Symbol Annotation Tool

Introduction

The annotation tool allows you to automatically assign a designator to symbols in your schematic. Annotation of symbols with multiple units will assign a unique suffix to minimize the number of these symbols. The annotation tool is accessible via the icon . Here you find its main window.

Available annotation schemes:

• Annotate all the symbols (reset existing annotation option)

• Annotate all the symbols, but do not swap any previously annotated multi-unit parts.

• Annotate only symbols that are currently not annotated. Symbols that are not annotated will have a designator which ends with a ‘?’ character.

• Annotate the whole hierarchy (use the entire schematic option).

• Annotate the current sheet only (use current page only option).

The ``Reset, but do not swap any annotated multi-unit parts’’ option keeps all existing associations between symbols with multilple units. For example, U2A and U2B may be reannotated to U1A and U1B respectively but they will never be reannotated to U1A and U2A, nor to U2B and U2A. This is useful if you want to ensure that pin groupings are maintained.

The annotation order choice gives the method used to set the reference number inside each sheet of the hierarchy.

Except for particular cases, an automatic annotation applies to the whole project (all sheets) and to the new components, if you don’t want to modify previous annotations.

The Annotation Choice gives the method used to calculate reference:

• Use first free number in schematic: components are annotated from 1 (for each reference prefix). If a previous annotation exists, only unused numbers will be used.

• Start to sheet number*100 and use first free number: annotation start from 101 for the sheet 1, from 201 for the sheet 2, etc. If there are more than 99 items having the same reference prefix (U, R) inside the sheet 1, the annotation tool uses the number 200 and more, and annotation for sheet 2 will start from the next free number.

• Start to sheet number*1000 and use first free number. Annotation start from 1001 for the sheet 1, from 2001 for the sheet 2.

Some examples

Annotation order

This example shows 5 elements placed, but not annotated.

After the annotation tool Is executed, the following result is obtained.

Sort by X position.

Sort by Y position.

You can see that four 74LS00 gates were distributed in U1 package, and that the fifth 74LS00 has been assigned to the next, U2.

Annotation Choice

Here is an annotation in sheet 2 where the option use first free number in schematic was set.

Option start to sheet number*100 and use first free number give the following result.

The option start to sheet number*1000 and use first free number gives the following result.