Schematic (electronics)

A schematic is an electronics circuit: parts from a library, wires between their pins, and nets. It can be simulated live, with parts that animate, firmware running on boards, and charts of voltages and currents.

Layout

Left: the tools Select and Component.
Canvas: the circuit, with the Simulate button and, while simulating, the playback bar.
Right: the tabs AI, Analysis, Properties and Measure.
Menu bar: File, Edit, View, Help.

An Arduino Uno with a servo on D9, an LED and resistor on D13 and a pushbutton on D2, all from the library. The wires end on the header holes

There is no PCB layout editor. For a PCB, export the schematic to KiCad and lay it out there, see Export.

Menus and shortcuts

On a Mac, Ctrl in these shortcuts is ⌘. Exports are explained in Export.

Menu	Item	Shortcut	What it does
File	New	Ctrl+N	Creates a new schematic in this project.
	Open	Ctrl+O	Opens another schematic.
	Save	Ctrl+S	Saves the schematic.
	Save As…	Ctrl+Shift+S	Saves a copy under a new name and opens it.
	Save a Copy…		Saves a copy under a new name and stays on this one.
	Export → Export PNG…		Saves an image of the circuit.
	Export → Export KiCad…		Exports the circuit as a KiCad project for PCB layout.
	Close		Goes back to the project page.
Edit	Undo	Ctrl+Z	Undoes the last edit.
	Redo	Ctrl+Shift+Z	Redoes the edit you undid.
	Cut	Ctrl+X	Cuts the selection.
	Copy	Ctrl+C	Copies the selection.
	Paste	Ctrl+V	Pastes at the cursor.
	Paste in Place	Ctrl+Shift+V	Pastes at the copied position.
	Duplicate	Ctrl+D	Copies the selection next to itself.
	Delete	Del	Deletes the selection.
	Select All	Ctrl+A	Selects every part and wire.
	Select None	Esc	Clears the selection.
View	Zoom In	Ctrl+=	Zooms in.
	Zoom Out	Ctrl+-	Zooms out.
	Reset Zoom	Ctrl+0	Goes back to 100 percent.
	Recenter View	Ctrl+Shift+0	Fits the whole circuit in the view.
Help	Contact Us		Opens a short form to message the team.
	Terms of Service		Opens the terms in a new tab.
	Privacy Policy		Opens the privacy policy in a new tab.
	Discord Community		Opens the FloMotion Discord server.
	Reddit (r/FloMotion)		Opens the FloMotion subreddit.

Right-click on the canvas shows the Edit items. On a net, a part or a sheet it adds the first three:

Open inner schematic: On a part that is itself a schematic: opens it.
Show as labeled / Show as wired: On a net: draws it as named labels instead of wires, or as wires again.
Reload from library: On a library part: updates it to the latest library version.
Undo (Ctrl+Z): Undoes the last edit.
Redo (Ctrl+Shift+Z): Redoes the edit you undid.
Cut (Ctrl+X): Cuts the selection.
Copy (Ctrl+C): Copies the selection.
Paste (Ctrl+V): Pastes at the cursor.
Paste in Place (Ctrl+Shift+V): Pastes at the copied position.
Duplicate (Ctrl+D): Copies the selection next to itself.
Delete (Del): Deletes the selection.
Select All (Ctrl+A): Selects every part and wire.
Select None (Esc): Clears the selection.

Toolbars

Left tools: Select and Component, see Editing the circuit.

View toolbar:

Button	What it does
Part names	Shows or hides part names on the canvas.

Canvas: Simulate (once the circuit has a part), and the playback bar while simulating, see Simulation. The zoom control in the bottom right corner: zoom out, the zoom level, zoom in, and reset.

Right tabs: AI (chat), Analysis, Properties and Measure.

Editing the circuitPlace parts, draw wires, edit values, labels and sheets.Parts and componentsThe parts library, breadboards, and custom components from a datasheet.Static analysisChecks for common wiring mistakes.SimulationRun the circuit live, interact with it, and talk to a board.MeasureCharts over time, signal analysis and sweeps.Export (PNG and KiCad)Export an image, or a KiCad schematic for PCB layout.