Description

This tutorial explains how the SkyCAD window works.  For example, you will learn how to zoom in and out, as well as how to access the different features SkyCAD has to offer.

Topics Covered

ribbon, menu, command icons, tree view, edit properties, zoom, pan, lists, explorer view, library, symbol, selected item, status bar, display thumbnails as list, create folder.

Video Version

NOTE: This tutorial video was created using SkyCAD Electrical version 1.3.25. Ribbon buttons' appearance and positions may differ from your version if it's older.

Related Tutorials

• Creating a new project and adding sheets (1:57)
• Inserting connections (2:42)
• Inserting symbols (2:09)
• Drawing tools overview (9:31)

Written Version

There are four sections in SkyCAD.

Ribbon

The first one is the ribbon menu located at the top of the screen:

This is where you will find all the command icons.

These command icons are grouped under various tabs, such as Home, Show, Drawing, Create/Add, etc.

Each button in the ribbon menu has a short description. 

If you over the mouse cursor over a button, you’ll see a more detailed description:

If you click on the Tutorials/Support tab you will have quick access to all the SkyCAD tutorials and the forum.

Sometimes tutorials are also available from the tabs where they are relevant. 

For example, in the Drawing tab there is a shortcut to the tutorial on drawing tools:

The ribbon menu is contextual, meaning it only displays actions which are relevant to the selected object. 

For instance, when a project is selected, only actions relevant to the project are displayed, such as Close, Save and Save As:

This is very important, since it's at the centre of how to use SkyCAD, so we'll explain some more about that.

In SkyCAD, you should always select the object first, then the action you want to apply to that object.

For example, if you want to delete a symbol on your schematics, first select the symbol on the schematics, then hit Delete on your keyboard.

If you select a sheet, then hit Delete, the sheet will be deleted.

If you select the project, then click Save, the project is saved.

If you select a symbol, then click Save, only the symbol is saved.

It's important to know which object you currently have selected, so that you know which object an action will affect.

If you're ever unsure about what object you currently have selected, check the Selected Item section at the bottom of the screen:

Tree view

The second section is the tree view, located on the left:

This is where you will find all open projects.

In this case we can see the IEEE Example Project is open and its sheets are listed under it.

For every tree view item, a triangle button allows you to explore its properties and edit them if you wish:

By default, a project’s sheets are listed in the tree view, but other aspects of the project can be listed instead.

To do so, select the project, go to the Show tab and select what you want to see.

For example, selecting Components will list all components in the project:

To list multiple different elements in the tree view—such as Locations and Cables—hold down the CTRL key while clicking on the button under the Show tab. 

If you select something in the tree view which is represented on the sheet you have open, that item will become highlighted, such as this cable:

(For more information about navigation, see the Navigation Tools tutorial.)

The last thing to mention about the tree view is that it can be hidden and unhidden by clicking on the arrow to the left of it:

Main view area

The next section of the user interface is called the main view area:

This area is where you will be working most of the time, to work on your schematics, panel layouts and list views (e.g. parts lists, BOMs, etc.).

To zoom in and out, scroll the mouse wheel. 

To pan, click and hold either the right mouse button or the mouse wheel, then move the mouse.

To zoom out completely, click Zoom all from the Home tab, or double-click the mouse wheel.

At the top of the main view area are the tabs you currently have open:

If you have so many tabs open that you can't see all of them, a small arrow will show on the right, indicated by the blue arrow in the image above. 

To see the other tabs, either place the mouse cursor over the tabs and scroll the mouse wheel or place the mouse cursor over the arrow to scroll automatically.

There is also a vertical tabs button (indicated by the green arrow in the image above) you can click to see all the tabs that are currently open.

If you don't see a sheet you're looking for, you'll need to open it from the tree view.

To show a project’s sheets in the tree view, select the project in the tree view, go to the Show tab and select Sheets.

Explore

It's possible to view the properties of almost anything in SkyCAD by right-clicking on the item and selecting Explore.

If the window is too small to display all the command icons in the ribbon, an arrow will indicate there are more:

To see them, simply move the mouse cursor over the arrow, or place the mouse cursor in the ribbon and scroll the mouse wheel.

Symbol library

Another section of the user interface is the symbol library:

As with the tree view, the library can be hidden by clicking the arrow to the right of it:

All symbols are categorized within folders, e.g. Single Line Diagram, Graphical Groupings, Connections, etc.

Hovering over a symbol will display a description of what it is.

Some folders may contain many symbols, so you may need to scroll to see all the symbols by scrolling the mouse wheel while the cursor is in the folder or by clicking and dragging the scroll bar:

Similarly, you can scroll up and down across the entire symbol library if required:

By default, symbol thumbnails are shown in a grid fashion, e.g. Harness folder symbol above.

If you prefer, you can click on a specific library folder, go to the Home tab and select Display thumbnails as list instead:

If some of the symbol descriptions are truncated (e.g. Harness branch… and Harness Embe… above), you can click and drag the border of the symbol library to increase the width:

The folders themselves can be re-arranged by clicking and dragging them.

You can also have them listed in alphabetical order, descending alphabetical order or custom order (the default) by clicking the capital ‘A’ button at the top of the library:

Status bar

The last section is the status bar at the very bottom of the screen:

Idle function states which function or action you currently have active.

Selected item states which object you have selected.

Zoom factor changes when you zoom in and out.

X and Y displays the X and Y coordinates of the mouse cursor in the main view area.

Dark mode

To use dark mode, simply expand the properties of SkyCAD in the tree view and check the Dark mode property.

Related Tutorials

• Creating a new project and adding sheets (1:57)
• Inserting connections (2:42)
• Inserting symbols (2:09)
• Drawing tools overview (9:31)