PROTEOUS MANUAL

Proteus 8 is a single application with many service modules offering different functionality
(schematic capture, PCB layout, etc.).  The  wrapper that enables all of the various tools to
communicate with each other consists of three main parts.

Application Framework

Proteus 8 consists of a single application (PDS.EXE). This is the framework or container which
hosts all of the functionality of Proteus. ISIS, ARES, 3DV all open as tabbed windows within
this framework and therefore all have access to the common database.

Common Database  

The common database contains information about parts used in the project. A part can contain
both a schematic component and a PCB footprint as well both user and system properties. Shared
access to this database by all application modules makes possible a huge number of new features,
many of which will evolve over the course of the Version 8 lifecycle.

Live Netlist

Together with the common database the maintenance of a live netlist allows all open modules to
automatically reflect changes. The most obvious example of this is wiring in ISIS producing
ratsnest connections in ARES but it goes much further than that. The new Bill of Materials
module contains a live viewer and the 3D Viewer and Design Explorer are also linked into the
live netlist.

This document covers the Proteus 8 application framework and other functionality related to the
software suite as a whole. The various application modules (e.g. ISIS, ARES) each have their
own reference manuals and tutorial documentation.

You can find tutorial guides and an update guide from Proteus 7 near the top of the home  page
on the left hand side. Alternatively, the tutorial for a particular module of Proteus can be found
on the Help Menu when that module is open.
Reference Manuals

Similarly, you can open Reference Manuals either from the Proteus 8 home page or from the
Help Menu on the application module itself.

Several getting started videos can be watched directly from the home page in Proteus 8. These
cover the basics of importing and creating new projects as well as some more detailed
information on new features in the V8 release.
In addition, you will find a library of video tutorials and feature demonstrations on our website
or on our Youtube channel.

Context Sensitive Help

Dialogue level help is available within the software via the small question mark at the top right
of the dialog form.  Left click on the question mark and then click on the dialogue form to
launch.

As a result of changes in Windows policies and access rights, the installation of Proteus 8 differs
significantly from previous versions. Both the file structure and the registry entries have changed
as detailed below:   

Installed Files
Much like previous versions of Proteus several folder groups are installed with the software,
including:

 BIN Directory (Read only)

 Models Directory (Read only)
 Library Directory (Read/Write)
 Templates Directory (Read/Write)
 Updates Directory (Read/Write)
 Snippets Directory (Read/Write)
 Help Directory (Read only)
 Samples Directory (Read/Write)
 VSM Studio Directory (Read only)
 Datasheets Directory (Read/Write)

Directories to which a user may require read/write access are now installed in the ProgramData
(Application Data in Windows XP) folder while those requiring read only access are installed in
the Program Files directory. For example:

Read/Write Directories: C:\ProgramData\Labcenter Electronics\Proteus 8 Professional

Read Only Directories: C:\Program Files\Labcenter Electronics\Proteus 8 Professional

The Proteus 8 installer is an MSI installer and system administrators can make use of this to help
with large deployments.

Command line silent installation involves two steps.

1) Extract the MSI on Server

From the command prompt you type something like :

setup_pro8.12.30540.0.exe /exenoui /a // /passive /qn TARGETDIR="\\NetworkShare\

ProteusSetup\"

where setup_pro8.12.30540.0.exe is the Proteus installer and the TARGETDIR path is

the path to extract the MSI to. Typically executed on the server.

2) Silent Install on the Client

From an administrative command prompt on the client you run something like :
msiexec /i "\\networkshare\setup_pro8.12.30540.0.msi" /qn DATA_DIR="C:\
ProgramData\Labcenter Electronics\Proteus 8 Professional\"
APPDIR="C:\Program files (x86)\Labcenter Electronics\Proteus 8
Professional\" LXK="\\networkshare\licenses\lic.LXK"

where we have path to msi that was extracted by step 1 (other files also extracted), the target
program data directory and the target program directory. The order of command line arguments
is important.

Licence keys can be installed by command line option to the installer by adding a parameter
LXK="full\path\to\lic.LXK"

To install a language pack with the installation the LANG_PACK="full path to

language pack" can be appended.  To prevent the re-installation of a language pack the
NO_LANG_PACK=1 option can be appended.

In large corporations or institutions you may want to control the deployment of updates on client
machines. This can be done by setting registry keys on the clients as follows:

HKLM\SOFTWARE\[Wow6432Node\]Labcenter Electronics\Proteus 8 [Professional|Lite|

Demo]\Update Manager

UpdateSchedule is a dword value in days between 2 and 30. This is the checking period for the
client.

IgnoreBetas is an optional string which can be added and set to either "true" or "false"

disableUpdateInstallation is an optional string with change can be added and set to either "true"
or "false"

The latter key will prevent any client machines from installing available updates independently.

Since Proteus 8 installs directories requiring write access in a different directory structure there
may be some work required in moving existing libraries and data from your existing Proteus 7.xx
installation. In general this can be fully automated but the process may vary depending on your
Proteus 7 configuration.

Default V7.xx Installation

This is the normal situation in which your Proteus 7 was installed with a single library directory
and you have not since changed, moved or added library paths.

After installation of Proteus 8 the Legacy Importer utility will launch and offer to copy your user
libraries, styles and templates to the new Proteus 8 locations.

No user action is normally required for this type of installation.

If you did not make use of the Legacy Importer utility during installation you can launch it
separately from the BIN directory of your Proteus 8 installation (LegacySettingsImporter.exe).

Custom V7.xx Installation

In this case you have more than one library directory specified for your Proteus 7.xx installation.

Since we don't know why libraries have been separated or moved you may need to work
manually by copying files between your Proteus 7.xx directories and your Proteus 8.xx
directories.
The legacy importer utility will launch after installation and point to a library path. Depending on
how you have set up your system this may or may not be your primary Library path. If it is, then
run the tool as normal - if it isn't then browse to your primary Library path and then run the tool.

Organising your secondary Library paths is up to you. Typically however the secondary library
path from Proteus 7.xx can simply be added as a secondary path in Proteus 8 via the Set Paths
command on the System Menu.

If all else fails, you may need to get a couple of copies of Windows explorer open and copy files
manually between your Proteus 7 Library directory and your Proteus 8 Library directory.

Relevant Files

The following is a list of files that may be relevant for copying or moving between Proteus 7 and
Proteus 8.

Library Directory

PROPDEFS.INI : This file must not be copied from Proteus 7 as it is completely different in
Proteus 8.

SYSTEM.LIB : This file must not be copied from Proteus 7 as it is completely different in
Proteus 8.

DEFAULT.STY : This file contains custom pad and trace styles and can be copied from Proteus
7 into Proteus 8. However, we recommend using the migration tool in the installer as this will
merge rather than overwrite the V7 and V8 versions of the file.

Read Only Libraries: These will typically be libraries supplied by Labcenter. You should not
copy these across to Proteus 8 as we may have added parts or corrected errors.

VML Files: These are combined 3D model files supplied by Labcenter.  You should not copy
these across to Proteus 8 as we may have added parts or corrected errors.

3DS Files: Typically these will be user generated 3D model files and should therefore be copied
across to the Proteus 8 Library directory.

User Libraries: These will contain user generated library parts and should therefore be copied
across to the Proteus 8 Library Directory. Three such libraries are supplied as standard
(USERDVC.LIB, USERPKG.LIB & USERSYM.LIB) although users can create as many as they
need.

IDX Files: These are temporary files generated when Proteus is launched and should not be
copied between Proteus 7 and Proteus 8 directories.
Models Directory

Models that have been created or downloaded (e.g. SPICE models) by the user can be copied
from the Proteus 7 models directory to the Proteus 8 Models directory. You should not copy any
other files as these may have changed in Proteus 8.

Template Directory

Template Files in the Proteus 7 template directory can be copied into the Proteus 8 template
directory.

Datasheets Directory

Datasheets from the Proteus 7 directory can be copied into the Proteus 8 datasheets directory.

Bill of Materials

Bill of Materials configurations can be migrated from within the software by opening the Bill of
Materials application module. You can re-launch the tool at any time from the Import Templates
command on the Template Menu inside the BOM Module.

Proteus 8 makes use of a single compound file with extension pdsprj. All application modules
will store data inside the pdsprj file but in general you will be prompted to save data for external
use elsewhere on disk.

Schematic and PCB

 The schematic data is stored in the pdsprj file.

  The PCB data is stored in the pdsprj file.
 Bill of Materials generation will prompt you to save to disk.
 Output for manufacture from the PCB module will prompt you to save to disk.
 PDF and general graphics output from both schematic and PCB modules will prompt you
to save to disk.
 Project Notes documents will be stored inside the pdsprj file. Print and/or PDF options
exist for each document.

Schematic and VSM

 The schematic data is stored in the pdsprj file.

 The source code files are (by default) stored in the pdsprj file.
 In debug configuration the object files are stored in the pdsprj file for VSM Simulation.
 In release configuration the hex file is copied outside of the pdsprj file for programming
physical hardware.

You can choose to keep your source files outside of the pdsprj file by unchecking the 'attach
files' checkbox in the VSM Studio project settings.

The main objective is to keep anything internal to Proteus development in a single compounds
file while anything used by another application or device is saved externally.

In addition to the pdsprj file Proteus 8 also writes a per user workspace file for each project. This
basically remembers the state of the project when closed including:

 Number of open frames.

 Number of open tabs and which tabs belong with which frame.
 Size and position of  frame(s) on the users monitor(s).
This dialogue form contains options for configuring various system global settings. For most
users the default settings will be sufficient and global changes should always be made with
caution.

Initial Folder for Projects

This determines what folder the standard File-Open dialogue should default to. It is often
frustrating when Windows decides that you want to open a file in the Documents directory when
actually you want to re-open the file you last closed in a completely different place. You can
make this change to override the default Windows behaviour and ensure that your Proteus open
dialogues consistently start in a place of your choice.
Library Locale

Some schematic library parts have different symbols in different places; the most obvious being
the resistor which looks like a box in Europe and a sawtooth symbol (IEEE) in America. This
option allows you to specify which type of symbol you prefer.

System Paths

For almost all users the standard paths will be sufficient. However, if you do wish to move
folders post installation please refer to the linked topics below before making changes. In
particular, note that incorrectly changing paths can stop the system loading correctly and cause
other serious problems.

Maximum Undo Levels

This is simply the number of undo levels saved and can range up to a maximum of 200. The
higher the number of undo operations saved the bigger the memory footprint of the Proteus
process and the default value should suit most users.

Auto-save Interval

This is a quick save which takes place in your Windows TEMP directory at a frequency
determined by the setting on the System Settings dialogue. Proteus will attempt to recover from
this file after an unexpected crash.

See Also :

Backup and Recovery.

Crash Dumps

Proteus includes the ability to send crash dumps to our servers after a program crash. This can
help both alert us to a problem and help us pinpoint where the problem lies. It is however
entirely voluntary and you can control behaviour from the crash reporting tab of this dialogue.
A note on privacy. The crash dump format we use is the standard Microsoft memory dump and
the data refers solely to the Proteus process. It is however possible that a folder name is included
in the crash dump (folder where the Proteus project is located) and it is therefore possible that a
users name is submitted. Labcenter treat crash dumps on an aggregate basis and any analysis of a
dump takes place using Microsoft Visual Studio. As best we are aware therefore, there is no
identifying information or privacy risk from submitting crash dumps to our servers.

See Also:

Crash Dumps

Log File Generation

If you would like to generate an installation Log file, you can do so by opening an
Administrative Command Prompt and running the following command:

"Proteus_Setup_File_Name.exe" /L*V "example.log"

The Log file will be saved in the same directory as the installation file.

The Home Page is a new application module in Proteus 8 which makes it easy to get started with
a project and also performs some system tasks.

The Start Panel on the screen control project opening and creation while the News Panel includes
general information, integrated update manager and crash dump reporting.

These are discussed in more detail below.

In Proteus 8, the relationship between Schematic Design and PCB Layout involves a shared
database and is far more integrated. We therefore have a single project file rather than separate
design and layout files. You can create a new project or import a legacy schematic/layout via the
options on the home page.

Opening Projects
Existing projects can be opened via the button on the home page or, in the case of recent
projects, directly from the recent projects list.

Finally, you can browse and open our extensive sample design libraries via the Open Sample
button at the right of the Start Panel.

Creating New Projects

This wizard guides you through the setup of your next Proteus 8 project. There is a start page in
which you specify the project name and destination directory and then potentially three main
screens for schematic, PCB and firmware.
Schematic

If you are creating a schematic check the box at the top of the screen and then select the template
on which you want to base the schematic. Those provided by Labcenter basically contain
different sizes of work area, although you can customize and save your own templates from
within the schematic capture module.

PCB Layout

If you are creating a PCB check the box at the top of the screen and select from the available
templates. PCB templates contain pre-defined board edges, mounting holes and a full set of
technology data (design rules, layers in use, default units, etc.) As with schematic, you can
customize and save your own templates from within the PCB layout module.
Firmware

If you are creating an embedded design and want to simulate your firmware, check the create
firmware box at the top of the screen and then select your controller and compiler using the
combo boxes. If selected, the quick start files checkbox will generate a skeleton firmware project
for you and configure project settings for compilation.

Creating a firmware project requires a schematic in order to simulate so you cannot proceed from
this screen if you opted not to create a schematic earlier in the wizard.

There is also a summary page at the end allowing you to review your setup before the wizard
exits and generates the project files.

See Also:

Creating a New Schematic/Project (Tutorial Example)

Creating a New Microprocessor Simulation Project (Tutorial Example)

Getting Started Movie links on the Home Page.

