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What the files are READ.ME (23 Feb 95)
==================
\BMDEMO
BM.EXE Use this file to fire up the demo
BM*.EXE Parts of the demo
READ.ME This file
CONFIG.B* Configuration files
\BMDEMO\PCB
Note : all files starting with 2-6 are only suitable for loading
into the viewer for version 2.6. Files starting 2-4 may be
loaded into either 2.4 or 2.6.
2-4DEM1A.PCB Small unplaced PCB indicative of starting position
when entering from BoardCapture
2-4DEM1B.PCB Placed version of above
2-4DEM2A.PCB Slightly larger unplaced PCB
2-4DEM2B.PCB Placed version of above
2-4DEM2C.PCB Manually routed version of above.
2-6DEM2D.PCB Version of above with GND net routed using the ground
plane facility.
2-6DEM3A.PCB Small ground plane sample
2-6DEM4A.PCB Medium sized double-sided PCB with copper planes on
each side in addition to the existing tracking. This
is also a good example of the use of thermal bridges
which allow for example digital components to be
placed inside the analogue region (or vice versa).
Look around the periphery of the isolation barriers
for examples. See also the use of a star earth return
point.
2-6DEM5A.PCB Large 6 layer PCB with 2 internal copper planes
2-6DEM6A.PCB Large 8 layer PCB also with 2 internal copper planes.
This is probably close to the most complex PCB that
can reasonably be designed on BoardMaker.
\BMDEMO\SCH
DEMO1A.SCH Small single-paged schematic for BoardCapture
DEMO1B.SCH The same schematic as above on four pages using I/O
ports
DEMO1C.SCH The same schematic again but this time using
hierarchy. When accessing this diagram, try entering
the {Traversal editor} from the {File} menu and then
try the {Mark Net} or {Net Info} functions from the
{Net} menu.
DEMO2A.SCH A medium sized seven page schematic for BoardCapture.
\BMDEMO\NET
DEMO*.NET Sample netlists for BoardMaker. These are useful when
assessing the complexity of writing unsupported
netlist conversion tools. Note however that netlists
from BoardCapture, OrCad, Tango, Mentor, Cadstar,
Schema, Vutrax & Protel are already directly
supported.
\BMDEMO\LIB
GENERAL.LIB Very small miscellaneous library for BoardCapture.
SAMPLE.LIB Small sample library for BoardCapture. At the time of
writing this document, BoardCapture was being shipped
with a library containing over 600 unique symbols.
Further symbols are being included in the libraries
all the time and it is anticipated that they will be
very much larger in forthcoming revisions.
GENERAL.LL Very small miscellaneous library for BoardMaker.
DEMO.LL Small sample library for BoardMaker. At the time of
writing this document, BoardMaker was being shipped
with a library containing over 700 generic symbols
covering many tens of thousands of parts.
GENERAL.SL Small sample library for BoardMaker's drawing editor.
This old tool can largely be ignored as described
below.
\BMDEMO\OLDSCH
SAMPLE.SCH One simple sample for the old drawing editor part
of BoardMaker. Please note that BoardMaker's
schematic editor should not be confused with
BoardCapture, the schematic capture software. The
former has no understanding of schematics whatsoever
and is purely a documentary tool that is in the
process of being phased out. BoardCapture however is
a fully featured schematic capture program which
does understand connectivity and produces the
netlists for BoardMaker2 to read in.
BoardMaker - common information
===============================
Interface
---------
BoardMaker's graphical user interface is designed to provide a
friendly environment for the occasional user (pop down menus etc),
while offering a high speed approach for the power user (hot keys,
mouse repeat etc). All editing modes have context sensitive single
keystrokes which enable users to make changes with the minimum of
mouse clicks or movement.
Menus
-----
All the menus can be accessed by using CTRL and the first letter of
the menu eg. [CTRL][F] for file menu. Within each menu, the single
key equivalent for a particular option will be highlighted if
available. If the highlighted letter is red, then the key alone will
select the option and if the highlighted letter is blue, then the
SHIFTed key should be used. Menus can also be accessed by placing the
cursor over the menu text and pressing the left hand mouse button.
