DEMOCRACIA

Note: In this manual, we use the term "device name" to refer to the character string that identifies a unique device in the circuit. Typical device names might be "U23", "C4",

"IC12A", etc. This is distinct from the "type name" or "part name" that is used to distinguish the type definition that is read from a device library. Typical part names are

"RLC", "TLM", etc.

The name associated with an object can be placed anywhere on the diagram and will be removed if the object is removed.

Adding a Device Name by Typing on the Schematic

Enter Name mode either by clicking on the "Naming" tool in the Toolbar or by selecting Edit>Name.

Note that the cursor changes to a pencil icon. Two techniques are available to determine the position of the name:

ƒ If you click the pencil cursor on a device and release it immediately, the flashing text cursor will jump to the default name location for that symbol. You can then type the name as desired on the keyboard, ending with the Enter key. You can also click directly on the already visible name. If the name is not visible, this procedure will make it visible.

Note: A default position can be specified for any attribute using the methods described in Using Default Position Fields. If no position is specified, the program will calculate one.

ƒ If the name is not visible and if you wish to determine the starting position of the text before you type it, press and hold the mouse button with the tip of the pencil positioned inside a device symbol. As long as you hold the mouse button down an I-beam cursor will track the mouse movements. The device name text will start at the position where you release the button. Type the desired name and press Enter, or click the mouse button anywhere. Note that if the device name is already visible this method will create another copy of the name on the screen. You can hide the extra copy by right-clicking on it and selecting Hide.

Adding a Device Name Using a Menu Command

The name can be set by double-clicking on the already visible name or by right-clicking on the device symbol and selecting the Name option. This command displays a simple edit box allowing you to enter or edit the device name. The "Visible" option in this box allows you to select whether the name is made visible on the schematic or simply kept as an invisible text attribute of the device.

Repositioning or Removing a Name

Once a name is placed, it can be repositioned by dragging it using the Point cursor or removed using the Zap (Zap tool, Edit>Zap or Ctrl+H) cursor. The device name will be removed automatically if the device is removed. Holding the Shift+Ctrl keys depressed while moving a name (or any attribute value) disables the grid snap, allowing you to micro-position the name for alignment with other graphic items on the schematic.

NOTE: The "Name" is actually an attribute field, so all attribute editing techniques can be used on it. In particular, you can right-click on the name and the attribute pop-up menu will appear, giving you a variety of editing commands, described in Attribute text right-click menu.

6.5.16.2 Device Naming Options

Selecting the "Device Naming Options" command from "Options>Naming" will display this box for device Auto-name options:

Note that auto-packaging is not available in pure hierarchy mode. The following naming options are available:

None Auto-naming is off. The Name attribute field will not be modified when a device symbol is placed.

This option may create problems in EMTP.

Auto Naming On A unique (within the circuit) name will be generated in the Name field when a symbol is placed.

Make auto-assigned names visible

If this box is checked, the auto-assigned name will be displayed on the schematic next to the symbol. If this box is not checked, the name will be stored with the device, but not displayed on the schematic.

Default name prefix The text in this box will be the default prefix used to generate a device name, if no prefix is provided in the device attributes.

6.5.16.3 Setting the Auto-Generated Name Format

An auto-generated device name consists of two parts, the fixed prefix and the numeric suffix.

The prefix portion is derived from one of two sources:

ƒ The device's Name.Prefix attribute field, or if that is empty,

ƒ the value set using the "Device Naming Options" menu command.

The numeric suffix is assigned sequentially for each different prefix found in the design. The names names "U1", "U2", "U3", etc. will be assigned to devices with the value "U" in their prefix field, and the names "Res1", "Res2", "Res3", etc. for devices having prefix "Res".

The default device prefix field is Name.Prefix. This can be changed by entering the name of any other field in the design's PrefixField field (Design attributes). As an advanced option, you can change the PrefixField field and used a different device prefix field when changing the design type.

6.5.16.4 Reassign Names

The "Reassign Names" command is available from "Options>Naming".

