Working with Rectangle and Round Rectangle Objects on a Schematic Sheet in CircuitMaker

Created: July 30, 2020 | Updated: February 10, 2022

Rectangle

A placed Rectangle
A placed Rectangle

A rectangle is a non-electrical drawing primitive. It is a graphic element that can be placed on a schematic sheet and can be filled or unfilled.

Rectangles are available for placement in the following ways.

From the schematic editor:

  • Choose Home | Graphical Elements | Rectangle from the main menus.

  • Right-click in the design space then choose Place » Drawing Tools » Rectangle from the context menu.

From the schematic library editor:

  • Choose Home | Circuit & Graphical Elements | Rectangle from the main menus.

  • Right-click in the design space then choose Place » Rectangle from the context menu.

After launching the command, the cursor will change to a cross-hair and you will enter rectangle placement mode. Placement is made by performing the following sequence of actions:

  1. Click or press Enter to anchor the first corner of the rectangle.
  2. Move the cursor to adjust the size of the rectangle then click or press Enter to complete placement.
  3. Continue placing further rectangles or right-click or press Esc to exit placement mode.

Additional actions that can be performed during placement while the rectangle is still floating on the cursor and before its first corner is anchored are:

  • Press the Tab key to pause the placement and access the Rectangle mode of the Inspector panel from where its properties can be changed on the fly. Click the design space pause button overlay () to resume placement.
  • Press the Alt key to constrain the direction of movement to the horizontal or vertical axis depending on the initial direction of movement. 
  • Press the Spacebar to rotate the rectangle counterclockwise or Shift+Spacebar for clockwise rotation. Rotation is in increments of 90°.

Graphical Editing

This method of editing allows you to select a placed rectangle object directly in the design space and change its size, shape or location graphically.

When a rectangle object is selected, the following editing handles are available:

A selected Rectangle
A selected Rectangle

  • Click and drag A to resize the rectangle in the vertical and horizontal directions simultaneously.
  • Click and drag B to resize the rectangle in the vertical and horizontal directions separately.
  • Click anywhere on the rectangle away from editing handles then drag to reposition it. While dragging, the rectangle can be rotated (Spacebar/Shift+Spacebar) or mirrored (X or Y keys to mirror along the X-axis or Y-axis).
To clear the selection of (or de-select) the object, use the Esc key. 

Non-Graphical Editing

This method of editing uses the Inspector panel mode to modify the properties of a rectangle object.

During placement, the Rectangle mode of the Inspector panel can be accessed by pressing the Tab key. Once the rectangle is placed, all options appear.

After placement, the Rectangle mode of the Inspector panel can be accessed in one of the following ways:

  • If the Inspector panel is already open, select the rectangle object.
  • With the rectangle selected, choose View | Schematic | Inspector from the main ribbons.

Editing Multiple objects

The Inspector panel supports multiple object editing, where the property settings that are identical in all currently selected objects may be modified. When multiples of the same object type are selected manually, an Inspector panel field entry that is not shown as an asterisk (*) may be edited for all selected objects.

Schematic Editor object properties are definable options that specify the visual style, content and behavior of the placed object. The property settings for each type of object are defined in two different ways:

All Rectangle object properties are available for editing in the Inspector panel when a placed Rectangle is selected in the design space.

           

Location

  • (X/Y)
    • X (first field) - the current X (horizontal) coordinate of the reference point of the object, relative to the current design space origin. Edit to change the X position of the object. The value can be entered in either metric or imperial; include the units when entering a value whose units are not the current default. 
    • Y (second field) - The current Y (vertical) coordinate of the reference point of the object, relative to the current origin. Edit to change the Y position of the object. The value can be entered in either metric or imperial; include the units when entering a value whose units are not the current default. 

Properties

  • Border - use the drop-down to select the border width and use the color box to select the border color.
  • Fill Color - check to enable fills. Click on the color box to access a drop-down from which you can select the default fill color.
  • Transparent - enable to make the primitive transparent.

