Using Simulink

Displaying Signals

A model window's Format menu and its model context (right-click) menu offer the following options for displaying signal attributes.

Wide nonscalar lines

Draws lines that carry vector or matrix signals wider than lines that carry scalar signals.

Signal dimensions

Display the dimensions of nonscalar signals next to the line that carries the signal.

The format of the display depends on whether the line represents a single signal or a bus. If the line represents a single vector signal, Simulink displays the width of the signal. If the line represents a single matrix signal, Simulink displays its dimensions as [N1xN2] where Ni is the size of the ith dimension of the signal. If the line represents a bus carrying signals of the same data type, Simulink displays N{M} where N is the number of signals carried by the bus and M is the total number of signal elements carried by the bus. If the bus carries signals of different data types, Simulink displays only the total number of signal elements {M}.

Port data types

Displays the data type of a signal next to the output port that emits the signal.

The notation (c) following the data type of a signal indicates that the signal is complex.

Signal Names

You can assign names to signals by

• Editing the signal's label
• Editing the Name field of the signal's property dialog (see Signal Properties Dialog Box)
• Setting the name parameter of the port or line that represents the signal, e.g.,

• p = get_param(gcb, 'PortHandles')
  l = get_param(p.Inport, 'Line')
  set_param(l, 'Name', 's9')
  

Signal Labels

A signal's label displays the signal's name. A virtual signal's label optionally displays the signals it represents in angle brackets. You can edit a signal's label, thereby changing the signal's name.

To create a signal label (and thereby name the signal), double-click the line that represents the signal. The text cursor appears. Enter the name and click anywhere outside the label to exit label editing mode.

Note    When you create a signal label, take care to double-click the line. If you click in an unoccupied area close to the line, you will create a model annotation instead.

Labels can appear above or below horizontal lines or line segments, and left or right of vertical lines or line segments. Labels can appear at either end, at the center, or in any combination of these locations.

To move a signal label, drag the label to a new location on the line. When you release the mouse button, the label fixes its position near the line.

To copy a signal label, hold down the Ctrl key while dragging the label to another location on the line. When you release the mouse button, the label appears in both the original and the new locations.

To edit an existing signal label, select it:

• To replace the label, click the label, double-click or drag the cursor to select the entire label, then enter the new label.
• To insert characters, click between two characters to position the insertion point, then insert text.
• To replace characters, drag the mouse to select a range of text to replace, then enter the new text.

To delete all occurrences of a signal label, delete all the characters in the label. When you click outside the label, the labels are deleted. To delete a single occurrence of the label, hold down the Shift key while you select the label, then press the Delete or Backspace key.

To change the font of a signal label, select the signal, choose Font from the Format menu, then select a font from the Set Font dialog box.

Checking Signal Connections

Displaying Signals Represented by Virtual Signals