Movie Library on the website

Importing Existing Projects

The legacy import wizard is a single screen wizard that lets you quickly port designs and layouts
from earlier versions through to Proteus 8.

First, browse for the old schematic (.dsn file)

If a PCB file (.lyt file) is associated with the schematic it will automatically appear in the Layout
field. If there is no layout file associated with the schematic then leave this field blank.

If an old VSMStudio file (.vsmp) with the same name as the schematic exists in the same
directory it will automatically appear in the VSM Studio edit box. If the wrong VSMP file
appears or there is no corresponding VSMP file then either browse for the file or leave blank.
The project name and path are taken from the filestem and location of the schematic being
imported. You can change this if required from the fields at the bottom of the dialogue box.

When you are finished use the import button to create an import a Proteus 8 project.

For PCB Design projects at this stage the schematic and layout have been brought into Proteus 8
exactly as they were in Proteus 7. However, there is no binding between the two, nor has any
netlist information been passed from the schematic to the layout (Live netlisting is switched off).
This is because the relationship between the schematic connectivity and the layout connectivity
is unknown and we do not want to automatically make changes to a layout that may not be
intended by the designer.
We would advise that during development users should work with live netlisting switched on.

The only time where live netlisting switched off may be of use is on larger layouts with multiple
zones where there may be a performance penalty because all of the zone connectivity will be re-
calculated on each schematic change. Note however that leaving Live Netlisting On and simply
closing the ARES tab or frame is just as optimal - netlist updates do not occur in the background.

See Also:

Importing an existing Microprocessor Simulation Project (Tutorial)

Getting Started Movie links on the Home Page.

Movie Library on the website

Software updates are integrated into the News Panel of the Proteus 8 Home Page. Notification of
updates will appear in the news and information of the home page and you can activate the
download and installation of the new software release directly.

You can perform a manual update check at any time by clicking on the link - status will be
reported at the bottom of the News Panel.

We have introduced a new error reporting system in Proteus 8. If the software crashes
unexpectedly you will normally be prompted on restart to send a crash dump to Labcenter. The
information in the dump allows us to see where in the software the problem occurred and helps
us to fix issues more quickly.
The successful submission of a crash dump will be reported in the news and information section
of the homepage and you will also receive notification of a successful fix to a reported issue.

We would ask all users to help us improve software quality by submitting these reports if you
experience a software crash and are prompted to do so.

Transmission of dump files is enabled by default but, if need be, can be disabled via the System
Settings command on the System Menu.

Local language versions of the Proteus software may be available - contact your distributor for
more information. These will be provided via Update Manager in the form of Language Packs
and on installation apply a fileset to the current Proteus install.

If you need to update or repair your language pack installation (for example because you have
installed a newer English Language version) you can do so via the 'Repair Language Pack'
command on the System menu from the Home Page. This will remove the existing language pack
and then prompt either for a file location or to check the update server for an updated language
pack.
(Application) Module

In Proteus 8 an application module encompasses functionality that opens as a top level tab inside
the Proteus application. These include :

 Proteus Home Page

 ISIS Schematic Capture.
 ARES PCB Layout.
 3D PCB Viewer.
 Bill of Materials.
 Project Notes.
 Design Explorer
 Gerber Viewer.
 VSM Studio IDE

Frame

A frame is essentially a window in Proteus 8 and can contain several tabs. By default you have
one frame, although you can drag tabs to create new frames or to close frames.

Tab

A tab is a small placeholder at the top of a frame that - when clicked - will bring an application
module to the foreground. You can also drag and drop tabs onto other monitors (or an area of
free space) to open them in a separate frame.
The Proteus application framework contains a small set of menu's and icons which are present
regardless of which module or modules you are working on. Typically, these are used to open
other application modules and to handle filing and configuration options.

is a standard toolbar for creating new projects, opening and saving projects and closing the
current project.

Each icon on this toolbar represents an application module. Clicking on an icon will open the
application module in the current frame.

Application Toolbars and Menus

When you open an application module (e.g. ISIS) both the menus and the toolbars will change to
include the various options available. Similarly, if you have two modules open (e.g. ISIS and
ARES) in different tabs then the menus and icons will switch as you switch tabs.

The system commands and the application module toolbar are available regardless of which
application module you are working in.

Global Settings

The System Settings dialogue on the System Menu allows you to configure paths for writeable
directories used in Proteus. It also enables configuration of crash dump reporting, the number of
undo levels in the software and also the locale used for library parts.
Each top level application module will open in a new tab inside the current frame.

If you prefer (and particularly if you work with two monitors) you can drag and drop a tab into
free space to create a new frame. This allows you to see both modules simultaneously which,
together with the common database and live netlisting, is a common method of working.

To open a new tab

Normally, you would do this simply by clicking on the icon on the application module toolbar.

The exception to this paradigm is graphs which will open in a new tab when maximised. Graphs
are not represented in the application module toolbar as they are entirely dependant on being
placed in the schematic capture module.
Design explorer can also be opened from the context menu of components in ISIS or footprints
in ARES.

To close a tab

Close a tab by clicking on the cross at the right hand side of the tab.

Alternatively, closing a frame will close all tabs inside the frame.

To open an additional frame

Assuming you have both the ISIS and the ARES tabs open and you want to view them at the
same time:

Drag the ARES tab either onto a separate monitor on into free space.

The Menu Bar

Menu bar in ISIS

The Menu Bar runs across the top row of the screen and its main purpose (the selection of
commands from the menus) is the same as with any other Windows application. In addition, the
title bar area above the menu names is used to display certain prompt messages which indicate
when the program has entered a particular editing or processing mode.

The Toolbars

As with other modern Windows applications, ISIS provides access to a number of its commands
and modes through the use of toolbars. The toolbars can be dragged to any of the four edges of
the ISIS application window. If you have a 4K monitor or Have your machine set to use high
DPI settings, the icons will upscale automatically. If the haven't, they can be forced from the
Sytem Settings command on the System Menu. You'll then need to close and open Proteus for
the changes to take effect:

 
Command Toolbars

The tools located along the top of the screen (by default) provide alternative access to the menu
commands, as follows:

If you are working on a relatively small monitor, you can hide any or all of the command
toolbars using the Toolbars command on the View Menu.

Mode Selector Toolbar

The toolbar located down the left hand edge of the screen select the editor mode, i.e. what
happens when you click the mouse on the Editing Window.

Note that the mode toolbar cannot be hidden, as its functions are not duplicated on the menus.

Orientation Toolbar

The orientation toolbar displays and controls the rotation and reflection for objects placed onto
the layout.
The edit box allows you type a rotation angle in directly; but note that in ISIS, only orthogonal
angles may be entered.

When an existing object is tagged, the Rotation and Mirror icons highlight in red to show that
they will modify the orientation of an object on the layout. When the icons are not highlighted,
they serve to determine the orientation for new objects.