Round Rectangle

A placed Round Rectangle

A round rectangle is a non-electrical drawing primitive. It is essentially a rectangle object with rounded corners that can be placed on a schematic sheet and can be filled or unfilled.

Round rectangles are available for placement in the following ways.

From the schematic editor:

  • Choose Home | Graphical Elements | Round Rectangle from the main menus.

  • Right-click in the design space then choose Place » Drawing Tools » Round Rectangle from the context menu.

From the schematic library editor:

  • Choose Home | Circuit & Graphical Elements | Round Rectangle from the main menus.

  • Right-click in the design space then choose Place » Round Rectangle from the context menu.

After launching the command, the cursor will change to a cross-hair and you will enter round rectangle placement mode. Placement is made by performing the following sequence of actions:

  1. Click or press Enter to anchor the first corner of the round rectangle.
  2. Move the cursor to adjust the size of the round rectangle then click or press Enter to complete placement.
  3. Continue placing further round rectangles or right-click or press Esc to exit placement mode.

Additional actions that can be performed during placement while the round rectangle is still floating on the cursor and before its first corner is anchored are:

  • Press the Tab key to pause the placement and access the Round Rectangle mode of the Inspector panel from where its properties can be changed on the fly. Click the design space pause button overlay () to resume placement.
  • Press the Alt key to constrain the direction of movement to the horizontal or vertical axis depending on the initial direction of movement.
  • Press the Spacebar to rotate the round rectangle counterclockwise or Shift+Spacebar for clockwise rotation. Rotation is in increments of 90°.
  • Press the X or Y keys to mirror the round rectangle along the X-axis or Y-axis.

Graphical Editing

This method of editing allows you to select a placed round rectangle object directly in the design space and change its size, shape or location graphically.

When a rounded rectangle object is selected, the following editing handles are available:

A selected Round Rectangle
A selected Round Rectangle

  • Click and drag A to resize the round rectangle in the vertical and horizontal directions simultaneously.
  • Click and drag B to resize the round rectangle in the vertical and horizontal directions separately.
  • Click and drag C to change the curvature of the corners. This affects all corners equally regardless of which editing handle is chosen.
  • Click anywhere on the round rectangle away from editing handles then drag to reposition it. While dragging, the round rectangle can be rotated (Spacebar/Shift+Spacebar) or mirrored (X or Y keys to mirror along the X-axis or Y-axis).

Non-Graphical Editing

This method of editing uses the Inspector panel mode to modify the properties of a round rectangle object.

During placement, the Round Rectangle mode of the Inspector panel can be accessed by pressing the Tab key. Once the round rectangle is placed, all options appear.

After placement, the Round Rectangle mode of the Inspector panel can be accessed in one of the following ways:

  • If the Inspector panel is already open, select the round rectangle object.
  • With the port selected, choose View | Schematic | Inspector from the main ribbons.

Editing Multiple objects

The Inspector panel supports multiple object editing, where the property settings that are identical in all currently selected objects may be modified. When multiples of the same object type are selected manually, an Inspector panel field entry that is not shown as an asterisk (*) may be edited for all selected objects.

Schematic Editor object properties are definable options that specify the visual style, content and behavior of the placed object. The property settings for each type of object are defined in two different ways:

All Round Rectangle object properties are available for editing in the Inspector panel when a placed Round Rectangle is selected in the design space.

Location

  • (X/Y) - the X (horizontal) coordinate and Y (vertical) coordinate of the object. 

Properties

  • Width - the width of the round rectangular shape, which may be edited.
  • Height - the height of the round rectangular shape, which may be edited.
  • Corner X-Radius - the curvature of the round rectangle's corners in the horizontal plane, which may be edited.
  • Corner Y-Radius - the curvature of the round rectangle's corners in the vertical plane, which may be edited.
  • Border use the drop-down to select the default border width.
  • Fill Color - enable to use a fill color. Click on the color box to select the color. 
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