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Automatic creation of symbols from groups

Now, let's try to generate a symbol from a group.

First, create a group using win add to group in the main menu. The group should contain at least two ports ( SPICECAD version < 1.7.4 : named pins). Then, pop up the symbol menu and choose gen symbol from group. If your group contains less than two ports, you will receive an error message.

If the group seems to be correct to SPICECAD, a menu will pop up (see picture 16.2).


  
Figure 16.2: Automatic symbol generation dialog
\fbox{
\includegraphics{gensymbol1.ps}
}

Here, you have to give a name to the new symbol/schematic , and you can decide where to place contacts (left, right, upper, lower pins) and what the symbol should look like: like a box or like an opamp. If you choose the opamp, there must not be more than two right contacts. If you want to give local properties to the symbols, you can add them in the last line.

The creation of the symbol works very fast, so you don't have to wait for some actions after having pushed the creation button.

After pushing the creation button, the content of the group will be written into a file called 'newname.scm', where 'newname' is the name you have chosen in the menu. A second file, 'newname.sym', will be created which contains the symbol and property information. After doing this, the group will be erased from your schematic and will be replaced by the symbol you have created.

Afterwards, you should check the look of the new symbol and correct it whereever you like.


next up previous contents
Next: Rules for local and Up: Automatic creation of symbols Previous: Automatic creation of symbols
Martin Maschmann
1999-10-10