The variable capacitor acts much like a regular capacitor, except that you can adjust its value using the keyboard or by hovering the cursor over the device and moving the slider bar that appears.

The Value tab in this component's properties dialog box contains the following:

  Parameter   Description
Capacitance(C) Select the desired maximum capacitance from this list. If it is not here, type the value you want.
Key This will change the variable capacitor's value when pressed on the keyboard.
Increment Enter the percentage by which you want the variable capacitor to change.
Component type Optionally, enter information here (for example, ceramic).
Hyperlink Optionally, enter a hyperlink here.
Layout settings
Edit package Click to display the Edit Package dialog box where you can select a new Package and Manufacturer.

To increase the variable capacitor's value using the keyboard, press the identified key. The variable capacitor's setting will increase in steps the size of the value entered in the Increment field. For example, if the device is a 200 pF variable capacitor, and the Increment is set to 5%, its capacitance will increase by 10 pF steps until it reaches its maximum value of 200 pF.

To decrease the value using the keyboard, press and hold Shift and press the identified key.

For example, say the variable capacitor is set to 45%, the increment is 5% and the key is C. Press C , and the setting increases to 50%. Press C again, and it increases to 55%. Press Shift-C, and the setting decreases to 50%.

Complete the following steps to adjust the variable capacitor's value using the mouse:

  1. Hover the cursor over the device to display its slider bar.
  2. Drag the slider to the right to increase the value, or to the left to decrease the value.