The Editing Window

The Editing Window displays the part of the schematic that you are currently editing. The
contents of the Editing Window may be redrawn using the Redraw command on the View menu.
This also redraws the Overview Window. You can use this feature after any other command that
has left the display somewhat untidy.

Panning

You can reposition the Editing Window over different parts of the design in several ways:

 By clicking left at a point on the Overview Window - this re-centres the Editing Window
about the marked point.
 By clicking the middle mouse wheel on the editing window to 'pick up' the sheet and then
moving the mouse to reposition the sheet. We refer to this feature as Track-Pan.

Note that you can roll the middle mouse wheel while in track-pan mode to zoom in and out of
the schematic.

 By moving the mouse over the Editing Window, holding down the SHIFT key, and
'bumping' the pointer against one of its edges. This pans the display in the appropriate
direction. We refer to this feature as Shift-Pan.
 By pointing in the Editing Window and pressing one of the Zoom keys (see below).This
re-centres the display about the cursor position.
 By using the Pan icon on the toolbar.

Zoom In / Zoom Out

You can magnify or reduce the display of the board using the Zoom In and Zoom Out commands
that are also invoked by the F6 and F7 shortcut keys. Alternatively, you can roll the middle
mouse wheel to zoom in or out of the area currently pointed to by the mouse. Pressing F8 will
display a view of the entire board. You can also use the corresponding icons on the toolbar.

If the keyboard is used to invoke the command, then the Editing Window will be redrawn to
display a region centred around where the mouse cursor was pointing before. This also provides
a way to effect a pan by pressing the zoom key for the current level and simultaneously pointing
with the mouse at where you want centre of the new display to be.

Variable Zoom

An arbitrary degree of magnification can be achieved using the Shift-Zoom feature. A given area
of the board can be selected to fill the Editing Window by holding down the SHIFT key, pressing
the left mouse button and dragging out a box around the desired area. The area can be marked on
either the Editing Window or the Overview Window. You can also zoom to an area by clicking
the Zoom Area icon on the toolbar.

The Overview Window

This window normally shows a simplified

representation of the whole drawing, and has a half-inch grid on it. The cyan box marks the
outline of the sheet border, whilst the green box indicates the area of the design currently visible
in the Editing Window.

Clicking left at a point on the grid re-centres the Editing Window around this point, and redraws
the Editing Window.

You can also use the Shift-Zoom and Track-Pan features detailed above on the Overview
Window.

At other times, Overview Window is used to display a preview of an object that is selected for
placement. This Place Preview feature is activated in the following circumstances for any object
which may be oriented:

 When an object is selected from the object selector.

 When the rotate or mirror icons are adjusted.
  When an object type icon is selected for an object whose orientation can be set (e.g. the
Component Icon, Device Pin icon, etc.).

The place preview display is cleared automatically as soon as you proceed the place the object,
or when you perform any operation other than those listed above.

The Overview Window pane can be dynamically hidden by right clicking on it and selecting the
‘Auto-Hide’ command from the resulting context menu. This is particularly useful where the
parts are on the schematic and you want to maximise the Editing Window space for schematic
layout.

The Object Selector / Parts Bin

The Object Selector is used for picking components, terminals, generators, graph types and so on
from those that are available. It always carries a label indicating what it is listing and this serves
as a prompt additional to the state of the Icon Panel as to which mode is current.

The width and position of the Object Selector can be adjusted in conjunction with the width and
height of the Overview Window, as described above. You can also hide this pane to maximise
the Editing Window space by right clicking on the Object Selector and selecting the Auto-Hide
command from the resulting context menu.

The Context Menu for the Object Selector provides a number of mode specific options, giving
you quick and easy access to functionality during schematic design.

Co-ordinate Display

The current co-ordinates of the mouse pointer are displayed down at the bottom right of the
screen by default. The read-out can be in imperial or metric units and a false origin may be set.
Further details are given under co-ordinate system.

The X-Cursor command will display a small or large cross, in addition to the mouse arrow, at the
exact location of the current co-ordinates. This is particularly helpful when used in conjunction
with the Real Time Snap feature, since it gives you an immediate indication of what ISIS thinks
you are pointing at.

All co-ordinates in ISIS are actually held in 10nm units, purely to be consistent with the ARES
layout module. However, the coordinate read-out is restricted to 1 thou units. The origin is held
to be in the centre of the work area and so both positive and negative values are used. The co-
ordinates of the pointer are displayed at the bottom right of the screen.

We refer to a 1 thou increment as a unit.

Although the Origin command appears on the View menu, it should only be used via its
keyboard short cut (by default this is 'O'). Its function is to zero the co-ordinate display at the
current mouse position, a feature that is most useful when laying out a complex pattern of pads
given a set of dimensions on a drawing of the component.

When a false origin is set, the co-ordinate display changes colour from black to magenta as a
reminder.

Cancelling a false origin is done by invoking the Origin command a second time

A line grid is displayed in the Editing Window - this can be switched between line grid, dot grid
and no grid via the 'G' shortcut key or by invoking the Grid command on the View menu (three
way toggle). When enabled, the spacing reflects the current snap setting, unless this would result
in a ridiculous number of lines/dots, in which the spacing is increased.

You will notice that when the pointer is over the Editing Window, the increments of the co-
ordinate display are in fixed steps - initially 100th. This is called snapping and enables you to
position components and other objects on a neat grid. The degree of snap may be selected with
the Snap commands on the View menu, or directly via keyboard shortcuts (default assignation
F4, F3, F2 and CTRL+F1).

If you wish to see exactly where the snapped position is, you can use the X-Cursor command that
will display either a small or large cross at this location
Furthermore, when the pointer is positioned near to pin ends or wires, the cursor location will
also be snapped onto these objects. This function is called Real Time Snap and allows you to
connect to or from pins and wires that are not on the currently selected snap grid.

ISIS makes use of the following file types:

 Project Files (.PDSPRJ)

 Workspace Files (.WORKSPACE)
 Project Clips (.PDSCLP)
 Module Files (.MOD)
 Library Files (.LIB)

All data from the schematic is collated and stored as part of the Proteus project file with
extension 'PDSPRJ'. This is a compound file containing the schematic data, the layout data, the
project database and potentially other simulation related files. Backup copies made when saving
over an existing file are prefixed with 'Backup of...'.

Information about which modules are open in Proteus (e.g. Schematic, Bill of Materials and
Layout) together with their positions on your monitor(s) and which frames they are in are stored
in the project workspace file. This allows you to return to the same project state when you reload
a project.

A section of a drawing can be exported to a section file and subsequently read into another
drawing. Section files have the extension 'SEC'. and are read and written by the Import and
Export commands on the File menu.

Module files have the extension 'MOD' and are used in conjunction with the other features for
hierarchical design. See hierarchical designs for further information.

Symbol and device libraries have the extension 'LIB'.

The Proteus VSM simulation system uses other file types as well. See the VSM manual for
further details.

