Multisim Basics Course: Two Tips for Schematic Capture

[NatashaB]

This past week I had the pleasure of meeting some of you during the Multisim Basics course, which runs through the fundamentals of schematic capture and simulation, electronics project management, component creation, design variants and MCU cosimulation.

Two things surprised me: first, the diversity in terms of how Multisim is being used. The attendees spanned education and industry (ranging from military to electronics applications), each having particular requirements for how they needed to use the software. And second, the information I was able to pick up along the way by responding to the various questions that arose.

Some of this information was very specific (for example, the modeling of leakage inductances for a transformer), whereas some was simple GUI functionality that is applicable to everyone. Here are a couple tips for schematic capture in Multisim that I was reminded of while teaching the course.

Tip #1: Continuous Component Placement

In Multisim, the default settings are set so that upon component placement you will be returned to the Select a Component dialog. However, there is also the ability to continously place a particular component.

To configure this setting:

1. Navigate to Options > Global Preferences
2. Select the Parts tab
3. Change Place component mode to Continuous Placement

Tip #2: Specific Schematic Wiring

There are times when you may want to wire your circuit very specifically in Multisim. In this case, you can turn off the autowiring feature (which is the default). This will allow you to form multiple segments on your wire. For example, I have wired these two zener diodes together to show you an example.

To configure this setting:

1. Navigate to Options > Global Preferences
2. Select the General tab
3. Deselect the option to Automatically connect components when pins are touching