Setting Up For Custom Configurations
Modifying and Utilizing a Custom Configuration
Renaming or Deleting a Custom Configuration
Custom layer configurations enables internal customization of a layer, by controlling the state of individual components within the layer.
Traditionally, a layer can possess one of three states:
With custom layer configurations, it is possible to create configurations, where each individual component in a layer can posses its own state, exclusive from any other components in the same layer.
See for Invoking Custom Layer Configurations for instructions on how to access the custom configuration environment.
Before you can effectively utilize the custom layer configurations feature, you must of course first create a layer, and there must be at least one component added to it. Below is how the advanced layering pane appears, with three components in the layer:
Each row in this pane represents a single component that is part of the this layer. The first column contains the unique identification number of each component instance. Hovering over a row with the mouse pointer will highlight the component on the schematic canvas. Clicking one of the navigable component id numbers will navigate you directly to that component instance on it's schematic canvas.
The three default configurations (i.e. Enabled, Disabled and Invisible) will always appear, and cannot be modified in any way. However, you can add your own, custom configuration to the layer, which is fully adjustable.
To add a new configuration, enter a name into the Name field and press the + button. Or, right-click anywhere and select Add from the context menu. Press the Insert button.
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Add Using the Name Field |
Add Using the Context Menu |
In either case, a new configuration column will be added to the pane:
Now that the new custom configuration has been added, you may freely adjust the state of each, individual component instance within this configuration.
The purpose of a custom layer configuration is to allow for the control of individual component states, within a single layer. This is a powerful functionality, that if used properly help make your study using PSCAD much more efficient and clean. Let us have a look at a simple, yet practical example.
EXAMPLE:
A user wants to see how breaker placement affects performance, when a fault is encountered on receiving end of a transmission line. The breaker will be placed on the sending side of the line and the simulation run. Then the simulation will be repeated with the breaker moved to the sending end of the line:
This could of course be done by manually by simply moving the breaker component. This is okay for simple examples like this one, but for more complex scenarios, utilizing layers would be much more convenient and efficient. However, this simple example is still helpful in demonstrating this feature.
The user creates a new layer for the project called Breaker_Position, then the breaker and short piece of wire in the schematic are duplicated by being copied and pasted.
The second wire instance is then placed atop the original breaker, and the new breaker placed atop the old wire.
All four component instances are then added to the Breaker_Position layer. Two new custom configurations are created for the layer called SendingEnd and ReceivingEnd.
The custom configurations are then setup based on component instance, as follows:
Where depending on which configuration is selected the breaker and wire appear at opposing ends of the transmission line.
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SendingEnd Configuration |
ReceivingEnd Configuration |
To rename or delete a custom layer configuration, right-click on the configuration and select Rename or Delete respectively.
