On 08:28 AM 9/05/2001 -0700, Craig Wiper said:
>Yes, you can. Simply select all of the data you'd like to mirror. Use the
>'MoveObject' command and locate the mirror point, then use the 'X' key to
>mirror from left to right, or the 'Y' key to mirror from top to bottom.
>
>Craig Wiper
>Wescam
Craig,
I am afraid this doesn't work. The pressing the X or Y buttons during the
Move|Selection command does not invert the layers it only inverts the
entities on the layer they already exist on. This may not be a major issue
unless you get this flipped board made - when you will find that many chips
cannot be mounted - think about it. If you remember to undo the flip you
might be able to use this technique to help reposition bottom side
designators - it is quite dangerous and if forgotten will almost certainly
lead to unmanufacturable boards.
As well some entities are not dealt with correctly - especially
coordinates. Which may not be an issue for many people.
Using the L key during the Move|Selection swaps layers but does not do the
flipping correctly - it does not preserve the relative locations of
entities correctly. Also - using the L key with a selection, especially
containing polygons can stuff up the undo stack and even the design. Polys
disappear, and other entities can become ghosts - they remain in the
database but are not displayed. So using the L key on a selection should
be done with great care. Components and a few connected tracks seems safe
enough but I am now quite nervous about flipping and layer swaps with
Move|Selection commands.
This PCB invert discussion came up some time ago and was discussed in great
detail at the time. Geoff Harland and myself have been working on a
"invert server". I released a beta version a month or so ago with many
known issues but it could successfully invert a PCB about an arbitrary
line. About 6 people downloaded the server and there have been no feedback
to Geoff and/or myself - so I would take that there is essentially no
interest in the matter. The publicly available server has timed out so is
not worth downloading. Geoff and myself are continuing to work through
issues in the invert server but it may never see the light of day due to
lack of interest. It will probably take another 10 to 20-manhours or so to
get into a releasable state and will probably still have bugs and issues. I
am not sure *I* see much incentive to spend the time though.
Rant mode on (not directed to either Craig or Mike but to all in general).
On two occasions I have released servers that were designed to fill in
problems that users have identified or complained about (ZoomWithPan and
InvertPCB). Geoff H. has done similar with his Sch and PCB addons. Neither
of us are getting *any* feedback on bugs, better ways of doing something or
anything. Such servers take many hours to develop, unpaid - an in some
cases actually costing income. There is no incentive to develop them at
all since there is no feedback about how they can be improved or even any
recognition they are being used. I am now of the opinion that it is not
worth trying to develop servers for members of this forum as, in many
cases, complaints are made by people not interested in taking action or
being part of the solution. I may develop servers for myself but I see
little reason to go the extra distance and provide documentation and help
files etc and release as there is no incentive.
We can all just complain loudly and maybe Protel will deem to add the
feature into the next release or SP.
As a group we can either decide to be part of the solution - that is making
Protel better to make our work more efficient - or simply decide we like to
complain and not be really interested in fixing the problems. Your choice.
Rant mode off.
Actually, I expect that Protel will add the ability to view a PCB from the
bottom - just changing the viewport of the screen and the layer drawing
order might be enough (without affecting the PCB database) - as it is such
a clearly sensible feature.
Disappointed,
Ian Wilson
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Robison Michael R CNIN [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
>Sent: Wednesday, May 09, 2001 7:05 AM
>To: 'Protel EDA Forum'
>Subject: [PEDA] mirror layout
>
>
> [Robison Michael R CNIN] hello,
>
> i've been doing a series of small two-sided boards and i'm just
> going from an old pcb when i do the work, along with a drill hole
> spec.
>
> what i'm wondering is if i can flip the rear side when i'm laying it
> out so that i don't have to mentally mirror it. i looked under view
> in the menu and in the help utility but no luck.
>
> thank you, miker
>
>
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