Introduction

When drawing a schematic, crossing wires can make the schematic difficult to read and follow signals (see example, Figure 1). This tutorial shows several techniques for keeping your schematic tidy.

Figure 1: Example of difficult-to-follow schematic

How do I keep my schematic tidy?

Technique 1: Lay out parts to avoid crossing wires

You can edit the pin layout of a schematic symbol to avoid crossing wires (see Figure 2).

Figure 2: Schematic symbol edited to avoid crossing wires

Technique 2: Use Net Aliases

Net aliases let you make connections across the schematic without wires. Nets (wires) with the same name are electrically connected.

Figure 3: Place net alias tool

Figure 4: Schematic using net aliases

Technique 3: Use Multiple Pages

You can also create multi-page schematics and use off-page connectors (similar to net aliases) to make electrical net connections across pages.

Technique 4: Boxes and Labeling

An excellent way to help make your schematic more readable is to use the box tool and the text tool to section off and label different areas of the schematic. Also, make sure to complete your title block.

Figure 5: Example schematic with sections and labels

Based on a tutorial written by Robert Goby. Updated by Zachary Conley.