# Cable runs and testing

Category: Documenting sites. Updated 2026-11-10.

A cable run (a "drop") is one pulled cable with its own cable ID, where it comes from and goes to, and the tester's readings; this page covers adding runs one at a time or in a batch, recording tests, and threading runs through pathways.

## Add a run

1. Open the room the run serves and press **Add drop** in the **Cable drops** heading.
2. Leave **Cable ID** blank to take the next number in the property's CBL- sequence, or type the ID written on the cable. A cable ID is unique within the property. The camera button beside the field can read it off the cable's label.
3. Type the **Label** as written on the cable or jack.
4. Enter the **Length** and **Length unit**, then the **Cable type**, **Termination**, **Status** (**Active** or **Spare**), and **Colour on the map**.
5. In **Comes from** and **Goes to**, choose the room, rack, or device at each end, then **Lands on port** and **Reaches port** where it ends on a numbered port. **From location (free text)** is for anything the list does not hold.
6. Press **Add drop**.

A spare run is pulled and labelled but links nothing; it only needs its two ends. A run with a device at both ends makes the link between them for you. See [Ports and links](https://cablefolio.com/help/ports-and-links/).

## Add many runs from a pattern

1. In the room, press **Add runs from a pattern** beside **Add drop**.
2. Type a **Label pattern**. {n} is replaced by a counter, and {port} by the panel port each run lands on.
3. Set **Start at**, **How many** (up to 96), and **Pad numbers to** (2 writes 01, 02, and so on).
4. Choose the **Length unit** (the lengths themselves are measured later, on each run's page), the cable type and status, **Comes from**, and the **First run lands on port** if they land on a panel.
5. Check the preview of the labels it will make, then press **Add runs**.

## Read a run's page

The page leads with the run's facts — **Cable ID**, **Length**, **Status**, **Cable**, **Termination**, **Test**, **Comes from**, **Goes to** — then its **Test readings** and the **Pathways** it runs through. Its photos, files, notes, and history sit alongside.

If both ends of the run are pinned on a scaled floor plan and the run has no length yet, the page offers the straight-line distance between them as **Use … from the plan**. It is the shortest the cable could be, so it is only filled in when you press it.

## Record a test reading

1. On the run's page press **Record a reading** in **Test readings**.
2. Fill in **Tested on**, the **Result** (**Pass**, **Fail**, or **Marginal**), the **Wiremap** verdict, the **Measured length**, and, from a certification tester, the **NEXT margin (dB)** and **Insertion loss (dB)**.
3. Name the **Tester**, add **Notes** if needed, and press **Record a reading**.

Every reading is kept. The latest one becomes the run's own result, so once a run has readings its edit form shows the verdict rather than letting you type one. **Remove** takes a reading off after a confirm.

> Runs never tested, runs that failed, and runs marginal on their last test are counted on the home page under **Needs attention**, as are runs longer than their cable type allows.

## Record the test without a tester file

For a quick record, press **Edit cable drop** on the run's page and fill the **Test** part of the form: **Tested on**, **Result**, and **Measured length**. This is only offered while the run has no readings.

## Track pathways

Pathways are the conduits, trays, J-hooks, sleeves, risers, and ducts the runs travel through.

1. On the property page press **Pathways**.
2. Press **Add pathway**. Give it a **Name**, a **Kind**, a **Capacity (cables)**, and a **Trade size** if it has one.
3. On the pathway, choose a run in **Add a run** and press **Add**. Repeat for each run through it.

Each pathway shows how full it is against its capacity. One over capacity is flagged and counted under **Needs attention**. A run's own page lists every pathway it threads.

## Print wire flags

The property's labels page can print a flag for each end of every run, carrying the cable ID and where the other end lands. See [Labels and QR codes](https://cablefolio.com/help/labels-and-qr-codes/#print-wire-flags-for-runs).

## More help

- [Next: Floor plans](https://cablefolio.com/help/floor-plans/)
- [Contact support](https://cablefolio.com/support/)