Tracing a net

When you need to trace a net, you may not know all the net aliases or how many schematic pages the net touches. Using Capture, you can overcome these problems and find every portion of the net. You will need to start with a portion of the net selected in the schematic page editor, or with a net name, an off-page connector name, or a hierarchical port name. If you start with a name, use thePower Pins command of the project manager to locate a portion of the net.
The actions involved in tracing a net can be done in any order. Typically, you locate a part of the net, highlight all portions of the net on the same schematic page, follow the net onto other schematic pages in the same schematic folder, and then follow the net into other schematic folders.

Find a Net Using a Name

1. In the project manager, select the schematic folder that holds the name. If you do not know which schematic folder holds this portion of the net, select all schematic folders (press Ctrl while you click on a schematic folder to add it to the selection set).
2. From the Edit menu, choose the Find command. The Find toolbar displays.
3. In the Text to Search field, enter the name, with wildcards if you wish, in the Search options drop-down list and specify that this is the name of a net, an off-page connector, or a hierarchical port.
4. Click the Search button to initiate the search. A list of all objects that match your search criteria appears in the Find window.
5. Double-click on an item in the Find window. The schematic page editor opens with the net or off-page connector or hierarchical port selected.

Locate and Highlight all Wires of a Net on a Single Page

1. Click over a wire of the net to select the wire.
2. Right-click to display the pop-up menu.

3. From the menu, choose the Select Entire Net command.

   All wires of the net appear in the selection color. You may need to zoom out to see the entire net.

Nets on a schematic page are electrically connected by name, by alias, or by connection to a named hierarchical port or off-page connector.

Trace a Net Across Pages of a Schematic Folder

1. Locate and highlight all wires of the net on one page.
2. Scan the selected net for off-page connectors and for hierarchical ports not inside a hierarchical block. For each off-page connector or hierarchical port,
3. Note the name.
4. In the Project manager, select the current schematic folder.
5. From the Edit menu, choose the Find command.
6. The Find toolbar displays with the Find field selected.
7. In the Text to Search field, enter the name, select Off-Page Connectors, then click the Find button. The Find window displays a list of off-page connectors with the specified name.
8. For each entry in the Find window, double-click on the entry. The schematic page editor opens with the off-page connector appearing in the selection color.
9. Repeat step 2, selecting Hierarchical Ports in the Find pop-up list on the Find toolbar.

 To Trace a Net Between Schematic Folders

1. Locate and highlight all the wires of the net on one page.
2. Scan the selected net for hierarchical ports not inside a hierarchical block. For each port:
3. Note the name.
4. In the Project manager, select all schematic folders except the active one.
5. From the Edit menu, choose the Find command.
6. In the Text to Search field, enter the name, select Hierarchical Ports, then click Find. The Find window displays a list of hierarchical ports with the specified name.
7. For each entry in the Find window, double-click on the entry. The schematic page editor opens with the hierarchical port appearing in the selection color.

As you place buses and wires:

• A bus and a wire can be connected only by name.
  If you begin or end a bus segment on a segment of a wire, a vertex is added to the wire and a junction appears, but the bus and wire are not electrically connected.
  If you begin or end a wire segment on a segment of a bus, a vertex is added to the bus and a junction appears, but the wire and bus are not electrically connected.
• Two buses or two wires can be connected physically.
  If you begin or end a bus segment on a segment of another bus, a vertex is added to the second bus, and a junction appears—the buses are connected.
  If you begin or end a wire segment on a segment of another wire, a vertex is added to the second wire, and a junction appears—the wires are connected.

Capture preserves the case of part names and net names, but ignores the case when comparing names for electrical connection. That means you may use uppercase or lowercase letters as you wish, but you need not remember the case.

When you attach a schematic folder to a part or hierarchical block, you can specify a full path and file name in the Library text box. So, although you can specify a library that has not been saved, you should not try to descend into the attached schematic folder until the library that contains the schematic folder has been saved.

If you do not specify a full path and filename in the Library field, Capture expects to find the attached schematic folder in the same design as the part of hierarchical block to which it is attached. If the specified schematic folder does not exist in either the design or library, Capture creates the schematic folder when you descend the hierarchy on the part or hierarchical block.

For compatibility with future versions of Windows, Capture preserves the case of the path and filename as you specify them in the Library field.