Open Sch & Brd files together

Silviu Epure wrote on Fri, 26 February 2010 06:13

I prefere an other way: "I want to make a board, for a schematic. I

need 5

datasheet, informations from the boardhouse, and some pictures. I want

to be

able to access all this from only one IDE, the one used for creating

boards".

The point is that's unreasonable to ask Eagle to do.  You already have good

tools to do all those things.  Let's not ask Eagle to be another OS.

Besides, what are datasheets doing in a board directory anyway?  Datasheets

apply accross all projects.  I keep a completely independent tree of

datasheets elsewhere.  I don't want separate copies of the MMTB4401

datasheet in every Eagle board directory I used one of those transistors

on, for example.

Quote:

I don't want to open (by hand, one after an other) half of the programs

installed on my HDD to complete this simple project.; I don't want to

swim in backup files to find my 3 usefull files.

In Windows you don't need to open the programs for viewing particular files

first.  Just enter the file name in the command shell window and Windows

will open the associated program with that file automatically.

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"Silviu Epure" wrote:

I prefer another definition: Eagle should have support for files related

to /EAGLE/. See the difference?

 

I prefere an other way: "I want to make a board, for a schematic. I need 5

datasheet, informations from the boardhouse, and some pictures. I want to be

able to access all this from only one IDE, the one used for creating

boards".

that's your - very specific - usage scenario. But your PDF-centric

view of things doesn't match everyone's needs.

I'm creating documentation while I'm working with Eagle. That's

project specific documentation I want to store in vicinity of the

Eagle files.

But usually I do not want to store the documentation of the parts

used in the same directory since I re-use the parts in other projects.

Therefore this kind of documentation resides in a completely different

tree. I can put links to them  in the project directory.

That's my - also specific - workflow.

I don't want to open (by hand, one after an other) half of the programs

installed on my HDD to complete this simple project.; I don't want to swim

in backup files to find my 3 usefull files.

If you would learn to use a decent file manager (e.g. some "Commander"

like Freecommander, Total C. etc.), you could filter the Eagle backup

files from your view.

Then you might realize that the "one tool for one task" is usually the

best approach.

A good file manager has preview for many file types, opens

everything with the right (or individually selected) applications,

jumps to your preferred paths quickly and much more.

My approach ist not to make Eagle a better file manager but to improve

Eagle's capabilities of integration to use it with a filemanager (also

"Windows Explorer" is nor the worst file manager).

The strength of the Eagle Control Panel is library browsing and

management.

Oliver

Silviu Epure schrieb:

I prefere an other way: "I want to make a board, for a schematic. I need 5

datasheet, informations from the boardhouse, and some pictures. I want to be

able to access all this from only one IDE, the one used for creating

boards".

Perhaps you got used to this method because you don't have a

useful/powerful file manager? (This is not meant offensive - but I just

can't imagine doing it that way could be considered as effective.)

We have hundreds of projects organised in a hierarchical tree. Not all

projects contain EAGLE data, and some contain several revisions of EAGLE

files. Of course we have everything that is really related to the

project in that particular project folder - however datasheets or

boardhouse information definitely belongs at other places, since these

are not project related (at least we use the same parts and boardhouses

for more than one project...).

I don't want to open (by hand, one after an other) half of the programs

installed on my HDD to complete this simple project.; I don't want to swim

in backup files to find my 3 usefull files.

You think of EAGLE as a shell, from where you want to process/manage the

whole workflow. I think this is not what EAGLE was developed for. You

should think about using a shell that is meant for exactly this task.

Then you can do everything you mentioned above from that single program.

You activate the /documents/ (not the programs!) and the OS calls the

needed programs to open them, regardless of document type (EAGLE, PDF,

Word, Picture or whatever else). Of course all project related

documents/files are arranged in the same folder (or related subfolders),

so you have them all at hand when you open that folder.

Please take the time to really think about this. I'm pretty sure your

workflow would be much more efficient (and the needed programs much less

bloated) if your concept was more "object oriented" and less "program

oriented" - perhaps after a short time of getting used to it.

Tilmann

"Tilmann Reh" <usenet2007nospam@autometer.de> wrote in message

news:hm891h$rtl$1@cheetah.cadsoft.de...

I prefer another definition: Eagle should have support for files related

to /EAGLE/. See the difference?

 

I prefere an other way: "I want to make a board, for a schematic. I need 5

datasheet, informations from the boardhouse, and some pictures. I want to be

able to access all this from only one IDE, the one used for creating

boards".

I don't want to open (by hand, one after an other) half of the programs

installed on my HDD to complete this simple project.; I don't want to swim

in backup files to find my 3 usefull files.

Silviu Epure schrieb:

We create a electronics project. Eagle should have support for files related

to electronics; nothing less, nothing more.

Who defines which file types are "related to electronics"?

I prefer another definition: Eagle should have support for files related

to /EAGLE/. See the difference?

Since the epf is in the same folder, the user could open the epf file

instead of the brd or sch.

 

and the same novice user will copy only "eagle.epf" file to USB stick, to

give to a friend the "schematic, board and all it needs"

Why? because this is the file he uses to open the project.

What would your stupid novice user do when he tries to give his friend

the files of his latest software development? Copy only the project file

of the IDE, without all the sources etc.?

If that novice is /that/ stupid, he will need to copy the correct files

in a second try - and hopefully learn from that. You can't protect

novices from every stupidity.

