The Interpreter and the Schematic Window

Although the Interpreter can be used entirely on its own with no schematic file open in the Schematic Window, it gains in power when used in relation to an underlying schematic. When a schematic file is open in the Schematic Window, you can access its circuit variables and component parameters.

Note that, in order to make component parameters accessible, you must enter a component reference symbol in the Label field of each component’s properties window. The label for a 250 ohm resistor, for example, could read R,250, R, or R=250. With any of these three labels, the Interpreter will use R as the reference name and will pick up the value from the Value field. The labels showing the value aid in user documentation on the schematic. In the case of components such as inductors or capacitors, additional parameters (parallel resistance or series resistance, respectively) become available. In general, each component reference symbol should be unique (an exception being where there are multiple components all with the same values).

The various parameters of sources (e.g., for a sine wave, DC level, AC amplitude, frequency, and phase) in a schematic are also available to you in the Interpreter. They appear in the symbol table under the heading Circuit variables. Be sure to fill in the label field for sources.

Finally, the results of analyses run on the schematic are also available as functions (of time or frequency). These appear in the Interpreter symbol table as External Functions, under the names they have been assigned by the Diagram Window (e.g., AC_Ampli2, AC_Group_delay3).