Annotating the Data Display

Designs can be better documented by making annotations on the display. The Data Display includes drawing tools that enable you to annotate the display by inserting text and drawing objects.

Inserting Text

Adding Text

To add text to the Data Display:

Choose Insert > Text or select Text from the palette.
Click the mouse on the display page to place the text. The insertion point is marked by a red cursor.
Type the text.
When you are finished, click the End Command button on the toolbar or choose Edit > End Command.

Embedding Equations in Text Objects

You can display equation results as well as equation names in text objects.

Any named equation can be embedded in a text object by preceding its name with the "@" character, for example "@freq". Use either the onscreen editor or the Enter Text dialog box to embed or edit equations in texts.

To embed equations in the text using the onscreen editor...

Choose Insert > Text or select Text from the palette.
Single-click the mouse on the display page.
Type the text and place the "@" character before any equation name.
When you are finished, click the End Command button on the toolbar or choose Edit > End Command.

To embed equation results in the text using the Enter Text dialog box...

Choose Insert > Text or select Text from the palette, then double click the mouse on the page to place the text and display the Enter Text dialog box.
Select the Select Data and View Warnings/Errors checkbox to display the dataset browser.
Insert an equation in the text by double-clicking it or by selecting its name from the dataset browser and clicking the Insert button. The equation name will be added to the text field preceded by the "@" symbol. Click OK.

When you deselect the text object, the equation results are automatically evaluated and displayed in the text. Up to three data items, separated by commas, are displayed for each equation, followed by "..." if more data items are available.

To re-activate the onscreen editor, single-click the text. The text is highlighted in red and displayed in its original form, showing the equation name.

To display the equation name and not the calculated result, add a backslash before the "@" symbol in the text editor. For example: "@freq".

If an error occurs, or the equation is not found, the equation name is displayed in the text instead of the equation result.

Note
Embedded equations may generate errors and warnings, which appear in the Equations Warnings/Errors area in the Enter Text dialog box.

Embedding Dataset Properties in Text Objects

Data Display has a set of predefined equations containing current dataset information such as default dataset name and path. These equations enable you to embed dataset information in text objects, simplifying documentation.

The following table contains the list of predefined equations available:

Predefined Equation Name	Description
Default_Dataset_Name	The current default dataset name. This name does not include the ".ds" extension
Default_Dataset_Path	The full path to the directory that contains the default dataset
Default_Dataset_Modified_Time	The time the default dataset file was last modified
Default_Dataset_Modified_Date	The date the default dataset file was last modified
Default_Dataset_Size	The size in bytes of the default dataset
DDS_File_Name	The current DDS file name without the ".dds" extension
DDS_File_Path	The path to the directory that contains the current DDS file
DDS_File_Modified_Time	The last time the DDS file was modified
DDS_File_Modified_Date	The last date the DDS file was modified
DDS_File_Size	The size in bytes of the DDS file

You can embed dataset information in the same way you embed other equations in text objects:

Choose Insert > Text or select Text from the palette, then double click the mouse on the page to place the text and display the Enter Text dialog box.
Select the Select Data and View Warnings/Errors checkbox to display the dataset browser.
In the dataset browser dropdown menu select Predefined Equations.
Insert the desired equation in the text by double-clicking it or by selecting its name and clicking the Insert button. The equation name will be added to the text field preceded by the "@" symbol. Click OK.

Editing Text

The text, fill, and outline of a text box can be easily changed by using the Enter Text dialog box. Any changes made from this dialog box will only affect the currently selected text box. To change the options for all subsequent text entries, refer to Setting Text Preferences.

To edit text:

Double-click on the text or select the text and choose Edit > Item Options.
The Enter Text dialog box appears.
Change the text as desired.
To change the text format, click the Properties button.
To change the font properties:
- Select a font from the Font Type list.
- Select a font size from the Font Size list.
- Click the Text Color bar, select a new color, then click OK.
The text is enclosed in a text frame. To display the outline of this frame, enable Draw Outline. To edit the outline:
- Select a line pattern from the Type list.
- Select a line thickness either by using the scroll bar or entering a value into the Points field.
- Click the Color bar, select a new color, then click OK.
To fill the background of the frame, enable Use Fill Pattern. To edit the fill:
- Click the Color bar, select a new color, then click OK.
- Click the Pattern bar, select a pattern, then click OK.
Click OK to close the Edit Text Properties dialog box.
Click OK to close the Enter Text dialog box and accept the changes.

Deleting Text

To remove a text frame, do the following:

To delete a single text frame, single-click on the frame. For multiple frames, hold the Shift key down and single-click on each frame of interest.
Press the Delete key or choose Edit > Delete.
Note
If you just want to disable a text frame temporarily, refer to Activating or Deactivating Objects.

Setting Text Preferences

Any changes made to the preferences will only affect subsequently created text. To modify existing text, make the change using the Enter Text dialog box.

