PlaceSheetSymbol

Created: June 08, 2017 | Updated: January 29, 2019 | Applies to versions: 18.0, 18.1, 19.0, 19.1, 20.0, 20.1 and 20.2

Parent page: Schematic Commands

The following pre-packaged resource, derived from this base command, is available:

Place Sheet Symbol

Applied Parameters: None

Summary

This command is used to place a Sheet Symbol object onto the active document. A sheet symbol is an electrical design primitive. It is used to represent a sub-sheet in a multi-sheet hierarchical design. Sheet symbols include sheet entry symbols, which provide a connection point for signals between the parent and child sheets in a hierarchical design, similar to the way that ports provide connections between sheets in a flat-sheet design.

For detailed information about this object type, see Sheet Symbol.

Access

Sheet symbols are available for placement in the Schematic Editor only, by:

Choosing Place » Sheet Symbol from the Schematic Editor main menu.
Locating and using the Sheet Symbol command () on the Active Bar.

If the command has been recently used from the Active Bar, it will become the active/visible button. Where other commands are available, this is indicated by a triangle at the bottom-right corner of the button. Click and hold on the active button to access a menu of all associated commands for that grouping.

Clicking the button on the Wiring toolbar.
Right-clicking in the workspace and choosing Place » Sheet Symbol from the context menu.

Use

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

Click or press Enter to anchor the first corner of the sheet symbol.
Move the cursor to adjust the size of the sheet symbol and click or press Enter to complete placement.
Continue placing further sheet symbols, or right-click or press Esc to exit placement mode.

At any time during placement, press the Tab key to access the Properties panel, from where properties for the sheet symbol can be changed on-the-fly. Pressing Tab pauses placement, allowing you to interact with the panel (or other area of the software) directly. To resume, click the pause symbol that appears over the workspace.

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

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 sheet symbol counterclockwise or Shift+Spacebar for clockwise rotation. Rotation is in steps of 90°.
Press the X or Y keys to mirror the sheet symbol along the X-axis or Y-axis respectively.

Tips

By using sheet symbol instantiation, multiple channels on the same sub-sheet can be referenced from a single sheet symbol. The syntax used involves the use of the Repeat keyword in the sheet symbol's Designator field and takes the form:

Repeat(SheetSymbolDesignator, FirstInstance, LastInstance),

where SheetSymbolDesignator is the base name for the sheet symbol and FirstInstance and LastInstance together define the number of channels to be instantiated. The FirstInstance parameter must start at a value of one (1) onwards.
Multiple sub-sheets may be referenced by a single sheet symbol. Separate each filename by a semi-colon in the File Name field. With the effective use of off-sheet connectors placed on the sub-sheets, you can effectively spread a section of your design over multiple sheets, treated as though they were one giant (flat) sheet. Note however, that use of off-sheet connectors is only possible for sheets referenced by the same sheet symbol.
For information on how a placed sheet symbol object can be modified graphically, directly in the workspace, see Graphical Editing.
While attributes can be modified during placement (Tab to bring up the Properties panel), bear in mind that these will become the default settings for further placement unless the Permanent option on the Schematic - Defaults 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.