To start a new design you need to create a new Proteus project. You do this by invoking the New
Project Wizard either from the home page or from the file menu. This wizard guides you through
the setup of your next Proteus project. There is a start page in which you specify the project
name and destination directory and then potentially three main screens for schematic, PCB and
firmware.
Schematic

When creating a schematic check the box at the top of the screen and then select the template on
which you want to base the schematic. Those provided by Labcenter basically contain different
sizes of work area, although you can customize and save your own templates from within the
schematic capture module.

PCB Layout

If you are creating a PCB check the box at the top of the screen and select from the available
templates. PCB templates contain pre-defined board edges, mounting holes and a full set of
technology data (design rules, layers in use, default units, etc.) As with schematic, you can
customize and save your own templates from within the PCB layout module.

Firmware

If you are creating an embedded design and want to simulate your firmware, check the create
firmware box at the top of the screen and then select your controller and compiler using the
combo boxes. If selected, the quick start files checkbox will generate a skeleton firmware project
for you and configure project settings for compilation.
Creating a firmware project requires a schematic in order to simulate so you cannot proceed from
this screen if you opted not to create a schematic earlier in the wizard.

The combo boxes on this screen are license aware so you cannot create a firmware project for a
controller than you cannot simulate in Proteus.

There is also a summary page at the end allowing you to review your setup before the wizard
exits and generates the project files.

See Also:

Creating a New Project (Tutorial)

Loading an existing project can be done in three ways:

 From the command prompt as in: PDS.EXE <my_project>

 By using the Open Design command once ISIS is running.
 By double clicking the file in Windows Explorer.

Older versions of Proteus typically contained several files such as a DSN file for schematic and a
LYT file for layout. The Import Wizard on the home page and File Menu is used to bring these
projects into Proteus 8.

To import a legacy project

Launch the import wizard.

Browse for the old schematic (.dsn file)

If a PCB file (.lyt file) is associated with the schematic it will automatically appear in the Layout
field. If there is no layout file associated with the schematic then leave this field blank.

If an old VSMStudio file (.vsmp) with the same name as the schematic exists in the same
directory it will automatically appear in the VSM Studio edit box. If the wrong VSMP file
appears or there is no corresponding VSMP file then either browse for the file or leave blank.

The project name and path are taken from the filestem and location of the schematic being
imported. You can change this if required from the fields at the bottom of the dialogue box.
When you are finished use the import button to create an import a Proteus 8 project.

You can save your Project when quitting via the Exit command, or at any other time, using the
Save Project command. In both cases it is saved to the same file from which it was loaded. The
old version will be prefixed with the text ‘Backup of’.

The Save As command allows you to save the Project to a different file.

The Export command creates a section file out of all currently tagged objects. This file can then
be read into another sheet using the Import command. After you have chosen the section file,
operation is identical to the Block Copy function.

When you wish to end a Proteus session, you should use the Exit command, default key 'Q' or
use the cross at the top right of the application. If you have modified the project, you will be
prompted as to whether you wish to save it.

Proteus supports many types of object, and full details of the purpose and behaviour of each type
is given in the chapter on Object Specifics. However, the basic steps for placing an object are the
same for all types.

To place an object:

1. Select the appropriate icon from the Mode Selector toolbar for the category of object that
you want to place.
 2. If the object type is Component, Terminal, Pin, Graph, Symbol or Marker, select the
name of the object that you want from the selector. For Components, Terminals, Pins and
Symbols, this may first involve picking it from the libraries.
3. If the object is orientable, it will have appeared in the Overview Window. You should
now adjust its orientation to that which you require by clicking on the Rotation and
Mirror icons.
4. Finally, point on the Editing Window, click left to enter placement mode, move the
mouse to the location on the schematic where you want to place the object and left click
the mouse to deposit the object and exit placement mode.. The exact procedures vary for
each object type but you will find it all fairly intuitive and similar to other graphics
software.

See Also:

Selecting Parts from the Library (Tutorial)

Placing Objects on the Schematic (Tutorial)

Tagging or highlighting an object can be done in several ways as detailed below :

 Entering selection mode and left clicking on the object.

 Right clicking on the object (tags the object and presents you with that objects context
menu.
 Dragging a box around the object (or objects!) using the left mouse button.
 Modeless selection by clicking the left mouse button on the object. This is extremely fast
and works for all objects except for wires and 2D Graphic objects where one of the above
methods must be used.

Normal use would be to use either modeless selection or simply to right click on the object,
however it is very much an area for personal preference.

Objects may be de-selected either by right clicking in free space and selecting the Clear
Selection option from the context menu or simply by left clicking in free space.

See Also:

Timesaving Techniques & Block Editing (Tutorial).

You can delete any object by pointing at it, clicking right and selecting Delete from the resulting
context menu. All wires connected to the object will also be deleted, except in the case of a dot
connected to exactly 2 wires, in which case the wires will be joined.
Many object types have one or more labels attached to them. For example, each component has a
reference label and a value label. It is very easy to move these labels in order to improve the
appearance of your schematics.

To move a label:

1. Tag the object by one of the methods outlined above.

2. Point at the label and depress the left mouse button.
3. Drag the label to the required position. If you need to position it very finely, you can
change the snap resolution using the shortcut keys (by default these are mapped to F4,
F3, F2, CTRL+F1) even whilst dragging.
4. Release the mouse button to finish.

Sub-circuits, graphs, lines, boxes and circles may be resized. When you tag these objects, little
white squares called handles will appear and the object can be re-sized by dragging the handles.

To resize an object:

1. Tag the object by entering selection mode and left clicking on the object (remember to
left click on the border if the object is a 2D Graphic).
2. If the object can be resized, a set of little square handles will appear on it.
3. Resize the object by pointing at a handle, pressing the left mouse button, and dragging it
to a new position. The handles disappear whilst you are dragging so that they do not
obscure your view of the object itself.
 Many of the object types may be oriented - that is rotated through 0°, 90°, 270° and 360° and
reflected in x and/or y. If such an object is tagged, the Rotation and Mirror icons will change
colour from blue to red, and will then affect the tagged object.  

To reorient an object:

1. Tag the object using one of the methods outlined here.

2. Click left on the rotation  icon to rotate it anti-clockwise, right to rotate it clockwise.
3. Click left on the Mirror icon to toggle its reflection in x, and right to toggle its reflection
in y.

It is worth noting that if the Rotation and Mirror icons are red, operating them will affect an
object somewhere on the diagram, even if you cannot currently see it. This becomes important if,
in fact, you wish to manipulate a new object which you are about to place. If the icons are red,
first untag the existing object by pointing at an empty area of the design in the Editing Window
and clicking left. The icons will then revert to blue, indicating that it is 'safe' to adjust them.
Many of the objects have graphical and/or textual properties that may be edited through a
dialogue form, and because this is a very common operation we have provided a variety of ways
to achieve it.

To edit a single object using the mouse:

Either:

Right click on the object and select Edit Properties from the resulting context menu.

