Chapter VI: ADVANCED EDITING

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There are a number of ways to place text in a circuit. Each unexpanded instance of a facet has text that describes it and its ports. Each exported port has a text label. Nodes and arcs can be named (with Get Info) so that they have text on them. Certain primitive nodes (such as the Flip-Flop component of the Schematic technology) have text as an integral part of their image. It is even possible to create a special node that is only text (with the Text subcommand of the New Special Object command of the Edit menu). Essentially, then, every piece of text on the display is tied to some node or arc. By understanding the relationships between text and the attached objects, it becomes easy to manipulate that text.

The only category of text in the above list that is not modifiable is the text that is integral to a node's graphics (i.e. the Flip-Flop). For the rest, you can select and manipulate the text just as you would the object on which the text resides (port names on facet instances are not selectable: instead, select their name inside of the facet definition). To select the name of an unexpanded facet instance, use the special select button.

All text is attached to its node or arc at a grab-point. This is the one point on the text that never moves, regardless of the size of the text. The highlighting of selected text varies according to the grab-point. Typically, the highlighting consists of an "X" through the text. This indicates that the grab-point is in the center. If a "U" is drawn in any of four orientations, it indicates that the grab-point is on the side and that the text grows out of the opened end. If an "L" is drawn in any of four orientations, it indicates that the grab-point is in a corner. Finally, the text may be drawn with an "X" but also have four lines that indicate a box at the object edge. This is centered text that clips to the size of its attached object (it is "boxed").

Once text has been selected, its contents, size, grab-point corner, and even the offset of the grab-point from the attached node or arc can be manipulated with the Get Info command of the Info menu.
Figure 6.6

Figure 6.7
For special pieces of text that the system understands, you may get a customized dialog instead. For example, if you select the resistance value of a resistor, the Get Info dialog will be specific to that value. When this happens, use the "More..." button to see the general dialog.

In the general dialog, the offset is always relative to the center of the attached object. The size of text can be absolute (given in "points") or one of three relative sizes (which scale with the display). The little arrows next to the grab-point options show where the point of attachment lies on the text.

Besides the Get Info command, text can be moved simply by clicking and dragging (this changes the offset). It can be erased with the Erase command of the Edit menu.

To change the default size and grab-point of all new text, use the Text Display... command of the Windows menu. The "Easy selection of annotation text" indicates that node and arc names (set with the Get Info dialog) can be selected simply by clicking on them. If there is a large amount of such text, and it gets in the way of editing the layout, you may want to uncheck this entry. Then, you must use the special select button to grab these pieces of text.
Figure 6.8


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