Applied Parameters: None
Summary
This command is used to place a Harness Connector object onto the active document. A Harness Connector object is an electrical drawing primitive. It is essentially a container to group various signals together to form a Signal Harness including buses and wires. A Harness Connector is defined by the Harness Type.
Access
Harness Connectors are available for placement in the Schematic Editor only, by:
- Choosing Place » Harness » Harness Connector from the main menus.
- Clicking the
button on the Wiring toolbar.
- Right-clicking and choosing Place » Harness » Harness Connector from the context menu.
A harness connector can also be defined textually, in a Harness Definition File (*.Harness). Such a defined harness connector can only be placed in the design using the Place » Harness » Predefined Harness Connector command, available from the main, or right-click menus.
Harness Definitions are automatically generated when a Harness Connector is constructed with Harness Entries. When the Harness Connector is modified, the corresponding Harness Definition is updated to reflect the modifications.
Use
After launching the command, the cursor will change to a cross-hair and you will enter Harness Connector placement mode. Placement is made by performing the following sequence of actions:
- Click or press Enter to anchor the tip of the Harness Connector.
- Move the cursor to adjust the size of the Harness Connector, then click or press Enter to anchor the corner and thereby complete placement of the Harness Connector.
- Continue to place other Harness Connectors or right-click or press Esc to exit placement mode.
Additional actions that can be performed during placement – while the harness connector is still floating on the cursor, and before its tip is anchored – are:
- Press the Tab key to access the Harness Connector dialog, from where properties for the harness connector can be changed on-the-fly.
- 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 harness connector anti-clockwise or Shift+Spacebar for clockwise rotation. Rotation is in steps of 90°.
- Press the X or Y keys to mirror the harness connector along the X-axis or Y-axis respectively.
Tips
- The Harness Type can be hidden from view or moved to save space in your design. Enable the Hide Harness Type option in the Harness Connector dialog, or select the Harness Connector, open the SCH Inspector panel, or SCH List panel, and enable the Hide Harness Type option. Alternatively, double-click on the Harness Connector Type object (the text associated to the harness connector) and enable the Hide option in the associated Harness Connector Type dialog.
- For information on how a placed harness connector object can be modified graphically, directly in the workspace, see Graphical Editing.
- While attributes can be modified during placement (Tab to bring up associated properties dialog), bear in mind that these will become the default settings for further placement unless the Permanent option on the Schematic – Default Primitives page of the Preferences dialog is enabled. When this option is enabled, changes made will affect only the object being placed and subsequent objects placed during the same placement session.