Using Axes

You can perform the following actions:

To assign signals using the selection wheel

To assign signals to an oscilloscope, you can use the selection wheel. It appears when signals are assigned to an oscilloscope or moved within an oscilloscope via drag and drop.

  • Drag the signals into the analog graphical area of the oscilloscope or to the desired position in the signal list. After a short delay the selection wheel appears.

  • Within the selection wheel, drop the signals onto one of the options:

    One common axis for all signals

    Assign all signals to one axis.

    Shared axis per unit

    Assign signals to an axis having the same unit.

    Individual axes per signal

    Assign each signal to an individual axis.

    Take-over axis assignment

    Take over axis assignment of source oscilloscope.

    (Option is only provided if the signals derive from an existing oscilloscope.)

    New strip

    Create a new strip below the current strip.

    The selection wheel expands to the above described options, and the signals will be assigned to a new strip using the chosen option.

    Note that an axis can be shared only for matching data types and the same data representation. 'No-match' signals get an own axis, as the original unit is not known.

    Boolean and Event signals will be assigned to the corresponding strips independently from the drop position.

To use common axes

To see how you can modify in an oscilloscope signal and axes settings, watch our video Oscilloscope - Settings for Signal and Axes.

As long as the data type of signals fits, several signals can share the same value axis. To use common axes:

  1. While pressing the Ctrl or Shift key, select your desired signals in the signal list.

  2. Right-click your selection and click Use common axes.

    Alternatively, drag and drop the desired signals on one axis. Note that the signal is only added to this axis if it has same data representationClosed Physical, binary or hexadecimal representation of a signal..

To use individual axes

If several signals share the same axis, the signals can be assigned to individual axes again.

  1. Do one of the following:
  2. Click Use Individual Axes.

To scroll the value range of axes

  1. Bring the focus to the axis that you want to scroll.
  2. Do one of the following:

To scroll the time axis

To quickly navigate to a specific time stamp, you can use the time sliderClosed Control used for navigating on the time axis, including zooming functionality.. For more information, see  Time Navigation and Synchronization. Alternatively, you can scroll by using the keyboard:

  1. To move left, press the Page Up key.
  2. To move right, press the Page Down key.
  3. To navigate to the start of the time range, press the Home key.
  4. To navigate to the end of the time range, press the End key.

To zoom the value range of axes

  1. Hover the cursor over the axis that you want to zoom.
  2. Do one of the following:
    • Press Ctrl and use the mouse wheel to zoom out or in.
    • Press Ctrl and the left mouse button. To zoom out or in, move the cursor up or down.
    • Use the keyboard and press Ctrl+Arrow Up or Ctrl+Arrow Down to zoom in or out.

To adjust the axis range manually

To see how you can modify in an oscilloscope signal and axes settings, watch our video Oscilloscope - Settings for Signal and Axes.

In analog strips, you can define the value range. In Boolean strips, the value range of the axes is fixed (from 0 - 1) and cannot be changed.

To adjust the axis range as needed, do the following:

  1. Click the tab Axes in the Properties window.
  2. To define the minimum and the maximum value of an axis, do one of the following:
    • For analog signals, enter the desired values in the input fields.

    • For discrete signals, select the values from the drop-down menu.

      • Note that if you have changed the data representation of a signal into the hexadecimal or implementation values, the minimum and maximum values are limited by the data type. If you enter a value below the minimum or above the maximum, the value is automatically set to the minimum or maximum value of the data type.

To define the axis range so that the samples are all in the visible range, use the Zoom to fit function.

To predefine an axis range for a signal

You can predefine an axis range for signals displayed in an analog strip. A predefined axis range is named "favorite axis range" and allows you to call up the predefined setting by clicking . Additionally, the favorite axis range is used when a signal is assigned newly to an oscilloscope or scatter plot instrument as default axis range.

To predefine the axis range, do the following:

  1. To set the values as favorite axis range, click the star in the Set as Favorite column.

    If the values are shown in bold and blue, the current axis range matches to the favorite axis range already.

    To change the favorite axis range, define another axis range and click again the star in the Set as Favorite column. You cannot delete a once defined favorite axis range. You can only overwrite it with new values.

    For shared axes the minimum and maximum range is calculated based on the minimum and maximum values of the individual signals.

    The favorite axis range cannot be set if you have changed the data representation of a signal into the hexadecimal or decimal values.

  2. To apply the favorite axis range, do one of the following:

    • To apply the favorite axis range to all axes, click .

    • To apply the favorite axis range to a selected axis, strip, or signal, right-click this item and choose Apply Favorite Axis Range from the context menu.

Note  

The Zoom to fit function overrides the settings of the Apply Favorite Axis Range function. If you want to go back to the original setting, click Apply Favorite Axis Range again.

To set the default behavior for signal-to-axis assignment

To reduce the configuration effort, you can define the default behavior for signal-to-axis assignments by using the Properties window.

  1. Click the tab Instrument in the Properties window.

  2. Select one of the following entries from the Signals Distribution menu:

    • Per unit one axis
    • One common axis
    • Individual axes

    The setting is applied when adding signals with the Insert key or in the Configuration Manager. It is used for newly added signals from the Variable Explorer or from other instruments, given the signal can be assigned to a shared axis.

    In case a signal is added by drag and drop, the selection wheel appears. For more information, see To assign signals using the selection wheel.

    Note that an axis can be shared only for matching data types and the same data representation. 'No-match' signals get an own axis, as the original unit is not known.

    If the signals are dropped from another oscilloscope, the axis assignment from the source oscilloscope remains unchanged.

To change the axis name

  1. Do one of the following:

    • In the instrument, click .

      or

    • Select the instrument and press Alt+Enter.

      or

    • In the instrument, right-click and select Properties in the context menu.

  2. Select the Axes tab.

  3. In the column Set Name, select the checkbox to enter the new axis name.

    The new name is automatically applied when you leave the cell.

To delete axes

  1. Right-click a value axis.

  2. Click Delete Axis.

  3. The axis is deleted and the signals are deleted from the view.