For all numeric inputs: The input is only confirmed by pressing the Enter key to avoid accidental changes.
Here you can switch on or off displaying the open connections as air lines. If the airlines were switched off before, they will be switched on and vice versa. Shortcut is g.
Here you can switch on or off displaying the clearance violations. If the violations were switched off before, they will be switched on and vice versa. Shortcut is v.
With the sliders in this window you can adjust the intensity for displaying the single object types. If you push the slider for an object type is to the right, objects of this type will get displayed with full intensity, if you push it to the left, objects of this type will become invisible.
With the sliders in this window you can adjust the intensity for displaying objects on each layer individually. If you push a slider to the left, all objects on the corresponding layer will get invisible.
Here you can define the colors for displaying objects on the board by clicking the corresponding color field with the left button. For the object types in the upper table you can choose the color for each layer individually.
crosshair cursor: Here you can change from the standard small crosshair cursor to a big 45-degree crosshair cursor. Using the big crosshair cursor may slow down the display performance a lot. Shortcut is the comma-key.
board rotation: To turn the board by multiples of 90 degree.
board mirroring: For horizontal or vertical mirroring of the board.
automatic layer dimming: With this slider you can increase the intensity of the items on the current layer. If you push the slider to the left, the automatic layer dimming will get switched off, if you push it to the right, all layers beside the current layer will become invisible.
Description of the Select Parameter window.
| Selections Layers: | |
|---|---|
| all visible: | Items are selected on all layers with visibility factor > 0 (see also Layer Visibility). Objects on the current layer are preferred. |
| current only: | Items can be selected only on the current layer. |
Selectable Items: To define the selectable item types.
Current Layer: Here you can change the layer, which is used in interactive actions.
| snap angle: | |
|---|---|
| 90 degree: | Only orthogonal traces are created in interactive routing. |
| 45 Grad: | The angles of the traces created in interactive routing are restricted to multiples of 45 degree. |
| none: | There are no angle restrictions in interactive routing. |
| route mode: | |
|---|---|
| dynamic: | Trace will be inserted when the cursor position changes. |
| stitching: | Trace will be inserted after clicking the left button. |
| rule selection: | |
|---|---|
| automatic: | The routing rules are defined by the net class of the current net. |
| manual: | The routing rules are defined in the Manual Rules window. The window opens automatically after selecting manual. |
push and shove enabled: To define, if foreign traces can be pushed aside in interactive routing.
drag components enabled: Here you can define, if components can be dragged with the left button pressed. The already routed connections of the component will be adjusted automatically.
vias snap to the smd center: Here you can define, if vias, for which attaching smd pins is allowed, should snap automatically to the pin center in this case.
highlight routing obstacle: If selected, the current routing obstacle will be highlighted.
ignore conduction areas: If selected, conduction areas of foreign nets will not be treated as obstacles. The host system can for example automatically create gaps for traces overlapping with such a conduction area.
automatic neckdown: When starting on pins or connecting to pins smaller than the current routing trace width, the trace width will be automatically reduced to the pin width, if connecting is not possible otherwise.
restrict pin exit directions: Here you can define, if connecting to rectangular pins is only allowed on the smaller sides.
pad to turn gap: To define the minimum distance from the pad border of a pin with exit restriction, where connecting traces are allowed to change direction.
pull tight region: To restrict the region around the cursor, where traces are pulled tight while routing. If the value is 0, the pull tight algorithm is switched off, if the value is 999, the pull tight region is unrestricted. Setting the value to 0 makes only sense in the stitching route mode. back
Here you can define the layers which may be used by the autorouter, the preferred direction for traces on each layer, and if vias may be inserted by the autorouter. You can also define, if before autorouting a fanout pass and after autorouting a postroute pass for reducing the via count and the cumulative trace length should run. The postroute pass may take a very long time and can be stopped by clicking the left mouse button. In a fanout pass the connections will be routed only till the first via. That may be useful on boards with many layers and ball grid arrrays. The detail parameter button opens a window, where you can adjust the individual costs used in the autoroute algorithm.
