Schematic - Graphical Editing

Parent page: Schematic Preferences

The Schematic - Graphical Editing page of the Preferences dialog

Summary

The Schematic – Graphical Editing page of the Preferences dialog provides numerous controls related to editing of schematic-based documents directly in the workspace.

Access

The Schematic – Graphical Editing page is part of the main Preferences dialog (File |

Options/Controls

Options

• Mark Manual Parameters – parameters displayed with a dot denotes that auto-positioning has been turned off and that parameters are moved or rotated with its parent object (component, for example). To hide the dots, disable this option.
• Always Drag – when this option is enabled, every time you drag a group of objects on a schematic document, the electrical wiring stays connected. Note that to keep the connections clean while dragging, press the Spacebar to cycle through the different corner modes.

Color Options

• Selections – this field shows the current color used as the highlight color for selected items. When an object on a schematic sheet is selected, it will be highlighted using this color. Click the field to access a standard Choose Color dialog, from where you can change the selection color as required.

Break Wire Cutting Length

The following options are available for controlling the length of wire that gets cut by the cutting tool when using the Break Wire feature:

• Snap To Segment - choose this option to have the cutter snap to an entire wire segment.
• Snap Grid Size Multiple - choose this option to have the cutter sized to a defined multiple of the current snap grid. Enter a value for the multiplier in the field to the right (or use the up/down arrows to select the value) between 2 and 10 (inclusive).
• Fixed Length - choose this option to create a fixed-length cutter, the length of which is specified by entering a value in the field to the right.

Auto Pan Options

• Style – auto-panning comes into effect when the cross-hair action cursor is active and you move the cursor to the edge of the view area. If auto-panning is on, the sheet will automatically pan in that direction. Set this field to control cursor movement during auto-panning. The options are: Auto Pan Off, Auto Pan Fixed Jump (pans the sheet by a fixed step, set in the Step Size field. The cursor remains at the edge of the view area.), and Auto Pan ReCenter (pans the sheet by a fixed step, set in the Step Size field. The cursor is re-centered in the view area after the pan.).
• Speed – move the slider bar to set the auto-panning speed. The further to the left, the slower or finer the auto-panning movement.
• Step Size – enter a value to set the size of each auto-panning step. The smaller the value, the slower or finer the auto-panning movement.
• Shift Step Size – enter a value to set the size of each step when the Shift key is held during auto-panning. The smaller the value, the slower or finer the auto-panning movement.

Cursor

• Cursor Type – select an option from the drop-down list to set the style of the "crosshair" editing cursor. This cursor is displayed when you are performing any editing action in a schematic document. The following options are available: Large Cursor 90 (cursor takes the form of a horizontal and vertical line extending from the edge of the document area), Small Cursor 90 (cursor takes the form of a small cross made with a horizontal and vertical line), Small Cursor 45 (cursor takes the form of a small cross made with 45 degree lines), and Tiny Cursor 45 (cursor takes the form of a tiny cross made with 45 degree lines).

Notes

1. Cutting Length options for the Break Wire tool can also be defined through the Break Wire Properties dialog, which is accessed by pressing Tab while in Break Wire mode. Values modified for length options at this local document level will be instantly reflected back at the Preferences level.