The graphical user interface > Circuit Objects > Customizing Components > Open Component dialog

User-specified components are a generalized container to support the $INCLUDE feature and DATA BASE MODULARIZATION features of ATP. The user has to prepare a file to include in the final ATP file. In general this is an option for the advanced user only. When creating the ATP file a user specified component will dumped the data-file to the ResultDir (ATP-folder) with a user specified name and write the $INCLUDE statement within the /BRANCH section.

First the user has to create a sup-file that describes the nodes, data and icon. This is done under Library|New object|User specified. This will show the standard Edit definitions dialog where the user can specify the required data.

Next the user has to upload a data file describing the module (typically lib-file). This is done via the Edit button. The standard editior appears and the user can import, paste or write in the text (some templates are available via the right click context menu). The Empty checkbox visualize if the component contains any data file. If several components share the same $include name, the data file is forced to be equal and it is in this case copied to the other components when it it changed at one place. The Empty box can be checked for the clones and edit operations only performed on a master component. This will save some memory starage.

The user has to specify a file name in the $include field. This becomes the name of the final file when dumped to ResultDir (ATP-folder). The file is given the extension '.lib'. Under Tools|Options/View/ATP the user can specify a prefix to this file in order to avoid conflicts with LCC or Windsyn components that also use the $include feature.

Finally, the user has to select if the specified node names and data variables specified in the sup-file (redefineable under Edit definitions) should be written as parameters in the $include call by checking the Send parameters box. Checking the Internal phase seq. box will ask ATPDraw to only write the 5 character core node name as parameter and let the phase sequence be determined externally in the lib-file.