE button in the toolbar
Inspect a wireClick any wire on the canvas
Select a nodeClick the node card
Cycle node statusSelect node → click the status button in inspector
Delete node or wireSelect it → click ✕ DEL in toolbar
Zoom in / outScroll wheel on the canvas
Pan the canvasClick and drag on the empty canvas background
Switch active projectClick the project name button in top-right
Open SettingsClick ⚙ in the canvas toolbar

A pre-formatted Excel template is provided alongside the application file. Distribute it to team members for data entry.

PROJECTS SHEET
Main data entry sheet. Fill one row per project starting from row 6.
INSTRUCTIONS SHEET
Step-by-step guide for filling out the template correctly.
VALID VALUES SHEET
Reference list for accepted status values and date formats.

REQUIRED FIELDS

Project Name — must be filled in
Project Number — must be unique per project (e.g. HT-2026-001)
Client — client or owner organization
Status — must be one of: active planning onhold complete

HOW TO IMPORT

1
Fill out the template and save it as .xlsx
2
In Switchboard, click the PROJECTS tab
3
Click the IMPORT EXCEL button in the toolbar
4
Select your filled-out template file
5
A results summary will confirm what was imported, skipped, or flagged
Projects with duplicate project numbers will be skipped automatically — existing data is never overwritten during import.
'npm' is not recognized as an internal or external command
Node.js is not installed or the terminal was opened before installation. Close the terminal, reinstall Node.js from nodejs.org, then open a new terminal window and try again.
Blank white screen in the browser
The App.jsx file may not have been saved correctly. Open src/App.jsx in Notepad and confirm the contents start with import { useState and end with the closing brace of the default export. Make sure there are no extra characters before or after.
Cannot find module 'xlsx'
The Excel library was not installed. In the terminal, make sure you are in the my-switchboard folder, then run: npm install xlsx
Port 5173 already in use
Another instance of the app is already running. Either close the other terminal window, or Vite will automatically try the next available port (5174, 5175, etc.). Use whatever address is shown in the terminal output.
Excel import shows errors or nothing imports
The most common causes are: column headers were modified, the project number column is empty, or the date format is not YYYY-MM-DD. Refer to the Instructions sheet inside the template for the correct format.