Schematic Capture
 

Q1. How can I make my working sheet large enough to draw a big schematic?

The page size may be redefined using the tool from Tools à Page format menu item. Right click on the workspace and select the tool Define Page. You will get a window where the new page size may be selected. Otherwise you may draw the rest of your schematic in a new page by defining a new page from File ? New Page. The maximum size for a page that is acceptable is 4 x 4 meters and the maximum number of pages that can be used in the Schematic Editor is 99 pages.

Q2. In Schematic Editor, after a circuit is drawn, we autopackage. Can you explain what is actually taking place in autopackaging and why?

The autopackaging utility allows to perform the automatic packaging of all unpacked components and it assigns the first free number to the last placed components belonging to the same group. The component name prefixes from Part descriptions are used to automatically generate component names.
        When you actually autopackage, system extracts the package assigned to the part at the time of creation. This is how it displays the respective package facilitating front annotation.
Note: After Autopackaging if any components are deleted, then using Compact Project Library from EDWin XP/2000 task, compact the project library to avoid irregular numbering of components or corruption of the project.

Q3. EDWinXP concept of nets and wires

Net is a collection of nodes that are electrically connected together. A wire is merely a visual representation of the corresponding net description. The creation of a wire automatically results in the creation of the corresponding Net. Further, the deletion of a wire removes only the wire but does not remove the Net whereas the deletion of a net removes ALL the associated wires. The deletion of a node in the net removes the corresponding connection in the net and removes the associated WIRE SEGMENT/ TRACE SEGMENT also.

It is possible to delete a wire and the corresponding net connection together by the following procedure. From the Schematics Editor/ Layout Editor window select Tools -> Nets. Select the tool     Delete a Node (shortcut *NN) from the toolbar. Click on the appropriate node. A confirmation box pops up asking to confirm the delete operation. Select Yes to delete the node. This will delete the associated WIRE SEGMENT/ TRACE SEGMENT also.

Q4. How do you print the schematic hierarchy contents?

To print the schematic hierarchies select the specific schematic hierarchy from the list of hierarchies and select Schematic Editor. Then select File-> Print Page to print the schematic hierarchies.

Q5.How do you change the thickness of wires?

The thickness of wires & buses can be changed even after routing.

1. Invoke Options ? Sizes ? Schematic ? Bus/Wire from the task EDWinXP in the Project Explorer.

2. In the edit boxes provided for bus and wire line width, change the value.
Now to effect this change as the default setting, select the “Save & Exit” from the dropdown button before exiting from this window.

Note: If this change is just for the current project, then click the APPLY button and exit.

Q6. When I use "redraw on component" in Schematic, an error-message "component not found" appears although the component is apparently there in the schematic.

When you redraw a component in Schematic, specify the group number of the symbol on which the zooming operation is to be done, i.e. to zoom on 7474,1 that is packaged as IC4 in the schematic. Enter the name as IC4/1 in the input box that pops up when "Redraw on Component" is selected. On the other hand when redraw on component is done in the Layout, only the name IC4 is to be entered. Enter the component name in the format given in the input box that pops up when Redraw is selected.


Q7. About Merging and Splitting of Nets: I am not able to split and also end up in merging the nets which I don’t want to?

Splitting nets is a very simple process in EDWin. Select the tool Split Nets from the Wire/Bus toolbar. Click on the wire, the entire net gets selected. Click once again on the same wire, this pops up a window, enter a new net name (system automatically inserts the first free number) and check “Named ” in the window. Accept the new net name and verify using the tool Wire/ Bus Property.

But the system won’t allow splitting a net that has only a single branch as shown in Figure - 1.

Figure – 1    Figure -2
To split such a net, you have to delete a wire segment so that two or more branches exist in the net as shown in Figure - 2. Now select any node in the net and the system prompts to select the next node in that net which is to be splitted.
To merge, invoke the tool Merge Nets. Select the net you want to merge and click on the other net. A confirmation prompts. Now click YES to merge two nets into one.

