Several weird, sudden problems in Multisim, Ultiboard interface

[nickdenniston]

I'm having several sudden problems that have cropped up when trying to revise a design I last worked on a month or so ago.

Multisim 10.0.343 weirdness:

1. Clicking on a Multisim project file opens Multisim, but the project file doesn't open. Clicking "Open" from Multisim has the same effect. If I then manually open the circuit file, the entire project opens as well.

2. I can no longer double-click on a component and edit the footprint; the "Replace" button is also grayed out. I can still edit the footpring from the spreadsheet view.

3. Icons for placing parts have changed to blue squares with black schematics (from gray buttons with color schematics).

4. Several pulldown menus from the top bar have disappeared ("Reports" is the only one that springs to mind, but the list is noticeably smaller).

5. "Transfer" menu only has one option - Transfer to Ultiboard 10. No back annotation or forward annotation exists.

6. Selecting "Transfer to Ultiboard 10" opens the splash screen for Ultiboard and gives me the option to choose a file name, but nothing opens after this. There's no hang or error - just nothing opens.

On a separate note: The last time I did a major revision of this circuit, I changed many net names. The displayed net names, however, did not change; i.e., I renamed one node from 'Gsyn' to 'Gs'. The 'Gs' appears in the spreadsheet view and in the net properties, but 'Gsyn' still shows up on the schematic and is not deletable.

Ultiboard 10.0.1 weirdness:

1. Renumbering components from the Design menu results in some kind of pad reassignment, causing numerous connection errors.

2. Same error reported earlier in the forums without an answer: after forward annotating from Multisim earlier, the list of changes included "Modify existing component XX" for every single component in the design, regardless of whether the component was changed or not.

3. When placing a trace that is too close to other traces per my design rules, I sometimes get the notice "Failed to create (1) teardrop." The program then hangs until I click on something other than Ultiboard (show Desktop, switch to another program, etc.) When I return to Ultiboard, the program un-hangs - but then it runs super slowly, not showing updates for several seconds and zooming in and out in chunks. I have to close and reopen the file to continue working.

Any help would be much appreciated - I'm on a deadline, and both programs are more or less completely unusable right now.

[nickdenniston]

I should also mention: I've already tried creating a folder in the config directory and moving all config files into it, forcing both programs to create new ones. Still not working.

[nickdenniston]

Also, I can't place any components in Multisim. The 'Place Component' choice is grayed out, and every Place Toolbar that I can pull up is completely grayed out.

I can still copy exisiting components, but I can't Place new ones.

[Tien_P · Accepted solution]

Hi,

Please have a look at the following knowledge base to fix the Multisim problem:

Component Gray out

Reset User Interface

It's hard to say what is wrong with forward annotation without looking at both the Multisim and Ultiboard file. If you can, please create a service request at ni.com/ask and send us the files.

1.  When you forward annotate, the pin doesn't change it's the footprint that changed.  If the footprint currently on the design before forward annotating is different than the pin that's in your library, when you forward annotate, Ultiboard will update the footprint with the one from your database this may explain what you are seeing.

2.  You have to compare the footprint in your schematic with what is on the PCB, if the footprint doesn't match, Ultiboard will pull what's on the PCB off and place a new one on there.  Have a look at the Unplaced Parts after Forward Annotating knowledge base, it may explain what you are seeing.

3.  Turn off the tear drop feature (Options>>Preferences>>PCB Design) and route your board without this feature, once you finished routing the board, add the tear drops (Design>>Add teardrops). 

[nickdenniston]

Thank you for your response.

1. I read the article on Component Gray Out and the accompanying article on restoring 'Global Restrictions'. I was able to restore many buttons. Why did this happen in the first place?

2. I had previously read the article on UI, and I deleted the configuration files previously and restarted with no change. The problems appear to be caused by the issue above instead.

3. Thank you for the teardrop instruction. Is this a general problem with the global option, or is it speifically related to something I'm doing?

I'll submit a ticket on the forward annotation issue, because I think we are talking about different things. For example, I will add a capacitor at the input. Not only does the forward annotation change the two connected nets and add the new capacitor, but it also edits every single component in the design. None of the other components were changed in Multisim, but Forward Annotate makes a modification. The components do not become unplaced; they stay in the correct location.

[Tien_P]

Hi,

1. I don't know what caused the component gray out problem, I couldn't consistently reproduce this problem.

2.  Deleting the config file should reset your toolbar back to default, some of you comments from the last post had symptom of toolbar problem and that's why I included the link.

3.  Teardrop problem may be specific to your file, it's not reproducible in the files I tested.  The instructions I gave is just a work around so that you can continue with your work.  If you can, send us the file we would like to investigate the problem.