gtkwave shows no signals

[Timothy Miller]

Binary package hint: gtkwave

I've been using gtkwave for a long time. I just switched it Kubuntu, and I want to continue using it, but the one available from ubuntu seems to be broken. I have a perfectly valid wave dump file, but I can't get gtkwave to show me any signals, and I think it might have something to do with these errors it keeps spitting out:

(gtkwave:6101): Gdk-CRITICAL **: gdk_text_width: assertion `font != NULL' failed

(gtkwave:6101): Gdk-CRITICAL **: gdk_text_width: assertion `font != NULL' failed

(gtkwave:6101): Gdk-CRITICAL **: gdk_text_width: assertion `font != NULL' failed

[Aanjhan Ranganathan (aanjhan)]

Thanks for the report.

The error output is no way related to seeing the signals. Btw did you load the signals from the menu like.

Search -> Signal Search Hierarchy and append the necessary signal waves that you want to view?

Still unable to find the waves, then please give the info on how you generated the .vcd file. We should be able to sort things out. It would be nice if you uploaded the Value Change dump file that you experimented with inorder to resolve this bug.

[Timothy Miller (theosib)]

I should apologize for the errant bug submission. It turns out that I was simply unaware of how to add signals. However....

Older versions of gtkwave had a nice "add signals" button on the tool bar. When trying to figure out how to use this version, I had seen the "search" options, but I didn't think they were what I wanted, because I didn't need to search... I knew exactly which signals I wanted to add! I don't know why the authors decided to hide such a critical option with such a misleading name. Considering all of the relatively less important things on the tool bar, I think some of them could go and be replaced by the three search options. And the names should be changed from "search" to "add by". I don't "search" for signals. I "add" signals, where search is an implicit part of the process of finding them.

I might also suggest embedding such a critical device in a pane to the left of where the signal names are shown once they've been added. And also, removing signals should be made simpler too. Older versions with "add signals" and "cut signals" right there on the tool bar made a lot more sense.

I suggest leaving this bug here and changing it to a "usability" bug. I posted to my mailing list (open graphics) about this, and someone else pointed out that it had taken him also a while to figure out how to add signals. I'm kinda dense sometimes, but I'm not the only one who has been confused by this program.

[Aanjhan Ranganathan (aanjhan)]

I am closing the bug as adding your valuable suggestions as a "Wishlist" here would not make a differnece. Instead I will forward your mail to the gEDA-dev mailing list. Stuart Brorson would definitely look into the issue.

Yes. It takes some time to figure out :-)
Thanks for your suggestions.