Getting Started

Installation

SchemDraw can be installed from pip using

pip install SchemDraw

or directly by downloading the source and running

python setup.py install

Jupyter Notebooks

Using a Jupyter Notebook in inline mode is recommended for the easy creation of circuit diagrams. If your schematics pop up in an external window, set Matplotlib to inline mode before importing SchemDraw:

%matplotlib inline

For best results when viewing circuits in the notebook, use a vector figure format, such as svg before importing SchemDraw:

%config InlineBackend.figure_format = 'svg'

Overview

The SchemDraw module allows for drawing circuit elements. SchemDraw.elements contains Basic Circuit Elements pre-defined for use in a drawing. A common import structure is:

import SchemDraw
import SchemDraw.elements as elm

All schematics start by creating a Drawing object:

d = SchemDraw.Drawing()

Then, circuit elements can be added to the drawing, one at a time. The d keyword specifies the drawing direction, either ‘right’, ‘left’, ‘up’, or ‘down’. When the next element is added, it will start at the endpoint of previous element. If d is not supplied, the element will be drawn in the same direction as the previous element.

d.add(elm.RES, d='right', label='1$\Omega$')
d.add(elm.CAP, d='down', label='10$\mu$F')
d.add(elm.LINE, d='left')
d.add(elm.SOURCE_SIN, d='up', label='10V')

Then display and optionally save the drawing to a file:

d.draw()
d.save('basic_rc.svg')

When saving, the image type is determined from the extension. Options include svg, eps, png, pdf, and jpg. A vector format, such as svg is recommended for best results.

For full details of placing and stylizing elements, see Adding circuit elements.