Mouse
-----
Only Microsoft or compatible mouse drivers will work with BoardMaker.
In most circumstances, pressing the left hand mouse button is
equivalent to pressing the [Return] key and the right hand button is
equivalent to pressing the [Esc] key. For users who have 3 button
mice, it may be possible to use the middle button for panning. Note
however that this is not part of the Microsoft specification and this
function may not work.
Information & status banner
---------------------------
At the bottom of the screen there is a banner split into two sections.
To the left is the status banner, to the right, the information
banner. The status banner has a display such as :
A 5.325, 6.175IN Pad /180 45° Zoom4
The first character is "A" if the subsequent coordinates are absolute
(measured from the lower left corner of the workarea) or "R" if the
coordinates are relative to the user origin. The coordinates are
given X,Y and are in inches "IN" or millimetres "MM". The next
element in the status banner indicates the current mode (see below).
In the example above, Pad mode is selected ie. the user is editing a
pad. This is followed by an indication of the current grid setting,
angle assist option and zoom level. All these settings are user
selectable (see "Quick tour" below). The information banner is
normally only active when a mode has been entered. It will then
contain data about the currently selected item.
Operating modes
---------------
To edit an existing object, use the functions from the {Edit} menu,
this will place the program in "edit mode". When edit mode has been
entered, the {Options} menu will become active and will give a list
of the context sensitive options available for the selected mode. The
actual edit mode entered will appear on the information banner at the
bottom of the screen. When adding a new item, from the {Add} menu,
the program is automatically placed in edit mode allowing access to
the editing functions.
Information on BoardMaker v2.42D
================================
Limitations
-----------
V2.42D is a demonstration of an early version of BoardMaker first
released in October 1991. Most of the core functionality of BoardMaker
was available in this release. However, some of the most powerful
features added subsequently can only be examined using the v2.62
viewer (see below for details). Functions not available in this demo
include the SAVE, CREATE SYMBOL and some of the OUTPUT functions.
Printing to dot matrix, bubblejet (24 pin) and laser/deskjet is
available for compatibility testing. An early version of BoardRouter
is included in the demo
Quick Tour
----------
Loading a file
--------------
Enter the {PCB Editor} from the main menu. Move the cursor to the
{File} menu and click on the left hand mouse button. Select {Load
File} and when the prompt appears asking for a file name, just press
[Return]. This will bring up a list of available files. Note that in
the {File} menu, the text to the right of the options indicate that
the {Load File} function can be directly invoked using the keystroke
[Alt][L].
On the demonstration disk, only files beginning with 2-4XXXXXX can
be loaded. Files named 2-6XXXXXX can only be loaded into the 2.62
viewer. Select 2-4DEM2C and a zoomed out view of a routed PCB will
appear in the workarea.
Moving around the drawing
-------------------------
To zoom in towards the PCB move the cursor to the area of interest and
press [Z] or select {Zoom} from the {Tools} menu, move the cursor and
press the left hand mouse button. Similarly to zoom out from the PCB
use [U] (unzoom) and to recentre the screen without changing the zoom
level use [P] (pan). BoardMaker supports 7 zoom levels, with zoom
level 1 being the highest magnification. Zoom levels can be accessed
directly by pressing the numeric keys at the top of the keyboard [1]
through [7].
In the {Tools} menu there is an option {Autopan} which toggles the
autopan option on and off. When this option is on (high tone), trying
to move the cursor past the edge of the screen will cause the diagram
to recentre about the cursor. In the later version (2.62), the autopan
is less sensitive and the screen movement less severe.
Starting a new design
---------------------
1. Press [Alt][N] to clear the workarea.
2. Zoom into the centre of the workarea at zoom level 2 by moving
the cursor and pressing [2].
3. Select {Symbol} from the {Add} menu, move the cursor to the
desired location and press the left hand mouse button. When
prompted for a symbol name, just press [Return]. This will bring
up a list of available libraries and the contents of the
currently selected library. Scroll the menu down and select the
symbol called DIP14_3 by pressing [Return]. A preview screen will
now appear, but for now just press [Return] again to confirm the
selection. A 14 pin DIP package should now appear.
4. Select the {Options} menu by pressing [Ctrl][O]. Select {Repeat}.
Move the cursor to a new position within the workarea and press
[Return]. A second DIP package should now appear with the
designator IC2. Note that single key equivalent for {Repeat} is
[R] which is highlighted in red in the {Options} menu.
5. Move the cursor and press [Return] or click the left hand mouse
button. Note that the symbol is repositioned.
6. Note also that the cursor has changed shape and that the word
"Symbol" appears in the status banner and there is some data in
the information banner - in this case "IC2(DIP14_3)".
7. Press [Esc] or the right hand mouse button and the symbol will be
fixed into position and the current mode will be exited.
8. Select {Track} from the {Add} menu, move the cursor to pin 1 of
IC1 (the square pad) and click the left hand mouse button.
9. A hollow rubberbanded track is now attached to the cursor. Note
that the cursor is snapping to a grid. Select a different grid
by pressing [G] and picking 1/40th" from the menu.
10. Move the cursor a small distance upwards from pin 1 and press the
left hand mouse button. This will fix into position a short
segment of track and the rubberbanded track will now start from
the end of the new segment. Press the [Spacebar] to change layer
and BoardMaker will automatically add a via at the junction and
the colour of the rubberbanded track will change.
11. Press [Spacebar] again without securing a second segment of
track and then move the cursor to the right and press [Return] to
place the second segment. Note that the via is automatically
removed now that it is no longer required.
12. Move the mouse and click the left hand mouse button to route the
track to pin 1 of IC2. Press [Esc] when the last segment has been
attached to the destination pin.
13. Start a new track at pin 2 of IC1 by moving the cursor and simply
pressing [Return]. BoardMaker will repeat the last operation - in
this case {Add}{Track}.
14. Continue to explore the options within track mode by selecting
them from the {Options} menu.
Nets and hilighting
-------------------
Normally of course, BoardMaker is used in conjunction with a
schematic design package such as BoardCapture. In this case the
design will start from a unplaced PCB prepared by the net import
functions of BoardMaker. For example, try loading the file called
2-4DEM1A.PCB. At the bottom of the screen are a heap of unplaced
components that have been mapped from the import netlist process.
Selecting {Net}{Show Net}{All nets} displays the "rats nest". This
gives a visual display of the connections that need to be achieved to
route the PCB described by the schematic.
1. Load 2-4DEM1B.PCB. This is the same PCB as 2-4DEM1A.PCB with all
the components already laid out.
2. Zoom to zoom level 3 and locate the component R11, which is just
left of middle, and zoom in at level 2.
3. Notice that there is a "net line" running from the higher pin of
R11 to the left pin of LED1. The net line indicates that this
connection has not yet been routed. Add a track segment to
connect these two pins(nodes) together.
4. Press {Esc} to exit edit mode and select {Tools}{Hilight}
and click over the top of the track or one of the component pads.
The track and pads will highlighted and a message will appear
indicating there are no design rule violations. At this point
the net line will disappear to indicate a successful route.
5. The rest of the board can be routed in this manner or
BoardRouter invoked to automate the routing process. Rather than
highlighting each individual connection, the design rule checker
can be selected after complete or partial routing to check all
the net based design rules. Again any route causing a design rule
violation or if incompletely routed will be displayed with a rats
nest connection (net line).
6. Reload the design and then select {Net}{BoardRouter}. This
performs a {Full DRC} and then switches control to BoardRouter.
7. Now select {Route}{Board} to start the automatic routing process.
This can be halted at any time by pressing [Esc]. If left
uninterrupted the board should be completed with 100% routing.
8. Pressing [ALT][X] exits from BoardRouter. Note that in the demo
version it is not possible to save the routes created.
Tracks, Pads and Colours
------------------------
When placing track segments in BoardMaker the width of the segment
can be selected from 8 defined sizes using {Options}{Segment width}
when editing a track. Similarly for pads, 16 sizes are available.
These widths can be user defined. Selecting {Config} displays the
configuration screen, and then selecting the {Track and pad sizes}
option brings up the sizes table. By using the + and - keys the sizes
can be altered. Note that these are global changes for the design. All
tracks or pads of the selected width number will be changed.
Layer colours can be modified by selecting {Config}{Layer selection}.
Placing the cursor over the colour bar for the layer of interest and
clicking the left mouse button sets the colour for that layer. On
version 2.62, colours can be toggled on and off quickly with a single
keystroke. See enhancements below for details.
Block
-----
The block functions allow large-scale manipulation of the layout,
including copy, repeat, shift, delete, and fill. To select a group of
items for a block, select {Block} from the {Tools} menu, move the
cursor to one corner of the block and press the left mouse button.
The cursor now changes into a rubberbanding rectangle one corner of
which has been fixed by the first operation. Press the left hand
mouse button to fix the second corner.
By default, the first corner selected will be the block origin for
operations such as shift or copy. While in block mode, the block
origin can be changed by using the {Option}{Block Origin} function.
The {Option}{Flood fill} function creates either a solid or cross-
hatched copper fill area. Note that this function has been superseded
in the latest version by the powerful {Plane} menu functions. See
below for details.
It is possible to select which items will and will not be involved in
block operations by using the options in the {Config}{Block Options}
menu prior to selecting the block. Another option in this menu selects
the grid and track width to be used for the {Flood fill} operation.
Information on BoardMaker v2.62V
================================
Copper planes
-------------
One of the main features pioneered since version 2.42 has been the
copper plane facility. This allows the user to quickly generate areas
of copper without having to use the older flood fill facility which
used a lot of memory, produced a coarse plain with respect to
obstacles and was difficult to modify in retrospect. The new function
uses very little memory to generate large polygonal areas of copper
which can be used to route up to eight nets per layer including for
example power or ground.
Other tracks routed through a copper plane will automatically be
given a clear area around them to ensure proper isolation (trace
ploughing). This novel feature can often reduce the number of layers
required to route a design. For example a PCB which needs 8 routing
layers plus 2 power/ground layers might now be routed on just 8
layers with power and ground being assigned to layers which are also
used for routing. See the example file 2-6DEM6A.PCB for a real world
example and look at layers 4 and 5.
The program allows design rules to be assigned to each plane layer as
well as the existing net-based design rules. These design rules are
automatically obeyed and a plane design rule checker is supplied to
detect areas of plane which are isolated from each other. To our
knowledge this powerful checking feature is unique to BoardMaker.
Plane viewer
------------
BoardMaker has a plane viewer tool built in, so that copper planes
can be visualised on screen. Within the viewer, it is possible to add
plane cuts. Users designing power circuits who need maximal copper
for their tracks can work entirely in the viewer by cutting away gaps
to leave "tracks" (negative designing).
1. Load in the file 2-6DEMO1.
2. Zoom to level 1
3. Select {Component}{Find} press [Return] and select {C4}. The
cursor will be positioned over the component C4.
4. Press [ALT][1], which will hide the tracks on layer 1. Pressing
[ALT][1] again will restore the layer to its previous colour.
5. The hollow tracks placed diagonally over the pads are plane
breaks, and the hollow pads dotted around the workarea are plane
cuts.
6. To see the effect of these plane features press [SHIFT][1] to
enter the plane viewer for layer 1. [Esc] exits from this mode.
Notice how the plane breaks are actually copper tracks that
connect nodes to the copper plane. These are normally
automatically generated, but can be manually created and
manipulated if required. The plane cuts allow areas of copper
plane to be cut away. Also notice that the normal track segments
are separated from the plane by the automatic "trace ploughing"
mechanism.
Input/Output
------------
BoardMaker now includes an output driver for DXF. This allows PCB data
to be transferred to mechanical CAD packages.
The laser/deskjet driver has been enhanced to allow x1, x2 or x4
magnification and will also generate true images of the power
plane. The PostScript driver has also been similarly uprated.
