Qucs-S GUI improvements

[ra3xdh]

I have recently received some feedback from Qucs-S users and the following GUI improvements were proposed:

• Implement exact marker position setting on plots. Currently the marker position could be exactly set only with arrow button. It would be good to add some input field in the marker properties dialog to set an exact X-axis position;
• Add dB output for the Y-axis to avoid using of the equations to get the dB output.
• Add possibility to define scale for X-axis (like 1k, 1M, 1G, etc.) See also https://sourceforge.net/p/qucs/mailman/message/35975391/
• Set default path when open file to $HOME
• User request: automatically align device by grid after rotation Device falls out of grid after rotation #399
• Correct MOSFET symbols appearance Fix MOSFET symbol zooming #93 (low priority)

[jleitch2013]

I hope this is the correct thread.

I would like to see the V(RANDOM) and I(RANDM) sources to the Qucs-S GUI with the XYCE simulator option.

[ra3xdh]

@jleitch2013 I cannot find this source type in the Xyce manual. Could you please point where should I look for its description?

[tomhajjar]

It would be nice to be able to set the format of the X scale. I've tried the trick below but it has issues. This was an old request for Qucs.

https://sourceforge.net/p/qucs/mailman/message/35975391/

[ra3xdh]

@tomhajjar Yes, I will consider a way how to add units like 1k, 1M, etc. for X-axis. The slight modification of the diagram properties will be required.

[ra3xdh]

I have just implemented the numeric marker position setting. The screenshot illustrates how it looks like. This feature is available on the ´current´ branch now.

[ra3xdh]

I have added a switch to enable engineering notation (1k, 1M, 1G etc.) for numbers on diagrams. Attached screenshot illustrates how it looks now. This feature is available on current branch.

[tomhajjar]

Could the Open File location default to the Qucs Home location set in file locations? It presently defaults to the Qucs-S/bin location.

[ra3xdh]

@tomhajjar The default path for open file has been fixed by 2887949 The fix will be available at the 0.0.25

[ra3xdh]

I have just added a possibility to set dB units for Y-axis if logarithmic scale is selected. The new feature is available on current branch.

[ra3xdh]

I have noticed the following problems with dB units on Y axis:

• The marker values still be in absolute units while the axis is set as dB
• It is impossible to set limits and grid step because limits still be in absolute units
• Grid step setting is locked for log axis but should be unlocked for dB log axis

[tomhajjar]

Qucs/Qucs-S are lacking when one tries to choose items in the library or you want info on a placed device. There is zero info on the devices unless you use the Library Tools. Try to pick a varistor from the lengthy list without any usable info visible.

It would be nice if the Main dock showed a components "Info" after a mouse click.

Show a placed devices "Info" via a new choice after a mouse right button click. Edit properties shows little info.

QucsStudio

[ra3xdh]

Yes, the library tree on the left panel may benefit from suggested improvement. I was also considering such addition. I will implement symbol and device info preview in one of the next releases.

[ra3xdh]

I have created a separate task #135 for library tree improvement.

[ra3xdh]

I have fixed setting limits and marker issue when the dB units are selected for axis. The remaining issues is the manual step setting for logarithmic dB axis.

[ra3xdh]

I have noticed application crash when adding a curve to Smith diagram. This is related to newly introduced dB axis units.

[dsm]

I think you can reproduce this bug. I am using kubuntu 22.04 and drag the component in components tab and not drop to sch but drop again the components tab then click somewhere in the app then app crash with segmentation fault and similarly but I choose spice specific section same step but app crash with bad alloc and core dump

[dsm]

I tested app on windows 10 same issue here

[ra3xdh]

@dsm , Yes, I can reproduce this bug. I will provide a fix. I have crated a special dedicated issue #187

[SmallJoker]

User request: automatically align device by grid after rotation

I have run into the same issue (version 2.1.0) after rotating a generic LED or transistor. Clicking "Snap to grid" did fix the alignment issue for the selected component. Is there any particular reason why this alignment function cannot be run after rotating the part?