The parameter in this window are used when moving components. Here you can define a horizontal and vertical component grid. The components will then snap while moving to coordinates, which are multiples of the chosen grid. You can also change the function of the mouse wheel from zooming to rotating. You will need this functionality, if you want to rotate components by angles, which are not multiples of 90 degree.
In the window with the Clearance Matrix you can define the spacing rules between the object types. This is done via clearance classes. An Item clearance class is described by the definition of a minimal spacing to items of all existing clearance classes. These values can be looked up and changed in the Clearance Matrix. Predefined are the clearance classes null and default. Items of the clearance class null have a minimal spacing of 0 to all other items. This value cannot be changed in the Clearance Matrix.
In the Specctra-DSN-Format there exist only the hard coded clearance classes pin, smd, via, wire, area and testpoint. When reading the DSN-file at the program start the clearance classes of the host system will be taken over. The class wire will be renamed to default. The rest of the hard coded clearance classes will only be generated, if values for these classes are found in the DSN-file.
To add a new clearance class: Press the button Add Class and enter the name of the new class into the dialog field, which is popping up. The Clearance Matrix will be extended by a row and a column with the values for the new class. Change the predefined values in the new row according to your needs.
To remove redundant clearance classes: By pushing the Trim Button you can remove classes as redundant, whose entries in the Clearance Matrix are exact equal to the entries of an other class. All items belonging to the deleted clearance class will then be assigned to this other clearance class.
Layer dependent clearance classes: In the layer field on top of the window you see the layers, for which the entries in the Clearance Matrix are valid. When all is selected in the combo box, the matrix entries are valid on all layers. If in this case layer dependent clearance values are defined for a special field, the value -1 is displayed, because it is not possible to output a value, which is valid on all layers. Analog if inner is selected in the combo box. You can view or edit a layer dependent clearance value after selecting the name of the layer of your choice in the layer combo box.
A via rule consists of a ordered set of vias, which is used in the routing. If a layer is changed while routing and several vias would contain the previous and the next layer and would cause no clearance violations, vias earlier in the rule will be preferred to vias later on in the rule.
Vias: A via consists of a name, a via padstack, a clearance class and a switch, if attaching smd-pins of the same net is allowed or not. Via Padstacks: A via padstack consists of a begin layer and an end layer and of a circle shape on each layer between the begin and the end layer.
The following is a description of the window with the via rules.
Available Via Padstacks: Here you see the three buttons Info, Create and Remove. After pushing the Info button a list with all available via padstacks will be displayed. With the Create Button you can create a new via padstack. You you will be asked to provide the name of the new via padstack, the start and the end layer, and the default radius of the circle shape. In the following input window you can adjust this radius on each single layer, if you want the shapes of the new via padstack to be layer dependent. With the Remove button you can delete an existing via padstack in the database. The deletion will be refused, if the padstack is still used in a via definition or somewhere else.
Available Vias:
| Description of the buttons: | |
|---|---|
| Info | Outputs a list of all vias available for routing. |
| Edit | If you push this button, a window with a table for editing the vias will appear. Here you can adjust the name, the padstack, the clearance class and the attach smd property of the via according to your needs. Below this window are two buttons for adding new vias or removing existing vias. |
Via Rules:
Below the Via Rules label is a window with a list of the names of all existing via rules. The following is a description of the four buttons at the lower border.
| Info | After selecting a via rule with the left button, you can output the rule with Info to a new window. In routing the vias earlier in the list in this window are preferred to vias later on in the list |
| Create | If you push the Create button you will be asks for the name of the new via rule. After you have provided this name, a new empty via rule with the new name will be appended to the list above. Select the new rule with the left button and push the Edit to insert vias into the new rule. |
| Edit | After selecting a via rule with the left mouse button and pushing Edit, a new window appears where you can change the selected via rule. For a detailed description see Edit Via Rule below. |
| Remove | To delete the selected via rule. |
Edit Via Rule:
After selecting a via rule for editing, a new window appears with a list of all vias contained in the selected rule. In routing the vias earlier in this list are preferred to vias later on in the list. The following is a description of the buttons in this new window.
| Append | A window with a combo box with all available vias not yet contained in the rule appears. After you have selected a via and pushed the OK button, the selected via will be appended to the end of the list.. |
| Remove | After selecting a via with the left mouse button you can remove it from the via rule by pushing the Remove button. |
| Move Up | After selecting a via with the left mouse button you can exchange its position with the previous via in the list by pushing the Move Up button. That increases the priority of the selected via. In routing vias earlier in the list are preferred to vias later on in the list. |
| Move Down | After selecting a via with the left mouse button you can exchange its position with the next via in the list by pushing the Move Down button. That decreases the priority of the selected via. In routing vias earlier in the list are preferred to vias later on in the list. |
All nets of the design will be output. This window contains two more buttons. With the Assign Class button you can assign a new net class to the selected nets. After pushing the Filter Incompletes button only the airlines of open connections belonging to a selected net will be displayed.
A net class consists of a rule set, which is used by default when routing nets of this class. These rules can be edited in the table in the Net Classes window. The following is a description of the columns of this table.
| The net class table: | |
|---|---|
| name | Contains the name of the net class, whose rules are described in the corresponding row. |
| via rule | In this combo box you can select the via rule you want to use when routing a net of this class. |
| clearance class | Combo box to select the clearance class for routing traces of nets of this class. |
| trace width | To define the trace width for new routed traces of nets of this class.You can set the value to 0 to disallow traces of this net class in automatic and interactive routing on the layers defined in the following field. |
| on layer | In this combo box you can select the layers for which the value in the trace width field is valid. If all is selected, the value is valid on all layers. If you select inner, the value is valid on all inner layers. Otherwise the value in the trace width field is only valid on the layer with the selected name. If the trace width of this net class is layer dependent and all is selected in this combo box, in the trace width field appears the value -1, because it is not possible to output a value which is valid on all layers. |
| shove fixed | If this field is selected, traces of this net class cannot be shoved or pulled tight while routing. |
| cycles with areas | Normally closed cycles created while routing will be removed automatically. If this field is selected, that will only happen, if no conduction areas are involved. In that way you can for example connect items several times to a copper area without the redundant connections being removed automatically. |
| min. length | Here you can define a minimal value for the cumulative trace length of the nets from this class. In interactive routing than appears an ellipse. If the actual trace length is smaller than allowed, the cursor will be on the outside of this ellipse. This software however has no good support for routing nets with minimal lengths. We suggest to switch the route mode in the Route Parameter window to stitching and to set the value in the pull tight region to 0 . |
| max. length | Here you can define a maximal value for the cumulative trace length of the nets from this class. In interactive routing than appears an elliptic ring. If the cursor is outside this ring when connecting a trace, the actual trace length is smaller than allowed. |
| The buttons in the net class window: | |
|---|---|
| Add | When you press the Add button, a new row with default values will be appended to the table. After changing the predefined name of the new class in the first column you can adjust the values in the other columns according to your needs. |
| Remove | After selecting a row in the table with the left button, you can delete the corresponding net class by pushing the Remove button. The deletion will be refused, if there are still nets assigned to this class. |
| Assign | After pushing this button a window with a table will appear, where you can assign to a each net in the first row a new class with the combo box in the second row. |
| Select | All items of all nets belonging to the selected net class will be highlighted on the board. The IDE then changes to the Selected Item State. |
| Show Nets | Displays a list with all nets contained in the selected classes. |
| Filter Incompletes | Only airlines of the open connections belonging to nets of the selected class will be displayed. This possibility is meant as an aid, if you want to route the nets of a certain class first. |
All packages in the library will be output. After pushing the Show button you will see all components on the board containing the selected packages.
Outputs all padstacks in the library. After pushing the Show button you will see all pins and vias on the board using the selected padstack.
Outputs all components placed on the board. After pushing the Show button you will see the selected components on the board.
All open connections will be displayed. The entries contain the net name followed by component and pin name of both end items of the incomplete. If there are only a few open connections left on the board, you can find them easily by pushing the Show button.
Outputs the routed connections, which are shorter than the minimal allowed length or longer than the maximal allowed length. If the minimum length is violated, at the end points of the connection appears a circle containing a -. If the maximum length is violated, at the end points of the connection appears a circle containing a +. The size of such a circle corresponds to the size of the length violation.
Outputs the item pairs where the the minimal allowed spacing is violated. By pushing the Show button you can find the selected violations easily on the board.
Outputs the sets of electrically connected traces and vias without contact to a terminal item. By pushing the Show button you can find the selected unconnected items on the board. Then you can remove them by pushing the Delete button in the board toolbar.
Outputs unsufficiantly connected traces and vias. By pushing the Show button you can find the selected stubs on the board. After that you can remove the whole connections containing the stubs by pushing first the Connections button and then the Delete button in the board toolbar.
All nets of the design will be output. This window contains two more buttons. With the Assign Class button you can assign a new net class to the selected nets. After pushing the Filter Incompletes button only the airlines of open connections belonging to a selected net will be displayed.
From now on all interactive actions are written to a log-file, so that this sequence can be repeated later on with Replay Logfile. Only actions, where the design is changed, are saved. This menu entry is provided in order to make short interactive actions repeatable for debugging. There is no warranty that it will work correctly on long interactive sequences. The name of such a log-file must have the extension .log.
The sequence of actions in a file with the extension .log generated by Generate Logfile will be repeated. The design must be in the same state as it was before generating the log-file.
In the Snapshot window the current interactive situation of the FreeRouting window can be saved for restoring it later on.
| Description of the buttons: | |
|---|---|
| Goto Selected Snapshot | Restores the interactive situation, when the selected snapshot was saved. You can also double click a snapshot in the list instead. To avoid frequent changing between the main window and the Snapshots window, you can use the j-key instead. With the h-key you can select the previous snapshot and with the k-key the next snapshot. |
| Create | Here you can store current interactive situation after changing the predefined name. |
| Remove Selected Snapshot | Removes the selected snapshot from the list. |
| Remove All Snapshots | Removes all snapshots from the list. |
| Snapshot Settings | Opens a window with the Snapshot Settings. There you can deselect attributes, which you do not want to be saved in a snapshot. |
| Description of the fields in the Snapshot Settings window: | |
|---|---|
| object colors | The current color settings of the object types will be saved in the snapshots. |
| object visibility | The current color intensity of the single object types will be saved. |
| layer visibility | The current intensity for displaying objects on the individual layers is saved. |
| display region | The currently displayed region of the board will be saved. |
| interactive state | In the snapshots will be saved, if the IDE is currently in the Select- Route- or Drag-State. |
| selection layers | In the snapshots will be saved, if in the Select Parameter window selection layers is set to all visible or to current only. |
| selectable items | The settings for the Selectable Items in the Select Parameter window will be saved in the snapshots. |
| current layer | The Current Layer in the Select Parameter window will be saved. |
| rule selection | In the snapshots will be saved, if in the Route Parameter Window the rule selection is set to automatic or to manual. |
| manual rule settings | The settings in the Manual Rules window will be saved. |
| push&shove enabled | In the snapshots will be saved, if in the Route Parameter push&shove enabled is selected. |
| drag components enabled | In the snapshots will be saved, if in the Route Parameter drag components enabled is selected. |
| pull tight region | The value for the pull tight region in the Route Parameter window will be saved. |
| component grid | The value for the component grid in the Move Parameter window will be saved. |
| info list selections | The selected indices and the filter strings in the windows for Incompletes, Library Packages, Library Padstacks, Placed Components and Nets will be saved. |