Developer Help

Create a Schematic

The schematic editor has been designed to be intuitive to use and you may not need to read too much about it. We describe the less obvious procedures below. If you have SIMetrix/SIMPLIS, make sure you are in the correct mode before entering a schematic. See Create an MPLAB® Mindi™ Schematic Page for details. Figure 1 shows the standard toolbar and the function of each button.

Place a Part

If it is a simple device that only needs a value such as a resistor or a capacitor, select the corresponding symbol from the toolbar or Place menu. For other devices that require a part number, it is easiest to use the model library browser. Select the Place > From Model Library… or From Symbol Library… or From Microchip Library… and then select your desired device.

Change Value or Device Type for a Part

Double click the device or hover your mouse over to the device, right click and select Edit Part… or press F7. A dialog box corresponding to the type of part will be displayed. For devices requiring a model name, a list of available types will appear.

Rotate, Mirror or Flip a Part

Use the Rotate toolbar button or F5 key to rotate a part. This operation can be performed while a part is being placed or while a block is being moved or copied.

To mirror a part or block through the y-axis, click the Mirror toolbar button or F6 key.
To flip a part or block (mirror about x-axis), click the Flip toolbar button or press Shift + F6.

Place a Wire

There are a number of ways of placing a wire:

Method 1

• Place the mouse cursor close to an unselected symbol pin or wire end. Notice the cursor shape changes to a pen symbol. Left click to mark the start point, then left click again to mark the final point. SIMetrix will automatically route the wire for you. You can also mark intermediate points if you prefer to define the precise route rather than accept the auto-routed connection.

Method 2

If you have a three-button mouse or scroll wheel mouse, you can start a wire by clicking the middle button/scroll wheel. Clicking the middle button or scroll wheel a second time will complete the wire and start a new one. Click the right button or press escape to terminate wiring.

Method 3

Start a wire by pressing F3 or double clicking the left button. Single clicking the left button will complete the wire and start a new one. Click the right button or click escape to terminate wiring.

Method 4

Click the Wiring Mode button on the toolbar. You can start a wire by single clicking the left button, otherwise, continue as described above. Click the Wire button again to cancel this mode.

Disconnect Wires

In most cases, simply select the wire, then delete it with the delete key. In some cases, especially if the wire is short, it may be difficult to select. In this instance, hold down the shift key, select the area enclosing the wire, then click delete.

Move Items from Connected to Disconnected

Select items, then from the schematic menu, Edit > Detach or the Detach toolbar button. Move the items to the desired location, then click the left mouse key. You can rotate/flip/mirror the items while doing so.

Copy Across Schematics

Select the block you wish to copy. Choose Copy from the Edit menu. In the second schematic, choose Paste. Multiple individual items that do not lie within a single rectangle can be selected by holding down the control key while using the mouse to select the desired items.

Select Wires

Hold down the shift key, left click to select wires.

Zoom Area

Press the Zoom Box button. Drag the mouse to zoom in on the selected area.

Zoom Full (Fit to Area)

Press Home to fit the whole schematic into the current window size.