Hi! @dralx Thank you for this software. It has made working with perfboards very easy.
I wanted to develop my own componenets (ESP32- DIP 38 version) and publish them, but was having difficulty in doing so. Could you maybe create a short tutorial video for creating parts either from scratch or templates?
Warm Regards
Rohit Kumar J
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It seems like you worked it out Rohit.
If tutorial was not clear, then let me know what could be improved in the explanation and I will try to update it when I have time.
Basic procedure for making a custom part is to open component editor and do the following...
1) Set the footprint area
2) Set pin numbers (1,2,3,..) within footprint area by clicking and using mouse wheel.
3) Draw component outline using shapes (rectangles, circles, etc)
4) Save to part templates.
The template will have pin numbers as the labels.
If you want custom pin labels in the template you then need to do the following additional steps.
1) Place that part you created (from the templates) into the main view (i.e. not in component editor mode).
2) Then use the Windows -> Pin Labels dialog to edit the labels on that part.
You then need to delete the old part template that has pin numbers as labels and replace it with the part you just gave custom labels. So do these steps...
3) Select the part in the templates dialog and hit "Delete selected template"
4) Then in the main view, click on the part with the custom labels.
5) Then in templates dialog, click on "Add from curren t circuit".
One of the things I want to do in future is make the pin labels editable from the component editor. I would probably do that by making the Pin Labels dialog useable when in component editor mode (it is not possible at the moment).
If you would like to refer to this comment somewhere else in this project, copy and paste the following link:
Thanks for the detailed reply. Tbh, I was having a little confusion while saving the templates.
Altough at the end, it worked out alright. Yes, the pin labels are a bit of a hassle. Currently I am working on a drone project with an ESP32, MPU_6050, and a few other components. I will contribute the parts I designed on this forum.
Warm Regards,
Rohit Kumar J
If you would like to refer to this comment somewhere else in this project, copy and paste the following link:
But I am having some problems with custom parts. How do I save and load a custom part?
Above you write "save to templates", what do you mean with that, and how do I add a part later?
Right now I just save the part as .vrt but have no idea how to add it later.
Thanks for the help!
Best
PP
Last edit: P P 2023-01-24
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The list called "User-Defined Templates" is the list of custom parts.
I should have just called that list "User-Defined parts" or "Custom parts".
You can add a part to that list in 2 ways
1) If you have a part in the main view, then select it so it is shown in bold, and then hit "Add from current layout"
2) If you have that part saved as a .vrt file, you can use the "Add from VRT" button, and then select the VRT file.
Once you have the part in the list, you can use it (i.e. add it your in a layout) by double clicking on its list entry. That will place it in the layout window.
If you would like to refer to this comment somewhere else in this project, copy and paste the following link:
I always got the error “No parts are currently selected in the main view.” when I wanted it to add it from the current layout, that's why I thought it must be the wrong window.
But I finally figured out that one needed also to add a “value” to the template to make it work.
At my current computer is the UI is really compressed and not all things can be read, so I couldn't see the asterisks (see attachment).
Hi! @dralx Thank you for this software. It has made working with perfboards very easy.
I wanted to develop my own componenets (ESP32- DIP 38 version) and publish them, but was having difficulty in doing so. Could you maybe create a short tutorial video for creating parts either from scratch or templates?
Warm Regards
Rohit Kumar J
Hi! @dralx I was able to figure out how the editor works, and made an ESP32-38 pin dev board example. Here is the file:
Here are the pinouts
It seems like you worked it out Rohit.
If tutorial was not clear, then let me know what could be improved in the explanation and I will try to update it when I have time.
Basic procedure for making a custom part is to open component editor and do the following...
1) Set the footprint area
2) Set pin numbers (1,2,3,..) within footprint area by clicking and using mouse wheel.
3) Draw component outline using shapes (rectangles, circles, etc)
4) Save to part templates.
The template will have pin numbers as the labels.
If you want custom pin labels in the template you then need to do the following additional steps.
1) Place that part you created (from the templates) into the main view (i.e. not in component editor mode).
2) Then use the Windows -> Pin Labels dialog to edit the labels on that part.
You then need to delete the old part template that has pin numbers as labels and replace it with the part you just gave custom labels. So do these steps...
3) Select the part in the templates dialog and hit "Delete selected template"
4) Then in the main view, click on the part with the custom labels.
5) Then in templates dialog, click on "Add from curren t circuit".
One of the things I want to do in future is make the pin labels editable from the component editor. I would probably do that by making the Pin Labels dialog useable when in component editor mode (it is not possible at the moment).
Thanks for the detailed reply. Tbh, I was having a little confusion while saving the templates.
Altough at the end, it worked out alright. Yes, the pin labels are a bit of a hassle. Currently I am working on a drone project with an ESP32, MPU_6050, and a few other components. I will contribute the parts I designed on this forum.
Warm Regards,
Rohit Kumar J
Hi
First, great software :)
But I am having some problems with custom parts. How do I save and load a custom part?
Above you write "save to templates", what do you mean with that, and how do I add a part later?
Right now I just save the part as .vrt but have no idea how to add it later.
Thanks for the help!
Best
PP
Last edit: P P 2023-01-24
On main menu, do Windows->Part/Templates
The list called "User-Defined Templates" is the list of custom parts.
I should have just called that list "User-Defined parts" or "Custom parts".
You can add a part to that list in 2 ways
1) If you have a part in the main view, then select it so it is shown in bold, and then hit "Add from current layout"
2) If you have that part saved as a .vrt file, you can use the "Add from VRT" button, and then select the VRT file.
Once you have the part in the list, you can use it (i.e. add it your in a layout) by double clicking on its list entry. That will place it in the layout window.
Thank you very much!
I always got the error “No parts are currently selected in the main view.” when I wanted it to add it from the current layout, that's why I thought it must be the wrong window.
But I finally figured out that one needed also to add a “value” to the template to make it work.
At my current computer is the UI is really compressed and not all things can be read, so I couldn't see the asterisks (see attachment).
Best
PP