PlaceNote

Applied Parameters: None

Summary

This command is used to place a Note object onto the active document. A note is a non-electrical drawing primitive. It is used to add informational or instructional text to a specific area within a schematic, in a similar vein to that of commenting a program's source code. The note is a resizable rectangular area that can contain multiple lines of text and can automatically wrap and clip text to keep it within the bounds of the note.

Access

Notes are available for placement in the Schematic Editor only, by:

• Choosing Place » Notes » Note from the main menus.
• Right-clicking in the workspace and choosing Place » Notes » Note from the context menu.

Use

After launching the command, the cursor will change to a cross-hair and you will enter note placement mode. Placement is made by performing the following sequence of actions:

1. Position the cursor and click or press Enter to anchor the first corner of the note.
2. Move the cursor to adjust the size of the note and click or press Enter to complete placement.
3. Continue placing further notes, or right-click or press Esc to exit placement mode.

Additional actions that can be performed during placement – while the note is still floating on the cursor, and before its first corner is anchored – are:

• Press the Tab key to access the Note dialog, from where properties for the note can be changed on-the-fly.
• Press the Alt key to constrain the direction of movement to the horizontal or vertical axis, depending on the initial direction of movement.
• Press the Spacebar to rotate the note anti-clockwise or Shift+Spacebar for clockwise rotation. Rotation is in steps of 90°.
• Press the X or Y keys to mirror the note along the X-axis or Y-axis respectively.

Tips

1. While notes can be rotated or mirrored along the X or Y axis, this has no effect on the orientation of the text within.
2. Predefined 'highlight boundaries' can be placed to enhance the appearance of note objects. Based on ellipse, rectangle and polygon objects, these can be accessed and placed from the Place » Notes sub-menu.
3. For information on how a placed note object can be modified graphically, directly in the workspace, see Graphical Editing.
4. While attributes can be modified during placement (Tab to bring up associated properties dialog), bear in mind that these will become the default settings for further placement unless the Permanent option on the Schematic – Default Primitives page of the Preferences dialog is enabled. When this option is enabled, changes made will affect only the object being placed and subsequent objects placed during the same placement session.