6 Symbol attributes

Some attributes apply to the symbol, as a whole. Use the keyboard command aa to add attributes when nothing is selected. This adds “floating” attributes that are not associated with any objects (including pins) to a symbol.

Some of the following symbols are mandatory, while others are optional:

• device: this is the name of the device. It should be unique amongst all symbols. In most cases, make this attribute hidden. However, in some cases, you can also consider making this attribute visible (but only the “value” part). This makes it easier to identify a part in a schematic.
• author: this attribute is optional.
• footprint: if a symbol is package (footprint) specific, create the footprint attribute so that the footprint is locked in with the symbol.
• refdes: this attribute is optional. The value of such an attribute should start with a letter and end with the question mark (?). You can define this attribute with a symbol, or add it to a component in a schematic. It specifies how an instantiated component should be called. The question mark will be replaced by an integer unique to the prefix using one of the commands in gschem when a schematic is defined.

If you need to see all the attributes, including the invisible ones, use the command en to toggle the “view all” mode.