DipTrace

How about Mentor Graphics Xpedition or E-Z Circuit by Bishop Graphics?

On Fri, 31 Mar 2017 04:49:42 GMT

COMPACT <noreply-67118@element14.com> wrote:

How about Mentor Graphics Xpedition

Yeah, funny.

or E-Z Circuit by Bishop Graphics?

I was more of a Letraset man.

Then OrCAD on DOS with a whopping 72dpi Epson dot-matrix printer.

Of those I really miss the DOS OrCAD's schematics editor, the most

useful(!) feature rich schematics entry I've ever worked width. Then

they moved to Windows and replaced the useful features with useless

eye-candy.

Alas, reminiscing about the good old days of spray-on photoresin and

UV lamp and acetone or the iron-trichloride bath at the corner of the

workbench and whatnot can't really help me finding an Eagle replacement

for Linux or Mac, can it

But thanks anyway.

Zoltan

--

Zoltán Kócsi

Bendor Research Pty. Ltd.

On Fri, 31 Mar 2017 04:49:42 GMT

COMPACT <noreply-67118@element14.com> wrote:

How about Mentor Graphics Xpedition

Yeah, funny.

or E-Z Circuit by Bishop Graphics?

I was more of a Letraset man.

Then OrCAD on DOS with a whopping 72dpi Epson dot-matrix printer.

Of those I really miss the DOS OrCAD's schematics editor, the most

useful(!) feature rich schematics entry I've ever worked width. Then

they moved to Windows and replaced the useful features with useless

eye-candy.

Alas, reminiscing about the good old days of spray-on photoresin and

UV lamp and acetone or the iron-trichloride bath at the corner of the

workbench and whatnot can't really help me finding an Eagle replacement

for Linux or Mac, can it

But thanks anyway.

Zoltan

--

Zoltán Kócsi

Bendor Research Pty. Ltd.

Am 31.03.2017 um 16:18 schrieb Zoltán Kócsi:

Of those I really miss the DOS OrCAD's schematics editor, the most

useful(!) feature rich schematics entry I've ever worked width.

YES!  Me too…

On 31.03.2017 16:18, Zoltán Kócsi wrote:

Of those I really miss the DOS OrCAD's schematics editor, the most

useful(!) feature rich schematics entry I've ever worked width. Then

they moved to Windows and replaced the useful features with useless

eye-candy.

I'd like to hear what you really lost, or if this is just ludditity

Am 03.04.2017 um 12:21 schrieb Morten Leikvoll:

On 31.03.2017 16:18, Zoltán Kócsi wrote:

Of those I really miss the DOS OrCAD's schematics editor, the most

useful(!) feature rich schematics entry I've ever worked width. Then

they moved to Windows and replaced the useful features with useless

eye-candy.

 

I'd like to hear what you really lost, or if this is just ludditity

 

For instance two things I vividly remember and miss:

DOS OrCad SDT had clever one-letter commands so you could keep one hand

on the mouse to point and the other hand at the keyboard to tap these

commands (no

(E)nd

gave a net with two bends.

It had a clever (R)epeat command with auto-offset and auto-increment for

many commands.   Tapping R three times would for instance give three

copies of the above net, properly offset and named.

Or you could place one resistor and then hold down R and let the

keyboard autorepeat (R)epeat that resistor fifteen times.  Great for

buses etc.

Of course design tools have added a lot of features since and I wouldn't

want to go back to those DOS tools now.  I also wouldn't want to use

these red and blue adhesive tapes ever again (some rerouting on a

finished board — AARGH!)

But I could never before or after draw schematics so fast and easy as

with OrCad SDT.

I still use something like that on Eagle, with five-layered custom

function keys and text commands — much better than menus or those

hieroglyphic buttons (it is just an idiotic idea to use the mouse

alternating for precise pointing and selecting buttons or menus

elsewhere).  But it needs many more keystrokes than OrCad did.

On 3/04/2017 11:53 p.m., Hans Lederer wrote:

...DOS OrCad SDT had clever one-letter commands so you could keep one hand

on the mouse to point and the other hand at the keyboard to tap these

commands (no <Enter> necessary) — very fast!

I don't remember the commands exactly, its 25 years ago, but for

instance something like this —

<point> (P)lace (W)ire (B)egin <point> (P)lace <point> (P)lace <point>

(E)nd

gave a net with two bends.

 

It had a clever (R)epeat command with auto-offset and auto-increment for

many commands.   Tapping R three times would for instance give three

copies of the above net, properly offset and named.

Or you could place one resistor and then hold down R and let the

keyboard autorepeat (R)epeat that resistor fifteen times.  Great for

buses etc.

 

Of course design tools have added a lot of features since and I wouldn't

want to go back to those DOS tools now............

 

But I could never before or after draw schematics so fast and easy as

with OrCad SDT.............

 

I still use something like that on Eagle, ............   But it needs many more keystrokes than OrCad did.

 

Here is a link to the OrCAD SDT III Manual

https://archive.org/details/OrCAD3Manual

Enjoy

Warren

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Am 03.04.2017 um 21:33 schrieb warrenbrayshaw:

On 3/04/2017 11:53 p.m., Hans Lederer wrote:

But I could never before or after draw schematics so fast and easy as

with OrCad SDT.............

 

I still use something like that on Eagle, ............   But it needs many more keystrokes than OrCad did.

 

 

Here is a link to the OrCAD SDT III Manual

https://archive.org/details/OrCAD3Manual

 

Ah, nice!  I'm sure I still have the printed book (dark green cover?)

somewhere in my attic, together with it's d**d parport dongle.  Probably

next to the “IBM PC 8088 Macro Assembler” binder…

Am 03.04.2017 um 21:33 schrieb warrenbrayshaw:

On 3/04/2017 11:53 p.m., Hans Lederer wrote:

But I could never before or after draw schematics so fast and easy as

with OrCad SDT.............

 

I still use something like that on Eagle, ............   But it needs many more keystrokes than OrCad did.

 

 

Here is a link to the OrCAD SDT III Manual

https://archive.org/details/OrCAD3Manual

 

Ah, nice!  I'm sure I still have the printed book (dark green cover?)

somewhere in my attic, together with it's d**d parport dongle.  Probably

next to the “IBM PC 8088 Macro Assembler” binder…

On Mon, 3 Apr 2017 12:21:33 +0200

Morten Leikvoll <mleikvol@yahoo.nospam> wrote:

On 31.03.2017 16:18, Zoltán Kócsi wrote:

Of those I really miss the DOS OrCAD's schematics editor, the most

useful(!) feature rich schematics entry I've ever worked width. Then

they moved to Windows and replaced the useful features with useless

eye-candy.

 

I'd like to hear what you really lost, or if this is just ludditity

Among other things, the hierarchical schematics (I know that finally

Eagle also got it, but OrCAD had it 30 years ago!).

Then the repeat function, when you did something and then OrCAD

remembered the sequence and repeated it. Very handy when you need to do

repetitive tasks, like putting a bunch of decoupling caps down. Draw

one cap, set its value, adjust the position of its designator and value

labels, draw the ground, the arrow to Vcc, move the pointer to the left

by say 4 grid points, press end. Then every press of the repeat key

will put down the next cap, valued, numbered, connected.

Also, automatic label increment - when you needed to connect 32 data or

address pins to the buses it took you to connect 1 pin then press the

repeat key 31 times, done.

The whole thing could be extended with OrCad asking you for input, I

think they called that a 'macro'.

Naming buses and OrCAD checking that members connecting to a bus indeed

belong there was also quite cool.

The fact that you didn't need to create a different component for every

different power rail you have, because OrCAD had the concept of a

power rail symbol. Symbols with matching values were connected.

An other thing I really miss is the fact that you could move around on

the grid by cursor keys, no need to constantly use the mouse. That was

very, very covenient and made drawing things much faster than constantly

switching between the keys and the rodent.

There were other neat features too, but these are the ones that come to

mind without much thinking, possibly because the lack of these

frustrates me the most.

Whether missing those features makes me a luddite, well, your call.

--

Zoltán Kócsi

Bendor Research Pty. Ltd.

On Mon, 3 Apr 2017 12:21:33 +0200

Morten Leikvoll <mleikvol@yahoo.nospam> wrote:

On 31.03.2017 16:18, Zoltán Kócsi wrote:

Of those I really miss the DOS OrCAD's schematics editor, the most

useful(!) feature rich schematics entry I've ever worked width. Then

they moved to Windows and replaced the useful features with useless

eye-candy.

 

I'd like to hear what you really lost, or if this is just ludditity

Among other things, the hierarchical schematics (I know that finally

Eagle also got it, but OrCAD had it 30 years ago!).

Then the repeat function, when you did something and then OrCAD

remembered the sequence and repeated it. Very handy when you need to do

repetitive tasks, like putting a bunch of decoupling caps down. Draw

one cap, set its value, adjust the position of its designator and value

labels, draw the ground, the arrow to Vcc, move the pointer to the left

by say 4 grid points, press end. Then every press of the repeat key

will put down the next cap, valued, numbered, connected.

Also, automatic label increment - when you needed to connect 32 data or

address pins to the buses it took you to connect 1 pin then press the

repeat key 31 times, done.

The whole thing could be extended with OrCad asking you for input, I

think they called that a 'macro'.

Naming buses and OrCAD checking that members connecting to a bus indeed

belong there was also quite cool.

The fact that you didn't need to create a different component for every

different power rail you have, because OrCAD had the concept of a

power rail symbol. Symbols with matching values were connected.

An other thing I really miss is the fact that you could move around on

the grid by cursor keys, no need to constantly use the mouse. That was

very, very covenient and made drawing things much faster than constantly

switching between the keys and the rodent.

There were other neat features too, but these are the ones that come to

mind without much thinking, possibly because the lack of these

frustrates me the most.

Whether missing those features makes me a luddite, well, your call.

--

Zoltán Kócsi

Bendor Research Pty. Ltd.

I find it interesting that you work width.

Do you also work with height and length?

You can go use vintage apps like Protel AutoTrax or even P-CAD.