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Bartels :: Bartels AutoEngineer :: BAE Documentation :: BAE V7.4 Release Notes

Bartels AutoEngineer® Dokumentation

Bartels AutoEngineer®
Version 7.4
Release Notes

PDF Version (239 KB; updated 22 October 2010)

The Bartels AutoEngineer® - Version 7.4 - Release Notes provide detailed information about new features, enhancements, changes and bug-fixing introduced with Bartels AutoEngineer Version 7.4. Forward compatibility from earlier versions to Bartels AutoEngineer Version 7.4 is ensured, but not backward compatibility.

 

Contents

1General
1.1Installation
1.2User Interface and General Functions
1.3Symbol and Part Libraries
2Schematic Editor
2.1General
2.2Symbols, Labels
2.3Connections
2.4Graphics
2.5Text, Attributes
2.6Group Functions
2.7Plot Output
3Packager
3.1Error Messages
3.2Pin Attributes
3.3Settings
4Layout Editor
4.1General
4.2Display, Design Rule Check
4.3Parts, Placement
4.4Traces, Routing
4.5Graphic, Copper Areas
4.6Text, Drill
4.7Group Functions
4.8Automatic Copper Fill
5Autorouter
5.1General
5.2Autorouter Algorithms
6CAM Processor
6.1General
6.2Control Plot
6.3Insertion Data Output
7CAM View
7.1General
7.2Gerber Data
8Utilities
8.1LISTDDB
8.2LOGLIB
8.3USERLIST
9Bartels User Language
9.1General
9.2User Language Compiler
9.3Index Variable Types
9.4System Functions
9.5BAE User Language Programs

 

1 General

 

1.1 Installation

Installation Guide

The Bartels AutoEngineer® Installation Guide (file inst_en.htm from the baedoc directory of the BAE-CD-ROM) provides detailed Bartels AutoEngineer installation instructions for all supported hardware and software platforms.

Windows 7

The Bartels AutoEngineer software can be operated on Microsoft Windows 7 operating systems.

Solaris/OpenSolaris

The Bartels AutoEngineer software has been made available for the SUNSolaris/OpenSolaris operating system on X86 hardware (Intel and/or AMD processors).

 

1.2 User Interface and General Functions

BAE Window Focus

Mouse clicks which are intended to set the focus to BAE windows which don't have focus (or are not on top of the screen) are not triggering any internal BAE function anymore. I.e., it is now possible to set the focus to a BAE window by clicking into the BAE window graphic workarea without also triggering the last BAE menu function or a BAE context function.

Tree View Menu (Windows)

The Tree View Menu option for action a tree view function menu at the left or right of the BAE window has been added to the View / Toolbar function and the BAE logo in the toolbar. It is possible to open different tree view submenus. This simplifies tasks which require the frequent activation of submenu functions.

Right-clicking a submenu item fully expands and/or collapses the selected submenu.

The Restore Position parameter which can be set through Settings / Settings bae.ini is considered when selecting tree view menu entries. This allows for menu interactions similar to those of the old BAE side menu where the focus automatically switches between graphic area mouse cursor and menu cursor, however, with the added benefit that tree view submenus stay open for subsequent submenu function selections.

After executing a menu function, the input focus stays in the graphic workarea to ensure that the BAE hotkey functionality stays active. The interaction sequence code #9053 can be used to set the input focus to the menu tree window. With this feature, the system can be fully operated through the keyboard if a hotkey is programmed accordingly.

The module-specific width and position of the tree view menu are stored together with the BAE window position and size to allow for each module to restore its tree view menu in subsequent sessions.

File Selection

The file selection menus have been modified to display an error message if the length of the selected file name exceeds the maximum BAE file name length of 200 characters.

Activating the file selection dialog in the Windows version triggered a redraw of the parent/background BAE window. To eliminate unnecessary delays caused by redrawing the currently loaded element, the screen redraw is now suspended until the file and element name selection is completed.

Element Preview (Windows)

Schematic sheet and layout preview options have been added to the DDB file element selection dialogs. On default, these previews are deactivated to avoid long response times for large SCM sheet and/or layout elements.

Edit/Angle Direction

The Insert Corner and Move/Delete Corner functions for editing traces and polygons have been modified to display a dashed center line for the segment side in edit direction. This indicates the edit direction before picking a polygon point and simplifies the start point selection for subsequent edit operations.

A marker indicating permitted angle directions is displayed at polygon corner points with angle lock settings. This helps to identify segment sides with correct angle directions without having to move the mouse. The Angle Direction parameter can be set through View / Settings. The default mode is Pick Side for adjusting the angle direction to the segment side which has its segment corner closer to the pick point. The Grid Toggle mode changes the angle direction according to the crosshair graphic cursor position relative to the input grid. The Shorter Side Toggle mode sets the angle direction dynamically to the segment side which has its segment corner closer to the pick point. The Edit Direction mode keeps the angle direction in line with the edit direction (which is basically according to the behaviour prior to BAE Version 7.2).

The Direction polygon and trace edit context menu function has been assigned to the m key.

The Angle Direction polygon and trace edit context menu function has been assigned to the l key.

Arc Drawing

The Arc Left and Arc Right polgygon editing functions have been modified to display the connection line from the circle center point to the arc start point in addition to the arc. This provides better guidance for certain tasks such as setting the circle center point at a right angle to the arc start point with fine input grid settings.

Multicolumn Listboxes

Multi-column name selection list boxes sometimes only displayed a single column even if there was enough space for multiple columns. This problem has been fixed.

Dialog Box Positions (Motif)

The Motif versions of the BAE software have been updated to save dialog window positions for the current and subsequent BAE sessions. The dialog box configurations are saved in the baexwin.dat file.

Autosave

The EFAUTOSAVE_STD parameter for activating an autosave facility without user prompt for the Load Previous and Load Next functions has been added to bae.ini. This can be useful when systematically editing a series of library elements.

A new feature for recovering project files after program crashes due to memory access violations has been added. When a memory access violation occurs, the system now aks the user whether it should try to recover and save the last project state before calling the function which caused the error. It is strongly recommended to make a backup copy of the project file before starting the recovery as there is a possiblilty that the program crash may have caused inconsistencies in the project data structure to be recovered and/or saved.

Clipboard (Windows)

The Ctrl-A key function for marking edit field contents has been added to the text edit controls of the BAE dialog boxes to allow for quickly copying edited text to the clipboard with subsequent Ctrl-C keystrokes.

A new function has been added to the BAE dialog windows which allows for the content of selection lists to be copied to the clipboard by pressing the Ctrl-C key if the selection box has the mouse input focus. Each selected and unselected list entry of single-column or multi-column selection lists is stored in a separate output line in the clipboard. Please not the difference between selection list boxes and report output text boxes. The content of report output text boxes still has to be marked with Ctrl-A before it can be copied to the clipboard with Ctrl-C.

Display Functions

The Zoom Window function has been modified to distinguish between left and right mouse button clicks when selecting the first zoom window point. Clicking the right mouse button considers the selected position as zoom window center point and renders a symetric zoom rectangle around this point when selecting the second position.

A control element for scrolling the current view in arbitrary directions by positioning the mouse in the desired direction within the control element circle has been added at the junction point of the vertical and horizontal scrollbars of the BAE graphic workarea. A line from the current window center to the new window center point is dynamically displayed when positioning the mouse in the scroll circle. The scroll operation is triggered by clicking the left mouse button.

The new interaction sequence/code #9054 can be used to implement a function for directly setting a display zoom factor. A command sequence such as #9054:"6.0" can be used to set a specific zoom factor for, e.g., screen shots.

Toolbar

The Input and Display buttons for displaying and setting the current input and display grids have been added to the toolbar. The TB_INPGRID_STD and TB_BACKGRID_STD parameters for deactivating these buttons have been added to the bae.ini file.

Context Functions

The Properties context menu function sometimes selected the wrong element. This problem has been fixed.

The context functions for left mouse button rectangle selections were processing both traces and vias according to the element parameter settings for Traces. This behaviour has been changed. The rectangle context functions are now distinguishing between context pick element parameters for Traces and context pick element parameters for Vias.

Info Display

The information display which can be activated by pressing down the Ctrl key when hovering the graphic cursor over an element has been modified to display the element information to the left of the selected element if there is not enough space for displaying this information to the right of the selected element.

Text/Attribute Value Length

The system limits for maximum text and attribute value lengths have been increased from 40 to 200 characters.

Prior to BAE Version 7.2.013, a File structure damaged! was issued when elements with texts or attribute values longer than 40 characters were imported. Please note that the Packager automatically sets $orgname part attributes which could have exceeded the 40 character limit if a layout part is compiled from multiple schematic symbols.

Default Settings

The Settings / Settings bae.ini function and the Save Defaults dialog buttons have been modified to save modified parameter settings to a user-specific parameter file with the name baeuser.ini instead of the bae.ini parameter file if such a baeuser.ini file exists.

Rule System Errors

Missing rule definitions in a project could cause certain functions to abort with error messages, even if the function did not depend on the missing rule. The system has been modified to display a verfication prompt together with the error message in such cases to enable the user to either abort the function or to ignore the rule system error.

Control Characters

The tilde character was inconsistently considered a valid or invalid character by different functions for checking part names, net names, etc. This behaviour has been changed. The tilde character is now generally considered a valid character in names.

SQL Databases

The SQL Table Export and SQL Table Import functions for exporting and importing SQL tables in .csv (Comma-Separated Values) format have been added to the File / File Utilities submenu. The export function creates an output line for each database entry using the semicolon as field separator. The first two output file lines contain the filed names and the field data types. The import function uses the base input file name (without path and file name extension) as destination table name. If the destination file already contains a table with the same name, then the system asks the user whether the import data should be added to the table or whether the destination table should be replaced.

The SQL table import and export functions can be facilitated if BAE SQL table are created and/or updated using third party tools such as Microsoft Excel.

 

1.3 Symbol and Part Libraries

New Library Elements

The following elements have been added to the symbol and part libraries supplied with the BAE software:

Library Type Elements
ROUTE Symbol att_diffpair, tag_netpins_diffpair, tag_nets_diffpair
PDFPAGE Layout partlist_cntnames_sep
 

2 Schematic Editor

 

2.1 General

Element Boundaries

The AUTOSHRINK_SCM parameter for automatically shrinking element boundaries when saving SCM elements has been added to the bae.ini file. The element boundaries are set to the next millimetre grid (except for markers). AUTOSHRINK_SCM is an optional parameter. On default, the system does not change element boundaries when saving SCM elements.

The Settings / Lower/Left Border function has been added to the right mouse button context menu when activated to the bottom left of the current workarea, and the Settings / Upper/Right Border function has been added to the right mouse button context menu when activated to the right top of the current workarea.

The element report which is displayed through the 1 key or the i toolbar button has been modified to display the sheet description and orientation with the Element Size if the element size matches a standard sheet size such as A4 Landscape. This information can be used to check whether the currently loaded schematic sheet can be printed or plotted without scaling.

DDB Element Renaming

The File / Rename Element submenu has been added with functions for directly renaming DDB file elements without having to use Load and Save as command sequences.

The Sheets option activates a dialog for simultaneously changing the names and editing the element comments of all schematic sheets in a DDB file. + and - are provided for incrementing and/or decrementing the numeric parts of all schematic sheet names in the button row and below. This simplifies the insertion and/or removal of numbered schematic sheets enormously. The Old Names -> Element Comments button can be used to convert function-specific sheet names to numeric sheet names without losing the function descriptions.

Schematic Sheet Copy

The File / Library Utilities / Copy Elements / Sheet function has been extended to include the logical library definitions of the symbol macros when copying schematic sheets.

Possible symbol name conflicts in cases where the destination project file already contains schematic sheets are resolved by automatically renaming and/or renumbering affected symbols using their symbol name patterns.

DDB Element Comments

The functions for deleting DDB file elements did not delete corresponding element comments. Such obsolete element comments could still be displayed through text definitions such as $pltecomment:planname and could cause the display of wrong project page counts through $pltpagecnt text definitions. This problem has been fixed.

Logical Netlist

The Logical Netlist option has been added to the File / Delete Element function to allow for the deletion of logical netlists. This is useful if imported net lists need to be deleted in order to replace them by a schemtic drawing or in situations where a netlist is causing Packager errors because it was accidentially re-imported with a different name.

The Netlist option of the File / Delete Element function has been renamed to Layout Netlist to avoid any confusion with the new Logical Netlist option.

Variants

The variant name input control in the variant selection dialog of the Settings / Variants function has been modified to select the variant after the currently active variant when entering + and to select the variant before the currently active variant when entering -. These inputs can also be facilitated in key programming sequences and in user-specific menu function and toolbar button definitions. This allows for command sequences such as scmvar:"+":sl0 and scmvar:"-":sl0 to be implemented for quickly stepping through variants.

Rule Update

The Settings / Rule Attachment / Rule Update for replacing project file rule definitions with the corresponding rule definitions from the central rule database file brules.vdb has been added. This function can be used to update project-specific rule definitions after re-compiling rule definition updates in the central rule definition database.

BAE ASCII Import

The BAE/ASCII Input has been modified to set the Library Name to the import project. This prevents the import function from incorrectly substituting label macros which are defined with a standard label name in the import file.

The SYMGRPLIB_SCM and SYMGRPNAME_SCM parameters for specifying a symbol group which is automatically placed at the symbol origin when importing symbols with BAE/ASCII Input (and EDIF Data Import) have been added to bae.ini. This is useful if special features such as symbol part number attributes are facilitated in BAE for which there is no corresponding data in the imported files.

The sbaedmp.ulp ULP program which is provided in the eagleulp directory of the BAE CD has been modified so that it can be activated in the Eagle library editor. sbaedmp.ulp exports all symbols and labels from the currently active Eagle library.

Error Report

The Utilities / Report function has been extended to list the number of open and/or unconnected pin contact areas on the currently loaded schematic plan. This helps to check whether all pin are connected when working with white screen background.

Antenna highlights and unconnected pin contact areas have been added to the reference listings created by the Symbols / Other Functions / SCM Cross Reference function. Pin and/or connection segment coordinates are included with these listing entries for easy location.

Packager Error Messages

The Packager+Update button for activating a Packager run with subsequent dialog box update has been added to the dialog box of the Utilities / Packager Error List function. The Packager Error List dialog and the Schematic Editor are deactivated during the Packager run.

 

2.2 Symbols, Labels

Part Name Pattern

The report which is displayed through the 1 or the i toolbar button has been modified to display the symbol name pattern of the currently loaded symbol macro.

The File / Library Utilities / Report Namensmuster submenu with the Report Name Patterns and Report Symbols functions for displaying the symbol name patterns of a selectable SCM library file sorted by name patterns or symbol names has been added.

Symbol Renaming

The Symbols / Other Functions / Renumber Parts / Replace Pattern function has been modified to allow for the substitution of name patterns at fixed positions in symbol names. Thus it is possible to rename, e.g., r600, r601, c600 and c606 in one go to r700, r701, c700 and c706 by replacing 6 with 7 at the second symbol name character position.

The Replace Pattern function has been modified to ignore modified elements to prevent endless loops and/or name length errors when substituting, e.g., a with aa at the end of names.

Part List Cleanup

The Part List Cleanup function has been modified to list any duplicate project symbol names at the end of the cleanup process. Duplicate project symbol names can be created when merging schematic sheets from older BAE versions. Unlike the Packager which includes only the last symbol and sheet name with duplicate symbol name error messages, the Part List Cleanup function lists all schematic sheets containing duplicate project symbol names.

Symbol Properties

The p key symbol properties utilities sometimes transferred certain symbol properties such as the plot visibility to referencing tag symbols instead of the processed symbol. This problem has been fixed.

Clipboard (Windows)

The Place Clipboard Pin/Label for placing pins on symbol level using the text from the clipboard as pin name and/or for placing labels on plan level using the clipboard text as label/net name has been added to the Symbols / Symbol Edit Functions menu. The name text is clipped at the first blank or when the maximum name length is reached.

Symbol Variant Data

The Symbols / Other Functions / Copy Symbol function for symbols and labels with variant-specific attributes and/or plot visibility settings has been modified to consider the VARATTRCHK_SCM parameter from the bae.ini parameter. This allows to prevent the system from including variant-specific data with symbol and/or label copies.

Symbol Pick

The pick performance for symbol selections and info queries with pressed Ctrl key has been improved. This improvement is most noticable in large schematic sheets with active variant.

Pin Placement

The Text Pin button for placing pins with pin names derived from mouse-selectable texts has been added to the Utilities / Draw Assistant dialog. This is useful after importing DXF symbol drawings where pins are implemented with graphic and text rather than pin macros. The Placement Loop option can be used to carry out multiple Text Pin operations without having to re-activate this function between individual pin placement operations.

Symbol Pin Mode

The Settings / Rule Attachment / Set Group Rules / Symbol Pin Mode function has been added for assigning the symbol pin mode which controls symbol pin movement, symbol pin rotation and symbol pin mirroring on schematic sheet level to all group-selected pins of the currently loaded symbol.

Symbol Generation

The Symbols / Other Functions / Create FPGA Symbol function has been converted into a submenu with the Netlist default function and the new CSV File function for generating FPGA symbols from a symbol pin description file. The symbol pin description file is a CSV (Comman-Separated Values) file with semicolon-separated pin description entries. New parameter definitions for automatic symbol text and attribute assignments and logical library definitions have been added to bae.ini.

Label Placement

The Symbols / Symbol Edit Functions / Place Texts/Labels function which can also be activated by pressing the e key has been modified to support the placement of labels using a list of label names imported through the Import button after selecting the Label List mode.

Plot Visibility/Placement Status

The NOPLCPVIS_SCM parameter for controlling the way in which the system automatically correlates symbol plot visibility settings with the current $noplc attribute value setting has been added to the bae.ini file. Previously, plot visibility changes were transfered to the $noplc attribute value, but $noplc attribute value changes did not affect the plot visibility settings. The default NOPLCPVIS_SCM setting correlates the plot visibility with the $noplc attribute value and vice versa. The NOPLCPVIS_SCM parameter is considered by the group functions and by all symbol functions for modifying attribute values and plot visibilities.

Changes to the $noplc value of the base variant are now also transferred to plot visibility settings of variants without $noplc value assignment. This ensures consistent settings for the plot visibilities and $noplc values of all variants.

Symbol Attributes

The Assign Value(s) function has been modified to focus automatically on the edit field of a pick position symbol attribute, thus simplifying attribute selections and reducing the time required for single attribute value changes.

Symbol Browser

A control element for activating a text info field for displaying the logical library definition of the selected SCM symbol has been added to the Symbols / Other Functions / Symbol Browse function. The logical library definition is retrieved from the standard layout library which is selected through the BAE setup.

Symbol Search

The symbol selection dialog of the View / Find Symbol / Search in list function which can also be activated through the Ctrl-F key did not always display all attribute values if the numeric symbol list order was different from the alphabetic symbol list order. This problem has been fixed. Attribute values are now always displayed for the whole project and all symbols.

The Search layout part name has been modified to display a symbol selection menu rather than the first schematic symbol match if the selected layout part consists of multiple schematic symbols. Once a schematic symbol is selected from that list, + and - buttons are provided for stepping through the symbols which are packed into the selected layout part.

Symbol Query

The net name column of the Symbols / Other Functions / Symbol/Label Query output has been modified to display Packager assigned layout net names with the original SCM net names if the layout net name is different from the SCM net name. This allows for unnamed or merged net names to be traced to the layout.

A column for displaying newattr pin attribute values (e.g., ERC pin types) has pin added to the symbol pin table output of the Symbols / Other Functions / Symbol/Label Query function. Please note that a Packager run is required for the newattr pin attribute to be set.

Symbol Documentation

The Symbol Database Doc function for loading the documentation for the part number of a mouse-selectable symbol is now also available through the Documentation function of the right mouse button symbol context menu.

The Settings / Rule Attachment / Single Elements / Sheet/Macro function has been modified to support the assignment of the sym_docu (symbol document file) String predicate to SCM symbols on SCM macro level. This allows for the definition of external symbol document file references without part number references in the symbol databases. Please note however that the symbol database document file reference has priority over the sym_docu symbol macro predicate.

Symbol Pool

The Symbol Database symbol pool window can now be activated as modeless dialog using the new Symbols / Symbol Pool function. This allows for the placement of symbol pool symbols without having to re-activate the symbol database between symbol placement operations. The symbol pool and the symbol database selection dialog can be activated simultaneously, thus allowing for the content of the symbol pool to be viewed during the selection of new database symbols for the symbol pool.

Symbol List Output

The part list output of the Symbols / Other Functions / SCM Part List function has been modified to include total symbol type counts in the symbol type section headers (e.g., the total number of resistors on a schematic sheet).

The PLPNUPPER_SCM and PLPMUPPER_SCM parameters for forcing uppercase symbol names and/or symbol macro names when creating part list outputs with the Symbols / Other Functions / SCM Part List function have been added to the bae.ini file.

Symbol Edit Batch

The Process Folder Tree option for processing all DDB files of a selectable library directory and all its subdirectories has been added to the File / Library Utilities / Symbol Edit Batch function.

The Change Name Pattern option for substituting symbol name patterns such as ic* with other patterns such as u* has been added to the Part Name Pattern batch function of the function.

Symbol Logic Edit

A new text field with logical library example definitions and copy/paste functionality has been added to the Edit Symbol Logic function. The Help button has been added for displaying the loglib command documentation.

The Edit Symbol Logic function terminated with an error message when graphically assigning pins to single-pin layout macros. This problem has been fixed.

The symbol logic suggestion provided with the virtual button of the part macro selection contained empty pin commands for symbols without pins. Such empty pin commands are now omitted to allow for direct compilation of the symbol logic suggestion without further editing.

Pins with xlat in their pin names caused invalid symbol logic suggestions in the tabular and graphical pin assignments interfaces. This Problem has been fixed.

Symbol Data Consistency

The NOPLCCHK_SCM parameter setting in the bae.ini file could cause the system to issue redundant error messages about inconsistencies of $noplc attribute values when creating variants with variant data transfers. This problem has been fixed.

Logical Definition Check

Under Windows, the File / Library Utilities / Check Definitions function always displayed a No SCM library file found in directory ...! error message after selecting a library directory. This problem has been fixed.

 

2.3 Connections

Context Functions

Bus tap names and/or connections names are now displayed after selecting bus taps or connections with the right mouse button to allow for the recognition of erroneous selections before selecting a context function.

Net Highlight

Net highlights for unnamed nets are now preserved when changing between different schematic sheets of a project.

The BAE HighEnd cross-highlight function has been modified to synchronize SCM net highlights for unnamed layout nets if the Layout Editor net highlight was activated prior to changing to the corresponding schematic sheet. The crosshighlight screen redraw performance for unnamed nets and nets with $netname names and many pins has been increased significantly.

Connection Routing

The algorithm for re-routing symbol and group connections sometimes considered invisible rotation-specific symbol texts and net range areas as obstacles. This problem has been fixed.

Connection segments with bus taps are now considered to be fixed when rerouting bus connections to labels. This prevents the system from accidentially losing bus taps when modifying.

The signal router has been modified to create dotted lines with the group name open for connections which can not be re-routed when making complex modifications to the symbol or group placement.

Delete Connection

The Delete Connection used to delete both connections when selecting one of two connections connecting the same pin at a right angle. This behaviour has been changed. The connection leaving the pin in a different direction will not be deleted anymore.

Bus Connections

The Add Bus Connection function for creating bus connections without having to go through the Define Bus function has been added to the Connections menu.

Bus Taps

Bus taps can now not only be selected by clicking the bus tap pin contact area but also by clicking bus tap graphics and/or bus tap texts. This simplifies bus tap selections significantly.

The Tap Bus function has been modified to select the bus connection before displaying the dialog with the bus tap name list of the selected bus, thus eliminating the need to go through the List button of the bus tap name dialog.

The Tap Bus function has been modified to use the selected symbol pin name as bus signal name if a symbol pin is selected prior to the bus. If the selected symbol pin is positioned within the coordinate range of the selected bus segment, then the system automatically places the bus tap on the bus and connects the symbol pin with the bus tap. This simplifies symbol pin to bus connections significantly if both pin name and bus signal name are the same.

If a text instead of a bus is first selected after activating the Tap Bus function, then the name of the text string is used for subsequent bus tap placements. This is useful when processing schematic plans which were imported from DXF.

Activating Element Selection for the Pick Mode causes the system now to display bus tap names instead of bus names to allow for adjacent bus taps to be safely identified during selection.

Previously, the system only issued an Invalid name! error message when trying to save a schematic sheet with bus and bus tap name combinations exceeding the maximum length of 40 characters. Now, a popup info window listing the bus and bus tap names which are causing the problem is activated instead. The maximum name length is now also checked when setting or changing bus tap names. I.e., the maximum name length limit can now only be exceeded when subsequently naming or renaming busses.

The Current Sheet and All Sheets options of the Symbols / Other Functions / Renumber Parts / Rename Labels function have been modified to optionally support the renaming of bus taps instead of net name labels to allow for project-wide bus tap renaming.

 

2.4 Graphics

Segment Editing

The Insert Segment function has been added to the Areas menu and to the areas context menu which can be activated through the right mouse button.

Draw Assistant

Due to rounding errors, the Utilities / Draw Assistant sometimes created corner arcs in the wrong direction when generating vertical rectangles with rounded corners. This problem has been fixed.

The matrix origin for group element matrix placements is now set to the first group placement coordinate rather than the element origin to provide better visual guidance for group matrix placement operations.

Dimensioning

The X Dimensioning, Y Dimensioning and X/Y Dimensioning functions for labelling coordinates have been added to the Graphic / Other Functions / Drawing Utilities submenu. Coordinate labels are created by placing a text which displays the coordinates of the first selected position. The X Dimensioning and Y Dimensioning functions restrict the text placement to the X and/or Y position of the labelled coordinate.

Clicking the right mouse button during the selection of the coordinate label point activates a measurement line which will be drawn from the coordinate label point to the label text. It is also possible to set a measurement origin different from the element origin. The selected measurement origin stays active until a new element is loaded.

New bae.ini parameters for setting default values for label text size, measuring line display and coordinate units suffix have been added to bae.ini.

Polygon Arcs

When drawing arcs, the current arc angle is now displayed as text at the graphic cursor, thus assisting in correctly setting specific angles such as 90 degrees even if a very fine input grid is selected.

The polygon property dialog which can be activated through the p key has been modified to display arc center points with arc angle span in addition to the arc type and the arc radius, the latter of which is now displayed in a separate dialog box line.

DXF Import

The AutoCAD/DXF Input function has been modified to support multiple areas when importing polygons defined with the HATCH DXF command.

Bitmap Data Import

The File / Import/Export / Bitmap Input function sometimes skipped areas touching the upper edge of the bitmap. This problem has been fixed.

 

2.5 Text, Attributes

Centered Texts

New options for center-aligning texts horizontally or vertically have been added to the text properties dialog which can be activated by pressing the p during text placement operations. These options are useful when placing symbol pin texts.

Clipboard (Windows)

The Place Clipboard Text function for placing texts from the Windows clipboard has been added to the Text / Other Functions menu. The Place Clipboard Text automatically recognizes and creates multiline texts.

The Edit / Paste function which can also be activated through the Ctrl-V key automatically checks whether the clipboard contains a BAE group or a text and activates the appropriate placement operation.

 

2.6 Group Functions

Symbol Name Conflicts

The Edit / Save Group and File / Save As functions did not consider existing symbol names in the destination file when saving to a file different from the current DDB file. This could cause unintentional attribute value substitutions in the destination file. A warning message/prompt has been added to the Edit / Save Group function to allow for the commonly desired cancellation of this operation in such cases. The File / Save As has been modified to handle such situations by copying the current schematic plan to the clipboard and then performing an Edit / Paste operation which fixes symbol name conflicts by automatically renaming symbols according to their symbol name patterns and then copying the modified clipboard content to a new schematic sheet in the destination file.

Group Selection

Some of the functions from the Edit / Other Functions / Select submenu carried out redundant drawing operations. This problem has been fixed, thus improving the performance of group selection functions.

The dialog boxes for selecting and/or deselecting symbols through attribute value have been modified to allow for the selection of multiple attribute values and the specification of attribute value patterns. Only those values which don't have the desired selection mode are displayed. This also allows for checking different attribute value combinations through multiple consecutive selection and/or deselection queries.

Polygon Selection

The Polygon Type function for selecting and/or deselecting polygons by type have been added to the Edit / Other Functions / Select/Deselect group selection menus.

Attribute Selection

The Edit / Other Functions / Select / Attributes function for selecting symbols by attributes has been modified to support not only base variant attribute selections but also currently active variant attribute selections.

The !not_set! entry for querying symbols without attribute value assignment has been added to the attribute value selection menus.

Group Display

The Edit / Group Display Mode function with the Moving Picture All mode and the Instantly Moving Picture mode has been added. Moving Picture All causes the system to redraw texts and connections during group placement operations. Instantly Moving Picture causes the system to redraw texts and connections only when the mouse pointer stops during group placement operations. The GRPDISPMODE_SCM parameter for setting the default group display mode has been added to the bae.ini file.

Element PDF Colors

The BAE-Selection button for selecting RGB values from the BAE color table has been added to the color input dialog of the Settings / Rule Attachment / Set Group Rules / PDF Color function for assigning PDF output colors to elements. Upon completion, the PDF Color function reports the number of processed elements together with the assigned RGB value in the status line.

Element Group IDs

The Copy Group and Load Group functions have been modified to assign new unique element group ids for new multiline texts and distance labels to ensure that these elements can subsequently be edited as separate entities.

Connections

The Graphic Lines to Connections function for converting group-selected graphic lines into connections has been added to the Edit / Other Functions menu. This feature is useful after importing schematic plans from DXF format which draws connections as graphic lines.

 

2.7 Plot Output

EPS/PDF Output

PDF batch definitions have been modified to support colon-enclosed output sort order number prefixes for layer level names. This allows for output layers to be sorted independently from layer level names. The sort order prefixes are not included in any layer level name output.

The Element Name Pattern and Element Name Exclude Pattern parameters for selecting and/or deseleting pages have been added to the EPS/PDF output functions for automatically generating outputs for all SCM sheets and/or elements of a project. Only SCM sheets or elements matching the Element Name Pattern and not matching the Element Name Exclude Pattern are selected for output. This also allows for the selection of a specific (unloaded) project SCM sheet by specifying its full name through the Element Name Pattern option.

Plot Settings

Plot parameter changes are now triggering element save prompts when subsequently loading a different schematic sheet. This prevents the system from "silently" substituting plot parameter settings with last saved plot parameters if multi-sheet plot batches are carried out.

 

3 Packager

 

3.1 Error Messages

Name Attributes

The Packager has been modified to restrict the length of special attributes which are referring to reference and macro names (e.g., $rpname) to the system's maximum name length of 40 characters. An exception to this are alternative part macro lists ([macro1,macro2,...]) which can be assigned through the $plname attribute. The alternative part macro name list can extend to a total length of 200 characters with individual list entries restricted to a length 40 characters.

Symbol Macro Changes

The Packager has been modified to check prior to the processing of logical netlists whether symbols referenced from that net list were modified/saved after the corresponding schematic sheet was modified/saved and issues a warning message in that case as symbol symbol pin names and/or symbol pin positions may have changed since the schematic sheet was last changed.

 

3.2 Pin Attributes

Name Attributes

The Ignore missing Pins option sometimes reported incorrect layout part pin names for parts consisting of different symbols back to the SCM if the layout part macro was not defined in the library. This problem has been fixed.

 

3.3 Settings

Project File Settings

The Load Settings function for loading Packager parameter sets from the central library has been modified to automatically save such parameter sets in the project file for subsequent Packager runs. Previously, these parameter sets where only saved subject to modification and confirmation.

 

4 Layout Editor

 

4.1 General

DDB Element Renaming

The File / Rename Element submenu has been added with functions for directly renaming DDB file elements without having to use Load and Save as command sequences.

Airline Generation

New control elements for including passive and/or active copper areas in the Mincon generation with Corner options have been added to the Settings / Settings dialog. The default settings only consider trace and split power plane corners.

The performance of the Mincon generation function with Corner options has been significantly improved for large copper-filled layouts.

Inner Layers

The Layer 2+Inner Layers entry has been added to the Settings / Set Top Layer layer selection. Layer 2+Inner Layers sets the top layer to signal layer 2 and prompts for the number of inside layers to be configured. This allows for Middle Layers to be used for pad definitions even if the top layer is assigned to signal layer 2. In that case, the Middle Layers are assigned to signal layer 3 and above.

The toolbar color selection controls have been adapted to indicate the "highest" used signal layer by inverting the lower part of the layer button.

Element Pick

The Edit Layer Only setting for exclusively limiting element picks to the pick preference layer has been added to the Element Pick Mode option of the View / Settings function. The Edit Layer Only setting can be used during layer-specific operations to prevent the user from accidentially picking and/or processing elements from other layers.

Arc Centers

Arc center points outside the surrounding rectangle of a trace or area were not selectable and/or could not be picked in coordinate snap mode. This problem has been fixed.

Element Boundaries

The AUTOSHRINK_GED parameter for automatically shrinking element boundaries when saving layout elements has been added to the bae.ini file. AUTOSHRINK_GED is an optional parameter. On default, the system does not change element boundaries when saving layout element elements.

The Settings / Lower/Left Border function has been added to the right mouse button context menu when activated to the bottom left of the current workarea, and the Settings / Upper/Right Border function has been added to the right mouse button context menu when activated to the right top of the current workarea.

Library Edit Batch

The Process Folder Tree option for processing all DDB files of a selectable library directory and all its subdirectories has been added to the File / Library Utilities / Layout Library Edit Batch function.

Variants

The variant name input control in the variant selection dialog of the Settings / Variants function has been modified to select the variant after the currently active variant when entering + and to select the variant before the currently active variant when entering -. These inputs can also be facilitated in key programming sequences and in user-specific menu function and toolbar button definitions. This allows for command sequences such as gedvar:"+" and gedvar:"-" to be implemented for quickly stepping through variants.

Rule Update

The Settings / Rule Attachment / Rule Update for replacing project file rule definitions with the corresponding rule definitions from the central rule database file brules.vdb has been added. This function can be used to update project-specific rule definitions after re-compiling rule definition updates in the central rule definition database.

BAE ASCII Import

The bae.ini entries for converting Eagle layout data through BAE/ASCII Input only included layer conversion settings for Eagle documentary layers. However, it is also possible to convert Eagle signal layer structures for pads and traces through additional DMPLAYASSL_LAY signal layer entries.

The Complete Project option for importing the projectname_s.dmp, projectname.def and projectname_l.dmp project import files for schematic plans, logical library definitions and the project layout has been added to the BAE/ASCII Input function. The system automatically switches between program modules as required, and the user might only have to confirm warning messages issued during the Packager run. Only the projectname_l.dmp import/input file has to be selected, and the system automatically retrieves the other import file names from that.

The lbaedmp.ulp ULP program which is provided in the eagleulp directory of the BAE CD has been modified so that it can be activated in the Eagle library editor. lbaedmp.ulp exports all parts, padstacks and pads from the currently active Eagle library.

HighEnd Performance (BAE HighEnd)

For layouts with large numbers of parts, the performance of the procedures for loading the layout and transferring the part placement status to the schematic plan has been significantly improved. These improvements are most noticable in the Windows version.

 

4.2 Display, Design Rule Check

Color Edit

The View / Change Colors dialog for BAE windows which are wide enough to display both signal and docuementary layers has been modified to display the name of the currently loaded color table and the buttons Load, Save and Save As for loading and saving color table settings. The < and > buttons can be used to step through the list of available color tables.

Element DRC Data Query (BAE HighEnd)

The View / Query Element for querying net element data has been modified to display DRC block numbers and/or DRC block names in the Mindist. field.

In addition to that, the net element query function now also appends slash-separated net type information to the net names of queried net elements.

DRC Error Display

The DRC Violation Text Size parameter for optionally setting the text size for displaying distances between error elements at the top left of distance violation marker rectangles has been added to the View / Settings dialog. The default value for this parameter is 0.0 for suppressing the distance text display.

The fixed/fixed and Macro level filter functions for optionally excluding DRC errors between fixed elements and DRC errors on part macro level from the DRC error listing have been added to the Utilities / DRC Error List / DRC Error List dialog. This allows for tolerated errors to be excluded from the error listing by fixing the elements which are causing the errors.

Current element distances and element-specific clearance parameters are now displayed with clearance errors. With this information it is easy to check whether standard DRC settings or a special minimum clearance parameter (e.g., from extended DRC settings) is causing an error.

WRL Output

The File / Import/Export / WRL/VRML Data Output function has been modified to optionally support the export of traces and copper structures from the part and/or solder side. Please note that special copper structures such as trace arcs can cause long loading times in certain VRML viewers.

The PCB Transparency option for transparent PCB output has been added to allow for the simultaneous WRL/VRML display of parts placed on both part and solder side.

The system has been modified to support the assignment of wrlmodscale and wrlmodhoff double rule system attributes to model reference texts in order to set model scaling factors and placement height offsets. This allows for more arbitrary constructions such as the definition of models which are placed on levels different from the board level.

 

4.3 Parts, Placement

Part Info

The name of the part macro has been added to the tooltip display which appears when hovering over a part. A plus sign is appended to the part macro name if alternative packages are defined for the part.

Part Selection

A plus sign is now displayed at the end of macro names in the part name selection dialog of the Add Part if a net list part is defined with alternative macros.

Part Renumbering

New options for applying part name changes to group-selected parts only have been added to the Parts / Other Functions / Autoname Parts / All Prefixes function. This allows for different part name schemes to be used on different layout part groups.

The Parts / Other Functions / Renumber Parts / Replace Pattern function for the substitution of name patterns (e.g., _1 with _2) at arbitrary positions in layout part names has been added. Buttons are provided to extend the name pattern substitution to texts and/or to restrict the substitution to the currently selected group.

Constructive Parts

The confirmation prompt of the Parts / Other Functions / Delete Constructive function has been replaced by a selection box with the names of the constructive parts to allow for parts to be selected by mouse click or through the specification of part name patterns. On default, all constructive parts are selected for deletion.

Part Texts

The Move Name and Move Attribute functions have been modified to accept 0.0 text size settings for fading out name and/or attribute texts.

Part Properties

Using the p key dialog for changing properties of fixed parts sometimes cleared name, attibute and/or pin position modifications of the processed part. This problem has been fixed.

Find SCM Symbol (BAE HighEnd)

If applied to layout parts consisting of multiple SCM symbols, the Parts / Other Functions / Find SCM Symbol now automatically zooms to the SCM symbol which corresponds to the selected layout pin. A symbol selection menu is displayed if the selected layout pin can not be assigned to a schematic symbol.

Part List Output

The part list output of the File / Import/Export / Part List Output / BAE Format function has been modified to include total part type counts in the part type section headers (e.g., the total number of resistors in a project).

The PLPNUPPER_LAY and PLPMUPPER_LAY parameters for forcing uppercase part names and/or part macro names when creating part list outputs with the File / Import/Export / Part List Output function have been added to the bae.ini file.

 

4.4 Traces, Routing

Trace Length Adjustment

The Traces / Other Functions / Trace Length / Serpentine Trim Length function has been modified to start meanders after trace corners always at the side opposite to the previous segment to prevent meander structures from crossing each other.

The Trace Route and Net options have been added to allow for trace length adjustments to be be applied to either the selected trace or the overall net trace length.

Differential Pairs

The highlight of the currently edited trace and/or net has been extended to the net which is assigned to the edited net through the $pairid net attribute (differential pair) and the traces of the secondary net are displayed with a hatch pattern unless a color and/or display pattern assigment is already activated for that net.

The fill options of the Edit Display mode have been extended to display a trace segment parallel to the currently edited trace segment if trace pair distance ($pairsig net attribute) and p signal type ($pairsig net attribute) parameters are assigned to the edited net. Distance violations caused by the neighbouring trace segment are displayed in dark grey if DRC display is activated to provide a real-time clearance check for the parallel trace. The Toggle Pair Side context menu function and/or the r key can be used to toggle the neighbouring trace display to the opposite side.

The Pair Check Report function for generating a report for all nets grouped by the $pairdist net attribute has been added to the menu. Pair Check Report lists total net lengths and $pairdist (parallel distance) compliant net lengths. Pair Check Report also allows for the selection of a documentary layer for graphically displaying pair distance and/or parallelity violations. The trcpairgap group name with layer number extension is assigned to the differential pair DRC graphics to allow for subsequent layer queries and/or DRC graphic selection and/or deletion.

Trace Processing

Some of the functions from the Traces / Other Functions menu, when applied to traces with arcs, could cause arc directions to toggle depending on pick point selections. This problem has been fixed.

Trace Split

Applying the Traces / Other Functions / Trace Split to very long trace segments could cause segment pick failures and/or the lengthening of neighbouring segments instead of splitting the selected segment. These problems have been fixed.

Crosspoint Snap

The Crosspoint function of the x key has been modified to support trace segment picks thus supporting snaps to intersection points between two trace segments and/or between a trace segment and a polygon segment.

Via Fill Net Query

The via element queries of the View / Query Element function and the info query with the Ctrl key pressed have been extended to display via fill net names for vias without net connection.

Net Parameter DRC

The routwidth (minimum net trace width), $maxnetlen (maximum net trace length) and $maxviacnt (maximum net via count) net attributes which were already considered by the Autorouter are now also considered by the All Nets by Name and All Nets by Length reports from the Traces / Other Functions / Trace Length / Length Query submenu and the Traces / Net List Utilities / Report Net Data function of the Layout Editor. Violations of these DRC parameters are listed at the beginning of the net reports.

Routing Grid Query

The query tolerance of the Traces / Other Functions / Grid Query function has been increased to improve grid query matching.

Move Segment

Moving trace segments displayed one of the adjacent segments with incorrect color and/or pattern if the Move with neighbours option is activated. This problem has been fixed.

The neighbour segment processing mode is now displayed with the prompt string which is displayed in the info/status line during interactive segment move operations.

The Open End Points option with Follow Segment mode has been added to the Settings / Settings dialog. Follow Segment allows for trace segments to be moved without inserting new segments at open ends of the segment, thus simplifiying the manual routing of partially completed (antenna) traces.

Via Placement

The fixed menu option for placing fixed vias has been added to the Place Vias and Dot Fill Area functions from the Traces / Via Functions submenu.

The Move Corner function has been modified to keep vias on trace segment ends not only for power layer nets but also for nets which have fill areas on the current layout.

DRC Distance Display

The DRC distance display for traces has been modified to display distance lines when placing vias with Traces / Via Functions / Place Vias.

When editing trace segments with DRC distance display activated, elements of the currently edited net were erroneously considered to be obstacles. This problem has been fixed.

Net Coloring

A C button for setting net coloring and/or hatching has been added to the net name display in the element attribute dialog which can be activated through the p key.

Net List Assistant

The NETASSIBOX_GED parameter for specifying a delimiter other than the default space character between pin counts and net names in the net selection control of the Net List Assistant dialog has been added to the bae.ini file. This allows for net names to be more easily distinguished from pin counts.

The Autofocus control element for activating a mode which automatically changes the mouse input focus from the Net List Assistant dialog window to the Layout Editor window has been added. This allows for immediately using Layout Editor edit hotkeys after processing a Net List Assistant function.

Net Visibility

The NETVISBW_LAY (width) and NETVISBT_LAY (single-column or multi-column list) parameters for configuring the layout of the listbox control for displaying visible and/or invisible nets in the Set Net Visible and Set Net Invisible functions of the Settings / Settings dialog have been added to the bae.ini file.

A submenu with several options has been added to the Part Nets Visible and Part Nets Invisible buttons of the Settings / Settings. The Pick Parts option allows for the repeated selection of single parts. The Part Set Parts options allow for net visibility assignments to the currently defined part set. The Group Parts options allow for net visibility assignments to group-selected parts. Both Part Set Parts and Group Parts provide the sub-options (1 Pin) (net visibility assignment restricted to parts with at least one selected pin), (All-1 Pins) (net visibility assignment restricted to parts with all but one pin selected), and (All Pins) (net visibility assignment restricted to parts with all pins selected). These options provide a convenient feature for the generation of net visibility data sets for the Autorouter in order to include or exclude certain part groups in the routing process.

Layer Stackup (BAE HighEnd)

The LAYSTKEXT_LAY parameter for setting a project file name extension for the Export of the Settings / Rule Attachment / Layer Stackup (and thus eliminating the output file name prompt) has been added to the bae.ini file.

The trace length display facilities of the manual routing functions and the functions from the Traces / Other Functions / Trace Length / Length Query submenu have been modified to calculate and add length increases caused by layer changes through vias if a layer stack definition is activated.

Power Layer Setup

The Traces / Other Functions / Power Layers / Load Power Layer Setup function is not selecting activated power layer structures to the current group anymore to prevent from unintentionally modifying invisible power layer elements in subsequent operations.

 

4.5 Graphic, Copper Areas

Segment Editing

The Insert Segment function has been added to the Areas menu and the areas context menu which can be activated through the right mouse button.

Draw Assistant

Due to rounding errors, the Utilities / Draw Assistant sometimes created corner arcs in the wrong direction when generating vertical rectangles with rounded corners. This problem has been fixed.

The matrix origin for group element matrix placements is now set to the first group placement coordinate rather than the element origin to provide better visual guidance for group matrix placement operations.

Dimensioning

The X Dimensioning, Y Dimensioning and X/Y Dimensioning functions for labelling coordinates have been added to the Graphic / Other Functions / Drawing Utilities submenu. Coordinate labels are created by placing a text which displays the coordinates of the first selected position. The X Dimensioning and Y Dimensioning functions restrict the text placement to the X and/or Y position of the labelled coordinate.

Clicking the right mouse button during the selection of the coordinate label point activates a measurement line which will be drawn from the coordinate label point to the label text. It is also possible to set a measurement origin different from the element origin. The selected measurement origin stays active until a new element is loaded.

New bae.ini parameters for setting default values for label text size, measuring line display and coordinate units suffix have been added to bae.ini.

Polygon Editing

The functions for editing polygons have been modified to include the polygon type and the polygon layer in the polygon-specific info text which is displayed in the status line to provide better polygon editing guidance, even prior to placing the first polygon point.

Polygon Arcs

When drawing arcs, the current arc angle is now displayed as text at the graphic cursor, thus assisting in correctly setting specific angles such as 90 degrees even if a very fine input grid is selected.

The polygon property dialog which can be activated through the p key has been modified to display arc center points with arc angle span in addition to the arc type and the arc radius, the latter of which is now displayed in a separate dialog box line.

Documentary Lines

In special cases, the Areas / Other Functions / Documentary Lines Join / Group failed to connect all connectable group-selected lines. This problem has been fixed. A status message indicating the number of generated polylines is now also displayed.

Area Mirror Display

The Fixed visible unmirrored and Fixed visible mirrored options have been added to the Graphic / Mirror Display function. The visibility of areas marked with these options changes independently from the Area Mirror Display selection in Settings / Settings. This is useful for specific items such as drill plan drawings which have to be mirrored with their parts regardless of any soldering process selection.

DXF Import

The AutoCAD/DXF Input function has been modified to support multiple areas when importing polygons defined with the HATCH DXF command.

Bitmap Data Import

The File / Import/Export / Bitmap Input function sometimes skipped areas touching the upper edge of the bitmap. This problem has been fixed.

 

4.6 Text, Drill

Centered Texts

New options for center-aligning texts horizontally or vertically have been added to the text properties dialog which can be activated by pressing the p during text placement operations. These options are useful when creating measurement graphics consisting of lines and texts.

Clipboard (Windows)

The Place Clipboard Text function for placing texts from the Windows clipboard has been added to the Text, Drill / Other Functions menu. The Place Clipboard Text automatically recognizes and creates multiline texts.

The Edit / Paste function which can also be activated through the Ctrl-V key automatically checks whether the clipboard contains a BAE group or a text and activates the appropriate placement operation.

 

4.7 Group Functions

Group Selection

Some of the functions from the Edit / Other Functions / Select submenu carried out redundant drawing operations. This problem has been fixed, thus improving the performance of group selection functions.

Trace Selection

The Part Trace Routes function with the Single Part and Group Parts option for selecting or deselecting of traces connected to group-selected part pins has been added to the Edit / Other Functions / Select/Deselect submenus. These features simplify certain tasks such as the deletion of parts with connected traces.

Trace Width Change

The Edit / Other Functions / Change Path Widths submenu has been turned into a single function which queries the trace width and previous submenu functions through a common dialog box. The Split Segments option for trace width modifications with DRC has been added to split long segments which can not be modified throughout their whole length into partial segments at input grid lengths. This ensures that long segments can be partially enlarged where this is possible according to DRC settings.

Part Text Reset

The Edit / Other Functions / Reset Part Texts function has been converted to a submenu with the Reset All (previous function), Reset Layer Texts (reset attribute text position on a documentary layer only), Reset Name Moves (reset part name positions only) and Reset Pin Moves (reset pin text positions only) functions.

Attribute Selection

The Edit / Other Functions / Select / Attributes function for selecting parts by net list attributes has been modified to support not only base variant attribute selections but also currently active variant attribute selections.

Element PDF Colors

The BAE-Selection button for selecting RGB values from the BAE color table has been added to the color input dialog of the Settings / Rule Attachment / Set Group Rules / PDF Color function for assigning PDF output colors to elements. Upon completion, the Set PDF Color function reports the number of processed elements together with the assigned RGB value in the status line.

Element Group IDs

The Copy Group and Load Group functions have been modified to assign new unique element group ids to new multiline texts and distance labels to ensure that these elements can subsequently be edited as separate entities.

 

4.8 Automatic Copper Fill

Fill Algorithm

The copper fill algorithm sometimes created fill areas without rounded corners which caused distance violations to the remaining tip of the corner. This problem has been fixed.

The algorithm for heat-trap position checks has been modified to ensure that heat-traps are only placed at narrow positions where these narrow positions are completely filled.

Heat Trap Mode

The application of the lay_pad_directconnect and lay_pad_heattrap rules for selecting heat trap connection types independently from the current copper fill parameter settings has been extended from pads on padstack level to pins and vias and/or parts and vias on part and/or layout level. This allows for individual heat trap connection type settings without the need for specific padstack definitions. Heat trap connection rules from higher hierarchy levels have priority over rules from lower hierarchy levels.

Polygon Hatching

The fill area hatching functions sometimes left hatch trace gaps when processing structures which were positioned parallel to the hatching direction. This problem has been fixed. The hatching functions have been modified to avoid possible gaps by slightly shifting the hatch lines.

For hatching angles between 90 and 135 degrees and/or 270 and 315 degrees, the fill area sometimes wasn't completely filled with hatch lines and/or the hatching was carried out with a lower than specified hatch line distance. These problems have been fixed.

 

5 Autorouter

 

5.1 General

Error Messages

A new warning message with confirmation prompt has been introduced for parts which are placed with a part macro different from the netlist part macro assignment as the Autorouter won't be able to connect such parts.

The Board outline not defined! error message was prone to trigger program crashes or internal errors 1250. This problem has been fixed.

Routing Matrix Memory Requirement Query

The Routing Matrix Size entry for displaying the routing matrix memory requirement for the autorouting process with the current parameter settings has been added to the report which is displayed through the 1 key and the i toolbar button. This feature can be used prior to the start of the Autorouter to examine whether the host computer is sufficiently equipped for an Autorouter run. The routing matrix memory calculation considers additional requirements for net type routing areas and special keepout areas for traces and vias. Please note that the memory requirements for the layout itself and for the traces and vias to be routed add to the overall memory requirements for the autorouting process. I.e., the routing matrix memory requirement is only an indication for the minimum overall autorouting memory requirements.

Layer Browser

The View / Other Functions / Layer Browse function from the Layout Editor has been made available in the Autorouter.

 

5.2 Autorouter Algorithms

Partial Placement Autorouter

The Autorouter has been modified to allow for the routing of partially placed layouts. Previously, the Autorouter simply aborted if not all net list parts were placed on the layout. Now, the Autorouter issues a confirmation prompt for partial placement routing in such cases. This feature allows for the staged placement and autorouting of a board.

Router Performance

The Autorouter startup performance and the optimizer pattern search performance for nets with many pins has been significantly improved. The performance boost is most significant in projects with large numbers of power supply pins which are not connected through power layers.

Optimizer

The optimizer pattern search did not recognize horizontal obstacles properly when processing wide traces. This problem has been fixed. Consequently, the quality of the optimizer output has been improved.

Pin Entry

In special cases, the gridless router created a small "hook" when connecting offgrid pins to the next trace segment. This problem has been fixed.

Net Visibility Controlled Routing

The Load Net Visibilities operation for loading net visibility assignments to be used for routing net group selections has been added to the Autorouter / Batch Setup function. This allows for the setup of batches for automatically routing different net groups in a specific sequence.

Please note that the all option of the Load Net Visibilities operation always causes the system to consider all nets visible, even if a net visibility definition with that same name exists.

Advanced DRC (BAE HighEnd)

The Advanced DRC option for activating the advanced DRC for layer-specific minimum distances has been added to the Autorouter / Options dialog in BAE HighEnd. The Advanced DRC option is only available with gridless routing activated and considers net-specific DRC blocks, element-specific DRC blocks, layer-specific net type clearance settings from the net group DRC and via pad clearance parameters set through the lay_via_trcdist layout rule.

Please note that the clearance parameters from DRC block 0 are applied to nets without clearance settings if the Advanced DRC mode is activated. In that case, the Minimum Distance parameter setting is only used for the base grid configuration, and it is recommended to set the this parameter to the smallest clearance setting used on the current layout.

The Advanced DRC function for setting advanced DRC parameters has been added to the Settings menu of the BAE HighEnd Autorouter.

 

6 CAM Processor

 

6.1 General

Hyperlynx Output

A new option for exporting copper areas using Hyperlynx Format 2.34 polygon commands has been added to the File / Import/Export / Hyperlynx Output function.

 

6.2 Control Plot

EPS/PDF Output

PDF batch definitions have been modified to support colon-enclosed output sort order number prefixes for layer level names. This allows for output layers to be sorted independently from layer level names (e.g., to display layers in Acrobat Reader according to the actual PCB layer stack). The sort order prefixes are not included in any layer level name output.

The part list output templates have been modified to allow for the definition of divider lines between between part names with different attribute value combinations through $pdfplsep texts. The first $pdfplsep text accepts a divider line length in millimetres before the part index (e.g., $pdfplsep:200.66:1:). The divider line is drawn in the direction of the text placement angle and with the plot pen width of the text. The text height is irrelevant for divider line outputs. The part list template partlist_cntnames_sep with divider line definitions has been added to the PDFPAGE layout library.

The part list templates have been modified to provide an option for forcing uppercase or lowercase output columns by appending u or l to the line index of the first attribute or name text of an output column (e.g., $:1u: and $plname:1u: for uppercase part names and part macro names).

In special cases, invalid character font references were generated on PDF part list output pages which could cause special characters such as umlauts to be displayed incorrectly. This problem has been fixed.

The Center Dot option for drawing drill holes as circles with fixed diameters has been added to the batch parameters for drill outputs. This feature can be used for signal layer outputs to ensure that the total copper area of rest rings at manually drilled holes stays the same even if holes are drilled with a slight offset.

The placed and unplaced options have been added to the Plot Visibility layer parameter for batch output definitions. This allows for batch outputs to be controlled through the $noplc attribute without the requirement of explicit rule assignments to part graphic and text elements as with the visible and invisible options.

CAM-Batch Output

The CAM-Batch Output function has been modified to allow for multiple SCM EPS/PDF Batch Output steps per batch definition.

The CAM View Call batch output step for automatically changing to CAM View and loading generated Gerber and drill data files after batch output completion has been added to the CAM-Batch Output function. If a batch definition contains both SCM EPS/PDF Batch Output and CAM View Call batch steps, then the system changes to the Schematic Editor before changing to CAM View.

The CAM Batch Call command for adding CAM batch calls to CAM batch definitions has been added to the CAM-Batch Output function. This simplifies CAM batch management as it allows for recurring batch command sequences to be kept and maintained in separate batch definition files. Please note that the Import and Export functions for importing and exporting batch definitions are only copying CAM batch references but not the definitions of the copied CAM batch references.

DXF Data Output

The DXFOVRWRITE_LAY parameter for deactivating the overwrite confirmation prompt for existing DXF output files has been added to bae.ini. This is useful for including DXF Data Output in output batches without user interactions.

The Mirror Mode option for selecting one of the six CAM Processor mirror modes has been added to the DXF Data Output function. Automated DXF output call sequences must be extended accordingly (e.g., :sl0 needs to be inserted for Mirroring Off, etc.).

 

6.3 Insertion Data Output

Insertion Data Output

The Generic Insertion Output function has been modified to support part attributes set through $?s:attributname part texts when processing layout attribute references.

The field definitions for names and attribute values have been modified to provide options for forcing uppercase or lowercase outputs by adding UPPER or LOWER after the LEFT or RIGHT commands.

 

7 CAM View

 

7.1 General

Layout Creation

The File / Create Layout functions in BAE Economy and BAE Light have been modified to omit the 5 millimetre element border expansion. This is to ensure that Gerber data created with BAE Economy or BAE Light can be re-imported using File / Create Layout without violating the PCB board size limitations of those systems.

 

7.2 Gerber Data

Metric Gerber Data Import

Loading extended Gerber data with metric coordinate units led to incorrect aperture scaling and display when subsequently loading more data in the same CAM View session. This problem has been fixed.

 

8 Utilities

 

8.1 LISTDDB

File Extensions

The listddb utility program has been modified to append the default .ddb file name extension to the input file name only if the input file name does not yet have a file name extension. This allows for BAE system files with .dat, .fnt and .vdb file name extensions to be processed without having to rename them first.

 

8.2 LOGLIB

ID Generation

The newattr and netattr commands have been modified to trigger automatic ID attribute value generation by the Packager through the assignment of ?id?, ?symid?extension and ?partid?extension values. ?id? creates consecutive ID values (id1, id2 etc.). The ?symid?extension and ?partid?extension values append the specified extension with underscore to the schematic symbol name and/or layout part name (?partid?diffpair1 results in ic1_diffpair1, ic2_diffpair1, etc.).

Automatic ID generation is useful if a newattr and/or netattr command refers to multiple pins and/or nets, as this allows to create a reference between pins and/or nets as required for differential pair indication.

Gate Packaging

The newattr command has been modified to accept !unique! attribute value settings which prompt the Packager to assign gates to layout parts with matching !unique! attribute values only. The swap commands adhere to such assignments and swap gates only between layout parts with matching !unique! attribute values.

The !unique! setting can be used to control the packaging of gates with different attribute values without using $rpname attributes. This is useful for certain part types such as resistor arrays:

part ra_so16r : so16r {
    newattr "$val" = "!unique!";
    pin (1-16);
    swap (
        (( 1,16)),(( 2,15)),(( 3,14)),(( 4,13)),
        (( 5,12)),(( 6,11)),(( 7,10)),(( 8, 9))
        );
    }

The following example illustrates the application of the !unique! value in the definition of an opamp with power supply assignents through attribute values:

part op_lm324 : dil14 {
    pin (/i,i,o);
    net "$vplus" : (4);
    net "$vminus" : (11);
    newattr "$vplus" = "!unique!";
    newattr "$vminus" = "!unique!";
    xlat (/i, i, o)
      to ( 2, 3, 1)
      or ( 6, 5, 7)
      or ( 9,10, 8)
      or (13,12,14);
    swap ((2,3,1),(6,5,7),(9,10,8),(13,12,14));
    }
 

8.3 USERLIST

Case Conversion

The PRINT command syntax has been modified to allow for uppercase and/or lowercase name and/or attribute value outputs by adding blank-separated UPPER or LOWER keywords after name or attribute specifications.

 

9 Bartels User Language

 

9.1 General

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.

Internal User Language Version

The internal User Language version has been changed. User Language programs compiled under earlier BAE versions won't execute in the User Language Interpreter environment of the new Bartels AutoEngineer version (error message User Language program version incompatible!). This means that each User Language program compiled under earlier BAE Versions must be recompiled under the new BAE version to regain compatibility.

 

9.2 User Language Compiler

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.

Call by Reference

Function parameter changes were only returned to the caller if at least one variable modification was directly carried out in the called function. In such cases, any changes which were exclusively carried out in sub-functions which were called with such function parameters were ignored. This problem has been fixed.

 

9.3 Index Variable Types

This section lists 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.

Changed Index Variable Types

The CHKDIST (DRC minimum clearance distance) and ERRDIST (current element clearance distance) attributes have been added to the L_DRCERROR index variable type.

 

9.4 System Functions

This section lists new and changed User Language system functions. See Bartels User Language Programmer's Guide - Appendix C for a detailed description of all system functions.

New System Functions

The following User Language system functions have been implemented:

IPSystem FunctionShort Description
STDbae_setclipboardStore text string to (Windows) clipboard
LAYlay_planmidlaycntGet layout inside layer count
ARar_getdblparGet Autorouter double parameter
ARar_setdblparSet Autorouter double parameter

Changed System Functions

The putenv ignored the first character of the variable name parameter. This bug has been fixed.

The strmatch function returned 0 regardless of the value of the second parameter if an empty string was passed as first parameter. This problem has been fixed.

The bae_inpoint and bae_inpointmenu have been modified to support a centered zoom window rubberband drawing mode.

Support for additional parameter queries/settings has been added to the bae_getintpar, bae_setintpar, bae_getstrpar, bae_setstrpar, scm_getintpar, scm_setintpar, scm_getdblpar, scm_setdblpar, scm_getstrpar, ged_getintpar, ged_setintpar, ged_getdblpar, ged_setdblpar, ar_getintpar and ar_setintpar functions.

The ged_elemmirrchg function has been extended to support mirror mode settings for fixed elements.

The ged_getpickmode and ged_setpickmode functions have been modified to support a new element pick mode for exclusive preference layer picks.

The ged_getsegmovmode and ged_setsegmovmode functions have been modified to support the new "Open End Points - Follow Segment" trace segment move modes.

The ged_storepoly function has been extended to support polygon mirror view modes for fixed polygons.

The ar_elemmirrchg function has been extended to support mirror mode settings for fixed elements.

 

9.5 BAE User Language Programs

BAE installs more than 220 pre-compiled User Language programs to the ulcprog.vdb file of the BAE programs directory. Additionally, the User Language source files (close to 9 Mbytes; some 300,000 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.

User Language Include Files

The User Language include files have been revised and extended by a series of new definitions and functions.

New User Language Programs

The following User Language programs have been implemented:

IP Program Name Short Description
STDrenameelRename DDB File Elements

Changed User Language Programs

The User Language programs already delivered with the previous BAE Version have been 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.

Bartels :: Bartels AutoEngineer :: BAE Documentation :: BAE V7.4 Release Notes

Bartels AutoEngineer® - Version 7.4 - Release Notes
© 1985-2024 Oliver Bartels F+E • Updated: 24 November 2012, 11:27 [UTC]

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