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Hello everyone, I am using Circuit Lab for the first time. I need to draw a simple circuit. I am in Build mode and the only circuit elements I need at this point are "Battery", "Resistor" and "Wire". Please explain to me how to incorporate a "wire" into my circuit. Thank you.

@RandomWalk,

Welcome to CL.

Watched the video intro?

If you hover your mouse over the end of a lead of a component that you have placed on the schematic a large, light grey dot will appear right at the end of the wire.

That is the (only valid) connection point for that component lead. Also referred to as a Node:

https://www.circuitlab.com/docs/the-basics/#nodes

If you Left-click and hold on that grey dot then drag the mouse cursor, a wire will appear.

Drag it to the next node you wish to join.

If you need to turn a corner, let go and then repeat the process on the node dot at the end of the wire you have just drawn and drag at right angles.

Note that you can also join nodes just by attaching a label to a node and then attaching a new label with the same name to another node. Those two nodes are now connected exactly as if you has drawn a wire between them:

https://www.circuitlab.com/docs/the-basics/#named_nodes

You can also draw a wire by clicking on the "Wire" button on the left hand palette then left-click and drag and release on the schematic.

To repeat a placement press shift before you click on the component your wish to place.

Beware:

https://www.circuitlab.com/forums/support/topic/86m9393x/bug-report-inconsistency-in-using-net-label-as-a-voltage/

Thank you very much. I am now able to draw horizontal wires and vertical wires. One more question: Is it possible to draw a wire between 2 nodes that are neither on the same horizontal line nor on the same vertical line? Example using Cartesian coordinates: draw a wire between a node located at (0,0) and a node located at (5,2).

"If you need to turn a corner, let go and then repeat the process on the node dot at the end of the wire you have just drawn and drag at right angles."

Draw horizontal line 0,0 to 0,2;

End line;

Start new line @ 0,2;

Draw vertical line 0,2 to 5,2

Experiment.

Play.

Learn.

:)

Well, yes, of course, I can do that. But that is not what I want to do. I want to draw a straight line that goes from (0,0) directly to (5,2). Not a line from (0,0) to (0,2) followed by a line from (0,2) to (5,2).

That's a diagonal line.

No can do in CL.

Not often done in circuit diagrams anyway except maybe to draw Star Point earthing nodes and bus tear-offs and it's not essential even then.

PCB layouts: yes. Schematics: no.

You could try posting a feature request for it.

:)

Thanks. I just needed a pdf of a certain electric circuit involving lots of resistors, a ground, some plain wires and a battery. One of my wires had to be diagonal. I solved my problem in the following way. I used CL to create the circuit minus the diagonal wire. I saved as a pdf. I opened the pdf in Adobe Acrobat Pro and I added the missing diagonal wire using a tool within Acrobat Pro. Good enough for my needs!

If it works for you, that's all that matters.

Personally I'd have used the pdf import feature of LibreOffice. It works about as well as Acrobat Pro and is Free and Open Source Software (FOSS).

Or Inkscape ...

or Gimp ...

They're FOSS too.

:)

LibreOffice, Inkscape, Gimp,... Cool programs I'm sure. But my employer has a license for Acrobat Pro, so what the heck...