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PeteG
United Kingdom
3 Posts |
 Posted - 29 Jul 2009 : 12:57:45
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Hi all.
I'm a relatively new user, struggling to get to grips with EasyPC after a previous history of struggling with PADS!
I have a couple of PCB tracking issues to mention - I'm sorry if they've been dealt with before but I haven't had time to sift through all the previous posts properly.
1) When I manually put a track in which does not go directly to the pin(s) concerned, for example if I route from one pin to a passing track which does go to the other pin, the yellow 'rubber band' from pin to pin persists implying connection not made.
2) When I highlight and delete a routed track, the track disappears but the rubber band does not reappear. (BTW I know this one has been mentioned in other posts).
Both of these are rectified if, without doing anything else, I go back to the schematic and then click on "Tools" and then "Forward Design Changes". But why do I have to do that when I haven't changed the schematic design? |
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PeteG
United Kingdom
3 Posts |
Posted - 29 Jul 2009 : 13:21:26
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Ok I made a minor mistake, I had changed the schematic a little but not in any way that affected the nets I was talking about.
In other words, a successful forwarding of changes will update rubber bands too, but that still leaves the question why the PCB layout page deosn't seem to be able to keep on top of the bands by itself? |
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Iain Wilkie
United Kingdom
1015 Posts |
Posted - 29 Jul 2009 : 13:41:19
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After editing simply update the nets simply click the Optomise nets button and nets now routed will dissapear.
If you delete a track .... its net is deleted also ... that why you don't see the net. When you forward design changes the net would be re-instated.
Iain
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shuttlem
United Kingdom
13 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jul 2009 : 09:11:37
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1) The removal (or not) of ratsnest nets during tracking is a bugbear of mine. As Iain says, doing an optimise nets sorts it out. I have asked if it would be possible to have this (optionally) occur automatically after completion/editing of a track but I don't know if this made it to the Number One requested features list. There are new features to do with ratsnests in version 13 but, as I'm only ordering my update today, I don't know the extent of the changes yet. Can anyone enlighten us ?
2) Delete really does obliterate a track and its net from the layout. Personally, I remap the delete key shortcut to "unroute track segment" which just removes the track and leaves the ratsnest net behind.
Mark |
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DavidM
United Kingdom
458 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jul 2009 : 09:34:35
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Unfortunately the option to 'optimise after doing anything' did not make it into the list for V13, sorry!
But that's a good tip about mapping the keys, this can be a handy way of 'adjusting' the program behaviour as well as just giving you quick access to frequently-used commands.
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PeteG
United Kingdom
3 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jul 2009 : 11:49:44
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| Ok, thanks for the advice, but I still can't see what reasoning might be behind having the "delete" button actually delete the net itself, particularly whilst editing the PCB layout? Can someone please explain why? |
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shuttlem
United Kingdom
13 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jul 2009 : 18:07:26
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| I'm sure someone from Number One could confirm it, but I believe it's historical. The earliest version I used was 3 on DOS but I think in the earliest days there was no link from schematic to PCB, if indeed there was schematic at all. Therefore the question of nets and ratsnests didn't come into the equation. You were just drawing tracks and delete did as you expected. |
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olga
United Kingdom
107 Posts |
Posted - 31 Jul 2009 : 10:36:33
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quote:
Originally posted by shuttlem
I'm sure someone from Number One could confirm it, but I believe it's historical. The earliest version I used was 3 on DOS but I think in the earliest days there was no link from schematic to PCB, if indeed there was schematic at all. Therefore the question of nets and ratsnests didn't come into the equation. You were just drawing tracks and delete did as you expected.
That is quite correct. Originally, it was PCB only; the schematic side of it is a more recent introduction.
Delete still does as you expect... it *deletes* the track  If you want to unroute it, there are shortcuts to do that, or you can do as shuttlem has, but I imagine that this method could have unforseen problems when you actually want to delete something else? (I haven't tried it, so I don't know...) I use Ctrl-u for unroute segment (& Ctrl-i for unrouting the whole track path) so automatically now that it doesn't occur to me that someone would try to use delete for this purpose!
Best wishes,
Olga |
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remi
United Kingdom
101 Posts |
Posted - 31 Jul 2009 : 15:05:32
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I guess it is time to change it then!
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Topic |
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Rubber bands and manual routing.