<< Click to Display Table of Contents >> Navigation:  The graphical user interface > Circuit Objects > Customizing Components > Edit Definition/Template Dialog

 

The Edit Definitions dialog let you specify the component's appearance. The same dialog is used to edit support files on disk and local component definitions. On the Data page you can edit object data parameters and on the Node page you specify node attribute values.

 

You can also specify if high precision and branch output should be enabled. For non-standard components you are also free to change the number of data and nodes.

 

The dialog also contains menu options for creating or editing component icon and help, and storing support information to a disk file.

 

All support files for standard components are zipped together in the file ATPDraw.scl (standard component library). Selecting Library|Edit standard will give access to these support files.

 

Vi the Edit definitions dialog the user can specify

•Bitmap icons

•Vector graphic icons

•Picture backgrounds

•Help text

 

The Support file dialog is used in two situations:

Edit global support files: Executed from the Object menu field. Edit support files in a global user maintained library or ATPDraw.scl for standard components. When a component is added to a project it will inherit the properties stored in the support file.

Edit local definitions: Executed from the Component dialog (Edit definitions). This will edit the local definitions originally inherited from the support file. No file is involved in this case.

 

Support files contain component icon, help text and default attributes for nodes and data. When a component is added to the project the content of the support file is copied into the data structure creating the initial appearance of the component. The appearance can be edited locally for each component via the Edit definitions button in the Open component dialog. This process does not involve the support file. There are three different types of components: Standard, User Specified, MODELS. The support files for the Standard components are zipped together in the ATPDraw.scl (standard component library) file. The preferred location for User Specified and MODELS are the /USP and /MOD directories as specified under Tools|Options/Directories. It is possible to include Models in ATPDraw without using a support file, since ATPDraw is able to read the MOD-file/text and suggest an appearance.

 

The library menu provides options to create and edit support files.