Adapters
Adapters are one of the families of terminals. They share the other terminals’ Size, Style and Show menus, and differ in being glued to a block’s port.
An adapter sits on a block’s port and turns it into a different connector: an SFP cage that takes LC fibre, an RCA output that needs an XLR cable, a BNC on a device that’s cabled in RJ45. The block keeps its own port, and the adapter shows what it adapts, for example SFP to LC. The cable plugs into the adapter, and the cable list shows the adapter at that end.
Putting an adapter on a port
Either:
- Open the Terminals section of the left pane and drag one of the looks in its Adapter group onto the end of a port, or
- Right-click a port and choose Add adapter…. It uses the look you last placed or picked.
The adapter goes on the side of the block the port is on, facing away from it. If the port already had a cable, the cable moves onto the adapter. The Add adapter dialog then opens; Cancel takes the adapter back off and puts the cable back on the port.
An adapter only goes on a visible port down the side of a block, and a port takes one adapter. Dropped anywhere else, it’s taken back out of the drawing.
The Adapter dialog
The dialog lists the two connectors in the order the signal runs:
- On an output, the block’s connector is the From connector and the adapter’s is the To connector: SFP to LC.
- On an input, the cable brings the signal in, so the adapter’s connector is the From connector and the block’s is the To connector: LC to SFP.
| Field | What it is |
|---|---|
| From connector, To connector | Pick from the connectors already used in the project and a list of common ones, or type your own. The block’s connector is that port’s own connector, so changing it here changes the port too. |
| Joined by | The word between the two connectors in the label. It’s to unless you change it; →, - and / are offered. |
| Manufacturer, Model | The adapter’s own make and model, for the bill of materials. They’re separate from the block’s. |
| Port name | The name of the adapted port. It starts as the block port’s name. |
| Signal type | The adapted port’s signal type. It starts as the block port’s. |
The line under the fields shows the label as it will read. If another port of the same device already has the port name, the dialog says so; it doesn’t stop you.
To change an adapter later, double-click it, or right-click it and choose Edit adapter….
The To connector you last picked for each From connector is remembered in your browser and filled in for you the next time.
Moving and detaching
An adapter is glued to its port:
- Dragging the block brings its adapters with it, and dragging an adapter brings its block.
- If the port moves, because a port was added above it or the block was resized, the adapter moves with it.
- Copying a block together with its adapters copies them glued to the new block.
- Deleting a block deletes its adapters. Deleting an adapter puts its cable back on the block’s port.
To take an adapter off, hold Shift while you drag it, or right-click it and choose Detach from port. It stays on the drawing as a free-standing terminal. Drop it on another free port to glue it there; the dialog opens so you can check the connectors.
What an adapter shows
Adapters come in seven looks. Right-click one and use Style to switch between them:
| Look | Shows |
|---|---|
| Plain box, Coupler, Pointed end, Collar | The port name over the connectors, inside the box at the cable’s end |
| Rounded | The port name over the connectors, centred in the box |
| One-line box | The connectors alone, centred in a slimmer box |
| Taper | A small tapered plug, with the connectors above it |
The port name is drawn in red and the connectors in blue. Right-click an adapter and use Show to hide either, or to add its manufacturer, model, alias, location or system name above it. A Taper hides its port name until you turn it on, as the block’s port name already reads beside it.
An adapter is part of the block’s device: it takes the block’s system name, manufacturer, model, alias and location, and keeps them in step when the block changes. See /manual/docs/devices.html.
Adapters in reports
- Cables: the end of a cable on an adapter shows the adapted port’s name, and the whole adapter as the connector, such as LC to SFP.
- Bill of materials: adapters are listed under Adapters, one line per make and model. An adapter without a model is listed by what it adapts, such as SFP to LC adapter. The cable’s connector at an adapter is counted as the connector the cable plugs into (LC), not the whole adapter.
- Equipment: adapters aren’t listed; the block they’re on is.