Insert - Port
When you are editing your circuit in the project editor, you add ports by selecting the menu command Insert - Port or by clicking on the Port button in the Insert tool bar. When you select this command, you enter Add Port mode and the Add Port tool bar appears in the project editor tab. This tool bar is only displayed in Add Port mode.
By default, the type of port is automatically determined when you add the port to your circuit. The type of port that will be added in any given location is indicated by the appearance of your cursor. The table below shows the various cursors for adding a port.
Cursor |
Mode |
|
Indicates you are in Add Port mode but are not at a location where a port may be added. |
|
Indicates a box wall port. |
|
Indicates a co-calibrated port. |
|
Indicates a via port. |
|
Indicates a delta gap port. |
Once the port is added to the circuit, the port type is represented by the symbol used in the circuit as shown in the table below.
Port Symbol |
Type of Port |
|
|
|
Co-calibrated Port. Note that in this example the down arrow indicates the ground is connected to the box bottom and the * indicates it is auto grouped. |
|
Co-calibrated Port with Hidden Ground. If you are using an encrypted Sonnet Technology File with proprietary information, the ground connection is hidden for the co-cal port indicated by the "H" in place of the ground direction symbol. |
|
Via Port. The first symbol indicates the top of the via port and the second the bottom of the via port. The polarity is indicated by the "-" and "+" signs. |
|
Delta gap port. The polarity is indicated by the "-" and "+" signs. |
If the port symbol is drawn in black then the port is correctly placed. If the port symbol is drawn in red, then the port is incorrectly placed and the analysis engine, em, would issue an error if you attempt to run an analysis.
To determine what is causing the error condition, hover over the red port symbol with your mouse; a pop-up will appear to explain the error condition. If the hover over does not appear, you may right-click on the port and select "Error Message" from the pop-up menu. A message window displays the error.
If you wish to specify the type of port you are adding to your circuit, select the desired port type from the Port type drop list on the Add Port tool bar.
If you wish to add multiple ports, press the shift key while making your menu selection or click on the Pin mode button 
in the Add Port tool bar. Press ESC to exit the Add Port mode.
To delete a port, click on the port to select it, then use Edit - Cut to delete it, click on the Cut button 
in the tool bar, or press the delete key.
After a port is added to the circuit, you may change the port type and orientation by double-clicking on the port, or selecting the port, then selecting the menu command Object⇒ Port Properties, to open the Port Properties dialog box. Note that if you change the type of port and it is incorrectly placed for that type of port, the symbol will turn red.
For a detailed discussion of ports, please refer to Ports in the Sonnet User's Guide.
