PLECS 3.7 Online Help

Circuit Browser

The Circuit Browser enables you to navigate a circuit diagram hierarchically. To display the Circuit Browser, select Show circuit browser from the View menu of the schematic editor. Note that this option is only available from the main schematic window, i.e. the Circuit Browser will only be shown once for every model.

[Picture]

The editor window splits into two panes. The left pane shows the Circuit Browser, the right pane displays the current schematic. The Circuit Browser shows either a hierarchical or a flat list of all components and subsystems in the circuit.

Selecting a component in the Circuit Browser will also select the same component in the schematic and vice versa. By dragging the mouse or by holding down the shift key you can select multiple components. If the selected components are compatible with each other, their parameters can be edited simultaneously. The parameter dialog is displayed on double clicking the selected components or on clicking the option Component parametersfrom the context menu.

The schematic is automatically updated to show the last selected component. The schematic of a specific subsystem can be displayed by double clicking it in the Circuit Browser.

The components can be sorted by clicking on one of the column headers. To quickly find e.g. all diodes in a circuit, switch to the flat view (see below) and sort it by clicking on Type. This will group all diodes together in the list.

Viewing Options

In the toolbar of the Circuit Browser, several viewing options are available.

View As Tree   [Picture]

The first two buttons in the toolbar switch between hierarchical and flat view. In the hierarchical (or tree) view, the first entry corresponds to the top-level schematic of your circuit. A "+" or "-" sign next to a name indicates that the corresponding schematic contains one or more subsystems. By double-clicking on the entry you can expand or collapse the list of these subsystems. This will also show the schematic of the subsystem.

View As Flat List   [Picture]

The flat view lists all components of the entire circuit except the top-level circuit itself. This view has an additional column that shows the path of each component.

Look Under Masks   [Picture]

By default, the Circuit Browser treats a masked subsystem like a component, i.e. it will not list the contents of the subschematic. You can change this behavior by toggling this button.

Follow Library Links   [Picture]

By default, the Circuit Browser treats a library link like a component, i.e. it will not list the contents of the subschematic. You can change this behavior by toggling this button.

Filter   [Picture]

The Filter button lets you choose, which components are shown in the Circuit Browser. When filtering is turned off, all components are shown. By clicking on the small arrow symbol, you can select between two filtering modes:

Show only subsystems When this mode is active, the Circuit Browser shows only subsystems.

Show assertions When this mode is active, the Circuit Browser shows only assertion blocks and components with attached assertions (see Assertions). To view the associated assertion parameters, double-click on the entry in the Circuit Browser.

Custom filter When this mode is active, a search bar is shown. The Circuit Browser shows only those components that match the search criterion or all components if the search string is empty.

The default filtering mode of the Circuit Browser can be specified in the PLECS preferences (see section Configuring PLECS).