I have installed the new version and have already played around a bit with the Component Editor. Good work! I think it's good that you can always switch to the editor view. I think, the basic controls are almost self-explanatory. :-)
What I noticed so far:
To delete already created pins you have to set them individually to "0". It should be able to mark and delete several. Maybe with rectangle selection, like in the "normal" mode or simply by multi-select.
I would like to have the opportunity to define if under a component also other components can be attached. Maybe by creating two components and define the distance between them.
I would like to delete everything in the Component Editor at once to start with a new part.
Perhaps the areas of pins, areas where foreign tracks have space and areas where other components may be located may somehow be color coded.
Bug? What I set for "Pin rendering" is not immediately visible in the Component Editor.
Bug? If I move the basic shape, I can delete it suddenly and leave a dashed rectangle.
What I also noticed is that the connectors in files, which were created in the previous version, are not displayed correctly in this version: Only every second pin of a terminal block has a border.
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It's too much work to change the way the pin setting works. Most components don't have a massive number of pins and those that do usually fall into the existing DIP category. Using mouse wheel should not be too much work.
Component's have to be single objects. If you want groups of components (e.g. to make a reuseable circuit block) then make a circuit layout of that group of parts and save them as a VRT. That's what the merge functionality is for.
Regarding starting a new part, just select no component in the regular view and then start the editor. You will get the simplest possible component definition allowed by the tool.
So all strings will be empty, and there will be a default footprint with no pins (it is not possible to have no footprint at all) and a default rectangle shape. I am guessing most new packages (like relays) will be rectangular and so use a shape that is similar size to the footprint size.
I'm not sure what you mean by the color coding. All the current categories within the footprint area are already covered by the current coloring.
"Pin rendering" only affects how the component looks when you use it in a circuit layout.
The most important thing about pins in the editor is that you can see the actual pin numbers, and it would be hard to read them if pin shapes were drawn on top of the numbers.
You say if you move the basic shape, you can delete it suddenly and leave a dashed rectangle. I am not sure what you mean here. Are you refering to the dashed rectangle showing the footprint boundary ? That should always be shown. Going back to your comment about color coding above, it sounds like you are suggesting to not show a dashed rectangle around the footprint boundary but instead colour all the white parts within the boundary in a different color. That could work.
When you say "Only every second pin of a terminal block has a border."
That sounds like a bug. Please send me a VRT with the problem.
BTW, there are a couple of bugs in the component editor. One problem is that you can move a shape far off the screen to the left, and then not be able to select it. Also you cannot move a shape too far to the right. I'm working on the fix. Also when you click in the editor with the mouse it does not always choose the most appropriate shape. I'll have those fixes in the next release.
Last edit: Alex Lawrow 2019-06-12
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Bug fix: Fixed bad TRCD Relay.
New feature: Added component editor. See Tutorial 19 for details.
I have installed the new version and have already played around a bit with the Component Editor. Good work! I think it's good that you can always switch to the editor view. I think, the basic controls are almost self-explanatory. :-)
What I noticed so far:
What I also noticed is that the connectors in files, which were created in the previous version, are not displayed correctly in this version: Only every second pin of a terminal block has a border.
Hi Andreas,
Answering the points you raised...
It's too much work to change the way the pin setting works. Most components don't have a massive number of pins and those that do usually fall into the existing DIP category. Using mouse wheel should not be too much work.
Component's have to be single objects. If you want groups of components (e.g. to make a reuseable circuit block) then make a circuit layout of that group of parts and save them as a VRT. That's what the merge functionality is for.
Regarding starting a new part, just select no component in the regular view and then start the editor. You will get the simplest possible component definition allowed by the tool.
So all strings will be empty, and there will be a default footprint with no pins (it is not possible to have no footprint at all) and a default rectangle shape. I am guessing most new packages (like relays) will be rectangular and so use a shape that is similar size to the footprint size.
I'm not sure what you mean by the color coding. All the current categories within the footprint area are already covered by the current coloring.
"Pin rendering" only affects how the component looks when you use it in a circuit layout.
The most important thing about pins in the editor is that you can see the actual pin numbers, and it would be hard to read them if pin shapes were drawn on top of the numbers.
You say if you move the basic shape, you can delete it suddenly and leave a dashed rectangle. I am not sure what you mean here. Are you refering to the dashed rectangle showing the footprint boundary ? That should always be shown. Going back to your comment about color coding above, it sounds like you are suggesting to not show a dashed rectangle around the footprint boundary but instead colour all the white parts within the boundary in a different color. That could work.
When you say "Only every second pin of a terminal block has a border."
That sounds like a bug. Please send me a VRT with the problem.
BTW, there are a couple of bugs in the component editor. One problem is that you can move a shape far off the screen to the left, and then not be able to select it. Also you cannot move a shape too far to the right. I'm working on the fix. Also when you click in the editor with the mouse it does not always choose the most appropriate shape. I'll have those fixes in the next release.
Last edit: Alex Lawrow 2019-06-12