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Bartels AutoEngineer® |
1 | General |
1.1 | Bartels AutoEngineer Product Line |
1.2 | System Requirements |
1.3 | Documentation |
1.4 | Installing on Windows and DOS Platforms |
1.5 | Installing on Linux and UNIX Platforms |
1.6 | Parameter Setup and Program Start |
1.7 | User Interface and General Functions |
1.8 | Symbol and Part Libraries |
2 | Schematic Editor |
2.1 | General |
2.2 | Symbols, Labels |
2.3 | Connections |
2.4 | Text, Attributes |
2.5 | Group Functions |
2.6 | Plot Output |
2.7 | Hierarchical Circuit Design |
3 | Packager |
3.1 | Windows Packager Protocol |
3.2 | SCM Sheet Packager Error Tracking |
3.3 | Layout Gate Assignments |
3.4 | Alternate Part Package Type Assignments |
4 | Layout Editor |
4.1 | General |
4.2 | Display, Design Rule Check |
4.3 | Parts, Placement |
4.4 | Traces, Routing |
4.5 | Graphic, Copper Areas |
4.6 | Text, Drill |
4.7 | Group Functions |
4.8 | Automatic Copper Fill |
5 | Autoplacement |
6 | Autorouter |
6.1 | General |
6.2 | Autorouter Algorithms |
7 | CAM Processor |
7.1 | General |
7.2 | Control Plot |
8 | CAM View |
8.1 | General |
8.2 | Parameter Setup |
9 | Neural Rule System |
9.1 | General |
9.2 | SCM Rules |
9.3 | Layout Rules |
10 | Utilities |
10.1 | COPYDDB |
11 | Bartels User Language |
11.1 | General |
11.2 | User Language Compiler |
11.3 | User Language Interpreter |
11.4 | Index Variable Types |
11.5 | System Functions |
11.6 | BAE User Language Programs |
Tables |
1 | BAE Software License Files |
2 | BAE Graphic Device Drivers |
3 | BAE System File Environment Variables |
The following software configurations are available with Bartels AutoEngineer Version 5.0:
Bartels AutoEngineer Professional is the standard BAE software configuration. BAE Professional is available for PCs with Windows, Linux or DOS operating systems. BAE Schematics, the schematic editor of BAE Professional is freely available and can be operated in stand-alone mode. Demo software configurations of BAE Professional (fully-featured except for data output) are available free of charge for test and evaluation purposes.
Bartels AutoEngineer Light is a shareware price-level BAE configuration for educational purposes and/or semi-professional users, available for PCs with Windows, Linux or DOS operating systems. BAE Light has full BAE Professional functionality, however, limited to a maximum PCB layout size of 180mm × 120mm and a maximum of two signal layers for manual routing and Autorouter.
BAE Economy is a low-price BAE configuration for educational purposes and/or small business users, available for PCs with Windows, Linux or DOS operating systems. BAE Economy has full BAE Professional functionality, however, limited to a maximum PCB layout size of 350mm × 200mm and a maximum of four signal layers to be simultaneously routed by the Autorouter.
Bartels AutoEngineer HighEnd is available for workstations and for PC systems (Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000, Linux). BAE HighEnd utilizes special operating system characteristics (multi-tasking, multi-windowing, virtual memory management, etc.) to implement advanced features and functions such as HighSpeed kernel, in-built messaging system to support advanced communication between different BAE modules, in-built multi-tasking to support multiple project views, global net highlight, cross-probing, selective layout short-circuit display, extremely fast airline calculation, optimized data structures for high Autorouter performance, advanced Neural Rule System features, rule-driven Neural Autorouter, nettype-specific routing area definitions, net-specific maximum via count settings, net-specific maximum connection length settings, etc.
The following software modules are optionally available with the workstation-based BAE systems:
Bartels AutoEngineer IC Design (BAEICD) is a complete CAD/CAM system for the physical design of integrated circuits (gate arrays, standard cells, custom ICs and/or ASICs). BAEICD consists of a series of system components such as IC Mask Editor, IC Autoplacement, IC Autorouter, IC DRC (Design Rule Check) and GDS-II and CIF standard interfaces.
Bartels AutoEngineer Mixed Mode Simulator (BAESIM) is a compiler-driven simulator for mixed analog/digital circuits. BAESIM provides direct access to the net list data generated with BAE Schematics.
A VGA or higher resolution monitor with a screen resolution of at least 800*600 pixels and a mouse or a corresponding pointing device are required on any BAE platform.
Up to 40 Mbytes hard disk space are required for installing the BAE software.
BAE Professional, BAE Economy, BAE Light and BAE Schematics versions are available for Linux (Kernel 2.0.x), Windows 2000, Windows NT 4.0, Windows NT 3.51, Windows ME (Millenium Edition), Windows 98, Windows 95, Windows 3.x and MS-DOS.
BAE HighEnd systems are available for Hewlett-Packard 9000/7xx workstations with OSF/Motif and/or X11, and for PCs with Linux (Kernel 2.0.x), Windows 2000, Windows NT 4.0, Windows NT 3.51, Windows ME (Millenium Edition), Windows 98 and Windows 95 operating systems.
PC systems should be equipped with a Pentium (80586, 80686) or at least a 80486DX processor. Any compatible processor such as AMD-K6 or AMD-K7 (Athlon) will also do.
A minimum of 8 Mbytes RAM is required for DOS and Windows 3.1 systems (16 Mbytes RAM recommended). A minimum of 16 Mbytes RAM is required for Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000 and Linux systems (32 Mbytes RAM or more for Windows recommended).
The BAE software is usually provided on CD-ROM, i.e., a CD-ROM drive is required to install the software.
A hardlock key is used to protect BAE Economy, BAE Professional and BAE HighEnd Windows and DOS versions against software piracy. I.e., a printer port (LPT1, LPT2 or LPT3) is required to run these BAE versions under DOS and/or Windows.
On Linux systems, either a printer port (for the hardlock key) or an Ethernet card is required for checking the software authorization of BAE Economy, BAE Professional and/or BAE HighEnd.
Both the
Bartels AutoEngineer User Manual and the
Bartels User Language Programmer's Guide have been completely revised and are provided in HTML and PDF format (in the
baedoc
directory of the BAE CD-ROM).
The BAE library and User Language directory contents are replaced when performing update installations. It is strongly recommended to backup any user-specific data from these directories before installing the BAE update and to restore the required data afterwards.
The
bsetup.dat
file from the BAE programs directory is always re-installed when performing BAE Update Installations. I.e., it is not necessary to run the time-consuming batch for compiling the BAE
User Language programs provided with the BAE software. However, user-specific BAE parameter settings stored with the existing
bsetup.dat
file will get lost and must be restored after successfully installing the BAE software using the
bsetup utility program (or the
function available from the BAE main menu of the Windows/Motif versions). Customer-specific
User Language programs developed and compiled under the previously installed BAE version must also be re-compiled after performing the BAE Update Installation.
Under Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000, the BAE setup program for installing
BAE Demo,
BAE Professional,
BAE Economy,
BAE Light and
BAE Schematics should start automatically after inserting the BAE CD-ROM to the CD-ROM drive. If this doesn't happen, simply start the
setupen.exe
program from the CD-ROM using the
function from the Windows
menu. Please follow the instructions of the setup program.
The setup ends with the BAE software configuration. Please select the BAE configuration which is authorised for your machine (BAE Demo, BAE Professional, BAE Economy, SCM only, etc.; see also table 1).
To install
BAE HighEnd, simply run the setup program and then unzip the
baew32he.zip
file from the
baew32he
directory of the BAE-CD-ROM to the BAE programs directory created by the setup program.
