Create custom symbols

Import an SVG drawing as a schematic symbol, color it by state, and share it.

A custom symbol is an SVG drawing that you add to a schematic, like a built-in symbol. Use one when your hardware has no built-in symbol, such as a special valve or the outline of a vehicle. Custom symbols live in symbol groups, which every schematic on the Core can use.

A custom symbol is one of two kinds:

• Static -> a drawing only. It does not connect to channels.
• Actuator -> a symbol with a Base and an Active state, like a built-in valve. It shows the Active colors when its state channel is 1, and it writes to a command channel when an operator clicks it.

Create a symbol group

1. Open a schematic and turn on editing.
2. Press V to open the component toolbar, then select the Symbols tab.
3. Click (Create symbol group).
4. Enter a name, then click Save.

Create a symbol

1. In the Symbols tab, select your symbol group.
2. Click Create symbol.
3. Drop an SVG file on the dialog, or click it to select a file. The file name becomes the Symbol name.
4. Under States, select Static or Actuator.
5. Under Colors, set the Stroke color and Fill color of each region. For an actuator, select the Active state and set its colors too.
6. Optional: under Handles, click to add a connection point. Drag it to the edge of the drawing.
7. Click Create.

After you load a file, you cannot replace it. To use a different drawing, create a new symbol.

Add the symbol to a schematic

In the Symbols tab, select the group, then click the symbol or drag it onto the schematic.

To connect an actuator to hardware, select it, then set the state and command channels on its Control tab. When editing is off, a click writes 1 when the symbol shows Base, and 0 when it shows Active.

A placed symbol keeps the kind it had when you placed it. If you change a static symbol to an actuator, place it again.

Change the colors of one placed symbol

1. Select the placed symbol.
2. On the Style tab, find State overrides.
3. Set the colors of a region for each state.

The change applies to that symbol only. Click the reset button of a region to use the colors of the symbol again.

Edit a symbol

Right-click the symbol in the Symbols tab and select Edit. You can also select a placed symbol and click on its Properties tab. Change the settings, then click Save.

Every placed copy of the symbol shows the change.

Share symbols

To export, right-click a symbol and select Export to save a .json file. To export a whole group, right-click the group and select Export to save a .zip file.

To import, select a group and click Import symbol to add one or more .json files. Click Import symbol group to add a .zip file or its unzipped folder.

An import always makes a new symbol. It does not change a symbol that is already on the Core, so importing the same file two times makes two symbols.

Delete symbols and groups

Right-click a symbol or a group and select Delete. Deleting a group deletes every symbol in it.

A placed copy of a deleted symbol shows Missing custom symbol. Select it, then choose a different symbol on its Properties tab, or create a new one. A symbol that you create there replaces every missing copy.

Symbol editor reference

States

Static has one state. Actuator has Base, shown when the state channel is not 1, and Active, shown when it is 1. The state is active when the value is between 0.9 and 1.1.

Colors

Synnax finds the regions of the drawing from its colors. Elements with the same stroke and fill are one region, named Region 1, Region 2, and so on. Each region has a Stroke color and a Fill color for each state.

To move an element to a different region, select the region, then click the element in the preview. Click to add a region. Click a region name to rename it.

Handles

A handle is a point where connection lines attach. Drag a handle in the preview, then select the side of the symbol it faces: left, right, top, or bottom.

Properties

Preview

Press = to zoom in, - to zoom out, and 0 to reset the zoom. You can also scroll to zoom, and Shift+drag or middle-drag to pan. Press Ctrl+Enter (Cmd+Enter on macOS) to save.

SVG files

Use one SVG file with an <svg> root element. Give parts that change color together the same stroke and fill colors, so Synnax puts them in one region.