>When a spreadsheet from the database is created by schematic, it is by >default locked. I'd say that 99% of the time we'd rather have it not >locked. Or at least it would be nice to have a single button "unlock all."
Actually, there is such a button, as I found when I was verifying the process. I gave it later on in my article Until then I was using Format/Protection/uncheck Locked, which seemed to work on the entire database if it is selected when the box is unchecked, at least one can then paste into A1. But what is weird is that you can manually edit individual fields without unchecking Locked or turning off protection. I think. But I get nervous even trying. I don't like seeing Exceptions that advise me to reboot, even if I seem to be able to get away with ignoring them. The requirement that the spreadsheet editor and schematic file remain open is tedious if nothing else. What if I'm doing a large amount of work, do I have to stay up all night to complete it? Now, in fact, I can get around this. I can save my data in Excel and remerge it, with some care, with new data from a spreadsheet created the next day. The links will be different, care must be taken. I can see why Update from spreadsheet has this problem. There is no unique identifying field for schematic primitives. If you have two identical primitives at the same location, the only thing distinguishing them, I think, is their sequence in the file and in memory, the links refer to memory location, which is why both files must remain open (and I'd guess that there might be problems if you edit the schematic directly while in the middle of working with the spreadsheet). So there is no way to restore all the links properly, I suspect the programmer thought. Except that if two primitives are identical, it really doesn't matter much which one of them gets updated with which copy. Given this understanding, it should be possible to reconnect a spreadsheet and schematic. So if an Update is attempted and the links are missing, Protel should recreate them, just as it can create links between Schematic and PCB. Once this is possible, one could theoretically create an entire schematic by import of primitives through spreadsheet. And this would make it easier to write schematic translators.... Likewise PCB spreadsheet should export *every* primitive in the file, including rules, classes, etc. Many times we have wished for this or that primitive to be available. If there is an option in the Spreadsheet Wizard "complete export" it would be enough, it would not be necessary to add every detail to the export option list. For example, we should be able to edit selection status in the PCB spreadsheet; selection is not exported, unlike the situation in Schematic. [EMAIL PROTECTED] Abdulrahman Lomax Easthampton, Massachusetts USA * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * To post a message: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] * * To leave this list visit: * http://www.techservinc.com/protelusers/leave.html * * Contact the list manager: * mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] * * Forum Guidelines Rules: * http://www.techservinc.com/protelusers/forumrules.html * * Browse or Search previous postings: * http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