However, this detail discussion is somewhat meaningless here - there are

more relevant, basic issues that should be addressed first (see the new

thread in the suggest group).

Tilmann

"Oliver Betz" <obetz@despammed.com> wrote in message

news:m33fo5p7t7alqqss61uf04fa615g1ec25c@news.cadsoft.de...

There seem to be two groups of users: The "one task one tool" group

and those who want to have a "do it all" Eagle.

I don't want to use one more file manager with different user

interface. It will never match the maturity of a "real" file manager.

I would prefer a better integration of Eagle to be used with the OS

means.

We don't want Eagle to know how to open porn!

We create a electronics project. Eagle should have support for files related

to electronics; nothing less, nothing more.

My programming editor ("IDE"), HTML editor, office software etc. all

do not have file manager functionality and I doubt anyone asks for

such a feature.

not quite... office is used to create office documents. It incorporates

image viewer, equation editor (eved external eq. editor), and many many

moote "tools"; Html editor - the same story.

have pdf viewer at all. just needs to pass the open command to the OS

and let it launch the user's choice of viewer. That's all we are asking

for.

 

You open a can of worms. Eagle had to handle all the file

associations, shell extensions etc. to do it well. That's not the task

of a development software.

nop...

If (file !sch and !brd and !lbr and !scr and !ulp), "shell run

filename.ext".

simple enough?!

As far as the opening of single board/schema, I think it is a dangerous

pitfall for the new user. As Joern points out, no need for yet another

option, you don't want both windows, just close one.

 

maybe when directed to open a .sch or .brd from the OS, EAGLE should

check the folder for a project file and just open, or ask to open, the

project. otherwise just view the file.

 

Since the epf is in the same folder, the user could open the epf file

instead of the brd or sch.

and the same novice user will copy only "eagle.epf" file to USB stick, to

give to a friend the "schematic, board and all it needs"

Why? because this is the file he uses to open the project.

Gary Gofstein wrote:

I agree with the suggestion that eagle tree should be able to open files

of other applications. but this does not mean that EAGLE itself must

There seem to be two groups of users: The "one task one tool" group

and those who want to have a "do it all" Eagle.

I don't want to use one more file manager with different user

interface. It will never match the maturity of a "real" file manager.

I would prefer a better integration of Eagle to be used with the OS

means.

My programming editor ("IDE"), HTML editor, office software etc. all

do not have file manager functionality and I doubt anyone asks for

such a feature.

IMO the real benefit of the Eagle control panel is the library

handling (browse, copy elements between libraries)!

have pdf viewer at all. just needs to pass the open command to the OS

and let it launch the user's choice of viewer. That's all we are asking

for.

You open a can of worms. Eagle had to handle all the file

associations, shell extensions etc. to do it well. That's not the task

of a development software.

As far as the opening of single board/schema, I think it is a dangerous

pitfall for the new user. As Joern points out, no need for yet another

option, you don't want both windows, just close one.

 

maybe when directed to open a .sch or .brd from the OS, EAGLE should

check the folder for a project file and just open, or ask to open, the

project. otherwise just view the file.

Since the epf is in the same folder, the user could open the epf file

instead of the brd or sch.

And keep in mind that opening the epf file also means changing it if

the epf file is set to "auto save".

Oliver

Il 25/02/2010 22.09, Gary Gofstein ha scritto:

I agree with the suggestion that eagle tree should be able to open files

of other applications. but this does not mean that EAGLE itself must

have pdf viewer at all. just needs to pass the open command to the OS

and let it launch the user's choice of viewer. That's all we are asking

for.

Agree. Enough to open an external Pdf viewer (Adobe, Foxit...). This

would greatly help in navigating documentation (datasheets, project docs

etc.). Currently though the Pdf files are not shown in the Eagle CP.

Maybe an option in eaglerc to specify what files to show and howto open

the viewer.

Interface.FileViewer = ".pdf:AcroRd32.exe %1;.txt:Notepad.exe %1"

As far as the opening of single board/schema, I think it is a dangerous

pitfall for the new user. As Joern points out, no need for yet another

option, you don't want both windows, just close one.

You are saying to make Eagle open both sch/brd as defasult, no questions

asked? This is the way I would like Eagle to behave. Then close the file

you don't want/need (remember the dangers). In extreme cases where you

really don't want the other file opened just rename the sch/brd pair to

different names and only one file will be opened.

"Joern Paschedag" <jpaschedag@t-online.de> wrote in message

news:hm5ean$uk9$1@cheetah.cadsoft.de...

Your "eficiency" is rubbish. If in windows explorer you click on an excel

file for example, the explorer calls excel.exe which in turn opens the

excel file. Same goes with eagle. So you should be a little more precise.

It takes 5ms for explorer to call excel to open the excel files,

it takes me 30 seconds to search for excel shortcut and then browse for the

file I want to open

So, yes, what I say it's eficiency

"Tilmann Reh" <usenet2007nospam@autometer.de> wrote in message

news:hm3ksq$2oo$1@cheetah.cadsoft.de...

Opening a project would be done by opening the .epf by any means (for

example, double click in any file explorer or shell) - just as it is

with any other IDE.

This affirmation is valid only if 1 file does not contain all the

information nedeed.

But .sch file, or .brd or .lbr file contain all it needs to display

schematic, board or library.