Schematic View has two toolbars, one at the top and the other at the bottom of the Schematic View window.
The Schematic View toolbar at the top of the window contains the following buttons:
-
Display Floater -
Displays or hides the Display Floater. Active button means floater is open, inactive button means it’s hidden.
-
Select -
Lets you select objects in the Schematic View window and in the viewport. Selecting objects in the Schematic View window turns the node yellow. Selecting the objects in the viewport, outlines their Schematic View representation box in white, but doesn’t select it in the Schematic view window. If you want to the selection in Schematic view passed into the viewport use the Sync Selection button. Whatever is selected in Schematic view will become selected in the viewport as well.
-
Connect -
Lets you create hierarchies. Just as you link objects in the viewports, you can create linkages in Schematic View. Click the child and connect to the parent. You also use this to add modifiers to objects, and to wire parameters.
-
Unlink Selected -
Unlinks whatever is selected in the Schematic View window.
-
Delete Objects -
Deletes whatever is selected in Schematic View. The deleted selection disappears in the viewport and the Schematic View window.
-
Hierarchy Mode -
Shows the parent/child relationships in a cascading display. The parents are to the left and up, the children are indented toward the right and down.
-
References Mode -
Shows relationships based on instances and references rather than hierarchy. Use this to view materials and modifiers.
-
Always Arrange -
Sets Schematic View to always arrange all entities based on arrangement preference (alignment options). Displays a pop-up warning before doing so. When this mode is on it activates the toolbar button.
-
Arrange Children -
Arranges the display of children based on set arrangement rules (align options) below the selected parent.
-
Arrange Selected -
Arranges the display of children based on set arrangement rules (align options) below the selected parent.
-
Free All -
Frees all entities from arrangement rules, tags them with a hole icon on their left end and leaves them in place. Use this to freely arrange all objects.
-
Free Selected -
Frees all selected entities from arrangement rules, tags them with a hole icon on their left end and leaves them in place. Use this to freely arrange selected objects.
-
Move Children -
Sets Schematic View to move all children of parent being moved. When this mode is on, the toolbar button is activated.
-
Expand Selected -
Reveals the display of all child entities of selected entity.
-
Collapse Selected -
Hides the display of all children of selected entity, leaving the selected entity visible.
-
Preferences -
Displays the Schematic View Preferences dialog. This lets you control what is displayed and hidden in the Schematic View window by category. Various options are here to filter and control the display within the Schematic View window. See Schematic View Preferences.
- Schematic View Name field
-
Use this field to give the particular configuration of Schematic View a name. Simply typing the name and hitting enter will add the named view to the list of Saved Schematic View windows available from the Graph Editors menu.
- Bookmark Name field
-
Let's you define a selection of entities in the Schematic View window as a bookmark, so you can easier return to them in a complex scene with many objects.
-
Go to Bookmark -
Zooms and pans the Schematic View window so the bookmarked selection is displayed.
-
Delete Bookmark -
Removes the bookmark name that is displayed in the Bookmark name field.
Buttons on the Lower Toolbar
-
Zoom Selected Viewport Object -
Zooms in on whatever is selected in the viewport. You can also type in the name in the text field next to this button.
- Selected Object text entry window
-
Lets you type in the name of the object you are looking for. Then click the Zoom Selected Viewport Objects button and that object will appear in the Schematic View window selected.
- Prompt Area
-
Provides a one-line instruction to tell you how to use the highlighted tool or button or provides you with details such as how many objects are currently selected.
-
Pan -
Lets you move horizontally or vertically in the window. You can also achieve the same effect by using the scroll bars at the right and bottom of the Schematic View window, or by using the middle mouse button.
-
Zoom -
Lets you move closer to or further from the Schematic display. When you first open your Schematic View window you will spend a moment zooming and panning to gain the appropriate view of the objects in the display. The display of the nodes changes as you move in or out.
You can also zoom by holding down Ctrl and dragging with the middle mouse button. To zoom at the cursor, turn on Zoom About Mouse Point in the Schematic View Settings dialog, accessed by click the Preferences button.
-
Zoom Region -
Lets you draw a zoom window on the area of the Schematic view you want to see up close.
-
Zoom Extents -
Zooms the window back so all the nodes in the Schematic View are visible.
-
Zoom Extents Selected -
Zooms the window back so that all the selected nodes are visible in the display.
-
Pan to Selected -
Pans the window to include the selected objects, within the same zoom factor, so that all selected entities are visible within current extents of the window.