Cross-References on Objects or Pins Overview

The overview describes the behavior and usage of cross-references in the application.

Note

Cross-reference data is not updated when you edit shared objects, add another instance of a shared object, or click the Refresh Shared Objects icon on the Shared Objects Browser. To update cross‑reference data, you must click Refresh > Cross References on the Capital ribbon to Refresh External Data. The cross-reference data is only updated automatically when you perform the following actions:

• Open the design

• Create a design-wide object or shared object

• Place the first instance of a shared object in a design

• Refresh a shared highway

• Refresh cross-references

You can use cross-references to display information about other instances of an object / pin, such as the design or diagram on which other instances are placed. You can define the information in cross‑references based on the style set settings or Project Preferences. See also “Cross-Reference Text Decorations” in the Capital Diagram Styling User Guide.

Caution

The project preferences method of controlling the display of cross-references is intended to support legacy user‑flow cases only. The recommended best practice is to use the style set method. If you use project preferences you must clear the Use Style Set Cross-reference project preference, which is selected by default when you create a new project.

Note

If you release a design, close the project in Capital Logic Designer, and then re‑open the project and design to hide the cross‑reference text.

For cross-references on pins, additional factors affect the display of cross‑references. See “Cross-References on Objects or Pins”. If a diagram has a border that uses zones, you can define cross‑reference text to identify which zone contains other instances of the object. See also “Adding Zone Areas to a Border” in the Capital Symbol Designer User Guide. For shared nets in equivalence sets, cross‑references are displayed for all instances of all shared nets in the same equivalence set. See also Overview of Shared Net Equivalence Sets.

To override the style set or project preference settings related to the display of cross‑reference text, you can edit the cross-reference attributes for a particular instance of an object. See “Cross-References Tab (Properties Dialog Box)” in the Capital Design Tools - Common Functions User Guide.

You can toggle the display of cross-references for an object / pin:

• Select the object / pin. Press the space bar and enter “Show Cross-reference Text” or “Hide Cross-reference Text”, and then select Home > X-Ref > Show Cross-Reference Text or Home > X-Ref > Hide Cross-Reference Text from the Search Ribbon dropdown list.

• Right-click the object / pin and select Show Cross-reference Text or Hide Cross-reference Text.

Note

Toggling the display of cross-reference text only affects the display of cross-references for an object / pin if the style set or project preference settings are such that cross-references are displayed for the object / pin. That is, if the style set or project settings are such that cross-references are not displayed for an object / pin, selecting Show Cross-reference Text will have no effect.

Which other instances of an object are included in an object’s instances cross-references depends on whether or not the instance is a home instance (that is, whether or not is has been assigned the “home condition”). When you create the first instance of an object, it is assigned the home condition. When you create subsequent instances, they are not assigned the home condition. You can change which instances have the home condition. There is no restriction on how many of the instances of an object are home instances, you can have zero, one, or multiple home instances.

As well as whether or not the instance is a home instance, which other instances of an object are included in an object instance’s cross-references also depends on whether or not there is an active build list:

• If there is no active build list, cross-references on home instances of objects comprise cross-references to all other instances of the object, and cross-references on non-home instances comprise cross-references to all home instances of the object.

• If there is an active build list:

        On designs in the active build list, cross-references on home
          instances of objects comprise cross-references to all other instances of the object in
          designs in the active build list, and cross-references on non-home instances comprise
          cross-references to all home instances of the object in designs in the active build
          list.
  
      
  
      
        On designs outside the active build list, cross-references are not
          shown.
  

Note

Since the cross-references on non-home instances comprise cross-references to home instances of the object, if all the instances of an object are non-home instances (there are no home instances), none of its instances will have cross-references.

This video explains the concept of home and non-home instances of objects:

Parent Topic:

Cross-References on Objects or Pins

Capital Logic Designer User Guide, 2512

Unpublished work. © 2025 Siemens