Q8. I made the schematic diagrams and the layouts for an audio pre-amplifier and amplifier in 2 different projects. Is it possible to merge the two diagrams to create one single schematic diagram and layout?

You cannot make any link between two projects in EDWinXP. You can use Block Save / Block Load facility to combine two projects. Open one project and Block save its layout and open the second project and Block Load the first layout. You should make necessary net /trace connection between two layout parts if required. Block Save/ Load tool is available in Tools à Block Edit for both Layout Editor and Schematic Editor.

Q9. I created three buses with different names A, B and C. Then I suddenly discover that two of the buses should have the same name. Is there any easy way to change bus name without deleting it and rewriting it again, because when I try to rename C as B, the system says that B already exists?

You can' t merge two buses which are already created. EDWin will not allow this. The only possible way is to give similar names at the time of bus creation. For e.g.: create one Bus and give names as B and create another bus and give again B. But after creation you can't merge it.

Q10. I tried to copy a schematic to a Microsoft word software, (zoom1: 1), and I got half of the picture in my word document.

When I copied the schematic to the clipboard (zoom 2:1) to Microsoft word document, I got a very unreadable picture in the word document. Please tell me, is it a different way to copy schematic to word document and still to read the schematic in the word document.
You can use File à Copy Screen to Clipboard "Ctrl+C" command to copy the capture screen. It will only copy the currently viewing part of the diagram (work area). Then paste it to bitmap editor and load this bitmap to word document. Or you can directly paste it to the Word document without loading to the bitmap editor. You can also use basic Windows operation such as "Print Screen" / "Alt+ Print Screen" to copy full screen/ highlighted window handle.

Q11. I cannot find a method of searching for an item. E.g. a resistor. I would like to search for, say R234 and have it highlighted in some manner in the schematic and the layout (perhaps elsewhere too) - is there a way to do this?

Objects on the workspace can be easily found out using CTRL+F combination key. This pops up a dialog where each of the object is displayed in different tabs. Click on the any object and select its name by browsing and double click on it to redraw it on the workspace.

Q12. How do I search for a particular net in a project?

If you want to search a particular net from the project, select the tool Net property from the Nets Toolbar (Tools->Nets) and click on the free workspace and the system prompts you to enter the net for search. Give the exact net name to highlight it on the page/board as well as to open up its property window. Use CTRL+F to find.
Look into Q11.

Q13. I want to group components of same type like resistors to one side of the board. I tried to do in EDWin, but always end up in Placement pattern cannot be completed.

You can set the values for components in Schematic Editor module using the tool Add text/ value.

Ø    Select Tools/Components from the menu or click Components in the Tools Toolbar.

Ø    Select the tool Add Text /Change Value and click its option tool Add change/ value.

Ø    Just click on the component, a text box pops up, where you may enter the value and Accept it.

Q14: Can Edwin rotate components in 10 ° steps?

EDWin allows you to rotate a component at any angle you want. Just enter the angle of rotation which you want in the dropdown ‘Angular Snap’ (Standard Toolbar) and then rotate the component. Minimum angle is 0.01° or specify the angle of rotation in the property window.

Q15: How can I stop the Bus member number sliding, when I delete a net, that is bus connected with a defined bus number? I wish that the other nets in bus hold their previously defined bus member numbers

If you are deleting the whole net which is connected to the bus by selecting the tool     Delete whole net, then on redrawing the circuit the bus member number also gets renumbered. This is because on deleting a net, the part once again gets repacked and it renumbers the bus members also.

More on Bus member number

Bus member number allows to group nets having the same bus member number, So it is advisable to have default numbers (0,1,2...). If the default bus member number (e.g. 0) is to be changed, then select the tool Add Net/ Bus Labels from the Wire/Bus Editing toolbar and click on the bus member number. In the window, enter the required name (D0) and click O.K. Now click on all the bus member number having the same bus member number (0) and assign D0.