To save and reuse preference settings, you can create a preferences file that can be read by the data display. For more information on how to create and use such a file, refer to Setting Data Display Preferences.

To set preferences:

Choose Options > Preferences.
The Preference dialog box appears. Click the Text tab.
Set the text preferences by doing the following:
- Select a font from the Font Type list.
- Select a font size from the Font Size list.
- Click the Text Color bar, select a new text color, then click OK.
The appearance of text box outlines is set by using these selections:
- Enable Draw Outline.
- Select an outline pattern from the Type list.
- Select the outline thickness either by using the Thickness scroll bar or entering a value into the Points field.
- Click the Color bar, select a new color, then click OK.
Text box fill preferences are set as follows:
- Enable Use Fill Pattern.
- Click the Color bar, select a new fill color, then click OK.
- Click the Pattern bar, select a fill Pattern, then click OK.
Click OK close the Preference dialog box and accept the changes.

Inserting Objects

The commands used to add graphical objects to your display are found on the Insert menu as well as on the palette.

To insert an object, do the following:

Click the button on the palette that corresponds to the desired shape (Circle, Rectangle, etc.) or choose the shape from the Insert menu.
Position the pointer on the display page and click the mouse.
- For lines, move the pointer until the line is the desired length, then click the mouse.
- For rectangles and circles, move the pointer until the object is the desired size, then click the mouse.
- For polylines and polygons, continue adding segments by positioning the pointer and clicking the mouse.
  To complete a polyline, double-click the mouse. For a polygon, draw the second to last segment and then double-click the mouse. The last segment is added to make a closed region.
The object drawing mode remains active, allowing you to place other objects of the same type by moving the pointer and clicking the mouse.
If you are finished, click the End Command button in the toolbar or choose Edit > End Command.

Editing Objects

You can edit object properties such as line width, line thickness, and color. For 2-D objects, you can fill the area with a pattern and color.

You can also edit objects by moving them, changing their size, or by using delete, cut, copy, and paste commands. For more information on these functions, refer to Data Display Basics.

Any changes that you make will only affect the currently selected object. To change properties for all objects added subsequently, refer to Setting Object Preferences.

Objects are edited using the following steps:

Double-click on the object or select the object and choose Edit > Item Options.
The edit dialog box appears.
Lines and object outlines are edited using these selections:
- Select a line pattern from the Type list.
- Select the line or outline thickness either by using the Thickness scroll bar or by entering a value into the Points field.
- Click the Color bar, select a new color, then click OK.
An object's fill can be changed using these selections:
- Enable Use Fill Pattern.
- Click the Color bar, select a new fill color, then click OK.
- Click the Pattern bar, select a fill Pattern, then click OK.
Click OK close the dialog box and accept the changes.

Deleting Objects

To remove an object, do the following:

To delete a single object, single-click on the object. For multiple objects, hold the Shift key down and single-click on each object of interest.
Press the Delete key or choose Edit > Delete.
Note
If you just want to disable an object temporarily, refer to Activating or Deactivating Objects.

Setting Object Preferences

Object preferences determine how new graphical objects will appear when they are inserted onto a display area.
Object preferences affect all objects created after the changes were made and saved. To change the properties for an existing object, refer to Editing Objects.

To save and reuse preference settings, you can create a preferences file that can be read by the data display, which can facilitate setting preferences. For more information on how to create and use such a file, refer to Setting Data Display Preferences.

To set preferences:

Choose Options > Preferences.
The Preference dialog box appears. There are tabs for each type of object. Move through the tabs and define your preferences.
Lines and object outlines preferences are set using these selections:
- Select a line pattern from the Type list.
- Select the line or outline thickness either by using the scroll bar or entering a value into the Points field.
- Click the Color bar, select a new color, then click OK.
An object's fill preferences can be set by using these selections:
- Enable Use Fill Pattern.
- Click the Color bar, select a new fill color, then click OK.
- Click the Pattern bar, select a fill Pattern, then click OK.
Click OK close the Preference dialog box and accept the changes.

Adding Date and Time to a Data Display

You can add the current date and time to a data display using the AEL function date_time(). You can add this (or any other AEL expression) to a data display using an equation, then display the results on a plot. In the procedure below, date and time are displayed in a list.

Click the Equation button on the palette or choose Insert > Equation.
Position the pointer on the display area and click the mouse button.
The Enter Equation dialog box appears. Enter the equation as current_date_time=date_time(). (Use any variable name on the left side of the equation and the AEL function on the right side of the equation.) Click OK.
From the tool bar on the left side of the Data Display window, click the List button, move the pointer into the display area of the window, and click.
In the dialog box that appears, select Equations from the Datasets and Equations drop-down list.

Select the variable (in this case, current_date_time ) and click Add. Click OK.

Note this is not a date/time stamp, it is updated to reflect the current date and time.

Note
You can add variables to an ADS schematic to display current date and time, plus other design and system information. For more information, refer to the Advanced Design System "Schematic Capture and Layout" documentation.