Component properties.

Currently simulide uses a generic QProperty editor to view/edit component properties.

While it solves the task, it has quite a few downsides and i have been thinking in a more adecuate replacement for some time.

I have a very basic implementation and some dialogs in the making.

The idea by now is having a tabbed widget with properties grouped by categories:




There are help buttons that will show the help text in one side, similar to dialog for simulation settings:



If you have any ideas / suggestions, this is a good moment to share it.

Some ideas from me:

• Why not show an infobox, when the mouse pointer stays some time on an input box, button or something else? (similar to chrome / office etc. on WIN)
  
  
• To be able to input the unit prefixes (k, M, G, m, u, n, p) also in the value box of resistors, capacitors, inductivities, frequencies would be great.
  
  
• I / my students sometimes like to only change certain values, but easily from multiple components. Like trying out the correct values from multiple resistors.
  Im not sure, whether there is a solution for this. Falstad has the option to right click on the object and show single sliders for some values.
  
  
• To show the properties on double click on the component would also be nice.
  
  

Why not show an infobox, when the mouse pointer stays some time on an input box, button or something else? (similar to chrome / office etc. on WIN)

I personally don't like those boxes poping up all the time (indeed i hate it).
In my opinion some help text should appear only when you want it.
In adition when you actually want the information you need to wait for the box to appear.

But it would be useful some quick help for each input instead of going throught the whole help text to find the information you need.

Maybe one option would be a dedicated place for quick popup help box for each input.
For example a question mark icon after the input boxes.
When you hover it, it should show some short help for that concrete input (inmediatly).
But when you are using the input boxes, arrows, etc. no boxes should appear blocking your view.

Then the current help text box shows information about the component.

To be able to input the unit prefixes (k, M, G, m, u, n, p) also in the value box of resistors, capacitors, inductivities, frequencies would be great.

That would be great, but the implementation is much more complex:
These inputs should be strings, and then processed to get the value and the multiplier and reject the garbage.
Then we lose the up-down arrows.
It is probably possible to add a new widget to mimic it, but not sure how easy this is.

And this aproach would open some other posibilities, for example arithmetic expressions, load some kind of "variables" and some other.

I / my students sometimes like to only change certain values, but easily from multiple components. Like trying out the correct values from multiple resistors.

This would be possible using these "variables" described above.
For example you define R1=100, R2=200, then in the resistors proprties you don't introduce a numeric value but R1 or R2.
Then you only need to change the values defined for R1 & R2.

This option to be able to introduce text instead of a numeric value will be implemented eventually, but need some thinking before.

To show the properties on double click on the component would also be nice.

Yes, that is in the list and will be done for next update.

Just commited the new dialogs:



There are something like 200 files modified or added so expect quite a few issues to solve until this is working perfectly.

Editor / Compiler dialog still need to be completed. After that, old QProperty viewer will be deleted.

Simulide was using QProperties to hold, save an load Component properties.
But in order to implement some changes, we needed some features taht QProperties lack.
So a new Property system has been implemented.

This allowed to implement some other changes and optimizations, being the most relevant:

Component Properties:
  From QProperty to custom system.

Circuit load/save optimized:
  File size reduced to less than 1/2.
  Property order always he same.
  Loading time reduced.
  Subcircuits don't load "graphical" properties.
  Board properties not saved if not needed.

Properties Dialog:
  All Boxes sizes coherent.
  Select Property to show (numeric & enum properties).
  Unit Multipliers always available (if needed).
  Values to simplest representation.


Some example: