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  • Author Author: jamesharrimanaltium
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What do Integrated Libraries offer me, above and beyond standard libraries?

Standard schematic libraries (SchLib file) allow you to attach PCB footprint models to components. Usually, each model link references a file (PcbLib file) somewhere outside of the schematic library. So the schematic library saves a link, that is, instructions, on where to find the model you attach.

 

Periodically, CircuitStudio will need to locate these models - when you run a board update, for example, the linking instructions will be followed for all current footprints in your design. The search sequence for matching models starts with libraries in the current project, installed PCB libraries, and then any files found on the project search path.

 

The management of these separate source libraries is left entirely in your hands, meaning that CircuitStudio cannot offer any guarantees that your models will find matches. The links in schematic libraries are brittle, and are easily broken by everyday management tasks such as renaming folders on a hard drive or reassigning labels to a central server.

 

CircuitStudio has a solution to this problem - the Integrated Library. The integrated library (IntLib file) includes not only the schematic library (or libraries), it also has all the associated model libraries bundled in. If a component came from an integrated library, CircuitStudio is guaranteed to find the right model if it can simply locate the integrated library it came from.

 

Because the components and models are entirely contained within a single .IntLib file, these libraries offer portability to designers who divide their work among different workstations, or who want to share their designs with others.

 

Simply installing the same, single file in the Libraries panel of any PC running CircuitStudio will mean that component-to-model links will remain secure (assuming, again, that components were placed in the design from that integrated library).

 

These libraries are also checked for integrity when they are compiled. That means they are not only checked for availability, but for correct pin mappings. Even designers who want to stay with discrete library files should compile their SchLib's in an integrated library package, if only to ensure that the source components will map correctly to the target models. Once satisfied, they can ignore the integrated library they created, and keep placing directly from their schematic libraries.

  • They might be, I just started a new PCB library and it was 71KB, adding a step model that is over 500KB took it to 204KB but the step will zip down to 132KB which adds up.

  • I'm not entirely sure they are, my SOT library is under 400KB but if I add up the step file sizes it comes to more although they do compress nicely so perhaps the PCB library holds them in compressed form.

  • in reply to Sparkylabs

    Interesting question regarding the step files. Checking the dialog in the PCB library editor it strongly suggests the step models are embedded in the document so the original step file is probably no longer required once attached to a footprint.

  • in reply to e14softwareuk

    Yes indeed of course that is how it works, each installation on each machine has the libraries installed so no matter where they are it knows where to find them. I assume the only weakness then is links from PCB footprints to Step models? can they all be pointed in one go? I can't remember if there is a path to the main folder used for 3D models.

  • in reply to Sparkylabs

    To manage integrated libraries you are correct in that you need to have an integrated library project so that you can edit the individual libraries and compile to an integrated library.

     

    Assuming you haven't used the option to force a library path when creating components then you may be able to just set the list of libraries to use for projects using File | System Preferences : Data Management : Installed Libraries. This acts as a search path when CS is trying to locate matching models / footprints and should allow the use of individual libraries if you prefer. If working on two different computers where the 'shared drive' can have different locations you should be able to configure each copy of CS to have different installed libraries in this dialog, once set symbols and footprints should match up properly on either computer.

  • in reply to e14softwareuk

    Well I use more than one computer and share the same library set via dropbox. so a single file format would be very useful as at the moment it relies on the fact that dropbox always has the same location in windows 10 so no matter which machine a link between footprint and 3D model or schematic symbol and footprint it always works. This could become an issue in the future if I were to move (I plan to ditch dropbox for my own cloud server so all paths will change) and having a single file format would deal with it perfectly, but how can an integrated library be updated ? or is there a way to easily recompile and replace an existing library so a set of separate libraries are maintained and can be used to generate updates.

     

    So for example can I keep an integrated library project which always includes the same separate schematic library which is updated so each time the integrated library is to be compiled I just hit compile and have an up to date integrated library? This presumably is what for example a person maintaining libraries for an organisation would want to do so that they can maintain libraries and distribute up to date copies probably by placing them in a central location when they are "issued".

  • in reply to Sparkylabs

    The integrated libraries are just an alternative to separate library files, just pick whichever works best for your workflow. For teams the integrated format can be better because it can be treated as read-only for most users and a librarian can update and distribute changes. For single users the format is likely less convenient than using separate libraries.

  • ok but libraries constantly grow and integrated libraries are read only. There seems to be some confusion here between "single file library" and a library format that is suitable for distribution by say a chip maker or throughout a company. If I have to constantly recompile a library or edit one of it's "source files" then how does an integrated library help ? it still relies on these oh so fragile links.

     

    Anyway what is wrong with links? I work a lot with 3D CAD, you can't do that without relying on many files linking together in assemblies etc and no you don't just go around renaming folders ? is that what the writer of the articles does when they get bored ? "integrated libraries" sound nice but I'm only being told half the story. Why can't we simply have a "single file" library format?