Or:

Double click the left mouse button on the object.

To edit a succession of objects using the mouse:

1. Enter Selection Mode.

2. Point at each object in succession and click left.

To edit an object and access special edit modes:

1. Point at the object.

2. Press the shortcut for ‘Edit Object Under Mouse‘ (default assignation is CTRL+'E').

For text scripts, this will invoke the external text editor. Also, if the mouse is not over any object,
this command will edit the current graph, if any.

To edit a component by name:

1. Key the shortcut for ‘Find and Edit Component’ (default assignation is ‘E’).
2. Type in the reference name (part ID) of a component.

This will locate and bring up the dialogue form for any component in the design, not just those
on the current sheet. After the edit, the screen is re-drawn with the component in the centre. You
can thus use this command to locate a component, even if you do not actually want to edit it.

Details pertaining to the operation of the dialogue forms associated with each object type are
given in the Object Specifics section of this documentation.

Component, terminal, wire and bus labels can all be edited in much the same way as objects:

To edit a single object label using the mouse:

1. Tag the object by pointing at it and clicking left.

 2. Click left on the label (not the object itself).

To edit a succession of object labels using the mouse:

1. Enter Selection Mode.

2. Point at each label in succession and click left.

Either way, a dialogue form with Label and Style tabs is displayed. The editing of local text
styles is fully covered in the tutorial on graphics and text styles- see Editing Local Styles.

To copy a section of circuitry:

1. Tag the required objects by dragging out a tag-box as described in Tagging an Object.
2. Right click within the tagbox and select the Block Copy option from the resulting context
menu.
3. Move the mouse to lift the copy outline to the require position and click left to place a
copy.
4. Repeat step [3] as required to place multiple copies.
5. Click right to finish.

When components are copied, their references are automatically reset to the un-annotated state
so as to ready them for automatic annotation, and prevent the occurrence of multiple instances of
the same part IDs.

To move a set of objects:

1. Tag the required objects by dragging out a tag-box as described in Tagging an Object.
2. Move the mouse inside the tagbox (the cursor will change to indicate that the block can
be moved.
3. Depress the left mouse button, drag the outline to the required position and click left to
place it.
The behaviour of wires during block move is somewhat subtle. Essentially, ISIS will move all
wires or parts of wires enclosed in the tag-box without re-routing them, and then, where wires
cross the boundaries of the tag-box, it will reroute from the last point inside the tag-box to the
first point outside it. It follows that you can control whether a section of wiring is preserved or
re-routed according to whether you  include it in the tag-box or not.

To delete a group of objects:

1. Tag the required objects by dragging out a tag-box as described in Tagging an Object.
2. Right click within the area encompassed by the tagbox and select the Block Delete option
from the resulting context menu.

To rotate a group of objects:

1. Tag the required objects by dragging out a tag-box as described in Tagging an Object.
2. Right click within the area encompassed by the tagbox and select the Block Rotate option
from the resulting context menu.
You may have noticed that there is no Wire icon. This is because ISIS is intelligent enough to
detect automatically when you want to place a wire. This avoids the tedium of having to select a
wire-placement mode.

To connect a wire between two objects:

1. Move the mouse over the first object - the mouse cursor will change to be a green pencil
to indicate that you start wire placement at this point.

Click left to start placement and then move the mouse towards the second connection point. The mouse
cursor will change to an uncoloured pencil during placement.

During more complex routes (which involve directional changes) left click the mouse to place an 'anchor'.
This will commit the previously section of track and continue to follow the mouse movement from the
anchor point. Successive anchor points can be undone by hitting the BACK button on the keyboard.

When the mouse is over the termination point of the wire the cursor will again change to be green in
colour. Left click to commit placement of the wire.
A connection point can connect to precisely one wire. For components and terminals there is a
connection point at the end of each pin. A dot has four connection points at its centre so that four
wires can be joined at a junction dot.

Since it is common to wish to connect to existing wires, ISIS also treats wires as continuous
connection points. Furthermore, as such a junction invariably means that 3 wires are meeting at a
point it also places a dot for you. This completely avoids ambiguities that could otherwise arise
from missing dots.

It is often convenient to place a component against a wire or the pin of another

component/terminal in order to make a connection. Proteus supports this method of connection
as shown in the following examples.

Place component against wire

If you place a component pin end directly against a wire it will be considered connected to the
wire and a junction dot will be created. The component can then be moved and a wire will
automatically be placed
Place component against terminal or component pin

If you place a component such that a pin end on the component is directly against another
component pin end or a terminal end on the schematic it will be connected to that component or
terminal.

Place (2-pin passive) component in the middle of a wire

If you place a passive component (e.g. res, cap) in the middle of a wire it will insert into the wire
connection and both pins of the component will be connected.

Place component and then drag onto wire

If you place a component on the schematic and then separately drag it onto a wire it will not
connect. No junction dot is created. The part must be placed directly on to the wire in order to
make a connection.
Dragging a component on to a Junction dot

You can connect a component to a junction dot by placing it or dragging the pin end on to a
junction dot.

Place component and then drag onto component / terminal pin

If you place a component onto the schematic and then separately drag the component such that a
pin touches the end of a component pin or a terminal pin it will form a connection.
Copy and Paste component pin end onto wire

If you copy and paste a component and position the paste onto a wire, it will not connect It has
the same rule as dragging an already placed component on to a wire.

Copy and Paste component onto another component pin end or terminal end

If you paste a component or a terminal on to another pin end or terminal it will create a
connection

The following basic rules of thumb may be helpful:

 If you are placing the component you can attach to another component, wire or terminal
directly.
 If you are dragging the component you can attach to another component pin, junction dot
or terminal.
 If you are copy and pasting you can only attach it to a pin end, a bus pin, a junction dot or
a terminal only.

The wire autorouter in ISIS provides an intelligent aid to quickly placing wires on the schematic.
After starting wire placement the wire router will follow the path of the mouse towards the
terminal point, making orthogonal adjustments as required. For longer, more complex routes you
should periodically click left to 'anchor' or commit the previously routed segment (this gives you
far more control over the routing process by allowing you to interact with the auto-router and
direct it as required).
Suppose you have to connect the data bus of an 8 bit ROM to the main data bus on the circuit
diagram and that you have placed the ROM, bus and bus entries as shown below.

You would first click left at A, then B to place a horizontal wire between them. By clicking twice
at C, you will invoke the Wire Repeat function which will then place a wire between C and D.
Clicking left twice on E will join E and F and so forth.

Wire Repeat copies exactly the way the previous wire was routed. If the previous wire was
automatically routed then the repeated wire will also be automatically routed. On the other hand,
if the previous wire was manually routed then its exact route will be offset and used for the new
wire.

