How do I use it? (2)
You can browse the user manual online, or download it in PDF format here.
How do I build a circuit?
MALACHITE allows you to build circuits by selecting components from the lists provided, placing them on the board, and connecting them up with wires. Menus and buttons are available in the toolbar, or right-click on the board for a context-specific menu.
To place a component on the board, select it from the drop-down menu or the context-menu (see below) and then click on the board where you wish to place it. Clicking repeatedly without changing your selection will allow you to place the same component multiple times.
The components available for selection are combinatorial (logic gates) state components (eg flip-flops) and signal generators.
To delete a component select the eraser tool (see image below) and click on the component to be removed, or right-click the component and select Delete Selection. Multiple components can be deleted by dragging the mouse accross them to select, and then using the delete tool or right-clicking as above. Wires connecting to the component (gate, module or pin) will also be deleted.
To connect components together select the wire tool from the pannel and left-click on the first point you wish to connect up (this may be a pin on a component, or just a point on the board - in the latter case clicking will drop a pin in that location). Then click again on a second point - this will also drop a pin, and connect the two points with a wire (see below). You can continue left-clicking like this, and will continue to drop a 'continuous' wire.
When you want to stop laying this wire and start a new one, right-click anywhere on the board to terminate the current wire, and left-click to lay the new one as before. When you want to stop laying wires, choose a different tool from the pannel.
To move a component left-click and drag on the item. You can select multiple components by holding the left mouse button down and dragging the pointer across all the items you wish to select. You can then drag them as a block. You can add components to an existing selection by <ctrl>-clicking on the component you wish to add. You can remove a component that's already selected the same way. <shift>-click adds a component to a selection.
To zoom the display, enter a zoom value in the toolbar box in the top menu bar (see below), or click on the magnifying glass tool.