For installing BAE Demo, BAE Professional, BAE Economy and/or BAE Schematics under Windows 3.11 and/or MS-DOS or BAE HighEnd under Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000, Windows 3.11 or MS-DOS, the CD-ROM must be inserted to the CD-ROM drive, and the drive and directory must be set accordingly. E.g., to install the BAE software from CD-ROM drive D, insert the BAE CD-ROM to CD-ROM drive D, and enter the following commands to the DOS prompt:
> D: > install
Once the install program has been started, the instructions issued on the screen should be followed carefully. First you will be asked for the BAE user interface language (e.g., English, German, etc.) and for the operating system host platform (DOS, Windows NT, Windows 3.x, etc.).
The install program provides different modes for performing either new Installation or Update installations. The Update install mode is strongly recommended when just updating from earlier BAE Versions; this will prevent the install program from overwriting special BAE system and setup files ending on
.dat
,
.def
and
.fnt
(otherwise, user-defined color tables, aperture tables, fonts, layer definitions, library access path settings and menu setups stored with these files might get lost).
After selecting the install mode, you will be prompted to specify the destination directories for installing the programs, the libraries, the User Language source files and the examples and test jobs. You can exclude certain destination directories by deleting the corresponding path names. More experienced BAE users can, e.g., suppress the installation of the BAE example jobs, or re-install certain parts of the BAE software later. For security reasons, the install parameter settings will be verified with user query before starting the installation process. The destination directories will be created automatically on request. The install program automatically copies the BAE software files to the selected destination directories on the hard disk.
At the end of the install process, the install program asks for the licensed BAE software configuration in order to install the correct software authorization file (see table 1). When installing the DOS version, the user will also be asked to select the graphic device driver to be installed (see table 2).
The BAE PC software for Windows and DOS (except for BAE Demo, BAE Light and BAE Schematics) is protected by a hardlock key (dangle) which must be plugged onto one of the parallel ports (LPT1, LPT2 or LPT3) of your PC. Switch off your computer before mounting the hardlock key shipped with the software; otherwise the dangle could be damaged by high voltage! If you have connected a peripheral device such as a laser printer to the hardlock key, then you must always switch on the peripheral device before switching on your computer to avoid hardlock key check problems.
The BAE PC software provides the license files according to the available software configurations as shown in the table below. You will be asked to select the BAE software configuration (and thus the appropriate license file) when installing the BAE software. Make sure to select the BAE software configuration to be installed and/or authorized on your computer.
Software Configuration | License File Name | Note |
---|---|---|
BAE Demo | demo.cfg | SCM and Layout; no Hardlock Key, no (CAM) output |
BAE Light | see note | SCM and Layout; no Hardlock Key, customer-specific CFG file is provided on purchase |
BAE Economy | economy.cfg | SCM and Layout |
BAE Professional | autoeng.cfg | SCM and Layout |
BAE HighEnd | highend.cfg | SCM and Layout |
BAE Schematics | schema.cfg | SCM only; no Hardlock Key |
BAE Layout | layout.cfg | Layout only; required/provided only for updating from BAE Versions older than BAE Version 4.6 |
The
router.cfg
license file matching the BAE software configuration authorized on your computer must be available in the BAE programs directory. I.e., to install the correct license file you can also copy the desired CFG file to
router.cfg
in the BAE programs directory instead of selecting the valid BAE configuration during BAE software installation
BAE Demo software is intended for evaluation purposes only. BAE Demo cannot produce any CAM or User Language output. BAE Demo masks Layout elements to prevent from processing with productive software configurations afterwards. I.e., the BAE user version are not able to read Demo jobs, however, we are able to convert these jobs.
With the Windows versions of the BAE software there is no BAE graphic device driver installation required since BAE Windows software runs under the graphic interface of the corresponding operating system.
The DOS versions of the BAE software are shipped with a series of graphic device drivers. During installation you will be asked to select an appropriate BAE graphic device driver. Table 2 provides the list of graphic device drivers supplied with the DOS PC software of the Bartels AutoEngineer. Please select the graphic device driver matching the video adapter and/or graphic card installed with your computer. It is recommended to install the standard VGA driver VGA480, if you are not sure about which driver to select since VGA480 is assumed to run on almost any PC system, and you can always select a different driver (e.g., with higher resolution) later (see below).
Graphic Driver | Type | Resolution | Chip Set/Manufacturer |
---|---|---|---|
CCD480.DEV | PGA | 640x 480 | IGC (Cad Card) |
EGA350.DEV | EGA | 640x 350 | Standard |
EGA480EW.DEV | EEGA | 640x 480 | EGA Wonder |
EGA480GE.DEV | EEGA | 640x 480 | Genoa, ATI |
EGA600EW.DEV | EEGA | 800x 600 | EGA Wonder |
EGA600GE.DEV | EEGA | 800x 600 | Genoa, ATI |
EGA600PA.DEV | EEGA | 800x 600 | Paradise |
QPC1024.DEV | - | 1280x1024 | Datapath QPDM |
QPDM768.DEV | VGA | 1024x 768 | AMD QPDM |
QPDM1024.DEV | VGA | 1280x1024 | AMD QPDM |
VGA480.DEV | VGA | 640x 480 | Tseng ET3000 / ET4000 |
VGA600.DEV | VGA | 800x 600 | Tseng ET3000 / ET4000 |
VGA768.DEV | VGA | 1024x 768 | Tseng ET3000 |
TSENG768.DEV | VGA | 1024x 768 | Tseng ET4000 |
VESA600.DEV | VESA | 800x 600 | various |
VESA768.DEV | VESA | 1024x 768 | various |
MACH768.DEV | - | 1024x 768 | ATI Mach 64 |
MACH1024.DEV | - | 1280x1024 | ATI Mach 64 |
MACH1200.DEV | - | 1600x1200 | ATI Mach 64 |
MGA600.DEV | - | 800x 600 | Matrox Millenium/Mystique |
MGA768.DEV | - | 1024x 768 | Matrox Millenium/Mystique |
MGA1024.DEV | - | 1280x1024 | Matrox Millenium/Mystique |
MGA1200.DEV | - | 1600x1200 | Matrox Millenium/Mystique |
TIGA.DEV | TI | variable | Texas TMS34010 / TMS34020 |
The graphic driver
.dev
file matching the video adapter and/or graphic card of your computer must be copied to the
bae.dev
file in the BAE programs directory. This is achieved either by selecting the correct driver during BAE software installation or by manually copying the desired
.dev
file in the BAE programs directory to bae.dev
.
It is strongly recommended to add the BAE programs directory path to the
PATH
environment variable. Load the
autoexec.bat
file to your text editor and check whether
autoexec.bat
contains a
PATH
statement or not. If there is already a
PATH
statement defined in
autoexec.bat
, then just add the following program path link to the
PATH
statement (assume BAE programs directory
c:\bae
):
;c:\bae
If there is no
PATH
statement defined in
autoexec.bat
, then insert the following
PATH
statement (assume BAE programs directory
c:\bae
):
PATH=c:\bae
You can also insert the following command at the end of the
autoexec.bat
file to include the BAE programs directory path name with the
PATH
variable:
PATH c:\bae;%path%
The
config.sys
file must contain the following statements:
BUFFERS=<b> FILES=<f>
The number
<b>
of buffers should be at least 30, and the number
<f>
of files should be at least 20.
Note that you must reboot your computer if you made any changes to the
config.sys
or
autoexec.bat
. Otherwise you might not be able to start BAE.
The BAE library and
User Language directory contents are replaced when performing update installations. It is strongly recommended to backup any user-specific data from these directories before installing the BAE update and to restore the required data afterwards. The same backup and restore process should be applied to BAE programs directory files with extensions
.dat
(except for
bsetup.dat
; see next paragraph),
.def
and
.fnt
when just updating from earlier BAE versions since these files can contain user-defined color tables, layer definitions, Gerber aperture tables, and character fonts which will be overwritten during update installations. The
router.cfg
file must also be saved and restored when updating from authorized BAE versions.
The
bsetup.dat
file from the BAE programs directory will always be re-installed when performing BAE Update Installations. I.e., it is not necessary to run the time-consuming batch for compiling the BAE User Language programs provided with the BAE software. However, user-specific BAE parameter settings stored with the existing
bsetup.dat
file will get lost and must be restored after successfully installing the BAE software using the
bsetup utility program (or the
function available from the BAE main menu of the Windows/Motif versions). Customer-specific
User Language programs developed and compiled under the previously installed BAE version must also be re-compiled after performing the BAE Update Installation.
The
baelinux
directory on the BAE CD-ROM contains the TGZ archive files
baelinux.tgz
and
baelinus.tgz
(and
baelinp.tgz
and
baelinps.tgz
for hardlock key support) with different BAE builds for operating
BAE Demo,
BAE Professional,
BAE Economy and
BAE Light under Linux. Each of these TGZ files contains the directories
bin
(programs and setup files),
baelib
(symbol and part libraries),
baeulc
(User Language source files) and
baejobs
(examples and test jobs). The BAE software is supposed to run on all common Linux system with Kernel 2.0.x (S.u.S.E. 6.0 or later, RedHat, etc.). The TGZ files
baelinhe.tgz
and
baelinhs.tgz
contain the binaries for
BAE HighEnd. An additional file named
baeeng.tgz
including the English BAE user interface setup is also provided.
We strongly recommend that you have a look into the
readme
file from the
baelinux
directory of the BAE CD-ROM before installing the BAE Linux software. The
readme
file contains a list of the provided BAE Linux archive files and latest information and important instructions for installing the BAE Linux software.
baelinus.tgz
must be installed on Linux systems without Motif.
baelinus.tgz
contains a statically linked BAE version including all system and Motif libraries (libc6/glibc, lesstif/Motif1.2) required to run BAE on any Linux Kernel 2.0.x distribution.
It is recommended to use the more efficient
dynamically linked BAE version from
baelinux.tgz
(linked to libc6/glibc and lesstif/Motif1.2) on Linux systems where Motif is already installed. The statically linked version from
baelinus.tgz
can always be used on Linux systems which fail to run the dynamically linked version.
To install the BAE Linux software, simply mount the CD-ROM drive with the BAE-CD-ROM (e.g., under
/cdrom
), change to the directory where you want to install the BAE software, and unpack the appropriate archive file (e.g.,
baelinux.tgz
) using the
tar
command as in
> tar -xzfv /cdrom/baelinux.tgz
The
-z
option is used to filter the TGZ file through the
gzip
utility. If your
tar
command does not support the
-z
option, simply use
gzip
and
tar
as in
> gzip -dv /cdrom/baelinux.tgz > tar -xfv /cdrom/baelinux.tar
To install the dynamically linked
BAE HighEnd version, simply extract the
baelinhe.tgz
file after installing
baelinux.tgz
. To install the statically linked
BAE HighEnd version, simply install
baelinhs.tgz
after installing
baelinus.tgz
.
A configuration file is provided with productive BAE Linux versions. This configuration file
(router.cfg
) must be saved to the BAE program directory
(bin
, see above). To activate
BAE Demo, the
demo.cfg
configuration file must be copied to
router.cfg
. To activate
BAE Schematics,
schema.cfg
must be copied to
router.cfg
(see also
Table 1).
BAE is pre-configured with a German user interface. The English user interface can be activated by extracting the
baeeng.tgz
archive file from the CD-ROM
baelinux
directory to the destination directory.
The
BAE HighEnd archive files for UNIX workstation are provided in specific BAE-CD-ROM directories such as
baehp
for the HP version. These archive files contain the directories
bin
(programs and setup files),
baelib
(symbol and part libraries),
baeulc
(User Language source files) and
baejobs
(examples and test jobs). An additional file named
baeeng.tgz
including the English BAE user interface setup is also provided.
The
BAE HighEnd archive files for HP workstations are provided in the
baehp
directory on the BAE CD-ROM. Please see the
readme
file in the
baehp
directory for latest information and instructions on how to install the BAE HP software.
To install the HP software, simply mount the CD-ROM drive with the BAE-CD-ROM (e.g., under
/cdrom
), change to the directory where you intend to install the BAE software, and unpack the
baehp.tgz
archive using the
tar
command as in
> tar -xzfv /cdrom/baehp.tgz
This installs the
BAE HighEnd software with OSF/Motif interface. To activate the BAE HP software for X11, the
baehpx11.tgz
file from the
baehp
directory on the CD-ROM must be installed in the destination directory after installing
baehp.tgz
.
A configuration file is provided with productive BAE UNIX versions. This configuration file
(router.cfg
) must be saved to the BAE program directory
(bin
, see above). To activate
BAE Demo, the
demo.cfg
configuration file must be copied to
router.cfg
. To activate
BAE Schematics,
schema.cfg
must be copied to
router.cfg
(see also
Table 1).
BAE is pre-configured with a German user interface. The English user interface can be activated by extracting the
baeeng.tgz
archive file from the CD-ROM
baelinux
directory to the destination directory after installing the UNIX software.
The access rights must be set properly (i.e., execute for the programs, read access to the libraries, read/write access to the job files, all rights for the system administrator, special rights for the library manager, etc.). The user must have read access to the BAE program directory files ending on
.cfg
(for authorization check) and read/write access to the files with extensions
.dat
and
.fnt
. The user must also have write access in the working directory to enable temporary file creation.
The Linux/UNIX shell environment variable
PATH
must point to the BAE programs directory to allow for BAE program call from any other directory. The
PATH
variable can be set automatically through shell profile execution (shell script
.profile
,
.login
,
.bashrc
or
.cshrc
, according to UNIX derivative, respectively).
The BAE software versions for Windows and Motif provide an interactive program for modifying the BAE system parameters. Under DOS, however, the bsetup utility must be applied as described herein.
With the BAE software, a setup definitions file template named
stdset.def
is supplied, which will be installed to the BAE programs directory. This file contains the following commands for setting the BAE library access paths:
SCMDEFLIBRARY("<libdir>\stdsym"); LAYDEFLIBRARY("<libdir>\laylib");
where
<libdir>
is the path name of the BAE library directory. If the library e.g., has been installed to the directory
c:\baelib
under DOS or Windows then you should replace
<libdir>
with this path name to provide correct access to the BAE symbol libraries. If the library e.g., has been installed to the directory
/usr/bae/lib
under Linux or Unix, then you should insert the following commands to the setup definitions file for providing correct access to the supplied BAE symbol libraries:
SCMDEFLIBRARY(/usr/bae/lib/stdsym); LAYDEFLIBRARY(/usr/bae/lib/laylib);
The setup definitions file can be transferred to the BAE setup file
bsetup.dat
using the following
bsetup program call (assuming
stdset.def
to be the name of the setup definitions file, and the BAE programs directory to be the working directory):
> bsetup stdset
The bsetup utility program is also used for defining important system parameters such as the documentary layer definitions and the menu setup. The documentary layer definitions and assignments have major impact on how manufacturing data is generated. It is strongly recommended to become familiar with the features of the bsetup utility program before using BAE for the design of real layouts. See Bartels AutoEngineer User Manual - Chapter 7.2 for details on how to use bsetup.
The BAE software installs many pre-compiled User Language programs to the
bsetup.dat
file of the BAE programs directory. The corresponding source files are are also provided in the
User Language directory
(baeulc
). See
Bartels User Language Programmer's Guide - Chapter 4 for a complete listing and short descriptions of the
BAE User Language programs.
Some of the installed User Language programs define implicit User Language program calls for activating a modified BAE user interface with many additional functions. You can add even more functions or modify and/or reset the predefined menu assignments and key bindings.
Usually, it is not necessary to (re-)compile the
User Language programs delivered with the BAE software, since the compiled programs will be installed to the
bsetup.dat
file of the BAE programs directory. Nevertheless, the
User Language directory provides several batch files for automatically compiling all
BAE User Language programs. The CPLSLL (ComPiLe with Static Link Library) batch file is recommended for compilation. The compile batch can be started in the
User Language directory
(baeulc
) by entering
> cplsll
to an MS-DOS-Prompt (with the
PATH
variable pointing to the BAE programs directory) or with the
> cplsll.bat
command from a Linux or UNIX shell. The compilation process might last some time according to the power of your computer.
Use the following command to start the Bartels AutoEngineer from a DOS prompt or a Linux and/or UNIX command shell:
> bae
Design file access can be simplified by starting and/or running BAE from the design and/or project files directory.
Under Windows, the
Bartels AutoEngineer can also be started by selecting the
bae.exe
file using the
function from the Windows
menu or the Program Manager
menu. Windows also allows for application startup by double-clicking the application from Windows Explorer and/or the File Manager, and it is also possible to define an initial working directory for the application to start in. A shortcut to
bae.exe
can be placed on the desktop or the Windows Start menu to provide an even more convenient method of starting up the
Bartels AutoEngineer.
When installing the BAE software under Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000, a BAE program group with shortcuts for starting the BAE main menu (Bartels AutoEngineer User Manual ( ) is added to the Windows menu.
) and the BAE program modules ( , , , , , , , ) and for accessing theThe
New BAE DDB File
is included with the
function from the Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000 Desktop and Windows Explorer context menus to be activated through the right mouse button. The BAE DDB file context menus provide the
and
options for loading the selected BAE file to the
Schematic Editor and/or the
Layout Editor. Double-clicking a BAE DDB file automatically loads the DDB file's standard layout element to the
Layout Editor. The system suggests to create a new layout element if the DDB file does not yet contain a layout element with default name.
Please consult your operating system documentation for more information on how to configure applications for startup.
Environment variable references in file name specifications are automatically substituted. This allows for definitions such as
$BAELIB
for the symbol library directory and combined specifications such as
$BAELIB/laylib
or
$BAELIB/$STDLIB
to be used for path and file name specifications in functions such as
from the
menu. The environment variables are not evaluated until they are actually referred for file access. I.e., they will be stored with design files to be transferred to different computers where they can refer to machine-dependent path specifications defined through corresponding environment variables. Environment variable references are preceded with a dollar sign
($
) and must be either entirely lower-case or entirely upper-case. The
~
character refers to the
$HOME
variable. Undefined environment variable references are substituted with empty strings.
The environment variables listed in table 3 are evaluated for advanced configuration of BAE system file access in network installations.
Environment Variable | System File Default Name |
Contents |
---|---|---|
BAE_CFG | router.cfg | BAE Configuration/License File |
BAE_BSETUP | bsetup.dat | BAE System Parameters |
BAE_ULCLIB | bsetup.dat | BAE User Language Programs |
BAE_RULELIB | brules.dat | BAE Rules Database |
BAE_LANG | language.dat | BAE Menu String Tables (language-specific) |
BAE_FONTLIB | ged.fnt | BAE Graphic Character Fonts |
BAE_SCMLIB | scm.dat | SCM Color Tables |
BAE_GEDLIB | ged.dat | PCB Layout Color Tables |
BAE_CEDLIB | ced.dat | IC Layout Color Tables |
BAE_CAMLIB | cam.dat | CAM Gerber Aperture Tables |
BAE_DCOLLIB | bae.col | BAE Display Color Table |
BAE_PCOLLIB | baep.col | BAE Printer Color Table |
BAE_WINLIB | baewin.dat baexwin.dat | BAE Windows Position File |
Environment variables must specify complete paths to the corresponding system files. This feature can be used in definitions such as
set BAE_WINLIB=d:\bae\user1.dat
where access to a machine-specific Windows positions file in network installations with central BAE programs directory is established.
System files without environment variable definition are accessed from the BAE programs directory using the default system file name.
The
ANSI_FIXED_FONT
system font is used on default for displaying status line and dialog text in BAE Windows versions. Alternatively,
SYSTEM_FIXED_FONT
can be selected by assigning an arbitrary value to the
BAE_OLDFONT
environment variable if
ANSI_FIXED_FONT
isn't suited for the configured screen/monitor resolution.
Advanced features such as customized parameter settings and menu configurations and a macro command interpreter have been implemented through the User Language Interpreter. For more details see section 11.3 of these release notes.
The
.bak
files in situations where an element is only loaded for viewing/checking purposes.
The BAE window full screen mode (together with the normal window position and size) is stored to the
baewin.dat
Windows position file when exiting BAE under Windows. The format of the Windows position file has been changed accordingly. BAE cannot reload old Windows position files. I.e., calling BAE for the first time after updating the software will create a default size BAE window at default position.
Scrollbar support has been introduced for BAE Windows text output. This provides unrestricted access to the contents of lengthy BAE workarea text outputs such as Packager log files/protocols (i.e., no need to view log file contents through an external editor).
The cursor/arrow keys can now be used under Windows to scroll the BAE display by half of its dimension in the key-specific direction. The
Page Up
and
Page Down
keys scroll the display up or down by its full height. Scrolling is limited by the boundaries of the currently loaded element. The
Home
and
End
keys can be used to jump immediately to the upper or lower element boundary.
The keyprog key programming utility available through key 5 can be used in BAE pulldown menu interfaces for assigning BAE menu functions to keys by simply chosing a key through and , clicking the button in the program menu and selecting the desired BAE menu function.
PDF files displaying all graphic symbols of the officially released BAE libraries are provided in the
pdflib
directory of the BAE-CD-ROM.
A series of useful library management User Language programs for library management (library check, automatic symbol edit, automatic generation of library documentation, etc.) are installed with the BAE software. See Bartels User Language Programmer's Guide - Chapter 4 for a complete listing of the User Language programs provided with the BAE software.
The
, , and options for creating and accessing project file elements without having to specify the project file name have been added to the element type menus of the , , , and functions from the menu.The error messages of the
function displayed invalid element class identifiers for the elements to be deleted. This problem has been fixed.The dialogs and/or popup menus for selecting net names from label lists support
?prefix
input for scrolling the list display to the specified net name prefix. A net/label name prefix specification such as
?v
scrolls to the first net/label name starting with
?v
or, if no such name exists, to the next name thereafter. Net/label list scrolling positions specified through name prefices are saved for subsequent queries.
A new button (mouse symbol with pressed left mouse button) for calling the msmode User Language program has been added to the toolbar. msmode assigns a left mouse button operation mode for BAE pulldown menu user interfaces. The following operation modes are provided: (no left mouse button operation), (provide context menu for object clicekd with left mouse button), (delete object clicked with left mouse button), (move object clicked with left mouse button) and (toggle group selection of object clicked with left mouse button). is the default assignment. The new options allow for similar functions to be applied to different element types without having to select the functions from different menus. The selected mouse operation mode is displayed in the line of the BAE pulldown menu interface info/status window.
A rectangular frame is defined when moving the mouse by five or more pixels with the left mouse button pressed. Subsequently, the bae_rect User Language program is called when releasing the left mouse button. bae_rect performs a function depending on the currently assigned left mouse button operation mode. operation mode zooms to the mouse-selected frame, exclusively group-selects the objects in the selected frame and activates the function, exclusively group-selects the objects in the selected frame and starts the function, additively group-selects the objects in the selected frame.
Controls for setting the
parameter have been added to the dialog from the menu. Previously, this parameter could only be set through the submenu of the function from the menu.The
Schematic Editor
menu.
provides options for generating a Spice net list from the currently loaded SCM sheet
( ) or from the symbols of the currently selected SCM group
( ). The output is written to a file with extension
.cir
.
The Schematic Editor menu.
and functions for assigning Spice model types and Spice output pin sequences for SCM symbols have been added to the submenu of theA series of new SCM functions and features such as
bae.ini
filehave been implemented with User Language programs.
A symbol copy function with attribute value transfer has been added to the first two toolbar design view windows. The copy function can be activated by clicking into the design view window. An automatically named copy of the symbol/part from the design view window including the symbol/part attribute value settings is then attached to the mouse/graphic cursor ready for placement on the currently loaded SCM sheet. Previously, a mouse-click into the design view window activated the function for transferring the symbol/part attributes from the design view onto placed symbols/parts. This attribute transfer function is now only available through the Set button
of the design view window. The symbol placement data has been added to the report which is displayed through the Info button of the design view window.Symbol attribute listings have been added to the symbol report created with the
function of the submenu from the menu.Pin net name entries have been added to the symbol pin list outputs.
The
$
attribute of the changed symbol/part. This helps to avoid the confusion previously being caused by the fact that, since a
Packager run is necessary to update the layout part name, old layout part names were displayed on the schematic prior to a subsequent
Packager run.
A dialog box for simultaneously displaying up to 12 symbol attributes is provided with the
!not_set!
attribute value display. Clearing the attribute value is different from specifying an empty string. Empty string attribute values are assigned and transferred as such to the net list, whilst clearing an attribute value prohibits the system from assigning and/or transferring any attribute value to the net list.
The DOS and X11 versions of the BAE software provide a menu for selecting attributes and assigning attribute values.
The
option for assigning default attribute values on symbol level has been added to the function of the submenu from the menu. These default symbol attribute values are automatically assigned when placing new symbols.Under Windows and Motif, a dialog box for simultaneously displaying up to 12 default symbol attributes is provided. For symbols with more than 12 attribute definitions,
and/or buttons are provided for forward and/or backward scrolling.The attribute value input dialog box contains a line for each attribute definition, consisting of a
!not_set!
attribute value display. Clearing the default attribute value is different from specifying an empty string. Empty string attribute values are assigned and transferred as such to the net list, whilst clearing an attribute value prohibits the system from assigning and/or transferring any attribute value to the net list.
The DOS and X11 versions of the BAE software provide a loop for selecting attributes and assigning default attribute values.
The
option for assigning default symbol attributes to all symbols of a selectable SCM symbol library has been added to the function of the submenu from the menu.Symbol level
$llname
text definitions are substituted with symbol macro names on SCM plan level. The
Packager automatically assigns the
$llname
attribute value, i.e., the
$llname
attribute is not available for interactive and/or explicit attribute value assigments. Symbol name display through
$llname
text definitions on SCM symbol label eliminate the need for redefining symbol name texts when creating new SCM symbols from existing SCM symbols.
The
$ulname
(Used Library Name) SCM symbol attribute. This attribute can be displayed on SCM plan level through
$ulname
SCM symbol text definitions, and it can be queried through
function calls. The
$ulname
attribute is useful for querying and/or displaying alternate layout part package type assignments.
The edit window of the
function from the can now be resized.On default, the
standard
label symbol is used when placing labels for net names without name-matching label symbol. This default label symbol can be changed through the
parameter setting of the
dialog from the
and/or
menu. This feature allows for the assignment of different label symbols to certain net names and/or net types without having to define a net-specific label symbol for each of these nets.
The
option for searching symbols and/or parts by attribute value has been added to the function from the menu. allows for the selection of existing attribute name/value pairs (with optional attribute value pattern specification support) and lists all symbols with matching attribute name/value pairs in a symbol selection menu. Selecting a symbol from this menu triggers a to the selected symbol.The
function from the menu sometimes duplicated bustaps when applied on bustap segments. This problem has been fixed.The
submenu with the function for iterating all SCM sheet nets, highlighting one at a time, and the function for highlighting nets with specified and/or menu-selected SCM sheet net names has been added to the menu item from the menu.The
function from the submenu of the menu has been changed to preserve any text display attributes such as frames and rotation mode.The
option has been added to the text context menus to be activated with the right mouse button whilst placing texts with the , and functions from the menu. The option center-aligns the text to the selected text position. The option can be used to restore default text left-alignment.The size User Language program for changing the size of the currently processed text is called when pressing the s or S hotkey whilst the , or function from the menu or the or function from the menu is active. size provides a list of predefined text sizes.
The
function for selecting symbols through attribute values has been added to the submenu from the menu. allows for the selection of an existing attribute name/value pair (with optional attribute value pattern specification support) and group-selects all symbols with matching attribute name/value pairs.The
option has been added to the group context menus to be activated whilst placing groups with the , and functions from the menu. The option renames and/or renumbers all currently selected parts according to their symbol part name patterns with part numbering starting at 1, and collisions with existing part names being avoided. This feature can be used for creating consecutive part numbering.The
function re-connects any unselected connections to the moved group instead of simply cutting them off if the option is activated through the dialog from the menu.A
PG
HPGL command has been added to the end of HPGL output files to force a page eject and to prevent from subsequent plots being plotted onto the same sheet.
The status messages of the
and functions have been extended to indicate any non-default scaling factor being used for automatic plot to sheet size scaling.The new
function from the menu can be used under Windows for plotting a bitmap of the currently loaded element into the clipboard ready to be imported ( d) to other Windows applications capable of processing bitmaps. The whole element is plotted on default. The option can be used to restrict the output to a mouse-selectable rectangle. The plot dialog box also allows for bitmap size specifications and plot rotation mode selection.options have been added to the submenu of the and functions from the menu. On default, all SCM elements except for comment texts and tag symbols are plotted. The option can be used to assign the attribute to other elements. Plot-disabled elements are displayed on screen using the color.
Plot visibility modes are saved with design variants, thus allowing for variant-specific plot outputs.
The
function for loading the hierarchical circuit diagram sheet of a mouse-selectable block symbol has been added to the submenu from the menu.The
Packager and
. I.e., the
Packager transfers symbol/part names from single sub-blocks without
[Pn]
prefices to the layout, and
transfers part name changes and pin/gate swaps on single sub-blocks back to the schematics.
Under Windows, scrollbars have been added to the text window for
Packager messages. This provides complete access to lengthy
Packager protocols without having to view the
bae.log
log file through an external text editor.
SCM sheets which can be singled out to have caused Packager errors are automatically loaded when switching from the menu-driven Packager versions to the Schematic Editor. In that case, the Schematic Editor also triggers a to the first SCM symbol which caused a Packager error.
The new
$gp
(Gate Pin) attribute can be used to assign SCM symbols to layout gate positions by setting the
$gp
value to the desired gate's first pin name from the
xlat
command of the corresponding logical library definition. When using
$gp
assignments, the
$gp
value should be set for all gates of the layout part to avoid gate assignment conflicts. The
$gp
attribute allows for specific assignments of dual operation amplifier components, and it can even be used to define connector pin symbols for single pins of multi-pin connectors where each pin is defined as a gate and the
$gp
attribute specifies the name of the connector pin. Gate and pins assigned through the
$gp
attribute are excluded from layout pin/gate swaps.
The
Packager supports alternate layout part package type assignments through
$plname
SCM symbol attribute value settings such as
[package1,package2]
where a comma-separated list of layout part package types is specified in the square brackets. In the layout system, the first package type is selected on default when placing parts. During interactive part placement, the
option from the submenus to be activated through the right mouse button can be used to change the part package type of the currently placed part.
All autoplacement and automatic copper fill functions from the Autoplacement module have been integrated to the Layout Editor. The Autoplacement module has therefore become obsolete.
The
, , , , and options for accessing default and project file elements without element name specification dialogs have been added to the element type menus of the , , , and functions from the menu. accesses the default layout element of a selectable DDB file. accesses the default layout element from the current project file. The other options are used for accessing a selectable element of the choosen class from the project file.A new button (mouse symbol with pressed left mouse button) for calling the msmode User Language program has been added to the toolbar. msmode assigns a left mouse button operation mode for BAE pulldown menu user interfaces. The following operation modes are provided: (no left mouse button operation), (provide context menu for object clicekd with left mouse button), (delete object clicked with left mouse button), (move object clicked with left mouse button) and (toggle group selection of object clicked with left mouse button). is the default assignment. The new options allow for similar functions to be applied to different element types without having to select the functions from different menus. The selected mouse operation mode is displayed in the line of the BAE pulldown menu interface info/status window.
A rectangular frame is defined when moving the mouse by five or more pixels with the left mouse button pressed. Subsequently, the bae_rect User Language program is called when releasing the left mouse button. bae_rect performs a function depending on the currently assigned left mouse button operation mode. operation mode zooms to the mouse-selected frame, exclusively group-selects the objects in the selected frame and activates the function, exclusively group-selects the objects in the selected frame and starts the function, additively group-selects the objects in the selected frame.
The dialogs and/or popup menus for net list part and net name selections support
?prefix
input for scrolling the list display to the specified name prefix. A name prefix specification such as
?r4
scrolls to the first name starting with
?r4
or, if no such name exists, to the next name thereafter. Part and net list scrolling positions specified through name prefices are saved for subsequent name queries.
A new
parameter for selecting the element pick method for multiple elements at the same pick position has been added to the dialog from the menu. The default option picks an element from the currently selected preference layer. The option provides an element selection facility if more than one element is found at the pick position. A loop for highlighting the selectable elements with status line short description is activated. The highlighted element can be selected through return key or left mouse button click. The element selection can be aborted through escape key or right mouse button input. Any other key switches to the next element at the pick position.All User Language programs for manipulating and/or copying parts, traces and vias have been changed to preserve any existing part, trace and via fixed modes.
A series of new Layout Editor functions and features such as
bae.ini
filehave been implemented with User Language programs.
Selecting the
display and/or input grid option from the dialog of the menu prevented the dialog from being closed. This problem has been fixed.The
function from the menu has been changed to allow for display changes through middle mouse button submenus and display function hotkeys.The
function has been added to the submenu of the menu. The option of the function is used to define part-specific DRC height offsets for selectable parts. The DRC height offset of a part is added to its keepout areas' height DRC specifications when performing part design rule checks. The vertical regions between the board surface and part-specific height DRC offsets is free for part placement, thus allowing to place parts underneath each other. The option of the function can be used for selecting an alternate part to be excluded from the part height design rule check. This feature is useful for placing alternate parts at the same position for variable and/or exclusive insertion.The
function for assigning heights (option ) and height limits (option ) to selectable documentary layer keepout areas has been added to the submenu from the menu. Height specifications are usually assigned to keepout areas on part level whilst keepout area height limits are usually specified on layout level. Intersecting keepout areas with height specifications are treated like documentary distance violations.Height DRC errors are indicated through a rectangle with diagonal lines. Keepout areas with non-zero height limits are not checked against each other, and the Layout Editor menu.
entry for displaying the number of height design rule check violations has been added to the report generated by the function from theThe Layout Editor menu provides the new parameter for selecting DRC distance and height rule violation error display colors. The option displays error boxes using the error color selected with the function, the default of which is white. The setting displays error rectangles using the color selected for the layer on which the erroneous element is placed. Errors on layers which are faded-out through are not displayed.
dialog from theThe + and - keys can be used to move the zoom window through the error position list in either direction.
function for displaying the DRC distance and height rule violation error list and has been added to the menu. The DRC errors are listed in a popup menu, indicating error type, error layer and error coordinates for each error. A to the error position ist triggered when selecting an error from the list using the left mouse button. TheThe
function with the and options has been added to the submenu from the menu. allows for the specification of a part name and/or part name pattern. allows for the selection of existing attribute name/value pairs (with optional attribute value pattern specification support). The parts matching the specified part name pattern or the selected attribute name/value pair(s) are listed in a popup menu. Selecting a part from this menu triggers a to the selected part or activates the if the selected part is not yet placed.The lrotate (Left Rotate) and/or rrotate (Right Rotate) User Language programs for rotating parts are activated during part placement when pressing the l or L and/or the r or R keys. These User Language programs have been changed to support arbitrary rotation angles different from 90 degrees. The rotation angle step to be applied by lrotate and rrotate can be defined through the option from the submenu of the menu.
The
[ name ]
, placed unselected parts as
( name )
, unplaced selected parts as
: name
and unplaced unselected parts as
< name >
.
Graphical pin/gate swap indicators are now provided with the
P
for pin swap,
G
for gate swap and
A
(Array) for gate group swap. Selecting black for the
color deactivates the pin/gate swap indicator display.
The Autoplacement functions for automatic part placement have been integrated to the Layout Editor. The new , and submenus from the Layout Editor menu provide the corresponding functions from the Autoplacement module.
The size User Language program for changing the trace width of the currently processed trace is called when pressing the s or S key whilst using the , , , or function from the menu. size provides a list of predefined trace widths.
The algorithm for picking trace corners and trace segments has been improved to pick the element with minimum distance from the pick point instead of a randomly selected element within snapping distance. The new pick algorithm improves the selection of single trace elements when working in (small) zoom overview display modes. The trace pick snapping distance has been adjusted to the trace width. I.e., trace elements (of wide traces or in high zoom display modes) can now easily be picked without having to hit the trace center line.
The
display mode has been added to the function from the submenu of the menu. With , traces are displayed as with , however a design rule check is activated during interactive routing, changing the distance line display color from trace color to white upon design rule violations. Elements of the currently processed net are excluded from the design rule check. The distance line indicates the DRC spacing between traces. I.e., it is possible for a distance line to cut a pad without a DRC error being displayed if the current trace to copper clearance setting is less than the trace to trace clearance setting.A new Layout Editor design rule check function for displaying valid via positions during manual routing can be activated with the function from the submenu of the Layout Editor menu. The via check range is specified in multiples of the currently selected input grid, with valid via check ranges from 1 to 5. A via check range of 1 only checks the current grid point, a via check range of two includes all grid points adjacent to the current grid point, thus totalling the via check area to 9 grid points, etc. Valid via positions are indicated through a small white circle with a diameter equal to the width of the currently routed trace, but not exceeding 40 percent of the input grid width. The via check is deactivated if the input grid is disabled or if the option from the function is selected.
The
function has been added to the submenu of the menu. This allows to or single vias to or from the current group. The function for selecting net-specific vias has been renamed from to to avoid any possible confusion with the function.The
submenu functions can be restricted to generate teardrops on selected padstack types only. On default, all padstack types are selected for teardrop generation. A design rule check is applied before generating teardrop areas and/or teardrop traces, and a trace/padstack highlight is activated where teardrop generation through copper areas or either of the teardrop trace segments is blocked by obstacles.The algorithms for picking polygon corners and polygon segments have been improved to pick the element with minimum distance from the pick point instead of a randomly selected element within snapping distance. The new pick algorithm improves the selection of single polygon elements when working in (small) zoom overview display modes.
The lrotate (Left Rotate) and/or rrotate (Right Rotate) User Language programs for rotating polygons are activated during polygon placement when pressing the l or L hotkey and/or the r or R hotkey. These User Language programs have been changed to support arbitrary rotation angles different from 90 degrees. The rotation angle step to be applied by lrotate and rrotate can be defined through the option from the submenu of the menu.
The
function for assigning individual line widths to selectable documentary lines and split power plane areas has been added to the submenu of the menu. Polygon-specific line widths are considered by the display and plot functions. The default line width of zero displays lines with one pixel width and uses the standard line width when plotting polygon lines.Split power plane line width settings are considered by the connectivity. Any drill hole intersecting or touching a split power plane line will be isolated from the corresponding power layer.
A control for setting the
parameter has been added to the dialog from the menu to support the increasingly popular reflow-reflow SMD/SMT soldering process. On default, the parameter is activated, and polygons with the , attribute are only visible when not mirrored, whilst polygons with the attribute are only visible when mirrored. However, with the , parameter deactivated, all polygons declared as , are always visible, and all polygons declared as , are never visible, independently of any (part) mirroring. , deactivation allows for SMD libraries designed for conventional SMD soldering to be re-used for reflow-reflow SMD soldering.The lrotate (Left Rotate) and/or rrotate (Right Rotate) User Language programs for rotating texts are activated during text placement when pressing the l or L hotkey and/or the r or R hotkey. These User Language programs have been changed to support arbitrary rotation angles different from 90 degrees. The rotation angle step to be applied by lrotate and rrotate can be defined through the option from the submenu of the menu.
The size User Language program for changing the size of the currently processed text is called when pressing the s or S hotkey whilst the , or function from the menu or the or function from the menu is active. size provides a list of predefined text sizes.
The
option for assigning individual plot widths to selectable texts has been added to the submenu from the menu. Text-specific plot widths are considered by the display and plot functions. The default text plot width of zero displays text with one pixel width and uses the standard line width when plotting texts.The
$pltstime
(element save time),
$pltsdatede
(element save date, German notation) and
$pltsdateus
(element save date, US English notation) texts can be placed to display the time and date the currently loaded top level element was last saved.
The
and functions for assigning drill hole to power layer connection preferences have been added to the submenu from the menu. The function can be used on padstack level for selecting the power layer(s) occupied by mouse-selectable drill holes. The function can be used on padstack level for assigning power layer specific drill hole connection modes such as heat trap mode (default) or direct connection mode to mouse-selectable drill holes. Both functions allow for repeated drill hole selection and drill hole power layer settings assignment in a dialog box. User interfaces without dialog box support allow for power layer bit mask input.Drill hole power layer and heat trap rule assignments are important for blind and buried via definitions and will be considered by the facilities for connectivity generation, power layer display and CAM output.
The rule definitions from the
pldrill.rul
rule definition file have become redundant and are only provided for backward compatibility to old project files. Drill hole rule assignments with the
and
functions automatically detach old power layer rules from the manipulated drill holes.
Feedback from the
, , , and functions from the menu has been improved by displaying the number of modified elements.The
option for selecting parts through attribute values has been added to the and functions from the submenu of the menu. allows for the selection of an existing attribute name/value pair (with optional attribute value pattern specification support) and group-selects all parts with matching attribute name/value pairs.The
option of the function from the submenu of the menu has been changed to allow for the transfer of traces and vias when working on layout or part level.The lrotate (Left Rotate) and/or rrotate (Right Rotate) User Language programs for rotating groups are activated during group placement when pressing the l or L hotkey and/or the r or R hotkey. These User Language programs have been changed to support arbitrary rotation angles different from 90 degrees. The rotation angle step to be applied by lrotate and rrotate can be defined through the option of the function from the menu.
The size User Language program for scaling the currently processed group is called when pressing the s or S hotkey whilst the , or function from the menu is active. size provides a list of predefined group scaling factors.
The
option has been added to the function. dynamically displays not only group-selected parts/macros and texts as with but also the selected traces, vias and drill holes whilst using the , and functions.The
function has been changed to support alternate part package type assignments for net list parts which include the specified part macro in their alternate part package type list.The copper fill functions from the Autoplacement module have been integrated to the Layout Editor submenu of the menu and the function from the menu has been moved to the submenu. The rest of the Layout Editor submenu is identical to the Autoplacement menu.
Passive copper areas with signal net connections (e.g., teardrops created as passive copper) are now treated like active copper areas of that net and won't be isolated from copper fill areas of that net anymore.
The Layout Editor menu can be used to assign copper fill default nets to group-selected vias. The automatic copper fill functions connect isolated vias with copper fill net assignments to corresponding net-specific copper fill areas. I.e., this feature can be used to force the generation of heat-traps in otherwise plain net-specific copper fill areas. Copper fill net assignments for vias with existing physical trace or copper connections to signal nets are ignored by the automatic copper fill routines.
function from the submenu of theAll autoplacement and automatic copper fill functions from the Autoplacement module have been integrated to the Layout Editor. The Autoplacement module has therefore become obsolete.
The
, , , , options for accessing default and project file elements without element name specification dialogs have been added to the element type menus of the , function from the menu. accesses the default layout element of a selectable DDB file. accesses the default layout element from the current project file. The other options are used for accessing a selectable element of the choosen class from the project file.The dialogs and/or popup menus for net list net name selections support
?prefix
input for scrolling the net list display to the specified net name prefix. A net name prefix specification such as
?v
scrolls to the first net name starting with
?v
or, if no such net name exists, to the next net name thereafter. Net list scrolling positions specified through name prefices are saved for subsequent net name queries.
A series of new Neural Autorouter functions and features such as
bae.ini
filehave been implemented with User Language programs.
New options for controlling net-specific airline display have been added to the
. Nets which are faded-out from airline display won't be routed. Net-specific airline display settings can be changed between router passes. This allows for consecutive router passes to route different groups of nets.A router pass status line has been added to the router status display window. The router pass status line displays an identification of the currently active router pass type
(L
- Load Layout,
S
- SMD Via Preplacement Pass,
I
- Initial Routing Pass,
R
- Rip-Up Pass,
P
- Optimizer Pattern Search Pass,
O
- Optimizer Pass) and the number
n
of processed elements in relation to the total number
m
of elements to be processed by the current router pass (display
n/m
). The status display ends with the current pass number
c
and the total number
p
of passes to be processed (display
c/p
). The values displayed with the router pass status line cannot be used for accurate total routing time predictions since the required time for completing the routing of each net and/or connection strongly depends on the current routing complexity.
A
button has been added to the dialog box for setting up router batches. The can be used for immediately starting the defined router batch without having to leave the dialog through the button and subsequently calling the function.Full gemoetric calculations are performed on diagonal trace segments to prevent from clearance violations when routing in gridless mode. Diagonal traces are preferably created with the
parameter set to .The
, , , , and options for accessing default and project file elements without element name specification dialogs have been added to the element type menus of the function from the menu. accesses the default layout element of a selectable DDB file. accesses the default layout element from the current project file. The other options are used for accessing a selectable element of the choosen class from the project file.A series of new CAM Processor functions and features such as
bae.ini
filehave been implemented with User Language programs.
A
PG
HPGL command has been added to the end of HPGL output files to force a page eject and to prevent from subsequent plots being plotted onto the same sheet. The
option must be used for plotting multiple layers onto the same sheet.
The status messages of the
and functions have been extended to indicate any non-default scaling factor being used for automatic plot to sheet size scaling.The new
function from the menu can be used under Windows for plotting a bitmap of the currently loaded element into the clipboard ready to be imported ( d) to other Windows applications capable of processing bitmaps. The whole element is plotted on default. The option can be used to restrict the output to a mouse-selectable rectangle. The plot dialog box also allows for bitmap size specifications and plot rotation mirror mode selections.A black on white plot is generated for single output layer selections. With
plot output, the selected layers are plotted with their currently assigned colors (and mixed color display) on black background.A series of new CAM View functions and features such as
bae.ini
filehave been implemented with User Language programs.
The Windows and Motif CAM View Parameter Setup dialogs did not allow to specify Via D Codes larger than 10. This problem has been fixed.
The
brules.dat
file installed to the BAE programs directory contains precompiled rule definitions. The source files for these rule definitions are also provided
(User Language directory; file extension
.rul
), i.e., the rule definitions can be modified and recompiled with the
rulecompRule System Compiler.
Rules which only set a single predicate value can be dynamically generated and assigned without having to define and compile such rules through a
.rul
file. This simplifies rule system management procedures significantly. All system-supported rules can be conveniently set through menu-assigned
User Language programs. In-depth knowledge of the
Neural Rule System is not necessary for these rule system applications.
BAE Version 5.0 provides a series of new rules for the implementation of special SCM features such as plot visibility control. See section 2 of this documentation for a description of these rules and their applications.
BAE Version 5.0 provides a series of new rules for the implementation of special layout features such as pen width control for polygon lines and texts. See section 4 of this documentation for a description of these rules and their applications.
The copyddb utility program displays usage information when being called without arguments and/or options. The usage information for the mode and element class options has been extended to provide more specific help on how to use these options.
This section describes general changes to the User Language specification. See Bartels User Language Programmer's Guide - Chapter 2 for a detailed description of the User Language specification.
The internal version of BAE Version 5.0 User Language has been changed. User Language programs compiled under earlier BAE versions won't execute in the BAE Version 5.0 User Language Interpreter environment (error message ). This means that each User Language program compiled under earlier BAE Versions must be recompiled under BAE Version 5.0 to regain compatibility.
This section describes the news and changes introduced to the User Language Compiler. See Bartels User Language Programmer's Guide - Chapter 3 for detailed information on how to operate the User Language Compiler.
The new preprocessor statement
#pragma ULCALLERSTD
can be used to force the compiled User Language program caller type setting to standard (STD). User Language programs compiled with this statement can be called in any User Language Interpreter environment, even if the program code contains system functions or index variable types which are not compatible to that Interpreter environment. The User Language Compiler error is suppressed. This allows for the implementation of programs with environment-specific program code. It is up to the program design to prevent from calling incompatible system functions; otherwise the User Language Interpreter quits the program with a runtime error message.
This section describes the news and changes introduced to the User Language Interpreter. See Bartels User Language Programmer's Guide - Chapter 3 for detailed information on how to operate the User Language Interpreter.
Customized parameter settings, key definitions and menu assignments can be stored to the
bae.ini
file in the BAE programs directory. The definitions from this file are loaded once upon BAE startup and can subsequently be accessed with the
varget User Language system function.
The BAE
User Language programs are designed to evaluate relevant definitions from
bae.ini
. Changes to
bae.ini
are activated by simply restarting the affected BAE program module, and it is not necessary to recompile any of the affected
User Language programs. I.e., with
bae.ini
, user-specific parameter settings can easily be transferred between different BAE versions and/or installations.
The
bae.ini
file provides specific sections for different BAE program modules. Each BAE program module only loads relevant sections from
bae.ini
. The definitions from the
std
section are relevant for all modules.
bae.ini
allows for generic parameter value assignments. The
key
and
fkey
commands are used for standard and function key assignments. The
addmenu
,
addmenuitem
,
addsmenuitem
and
addioitem
kewords allow for menu extensions. Please note that menu items can only be appended to main menus and import/export menus. Menu item insertion is prohibited to preserve online help topic assignment.
A
bae.ini
file with inline documentation for command syntax explanation is supplied with the BAE software. The original version of this file activates the parameter settings from the supplied BAE
User Language programs. I.e., these (default) settings are also activated if the
bae.ini
is not available in the BAE programs directory.
A macro command interpreter has been built into the
ulsystem User Language system function, the
bae.ini
key and menu function assignment facilities and the
keyprog online key programming utility to allow for the specification of interaction/command sequences (macros) instead of
User Language program names. Intercation codes must be separated with the
:
character. The
p
prefix is used to identify
User Language program names (this prefix should be omitted if the
User Language program name is the first item in the macro). The
#
prefix emulates a
bae_callmenu User Language function call for activating a BAE menu function. Text input is specified through single-quoted strings.
t
awaits user text input.
s
activates a menu selection, which, if followed by
l
,
m
or
r
and a (zero-based) menu index triggers a menu function similar to a
bae_storemenuiact function call.
m
awaits a mouse click, which, if followed by
l
,
m
or
r
, triggers a mouse click with input coordinates retrieved from the mouse position at the beginning of the interaction sequence if the mouse key in the macro isn't followed by coordinate specifications.
With macro specifications, it is possible to assign submenu functions such as
scmpart:s5:m:t:mr
) to keys. It is also possible to define macros for frequently required interaction sequences such as the
Schematic Editor macro
#500:m:mr:sl3:'4':'0':mr:sl0
for creating a 4mm horizontal graphic line from the current mouse position to the right (SCM symbol graphic pin connection).
This section lists the new and changed User Language index variable types. See Bartels User Language Programmer's Guide - Appendix B for a detailed description of all index variable types.
The following new User Language index variable types have been implemented for BAE Version 5.0:
IP | Index Variable Type | Short Description |
---|---|---|
LAY | L_DRCERROR | Layout DRC Error Marker |
This section lists the new and changed User Language system functions. See Bartels User Language Programmer's Guide - Appendix C for a detailed description of all system functions.
The following new User Language system functions have been implemented for BAE Version 5.0:
IP | System Function | Short Description |
---|---|---|
STD | bae_getmenuitem | BAE menu item query |
CAP | cap_figboxtest | Check SCM element rectangle cross |
cap_findblockname | Find SCM block circuit sheet with given block name | |
cap_getscrefpidx | Get currently scanned SCM reference element | |
cap_ruleconatt | Attach rule(s) to SCM connection segment | |
cap_rulecondet | Detach rules from SCM connection segment | |
SCM | scm_gethighlnet | Get SCM net highlight mode |
scm_highlnet | Set SCM net highlight mode | |
GED | ged_drcpath | GED trace test placement design rule check |
ged_drcpoly | GED polygon test placement design rule check | |
ged_drcvia | GED via test placement design rule check | |
ged_getdrcstatus | Get GED DRC completion status | |
ged_getdrcmarkmode | Get GED DRC error display mode | |
ged_setdrcmarkmode | Set GED DRC error display mode | |
ged_getpickmode | Get GED element pick mode | |
ged_setpickmode | Set GED element pick mode | |
ged_getgroupdata | GED group placement data query | |
ged_getinputdata | GED input data query | |
ICD | icd_lastfigelem | Get last modified IC Design figure list element |
The maximum menu entry count for menus activated through bae_askmenu has been increased from 15 to 30. The bae_defselmenu function has been adapted accordingly.
Passing an empty string to the second parameter of the bae_loadelem system function now loads the default layout element if the layout element class is specified with the third function parameter.
The size of multiline edit windows activated through the bae_readedittext system function can now be changed.
To avoid redundant screen redraws at the redefinition of color tables, the bae_setcolor system function does not perform a screen redraw anymore. I.e., it has become the responsibility of the bae_setcolor caller to trigger screen redraws as required at the end of a color table definition sequence. The ardisp, drillout, fontedit, geddisp, genlmac and spopcol User Language programs have been changed accordingly.
The bae_swconfig function has been extended to allow for BAE Schematics software configuration checks.
The cap_blocktopflag system function has been changed to return a specific code for sheet defined as single sub-blocks for hierarchical block circuit diagrams.
The maximum Gerber aperture table index to be addressed through the cam_getgerberapt and cam_setgerberapt system functions has been increased from 200 to 900 to allow for the management of Gerber tables with up to 900 different apertures.
BAE installs more than 180 pre-compiled
User Language programs to the
bsetup.dat
file of the BAE programs directory. Additionally, the
User Language source files (more than 3 Mbytes; more than 110,000 lines) are installed to a special directory
(baeulc
). See
Bartels User Language Programmer's Guide - Chapter 4 for a complete listing and short descriptions of the
BAE User Language programs.
The User Language include files already delivered with the previous BAE Version have been completely revised and extended by a series of new definitions and functions.
The following new User Language programs are provided with BAE Version 5.0:
IP | Program Name | Short Description |
---|---|---|
STD | bae_rect | BAE Mouse Rectangle Frame Action |
msmode | Set Mouse Context Operation Mode | |
size | Resize Pick Element | |
SCM | spicesim | Spice Circuit Data Output |
GED | lerrlist | Layout DRC Error List Display |
AR | ar_ms | Autorouter Mouse Action |
CAM | cam_ms | CAM Processor Mouse Action |
CV | cv_ms | CAM View Mouse Action |
The
User Language programs already delivered with the previous BAE Version have been completely revised and extended by many new features and functions. A series of significant improvements and enhancements have already been mentioned in the previous sections of these Release Notes. A series of
User Language programs have been equipment with parameter query dialog boxes. New features and functions have been made available through existing
User Language program menus wherever appropriate. Almost all
User Language programs have been enhanced to load customized system and display parameters from the
bae.ini
file.
Bartels :: Bartels AutoEngineer :: BAE Documentation :: BAE V5.0 Release Notes |
Bartels AutoEngineer® - Version 5.0 - Release Notes
© 1985-2024 Oliver Bartels F+E • Updated: 11 October 2010, 10:32 [UTC]
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