Although wires follow the general scheme of tag then drag, there are various special techniques
that you can apply to them. In particular:

 If you point at a corner and drag then the corner simply follows the pointer.
 If you point in the middle of a horizontal or vertical wire segment, the segment will
be dragged vertically or horizontally respectively and the adjacent segments will be
stretched to maintain connectivity.
 If you point in the middle of a diagonal segment, or at either end of the wire, then a
corner will be created and then dragged. Note that in order for the latter to work, the
object to which the wire connects must not be tagged, as otherwise, ISIS will think
you are trying to drag the object.

It is also possible to move a wire segment, or a group of wire segments using block move
techniques.

To move a wire segment or group of segments:

 Drag out a tag-box around the wire segment(s) you wish to move. It is quite acceptable
for this 'box' to be a line, lying along a single segment, if this is convenient.
 Move the mouse inside the tagbox (the cursor will change to indicate that objects can be
moved).
 Depress the mouse and move in the direction orthogonal to the wire segments, as shown
below.
  Release the mouse to finish

A further technique provides a quick way of altering wiring topology, perhaps eliminating
unwanted kinks in wires where they have been routed around an object which has since been
moved.

To edit a wires topology after routing :

 Tag the wire you wish to manipulate.

 Move the mouse over the segment that you want to adjust.
 Depress the left mouse button and move the mouse orthogonally as indicated by the
mouse cursor.
 Release the left mouse button when complete.

The Design Explorer is a unique tool in Proteus which provides a windows style user interface to
allow you to both navigate and inspect your schematic at any stage in the design process. It
includes the ability not only to interrogate the current state of the schematic to verify
connectivity, packagings etc. but also to navigate to items of interest on both the schematic and
the PCB. It is also the control centre for managing Assembly variants for your design and
contains a powerful search and filtering system that helps you make block edits to component
properties quickly.

Design Explorer can show you information about the schematic in two ways:

Partslist View

This view provides a physical representation of the schematic, showing you sheets, hierarchies,
components and component pins. You can navigate both across a design (if, for example you
have a multi-sheet design with more than one root sheet) and down a design (moving through a
design hierarchy or drilling down from a component to look at a listing of the component pins).

Netlist View

This view provides a representation of the connectivity of the schematic, showing you a listing of
all the nets on the schematic and all the pins connected to the selected net.

When you launch the Design Explorer it will open in a new tab. Like any other module in
Proteus 8 you can drag and drop it into free space on your monitor(s) to separate it and create a
dual view. Before looking in more detail at the functionality of the Design Explorer we should
familiarize ourselves with the window itself. This actually fairly simple and consists of a toolbar
and two separate panes.

Toolbar

The toolbar contains eight icons as shown below:

Left Hand Pane

The left hand pane of the design explorer is used primarily for navigation. In Partslist View it
provides a 'tree-view' of the schematic from root sheets, through hierarchy modules and down to
individual components whereas in Netlist View it provides a 'tree-view' listing of all the nets on
the schematic. In outline view it will display the sheet hierarchy of the design as a tree view but
hide the components inside sheets.

Regardless of which view we are in, it works in the same way as windows explorer (or indeed
the contents pane on the left hand side of this help document) where clicking the mouse on an
item on the left hand pane causes the right hand pane to update with detailed information on the
contents of the item you have clicked on.

Right Hand Pane

The right hand pane of the design explorer provides detailed related to the item selected in the
left hand pane. So, for example, selecting a net in the left hand pane (netlist view) will display
information on all the pins on that net in the right hand pane and selecting a sheet in the left hand
pane (partslist view) will display information on all the components (and potentially child sheets)
on that sheet in the right hand pane.
The information displayed in the right hand pane is dynamic and changes according to what is
displayed - this allows us for example to display package information when components are
listed in the right hand pane and routing strategies where nets are displayed in the right hand
pane.

Icon Identifiers

The design explorer uses several icons to visually identify and distinguish between different
items in a listing. These are detailed below :

Navigation of the design explorer centers around the pins on schematic devices. These provide
the common link between a netlist view (looking at all the connections to a pin on a device) and
the physical view (looking at all the physical pins on a device). The act of 'drilling down' for
closer inspection is both simple and intuitive, making it as easy to interrogate a single connection
as it is to examine an entire sheet.

When opened initially (from the Design Explorer command - default shortcut key ALT+X) we
are shown a Physical Partslist view of the current sheet as shown below :

Opening the Design Explorer in Physical Partslist View

The left hand pane shows a list of all the root sheets on the schematic and can be expanded in
'tree like' fashion by clicking on  the title of the sheet. On a flat sheet (i.e. one which contains no
subsheets) this displays a list of components on the sheet, while in a root sheet which contains a
hierarchy (i.e. the sheet contains one or more subsheets) the tree will expand to show the
subsheets and root components. The subsheets can themselves then be expanded in the same
way, allowing you to quickly and easily navigate through even the most complex of designs.
The right hand pane provides more information on the components contained in the currently
selected sheet or subsheet such as their type, value and packaging. For a sheet containing a
hierarchy the child sheets are also displayed in this pane. The contents update as you navigate via
the left hand pane and possible errors such as a missing package are highlighted in red.
We can drill down even further to look at the pins on a device by clicking on a component part
on the left hand pane. When we do this the right hand pane will change to display information on
the pins of that component including their electrical type, number and the net on which they are
on.

While we have navigated across and down the schematic hierarchy via the left hand pane, we can
also use the right hand pane to navigate 'downwards' from the current view. So, if the current
view on the right hand pane contains both subsheets and components a double click on a
subsheet will navigate into that sheet (thereby updating the display to show you a list of
components inside that sheet) while a double click on a component will update the display to
show you a list of the pins on that component.

This is particularly significant where we have a list of pins on the right hand side. No further
navigation is possible via the left hand pane (as we have drilled down as far as we can) but a
double on a pin on the right hand pane has special meaning. Specifically, it will switch the
design explorer into netlist view, displaying the pins net on the left hand pane and all the pins on
that net in the right hand pane.

Double clicking on a pin in the right hand pane switches into netlist view and displays all pins on
the same net as the actioned pin

This is both extremely clever and extremely powerful, allowing us not only to navigate through a
physical design but also to examine the nets and connections on the schematic.

Notice that the left hand pane has updated to display a listing of all the nets on the schematic.
Clicking on a net in the left hand pane will show a listing of all the pins on that net in the right
hand pane together with information on their electrical type, number and the sheet on which the
parent component resides.
Finally, double clicking on a pin in netlist view will switch the design explorer back in to
partslist view, showing you all the pins on the device that the actioned pin is on.  

It follows therefore that we can navigate the design either in Netlist view or in Partslist view to
whatever granularity we choose and that actioning pins allows us to seamlessly switch between
views. While in this discussion, \we started in Partslist view, drilled down to the pins and then
switched to netlist view we can switch to and from netlist and partslist views at any time via the
partslist and netlist view icons or their keyboard shortcuts (ALT+P and ALT+N respectively).

