Components with Duplicate Pins

Parent category: Violations Associated with Components

Default report mode:

Summary

This violation occurs when two or more pins in a component have the same designator.

Notification

If compiler errors and warnings are enabled for display on the schematic (enabled on the Schematic - Compiler page of the Preferences dialog) an offending object will display a colored squiggle beneath it. A notification is also displayed in the Messages panel in the following format:

Duplicate pins in component Pin <Identifier1> and Pin <Identifier2>,

where:

Identifier1 is the identifier for the first instance of the duplicated pin, represented by the part designator-pin designator pairing

Identifier2 is the identifier for the second instance of the duplicated pin, represented by the part designator-pin designator pairing.

Recommendation for Resolution

Change the designator of the offending pin(s) accordingly, so that each has a unique assignment. Pin designators can be edited from within the Schematic Editor for a component that has already been placed. If the component pins are not locked, you can simply double-click on the pin and edit its designator in the associated Pin Properties dialog. Otherwise edit the pin(s) using the Component Pin Editor dialog - accessed from the Component Properties dialog by clicking the Edit Pins button.

Typically, the duplication will reside in the library component, in which case you should edit the pin designator for that component in the source schematic library and then pass the change on to placed instances of the component, using the Update Schematic Sheets command. This command is available from the right-click menu associated with the Components region of the SCH Library panel.

Notes

Only one error instance will be listed in the Messages panel for each distinct component. A component may well have more than two pins with the same designator, but when investigating the error using the Details region of the panel, only the first two duplicate pins (in alphabetical pin name order) will be listed.