The Reassign Device Names command assigns a new name to all devices in the current circuit that are either unnamed or have a default name. It is intended as a quick means of tidying up automatically-assigned names when a circuit is created or edited.

Note the following rules:

ƒ Only the current circuit is affected. Other circuit levels higher or lower in the hierarchy are unaffected.

ƒ Only the "Name" field is changed, regardless of hierarchy mode.

ƒ Names are assigned in order sorted first down the columns of the references grid, then across the page, then through subsequent pages.

ƒ Names are assigned using the device's prefix field.

ƒ Names that have been edited by the user are no longer considered "default" names and will not be changed.

ƒ Devices that are explicitly set to be Unnamed will also become named using the

$NONAME keyword (becomes used as a prefix) discussed in Specifying that a Device Should be Unnamed When Placed.

6.5.16.5 Setting the Name Prefix for a Device

The name prefix is set by filling in the appropriate device attribute field Name.Prefix. It can be done after placing the device in the design or by editing the device symbol when it is in its library.

In the first case the name will start changing after changing Name.Prefix, in the second case it will appear with the desired prefix immediately after dragging in from the library.

™ See Setting Part Attributes for more information on using this command.

6.5.16.6 Specifying that a Device Should be Unnamed When Placed

In some cases it may be desirable to have a device remain unnamed when it is placed on a schematic. An example might be a simulation option device that is used as data input function for some global information on design parameters.

The keyword "$NONAME" can be placed in the Name.Prefix field in a device symbol to indicate that no name should be assigned when the symbol is placed in the diagram.

6.5.16.7 Overriding Default Name visibility

Normally, when a device is placed on the schematic, its name will be made visible when the values are automatically assigned. This can be turned off globally using the Device Naming Options command. In some cases, it may be desirable to override this for specific devices.

To override the default visibility for a device:

‰ Open the device in the symbol editor: right-click on the device name in the Parts Palette and select "Edit Part".

‰ Select the "Part Attributes" command in the Options menu.

‰ Select the attribute field in question: Name.

‰ Enter a dummy value in the value text box. This value will be overwritten by the packager in any case, but a non-empty value must be placed here to force the attribute field settings to be stored with the symbol.

‰ Select the "Always Visible" or "Never Visible" option, as desired.

‰ Click OK.

‰ Resave the part.

6.5.16.8 Device Token Values

Every time a device is created in an EMTPWorks circuit, it is assigned an integer value known as its "token". The token number stays with the device for its lifetime and numbers are not re-used.

This ensures that a given device can always be recognized despite duplicate names or name changes. The token is used for a number of internal operations in EMTPWorks, but can also be seen by the user in the following circumstances:

ƒ The token number is displayed in the Device_info box.

ƒ The token number can be written out in Netlists or bills of materials whenever a guaranteed-unique identifier is needed.

Note the following characteristics of tokens:

ƒ Tokens are assigned independently for each circuit in a hierarchical design and are thus only unique within a circuit, not across the entire design.

ƒ Each logical symbol on the diagram (including pseudo-devices) has its own token. In a Netlist, several symbols may be combined into a single package, so there is not necessarily a one-to-one correspondence between tokens and physical packages.

6.5.16.9 Device Date Stamping

Date stamping is a mechanism that automatically marks devices with a time value when they are created.

The date stamp is stored using the system’s internal integer date format, that is, an unsigned integer representing the number of seconds since January 1, 1970. When a device is created or undergoes any major editing operation, the current time value is converted to a decimal string and assigned to the DateStamp.Dev attribute field. To create a more human-readable date value, the Export tool has date conversion functions available.

™ See more information on date conversions in report scripts, see the section Date and Time References in Export Script Language

6.5.16.10 Disabling Date Stamping

The date stamping process incurs a small overhead in processing time and memory space. If you are not using this feature and wish to disable all internal processing related to it, you can place the following line in the initialization file EMTP.INI under the drawing section:

NODATESTAMP

This will take effect the next time you start the EMTPWorks program.

™ See Device date stamping in INI file in the [Drawing] section.