BoardMaker 2.62 now reads Cadstar netlists. Existing supported
formats include BoardCapture, OrCad, Tango, Mentor, Schema, Vutrax,
Protel and Zuken-Redac.
Other functions
---------------
The new {Component} menu includes "find" and "get". The latter is
most useful during placement of a PCB. Components can also be fixed
into position and this is sometimes important when performing top-
down modifications to a PCB.
The general edit function first introduced with BoardCapture has now
been mirrored in BoardMaker. Pressing the spacebar over an item will
automatically select the correct editing mode for the item. Also,
when editing tracks, pads or text, the width can be changed quickly
using the [+] and [-] keys.
A single keystroke is now available to toggle layers on and off. The
keystroke is [Alt][#] where # is the layer number. This is useful
when working with busy or multilayer boards. Additionally, for
multilayer work, two extra colours have been added to the colour
selection menu.
BoardCapture - common information
=================================
BoardCapture allows the user complete freedom to lay out their
circuits in any style. The program caters for single pages up to A1
in size and also allows multi-paged or hierarchical designs to be
created. Symbols too can be designed to suit any standard (IEEE etc)
although a comprehensive set of fundamental components is supplied.
Many of the functions which are tedious in other schematic design
tools have been automated in BoardCapture. For example :
- Unconnected pins on symbols or lose wires are clearly indicated
with hollow boxes which disappear when the connection is made.
- Junction boxes are placed automatically to show that wires are
connected together.
- Wires that touch buses automatically make a connection to the bus.
- Buses automatically pick up their names from the wires connected
to them, can contain control signals and indices do not have to
begin at 0. Eg. AD[5..15],ALE,DBE.
- Module ports on buses or wires automatically pick up their names
from the buses or wires to which they are attached.
- Components can be annotated on the fly
- Power and ground connections can be changed on a per component
basis allowing for example a CMOS part (with VDD & VSS) to be
loaded into a design with the power and ground nets called VCC
and GND. Once loaded, the component's VSS signal can be
reconnected to GND etc.
- A traversal editor is supplied to allow a hierarchical or multi-
paged designs to be assembled and then examined. This editor
allows connections that span several sheets to be highlighted.
Many of the control mechanisms are similar to BoardMaker like the
context-sensitive {Options} menu. However, the windowing system has
been substantially improved.
Information on BoardCapture v1.10D
==================================
Please refer to the BoardMaker Quick Tour (above) for a full
explanation of moving around the workarea. Note that the autopan
facility has been superseded by smooth-scrolling, although the
autopan can be re-enabled in the {File}{Config} menu if
preferred.
Creating a new drawing
----------------------
1. Select {File}{New} to clear the editor.
2. Select {Add}{Symbol} and click on the library marked SAMPLE in
the top left hand scrollbar. The lower scrollbar will now
display a list of the contents of the library. Select the symbol
called A4_LANDSCAPE and note that an iconized image of the symbol
is displayed. Press [OK] to confirm the selection.
3. Position the symbol somewhere in the centre of the workarea and
press the left hand mouse button to fix it into position.
4. Select {Component}{Symbol Attributes} and move near the
information box on the (drawing template) symbol just added and
press [Return]. A window will appear and data such as the company
name and the drawing title can be modified. At the time of symbol
creation, any number of additional user-defined attributes can be
defined and in version 1.22, these attributes can be used to
embellish the output from the partslist generator. Note that
symbols cannot be created using this demonstration software.
5. Select {Add}{Symbol} again and note that this time, a preliminary
window is brought up to allow the user to quickly add symbols
that are already in use on the drawing. This can be done by
double clicking on the symbol name from the list. This time
however, press the [NEW] button to select a different component.
6. From the load symbol window, select the SAMPLE library from the
top left hand scrollbar and then select the 7438_2IP_NAND_OC and
press the [OK] button to confirm the selection.
7. Select a position on the workarea and fix the component by
pressing the left hand mouse button.
8. Without moving the cursor, press the [Ins] key (copy) and place a
second copy of the symbol. Similarly place a few more.
9. Move to the first symbol and press the [Del] key (delete). This
will delete the symbol. Note that in BoardCapture, delete is a
function in its own right and not an option within edit mode as
it is with BoardMaker.
10. Try selecting {Edit}{Undo} and the {Edit}{Redo}.
11. Now move to one of the pins on one of the symbols and press [W]
to add a new wire. Note that the wire rubberbands with the
cursor. Route the wire to another pin by moving the cursor and
pressing the left hand mouse button at each required corner.
Note that both the wire and pin boxes disappear when a connection
has been completed.
12. Add another wire starting somewhere in the middle of one of the
first wire segments. Note that the original net is highlighted
and that a junction box appears as required. Route another pin
to this net and then route yet another (separate) pair of pins
together.
13. Select {Net}{Name/Rename net} and click on one of the wires then
key in a name for the wire and press [Return]. Press [G] to
change the snap grid for the wire name to 1/80th and then
locate the wire name near the wire and press [Return].
14. Move the cursor near a wire and press [Alt][V]. The program will
give the name of the wire if it has one followed by a list of
the connections to it on this page. Note that cross-page or
hierarchical connections would not be given in the main editor.
See hierarchy below for details of the traversal editor.
15. Select {Component}{Toggle annotation} and click onto one of the
components. Note that the component has now been given a
designator (ie. it is annotated). Note also that in the case of
a multi-gate component, the designators are suffixed by the gate
name eg. U1A, U1B etc. When components have been annotated, the
pin numbers will be displayed.
16. Repeat the annotation process for the other components by simply
moving to the component and pressing the left hand mouse button
(repeat last operation). Now try the [Alt][V] command again
noting that the symbols are now referred to by their designators.
17. Move to an annotated component and press [Alt][C] to bring up the
Component Control menu. This menu has three main regions. The
upper left scrolling region gives gate details and location. The
lower left region gives global pin information and the lower
right hand corner contains attribute information. Although the
exact details are beyond the scope of this document, this menu
allows the gates within a component to be manipulated, global
pins to be reassigned to new nets (most commonly used for power
and ground connections) and attributes to be assigned to each
component. These attributes include details of how the component
will be linked to a physical footprint for subsequent PCB layout.
18. Place a new symbol from the SAMPLE library called
8048_SINGLE_CHIP_MICROCONTROLLER and add a wire to the top left
hand pin extending horizontally 4 or so grid spaces out from the
chip. Press [Return] to fix the wire segment and then [Esc] to
leave add wire mode. Now press [Ins] (copy) over the wire to
duplicate it and place the copy directly below the first wire on
the next pin down. Continue placing copies until each pin of the
data bus has an emanating wire. This can be done quickly by just
pressing the left hand mouse button over the wire (repeat last
operation).
19. Move to the top wire and press [Alt][R] to name it. Give it the
name D7- (the minus means auto-decrement). Clicking on each
lower wire in turn will then name the wires. Omit to name the
very lowest wire D0.
20. Select {Add}{Bus} and place a bus vertically down the lose ends
of the wires. Note that the wire pin boxes disappear.
21. Select {Net}{Name Bus} and click on the bus. Note that the name is
??? because automatic bus naming is disabled. Rotate the name by
pressing [A] for anti-clockwise and place it by pressing [Return].
22. Now select {File}{Config}{Bus Naming} and toggle the dynamic bus
naming option button ON. Press [OK] and note that the bus name
is generated automatically from the wires entering the bus.
23. Now name the lowest wire of the data bus D0 and note that the bus
is automatically renamed.
24. Add a further wire to the bus and name it ~DBE and note that the
bus can accommodate control signals as well.
Linking to BoardMaker2
----------------------
After creating the circuit diagram, it is necessary to add the mapping
information to each component in order that schematic symbols can be
matched with PCB layout symbols. This is best achieved using the
{Component}{Mapping Control} menu which is now available in V1.22. In
this menu, all the components can be mapped at the same time. In V1.10
the components need to be mapped individually using the {Component}
{Component control} menu.
Hierarchy
---------
1. Select {Load} from the {File} menu and select DEMO1C.
2. Select {Traverse} from the {File} menu and BoardCapture switches
into the traversal editor (hierarchy navigator).
3. Move the cursor somewhere inside the sheet called PROCESSOR and
press [Alt][E] to enter (descend into) the sheet. Note that the
bottom banner now indicates that the current group is no longer
the root group MAIN GROUP and that the current page is page 1 of
1 in a group called PROCESSOR.
4. Move the cursor to the wire called DISP2 which is connected to
pin 22 of U1, the microprocessor and then press [Alt][V]. Note
that the software reports not only the connection to U1 pin 22
which is visible on the current page but also indicates the
other end of the connection T3 pin 1.
5. Leaving the cursor over the same wire DISP2, press [Alt][M] to
highlight the wire. Note that this is a toggle option and also
that multiple wires can be simultaneously highlighted.
6. Press [Alt][F] to find the other end of the connection and type
T3 into the component name box in the find component window.
Press the [OK] button and note that the group called DISPLAY is
loaded and the cursor is left at the location of the transistor
T3. Note also that the wire connected to pin 1 (the base),
called DISP2 is highlighted.
7. Press [Alt][G] and double click on the line MAIN GROUP to return
to the root group and note that the wire between the PROCESSOR
sheet and the DISPLAY sheet is also highlighted.
8. Press [Alt][X] to exit the traversal editor.
Advanced hierarchy
------------------
1. Select {Load} from the {File} menu and select DEMO1C.
2. Enter traverse mode by pressing [Alt][T] and descend into the
sheet called COMMS by moving the cursor to the sheet and
pressing [Alt][E] to enter the sheet.
3. Note that the wire entering U4A pin 1 is called COMCLK. Now leave
the sheet and ascend to the root by pressing [Alt][L].
4. Make sure that the current group is MAIN GROUP and press
[Alt][X] to leave the traversal editor then move the cursor to
the wire name COMCLK and press [Alt][R] to rename it. At the
prompt type the new name MCLK and press [Return].
5. To review the situation, the name of the wire at the root level
is now MCLK and this goes into a pin on the sheet called COMCLK.
In turn there is a wire in the COMMS group with a module port
attached to it called COMCLK.
6. Re-enter the traversal editor and descend back into the COMMS
group and note that the net which was called COMCLK has now been
renamed MCLK from the higher level. Leave the traversal editor
and the original name will be restored.
7. The purpose of this function is to allow re-use of common sub-
blocks and also to bridge naming disparity when more than one
designer has been involved.
A final note
------------
This is a very early release of BoardCapture (April 1993) and a
number of features have been improved. These include a new sort
routine for the window functions (see v1.22V) and a much improved
screen refresh algorithm which practically eliminates the flicker that
was apparent in this version. Menu synchronisation problems have also
been resolved.
Information on BoardCapture v1.22V
==================================
Most usefully, version 1.22 of BoardCapture in conjunction with
version 2.62 of BoardMaker now allow task switching.
A comprehensive set of block editing functions have been included
with version 1.22 of BoardCapture. The standard functions of copy,
move, delete and drag have been augmented with a cut and paste tool
as well as the ability to export and import pages or groups. These
latter tools in conjunction with the advanced hierarchy features
described above allow more than one designer to create sections of a
schematic and then integrate them together at a later stage.
This version also includes a partslist generator which provides a
mechanism for producing the documentation necessary for the
procurement and subsequent manufacture of the product. The software
allows users to include their own attributes in the partstlist output.
A mapping control window provides the facility to easily setup the
mapping attributes for components. These are the attributes that link
schematic symbols with BoardMaker PCB footprints. The window is
arranged such that banks of similar components can be mapped quickly
using an auto-repeat option.
With the latest version, netlists can now be exported in four formats
including Tango, Protel and Zuken-Redac as well as the standard format
required for BoardMaker.
All trademarks acknowledged throughout.