The SIMetrix/SIMPLIS
user interface can be configured with general option settings and the menus items and
keyboard shortcuts to these menus can be customized by the user. This topic introduces the
user interface and how to customize the user interface using the built-in dialogs. In 1.2.2 Customizing the User Interface, you will learn how to customize the
user interface using scripts.
What You Will Learn
- How the SIMetrix/SIMPLIS User Interface is constructed
- How to customize the user interface of your SIMetrix/SIMPLIS version
Getting Started
In this topic, you
will learn how the user interface is constructed and two ways you can customize the
SIMetrix/SIMPLIS user interface:
- by setting global options which configure the program
- by adding keyboard shortcuts to execute menu items
Change the Default Simulator and Enable GUI Property Editing
To get started, you will set some global
options that will help with this course material. Many of these options will also
help in your day-to-day work with SIMetrix/SIMPLIS. Once set, the global options
persist and are used to configure SIMetrix/SIMPLIS every time you use the
program.
To edit the global options, follow these
steps:
- From the menu bar, select
Result: The Options/Preferences Dialog opens to the
Schematic Editor tab:
- In the Initial Simulator box on the upper right corner, click the radio
button in front of SIMPLIS.
Result: Each new
schematic will now use the SIMPLIS simulator. Existing schematics are
unaffected.
- In the Property editing box on the lower right, check Enable GUI
property edits.
Result: This option allows
you to double click on any visible symbol property to edit that property. The
Options/Preferences dialog should now look like the following:
- Click Ok to accept the dialog and save the options.
Result: The dialog closes, and SIMetrix/SIMPLIS saves your
preferences.
Discussion
At this point, you have set some global options to your personal preferences. Next you
will learn how menus and keyboard shortcuts are defined and how you can add keyboard
shortcuts to existing menu items.
Every menu item and keyboard shortcut is implemented with the SIMetrix/SIMPLIS script
language. The menus you see on the different windows are not a permanent part of the
program but are created from scratch every time the program starts. This
gives you a great deal of flexibility to add new menu items as well as moving or
deleting existing menu items.
Keyboard shortcut keys can be assigned using a dialog or a script. In this section you
will learn how to edit menus using the dialog method, in section 1.2.2 Customizing the User Interface, you will learn how to use scripts
to modify menus and keyboard shortcuts.
Reassigning a Shortcut
Key Using the GUI Editor
In this exercise, you will assign the
"Ctrl+P" keyboard shortcut to run the menu selection.
- From the SIMetrix/SIMPLIS menu bar, select .
Result: The Edit Menu System dialog
opens
- Double click the SimplisMain item.
Result: The SIMPLIS schematic menu items appear, starting with File, then Edit,
etc...
- Double click the Pro&be item.
- Move the mouse to the left of the Accelerator text in the header.
Result: The mouse cursor changes to a splitter,
indicating that the header can be re-sized.
- Press and hold the left mouse button and drag the splitter to the right so you
can see each entry in the Menu Name column.
- Click on the More Probe Functions... item.
Result: The dialog should now look as follows:
- Click the Accelerator... button.
Result: The
Rebind Key dialog opens:
- Press and hold the Ctrl key while pressing the P key.
Result: The Warning - binding More Probe Functions...
dialog opens:
- Click Ok.
Result: Your new key binding has
been saved.
- Click Ok on the Edit menu System dialog.
To verify the new key binding:
- Open a schematic with the menu bar, .
- Press Ctrl+P.
Result: The More Probe
Functions... dialog opens.
Behind the Scenes
Every menu item or keyboard shortcut
executes either a SIMetrix/SIMPLIS script or a simple script command. A script file
is a sequence of commands or calls to other scripts. The user interface is built from
a set of approximately 900 scripts. Here is a short example using the
edit_options.sxscr script:
- Type edit_options into the command line of the SIMetrix/SIMPLIS command
shell.
- Press Enter or click Ok.
Result: The
Options/Preferences dialog opens exactly as if you had selected from the menu bar.
The edit_options script is a
built-in script and can be downloaded in another browser window by clicking here.
From a functional point of view, there is no difference
between using the menu item, the keyboard shortcut (if there is one) or hand-typing
the script name into the command line. These user interface scripts are called
Built-In or BiScripts and can be downloaded as a zip archive file
from the SIMetrix/SIMPLIS Download Links page.
To download the zip archive, follow these
steps:
Important: You will be prompted to log in
with the user name and password you received with your license file. If you don't have the
user name and password, you can email
support@simplistechnologies.com with your license information to receive the
login credentials. Include a screenshot of the dialog which opens when you run the
menu.
- Click http://www.simetrix.co.uk/simetrix80/scripts.zip to download the script archive.
- Enter the user name and password you received with your license file.
Conclusions and Key Points to Remember
In this topic, you have used the Edit Menu
System dialog to modify the user interface. In the next topic, 1.2.2
Customizing the User Interface, you will download and install a set of scripts
specially prepared for this training session. These scripts automate the process of
setting keyboard shortcuts and further extend the functionality of the user
interface.
- The SIMetrix/SIMPLIS user Interface can be easily customized.
- Keyboard shortcuts are easily modified with the Edit Menu System dialog, or a script
file.
- Menu items can easily be added, moved, or deleted.
- It's not magic - the user interface is constructed from scripts which are available
for you to view or modify for your purposes.