Using the Find dialogue to Navigate

To date we have used the windows directly to traverse the schematic but, if we know in advance
exactly what we are looking for, we can use the find dialogue to quickly locate it. The Find
Dialogue is launched via the find icon on the toolbar at the top of the design explorer and is
extremely straightforward to use. For example, below we have configured it to find the VSS net
on the schematic.
Pin / Label Search

If you need to fins a specific pin or a wire label, you can check the 'Match against Net' check
box, set the drop down boxes as required to narrow down the search accordingly, enter the name
of the pin or label and click on search:
 

Then you can navigate to the result by right clicking on the net and select your required option:

While it is undoubtedly useful to navigate the schematic as we've shown in the previous section
the real power of the design explorer comes from it's ability to interact with the schematic,
locating and tagging specified items of interest. The following types of schematic interaction are
available :

Navigating  to a Schematic Sheet

This action allows you to navigate between sheets on a complex multi-sheet design.

To navigate to a particular sheet on a schematic:

 Launch the Design Explorer.

 Ensure that you are in Partslist View.
 Right click on the sheet you want to navigate to and select the Show Schematic Sheet
option from the resulting context menu. If you want to go to a child sheet you must first
click on the parent sheet to expand it. For deeply nested sheets you may find it quicker to
use the find tool.

1. The design explorer will minimise to the taskbar and the schematic will display the
designated sheet.

Navigating to a Schematic Part

To navigate to a part while browsing:

1. Right click on the part of interest and select the Goto Schematic Part menu option from
the resulting context menu.
  The design explorer will minimise to the taskbar and the schematic will zoom in
around the now highlighted part.

\ To navigate to a part when you know its reference:

1. Launch the Design Explorer (Default shortcut key ALT+X)

2. Launch the find dialogue from the top of the design explorer and type the reference into
the edit field.
3. Follow the steps outlined in the case above to navigate to the part.

Navigating to a Schematic Net

This action will highlight the specified net, tagging all wires on that net in the current sheet.

To tag and show a schematic net:

1. Make sure you are in Netlist Mode or are at the level where you have a pin display on the
right hand pane.
2. Right click, either on a pin if at that level, or on a net and select the Goto Schematic Net
option from the resulting context menu.

1. The design explorer will minimise to the taskbar and all wires on the specified net will be
tagged on the current sheet.
The Design Explorer contains a wealth of functionality as described in the preceding sections. To
help clarify the operation of the design explorer the following are some practical examples of the
type of things you may do while working on a project.

To check the design for unpackaged parts :

1. Launch the Design Explorer in Physical Partslist View.

2. Navigate through the sheets via the tree view on the left hand pane.
3. Parts without a package will have a red 'missing'' in the package column.

To examine one pin nets for possible connectivity errors:

1. Launch the Design Explorer and switch to Physical Netlist View.

2. All nets on the current sheets will be shown on the right hand pane. One pin nets are
identified both by a separate icon and by the text 'single pin net' in the Net Type column.
Right click on a single pin net in the right hand pane and select goto schematic net from the
resulting context menu. The Design Explorer will minimise and the schematic will zoom in
around the now selected pin which is on the net.

1. Click on the Design Explorer in the status bar at the bottom of the desktop to relaunch
and repeat step 3 as required.
To highlight the ground net on the current sheet:

1. Launch the Design Explorer in ISIS and switch to Physical Netlist View.
2. Select the sheet you want to view by navigating through the sheets on the left hand pane.
3. Find the GND Net from the list of nets on the right hand pane of the design explorer.
4. Right click on the GND Net and select Goto Schematic Net from the resulting context
menu.

5. Repeat steps 2 to 4 as required on different sheets.

To navigate to a nested child sheet on the schematic:

Launch the Design Explorer and then:

either:

1. Right click on the selected sheet on the right hand pane and select the Show Schematic
Sheet option from the resulting context menu.
Or:

2. Use the search filter to find components inside a subcircuit / nested child sheet. Select the
required sheet from the Sheet drop down list, and leave everything else set to ALL or blank.

To cross probe to a PCB footprint in ARES

1. Make sure that both the schematic and layout applications are open, have the
design/layout file loaded and that they are synchronised (that is, that all changes in the
schematic have been netlisted through to ARES).
2. Launch the Design Explorer in the schematic.
3. Make sure that you are in Physical Parts View - this is shown on the title bar of the
design explorer.
The right hand pane should be displaying a listing of component parts on the current schematic
sheet.

Right click on the schematic part of interest within this pane and you should get a context menu
with an option to 'Show PCB Part'. Select this menu option and ARES will both zoom to and
highlight the footprint corresponding to the component you selected.

In addition to interacting with the schematic you can also use the design explorer to interact with
the PCB layout, cross-probing between schematic component and PCB footprint or highlighting
a net on the PCB corresponding to connectivity in the schematic. This is extremely valuable both
during the revision and review process and also as a verification tool during project design.

In order to interact with the PCB the following conditions must be met:

 ARES must be open on the desktop with the layout corresponding to the schematic
loaded.
  All changes to the schematic must have been netlisted through to the PCB - that is, the
schematic and the PCB must be synchronised prior to launching the design explorer to
cross-probe.

Additionally, it should be obvious that cross-probing to a PCB footprint where that footprint has
not yet been placed on the PCB will fail!

You can action a cross-probe in one of three ways:

1. Right click on the schematic component and select 'Show in PCB Layout' from the resulting
context menu.

2. From Design Explorer, click on the part or net that you want to view in the PCB package,
make sure that the Cross Probe icon is selected and click on the ARES tab.

3. From Design Explorer, right click on the part of net that you want to view in the PCB
package and then select either Show PCB Part or Show PCB Net as appropriate from the
resulting context menu.
There might be a time where you are required to place PCB components in certain areas of the
board. This can be done by assigning components to a group and then using the Auto Placer in
the PCB Layout to place these groups.

For more information see the Autoplacement section in the ARES help

Placement Column
The placement column provides information on where or whether the component is placed on the
PCB. This is not an editable field, if you need a package on a differnt layer you must change it in
the PCB Layout.

In the Design Explorer there is the ability to add Assembly Variants / Design Variants for
manufacture. This allows you to have one schematic which will have components included or
excluded per variant of the board based on their 'fitted' or 'not fitted' status. For example a board
might be produced for a car radio where some models of the car will have bluetooth and where
some will not, but the same circuit board is used for all models.

1. From the Variant menu, click on Add Variant and give the variant a name and click on OK:
 2. The variant column will now be visible:

Go to the Variant menu and click on Remove Variant. Select the variant that you wish to
remove. Note that once it is deleted, you wil have to add it again from scratch should you need it
back.
By default, all components are added to a variant. It is up to the user to remove the non required
components. To remove a component(s) from a variant, simply click on the tick to make it in to a
cross and then you must click on 'Apply Changes' to finalize the change:

If you wish to remove multiple components from a variant. You can do so by dragging a 'cross'
downwards and it will set each box to be the same as you rag over it. This works similarly to MS
Excel: