Attributes are pieces of data associated with
symbols from the library.
They are used internally by the system to
manage the parts library and they can also be used for general
information storage e.g. the manufacturer, extra text to display with
the part etc. Adding text as an attribute means that when
dragging the part around the schematic the text is also dragged (as it
belongs to the part).
The attribute dialog is displayed in the main
window below the processes toolbar:
For each line of attribute data has - a
description - a visibility checkbox and an entry field for the
data. The visibility checkbox determines whether the attribute is
displayed on the schematic.
The five mandatory attributes are :
|
Name |
The part name designating the particular
part in a library file. |
|
Id |
The base identifier (alphabetic) (i.e.
th group that the part belongs to e.g. IC, U C). |
|
Part |
The part number of a multi-part object. |
|
Value |
The value of the pasted part. |
|
Description |
A description of the part. |
|
Decal |
The part footprint. |
Other attributes can be added or deleted
using the 'Add attribute' and 'Delete attribute' buttons.
Here two attributes have been added : manu1 (manufacturer 1) , and user.
Attribute data can be output in a linear list from the 'bill of materials' where it can be used to generate data suitable for spread sheet use. i.e. in the linear list one column can be set to display manu1 data and another to display user data - then all manu1 data would be listed for all parts (that have the manu1 attribute) see 'bill of materials'
See also Tidy attributes