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Newbie questions, features and bugs.... Net highlighting, rat lines, ratsnest, airwires.

Former Member

Hello Everyone,

 

I am wondering about some aspects of Eagle.  Do these exist. or how do they work?

 

Auto router:  Available in some versions.  Is there a time period where it is available as part of the demo version, that closes?  I though I was able to try it out on the freeware at first.

 

Forcing pads to the bottom only.  If one is using through hole components, some things like capacitors, can't be soldered on the top.  Is is possible to tell the router this information before routing?

 

Autorouter again.  The list of " * - | / \ na " is *sort of intuitive* could be improved.  What about the design and optimization part of it.  How is that supposed to work? "low med high"? 

 

*****

 

Netlist wiring and checking:  When one wants to check if a net is completely connected properly, (no shorts to other nets, no opens within the net), is this possible?


I once had another software that had this exact feature.  Click on a button, then click on a pad or wire and it would highlight the entire circuit that was attached to it. VERY useful for checking.  VERY. 

 

Related question:  If one connects two nets that should NOT be connected, by wiring two bottom traces together inadvertently, do they get connected?  Possibly after a query....  (  I have some airwires that are showing unconnected nets, but they should not be connected! )

 

I see that if a net still has air wires, it can be highlighted, but that means to check it, you have to remove part of it and then put that back in.  Having to edit and un-edit leads to tons of extra work and mistakes.

 

I see a section that thinks it is not connected, but has copper from wire to pad.  Trying to fix it has been unsuccessful. the defaults for "who is being worked on" jump in and the incorrect airwires make for much grief. 

 

*******

 

Libraries. I asked in another forum about how to modify an existing package and save it as separate package, because I seem to have done it wrong.

 

*********

 

I  find that EAGLE seems to require a lot of extra mouse clicks and has defaults, that I don't like.  I don't find it nearly as intuitive as the software that I used to use which was once available as Shareware.  It is very hard to justify even the lower tier of pricing when it is frustrating tool.

 

The software I used to use was Proteus Lite and Ares Lite.  They were very very elegant and intuitive.  Schematic and board layout and autorouter.  About $70.    No longer available as Shareware.  If you want to see what I mean.  Many fewer mouse clicks.

 

Thanks!
Sandy Roman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


I

  • I am so mired in the basics, I forgot to ask, can you pour a groundplane in EAGLE.

     

    What about making a spraypainted board and a using a laser cutter to etch the paint off? everse the

     

    One would like to reverse the image for this. Have color for the the traces and a different color for the etched area.

     

    Actually having several colors available would be good.  Our laser cutter is 4 color (red-green-blue-black) and is limited to having full saturation in each of those colors.  I.e. it should be set to level = 255, on a 0 to 255 intensity scale.

     

    Thanks!

  • Sandy Roman wrote:

    Forcing pads to the bottom only.

    Use the mirror command to place parts on the bottom of the board.  You can

    either click the mirror icon, or type "mirror" on the command line, or if

    you're moving the part, you can use the (right?) mouse button.  (I do it so

    automatically, I can't remember which one it is...  LOL!)

     

    Netlist wiring and checking: 

    It's a bit hard for EAGLE (or any other program to read your mind and truly

    know that things are correct.  With that said, there is an electrical rule

    check ("erc") that will check for lots of problems.  When you're working on

    a board, you can also use the design rule check ("drc") to check for

    clearances and other board-related problems.

     

    It's a good idea to run the ratsnest command periodically.  That

    recalculates your airwires and polygons.  If you want to make the polygon

    color disappear so that you can keep working on your board, you can use the

    command "rip @".  EAGLE is a bit picky about connecting things.  If you

    keep your speaker turned up a bit, you'll hear a ding when EAGLE connects

    your trace...

     

    I find that EAGLE seems to require a lot of extra mouse clicks and has

    defaults, that I don't like.

    Yes, EAGLE seems to work differently than a lot of other software.  Some of

    us have gotten quite used to the way EAGLE works, and we don't want to

    switch to any other way.  I for one find it quite intuitive, or maybe I

    have just become comfortable with it after this time.  Once you learn how

    to use the command line and maybe write your own scripts and ULPs and

    assign them to keystrokes, you'll find that it's a very fast program...

     

    I'll let someone else answer some of your other questions.  I have never

    used the autorouter...

     

    Regards,

    Doug

    --

    Web access to CadSoft support forums at www.eaglecentral.ca.  Where the CadSoft EAGLE community meets.

     

  • in reply to autodeskguest

    Sandy Roman,

     

     

    I find that EAGLE seems to require a lot of extra mouse clicks and has

    defaults, that I don't like.

    Yes, EAGLE seems to work differently than a lot of other software.  Some of

    us have gotten quite used to the way EAGLE works, and we don't want to

    switch to any other way.  I for one find it quite intuitive, or maybe I

    have just become comfortable with it after this time.  Once you learn how

    to use the command line and maybe write your own scripts and ULPs and

    assign them to keystrokes, you'll find that it's a very fast program...

     

    Yes Eagle requires a lot of extra mouse clicks, it is not you.  The Eagle programmers seem to have reinvented how standard things work in graphics programs. Mouse clicks, undo buffers, object selection, all work differently than virtually ANY OTHER graphic software you have used. You just have to get used to it, it often doesn't make a lot of sense, because this "Eagle mouse paradigm" is not going to change it seems.  Humans are very flexible and can get used to just about any interface.

     

    After working with Eagle for a while you'll find that there often are ways to do what you want to do, but you'll often be left asking yourself why you have to work as hard as you do to make things happen.  Some things can ONLY be done graphically (with the mouse), some things can ONLY be done from the command line, so you'll save yourself a lot of time learning some command line syntax.  You may have to dig through the manual to find things that should be in menus.

     

    Many users have written useful utilities, to fill in some of the missing functionality. There may be a ULP or script to do what you want to do to, but finding it may take a bit of groping around. There are some things that are missing which are just inexplicable. For example, there is no way in Eagle  to align or distribute objects, again in contrast to just about any other graphic design / CAD software you may have used. Also the arrow keys don't do anything is Eagle.

     

    In many ways, Eagle is a sort of a DIY tool. You have to do some scripting of your own to really make it work adequately.  Why some of things that users have written haven't been pulled into Eagle is also something of a mystery.

     

    The Eagle programmers have said that they will addressing some of the interface issues in the next software revision. We'll have to wait and see what happens. Many requests to fix the interface go back years, a few go back decades.

  • Sandy Roman wrote:

    I  find that EAGLE seems to require a lot of extra mouse clicks

     

    I hardly ever use the mouse for clicking on command icons or selecting

    them from the menubar or right click-contect-menu (I even have

    reverted the plain right-click action to 'apply command to group'

    instead of the newfangled contex menu - that requires a now

    ctrl-right-click to open).

     

    I have assigned all commands I use regularily to keyboard shortcuts,

    so I don't have to move the mouse for clicking icons or menu entries.

    Just pressing key with the left hand and manipulation the mouse with

    the right. No need - for most of the time - to move either hand from

    their positions.

     

     

    And as other have already mentioned, ULPs are a invaluable if you want

    to have functionality that eagle does not have out of the box.

     

    On that note, I don't think cadsoft should implement all the

    functionality I added using ULPs. That are mostly special one time or

    twice a year operations that, if added natively to eagle, would

    clutter and complicate the user interface unbearably.

    --

     

    Lorenz