Compile Mask

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Modified by Admin on Nov 19, 2013

Parent Page: Objects

A placed Compile Mask.

Summary

A compile mask is a design directive. It is used to effectively hide the area of the design it contains from the Compiler, allowing you to manually prevent error checking for circuitry that may not yet be complete and you know will generated compile errors. This can prove very useful if you need to compile the active document or project to check the integrity of the design in other specific areas, but do not want the clutter of compiler-generated messages associated with unfinished portions of the design.

Availability

Compile masks are available for placement in the Schematic Editor only, by choosing Place » Directives » Compile Mask [P, V, K] from the Schematic Editor main menus.

Placement

After launching the command, the cursor will change to a cross-hair and you will enter compile mask placement mode. Placement is made by performing the following sequence of actions:

click or press Enter to anchor the first corner of the mask
move the cursor to adjust the size of the mask, such that it completely encapsulates the area of the design that you want hidden from the Compiler, then click or press Enter to anchor the diagonally-opposite corner and thereby complete placement of the mask. Design objects falling completely within the bounds of the mask will become grayed-out, as illustrated in the image below:

The grayed-out design objects.
Continue placing further compile masks, or right-click or press Esc to exit placement mode.

Additional Placement Actions

The compile mask object can be rotated or flipped while in placement mode and before the first corner of the mask is anchored:

Press the Spacebar to rotate the compile mask. Rotation is anti-clockwise and in steps of 90°.
Press the X or Y keys to flip the compile mask along the X-axis or Y-axis respectively.

Any changes made to object properties during placement will cause the default properties for the object to be updated, unless the Permanent option on the Schematic - Default Primitives page of the Preferences dialog - is enabled. When this option is enabled, changes made will affect only the object being placed and subsequent objects placed during the same placement session.

Non-Graphical Editing

The following three methods of non-graphical editing are available:

...via an associated properties dialog

This method of editing uses the following dialog to modify the properties of a compile mask object.

The Compile Mask dialog.

The Compile Mask dialog can be accessed prior to entering placement mode, from the Schematic - Default Primitives page of the Preferences dialog (Tools » Schematic Preferences). This allows you to change the default properties for the compile mask object, which will be applied when placing subsequent compile masks.
During placement, the Compile Mask dialog can be accessed by pressing the Tab key.
After placement, the Compile Mask dialog can be accessed in one of the following ways:

double-clicking on the placed compile mask object
selecting the compile mask object and choosing Properties from the right-click pop-up menu
choosing the Change command from the Edit menu and then clicking once over the placed compile mask object.

...via the SCH Inspector panel

The SCH Inspector panel enables you to interrogate and edit the properties of one or more design objects in the active document. Used in conjunction with appropriate filtering, the panel can be used to make changes to multiple objects of the same kind, from one convenient location.

...via the SCH List panel

The SCH List panel allows you to display design objects from one or more documents in tabular format, enabling you to quickly inspect and modify object attributes. When used in conjunction with the SCH Filter panel, it enables you to display just those objects falling under the scope of the active filter allowing you to target and edit multiple design objects with greater accuracy and efficiency.

Graphical editing

This method of editing allows you to select a placed compile mask object directly in the workspace and change its size, shape or location, graphically.
A compile mask can be displayed in either expanded (full frame) or collapsed (small triangle) modes. These modes correspond to the mask being enabled and disabled respectively. Toggle the display mode either by using the Collapsed and Disabled option in the Compile Mask dialog, or by clicking on the top left corner of a placed compile mask.

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Clicking on the top left corner of a placed compile mask.

When a fully expanded compile mask object is selected, the following editing handles are available:
A selected Compile Mask.

Click and drag A to resize the compile mask in the vertical and horizontal directions simultaneously.
Click and drag B to resize the compile mask in the vertical and horizontal directions separately.
Click anywhere on the compile mask - away from editing handles - and drag to reposition it. The compile mask can be rotated or flipped while dragging.

The size and shape of a compile mask cannot be changed graphically when the mask is in collapsed mode, only its location/orientation. As such, editing handles are not available when a collapsed compile mask object is selected.

Click anywhere inside the dashed box and drag to reposition the collapsed compile mask as required. The collapsed compile mask can be rotated or flipped while dragging.

If you attempt to graphically modify a compiler mask object that has its Locked property enabled, a dialog will appear asking for confirmation to proceed with the edit.
If the Protect Locked Objects option is enabled in the Schematic - Graphical Editing page of the Preferences dialog (Tools » Schematic Preferences), and the Locked option for this design object is enabled as well then this object cannot be selected or graphically edited. You will have to double click on this locked object directly and disable the Locked property or disable the Protect Locked Objects option to graphically edit this object.

Notes

While compile masks can be rotated or flipped along the X or Y axis, this has no effect on the orientation of the design circuitry within.