In the PCB editor, when I choose to change the net name of a trace connected to multiple points (pads & vias), I will get this extremely helpful dialog informing me that changing this net will also update all the connected pads. And I have the option to proceed or not.
This feature has been very valuable to me, and I use it often. However, changing the corresponding net name in the schematic doesn’t seem quite as easy. When I change the net name in one place on a connected net, I don’t get any option to change the name on all connected points of that net, resulting in multiple nets of different names being connected unless I find and change them all manually (or find/replace all, which can also be extremely problematic at times. More on this later if needed)
Is there a feature in the schematic where I can change all connections to a net in one action, like we see above on the PCB editor?
A given net in the schematic has only one name, although there may be multiple candidates. The winning one is determined by a pecking order. So to change the name of the whole net, choose the name and type appropriately.
I can’t find it in the docs or a FAQ but I haven’t looked exhaustively as I’m a bit exhausted now. But here’s a post summarising the precedence:
On all of my schematics, I put net labels at each connecting point of a net, mirroring what you see on the PCB where every pad shows what net name it is.
Let’s say one net connects to 8 different points (chip pins, etc). If I change one label, the other 7 remain unchanged. I must manually change the other 7, or do the problematic Find/Replace, and risk changing other nets containing part of that name, and totally messing up the design.
I really am hoping for a similar feature to what we see on the PCB with this. Does it not exist?
You don’t have to change the other labels on the net, why do you want to do that? For example the ground pin on ICs will have a name, but if they are on the GND net, the power net GND wins and the net is called GND. But that doesn’t mean the pin name needs to be changed.
Yes, it’s too bad that the IC pad will be labelled GND instead of U1-pin8 or something like that. That’s how it is.
I guess I do it because I see it in all of the schematics that I’m copying, where the label is listed at multiple places along the wire, and especially at each end where it’s connected to components.
But most of these are hand-drawn schematics from decades past 1970s-1980s. Since I’m self-taught and don’t have any formal education in this field, I suppose it does make sense things are done by a different standard now.
If you want to annotate the wire you can add a text string from the big T icon which has no effect on the netlist, being just annotation. But then it will not catch any discrepancy between the texts. You could end up writing CS at one end and INTR at the other and it wouldn’t be detected.
I think in the past engineers browsed the paper copy and having multiple labels helped. But now it’s easier to highlight the wire or pin and observe the net name in the status panel.
But here’s a post summarising the precedence: