Hello Brad and Ian, As already mentioned, I am not (yet) an experienced user of DXP. Ian is right, I was talking about "value" text. However, also "comment" text has the same problem in Sch.
My resistors are made of a rectangle with the value inside and a designator that has the same orientation.
When I rotate such a resistor, I want the (value, comment) text to be rotate as well, but DXP decides to place it elsewhere, right through adjacent components.
In Pcb this problem is NOT present, contrary to what I earlier mentioned.
As a new user of DXP, I experience many things that I think would be obvious to do differently in an integrated environment (especially key functions should be identical in all packages).
I don't want to be too hard in judgement that Altium is not willing to do better, I have no experience (yet) that the do not handle feedback properly.
We see that the software industry in general has little interest in solving old problems (unless they are dramatic). I guess that is the result of competition, building in new features to meet or beat the competeting package has higher priority because they generate new users and upgraders.
Of course, this is perhaps unwise in the long term, but ceasing to exist because the competition takes over is also not in the interest of current users.
About the library, I really want much more than availble. Libraries are made for reduction of drawing work, preventing errors and consistency in drawing (readability).
- I want to define the color and size of the designator, value or comment in Sch, as well as its exact place. (color could be global for designator, comment and value)
- Define the text size in Pcb library for each component individually is a must, I have very small and very large components. Also I want to control the text position exactly.
- Comment is not even visible in Sch. library.
- What a strange thing to make colorred rectangles default on the foreground so text is not visible??
- Why is it that I cannot print a library symbol directly?? I like to make a reference book.
- Sch and Pcb libraries behave differently, update documents is confirming its action in one but keeps quiet in the other.
- Multiparts should have control over text in each part separately, otherwise you always have to reposition text after placement.
- After rotating in Sch four times 90 degrees, the text position is lost forever.
- There are "parameter properties" in Sch, but not in Lib (I could not find them). Editing each time in Sch is unneccessary in most cases when settable in Lib. I am also not satisfied with just a "corner" where the text will be placed. In an IC for instance, the space inside the rectangle is depending on the signal names and pin placing, I prefer to put the type inside the rectangle, but NOT through the signal names of course.
(just a few things)
In general, I find DXP unneccesary difficult to get a good feeling of having control because there are (too) many ways to get to a function but they are not allways obvious or even consistent. Like "Update from library", that has a different effect when done from different places, from within library it is the worst (unusable) way: you don't know what is updating, but it always is too much and the most obvious things are not updated. Of course, it should bring up exactly the same dialog as is available elsewhere (selections what to update).
With best regards, Ton
----- Original Message ----- From: "Ian Wilson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Protel EDA Discussion List" <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, March 21, 2005 9:35 PM
Subject: RE: [PEDA] Query about DXP feature/fix.
Brad,
If you are talking about free text in a SchLib component, that has been fixed (see my other post). I think Ton is talking about parameters (the P99SE Lib and Part fields but extended), designators and comments and the way they are reset to default positions when you rotate the component.
Also, some people are asking for the ability to locate the automatic designator (and comment, I guess) in the PCBLib footprint with some placeholders. There has recently been talk, by users, about making any text in a PCB component moveable without unlocking the component primitives. If this is done then .Designator strings can be placed in the PCB footprint and not really have any compromises (like them not being moveable without unlocking the comp prims and the risks this entails). So if implemented this might go someway to helping people control the PCB text placement in the PCBLib. (PCBLib text has never been reset by component rotation.)
I know there has been discussion of allowing SchLib "auto-text" to be located in the SchLib symbol with placeholders and these not to be affected by rotating the component. It would be a nice improvement if implemented. Possibly even an option to *not* reset text position when rotating components would be a first start.
Ian Wilson
On 03:40 AM 22/03/2005, Brad Velander said:Thanks Ton,
I don't know why I might have expected that such an annoying ridiculous issue would have been resolved, it is a meaningful bug fix and Altium just isn't interested in such things because it won't sell tools to new unsuspecting customers, engineers and coders.
Sincerely, Brad Velander Senior PCB Designer Northern Airborne Technology 1925 Kirschner Rd., Kelowna, BC, V1Y 4N7. tel (250) 763-2329 ext. 225 fax (250) 762-3374
-----Original Message----- From: Ton Kuijper [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Saturday, March 19, 2005 3:17 AM To: Protel EDA Discussion List Subject: Re: [PEDA] Query about DXP feature/fix.
Hello Brad,
I am still learning how to use DXP SP2 for my 1st design. I think it has many good features, but also misses some very obvious and basic things, and has some serious misbehavior as an integrated solution. (but there will never be such a thing as a perfect package)
One of the things that surprized me is indeed its poor handling of text
within symbols.
There is no way to fix the place and orientation of any text precisely.
After correcting the place and orientation of the text when placed on Sch or
Pcb, it is DESTROYED after rotating the part and must be redone.
Of course, I had anticipated that a sophisticated tool like DXP2004 would
have full control over the exact place, orientation, font and size of any
text within a library symbol. Why replacing the text after each placement
and after each rotation?
Imagine the many users worldwide, spending so much time for each design on this stupid moving and rotating of text to its right place. Over and over again. Year after year. The amount of money destroyed worldwide over the lifetime of the tool will be astronomical.
____________________________________________________________ You are subscribed to the PEDA discussion forum
To Post messages: mailto:[email protected]
Unsubscribe and Other Options: http://techservinc.com/mailman/listinfo/peda_techservinc.com
Browse or Search Old Archives (2001-2004): http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]
Browse or Search Current Archives (2004-Current): http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]
____________________________________________________________ You are subscribed to the PEDA discussion forum
To Post messages: mailto:[email protected]
Unsubscribe and Other Options: http://techservinc.com/mailman/listinfo/peda_techservinc.com
Browse or Search Old Archives (2001-2004): http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]
Browse or Search Current Archives (2004-Current): http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]