PS: Thank you for continuing the Qucs project. Much appreciated.

[tomhajjar]

In #203 I asked if Rotate "Right" could be added.

I noticed that using Rotate "Left" multiple times caused the selected items to jump off the grid. Adding Rotate "Right" would mean both less mouse clicks and minimize grid misalignment.

[ra3xdh]

Is there any particular reason why this alignment function cannot be run after rotating the part

I cannot say why the developers of the schematic widget didn't add align to grid after rotation. I have tried to fix this issue recently, and this was not a straightforward task. Need to dig into the legacy code. I will try to provide a fix for this by the next release.

[ra3xdh]

I have just added a fix for device rotation. Now the device should be aligned on grid if it was rotated. This fix is available on current branch. I cannot reproduce the rotation issues anymore after the patch has been applied. I would kindly ask to test it before release if the issue still present.

[ra3xdh]

The recent attempt to add an automatic set on grid after rotation made the things worse. Now the device always falls out of grid after the copy/paste from clipboard. I will retract the recent commit if the solution will not be found.

[tomhajjar]

Adding Rotate "Right" would mean less mouse clicks and minimize grid misalignment... ;-}

[ra3xdh]

@tomhajjar The adding "Rotate right" may be harder than fix the rotation. It's need to dig into the legacy code to implement this. I cannot exactly say what is the reason of grid misalignment. This bug is hard to reproduce and appears time to time. I cannot determine exact steps to reproduce it. It appears on Windows more often than on Linux. It seems it depends on the platform and screen resolution.

[tomhajjar]

If you rotate the tunnel diode symbol 3 times, the 45 deg lines jump off grid.

The file has a lot of useful symbols...

symbols_rotate.zip

[ra3xdh]

If you rotate the tunnel diode symbol 3 times, the 45 deg lines jump off grid

This is not related to device rotation bug. The painting rotation works differently. And it cannot be fixed by adding rotate right function. The painting rotation was fixed by #397 , but the device grid misalignment still appear time to time.

[iwbnwif]

I have just implemented the numeric marker position setting. The screenshot illustrates how it looks like. This feature is available on the ´current´ branch now.

I think it is relatively simple to add a small square or triangle to the end of the marker leader line. I have a test version working and it is helpful, especially with the very awesome new tuning function. Would it be preferable to include an option in the marker dialog for example "Marker indicator:" "Off" / "Square" / "Triangle"?

I am happy to provide a PR if this is of interest.

[ra3xdh]

@iwbnwif , Yes, please open a PR. This will make marker position more visible. One marker indicator type would be sufficient.

[iwbnwif]

@iwbnwif , Yes, please open a PR. This will make marker position more visible. One marker indicator type would be sufficient.

I have submitted a PR which has both square and triangle as options. The reason is that I find the square more useful on return loss graphs, but the triangle more useful on most other graphs.

[tomhajjar]

Qucs can export a Touchstone formatted s-parameter file using qucsconv.exe. This can be useful for some users.

qucsconv converts the s-parameter data in filename.dat. Oddly qucsconv defaults to naming it filename.dat instead of filename.s2p.

S-parameter_file_test_prj.zip

[ra3xdh]

Qucs can export a Touchstone formatted s-parameter file using qucsconv.exe

This feature will be returned after implementing #370 Qucsconv has a deep dependency on Qucsator and cannot be divided from Qucsator. The full qucsconv will be returned after adding qucsator_rf as a submodule.

[dsm]

maybe switch qt 6.7 or future lts 6.8 default for windows it's looks nice on win11 with new windows11 style on dark theme.

[ra3xdh]

This issue still be opened since 2022 and I decided to close this with the following resolution on remaining tasks:

• Adding wattmeter is not straightforward task. The experiments with the SPICE netlsit has showed that the power calculation may be not reliable for all analyses cases. Some analyses require adding multiplier on schrmatic, but something works only using postprocessing scripts. Let's postpone this task for now.
• Automatic enumeration of the devices may be implemented in the future. I will open another ticket when this task will be planned for the next release.