At 01:32 PM 3/5/2002 -0500, Robison Michael R CNIN wrote: >in order to drag >parts around on the pcb, i need to zoom out to find them >(i'm aware of the edit/jump feature, but its awkward to use >when everything isn't in view),
The command which Mr. Robison should probably be using is not Jump but Move Component. If one enters Move Component mode, clicking on an empty space will pull up a dialog with a list of components. One can enter the component name or pick it from the list. This way one can remain zoomed in on the part of the board on which one is working, yet bring in a part which is somewhere else. There are options in the Move Component dialog, the one that will probably be most desirable is "Move Component to Cursor." > and in order to keep from >zooming out to where i lose scope on part numbers, i have to >run at 1600x1200. this is fine as long as i don't have to >look at the bottom of the window to see some node information, >or minimize the screen and read my email. then the text is >simply too small for my old eyes. Small text on a 1600x1200 monitor can indeed be hard to read; part of this is intrinsic; i.e., it could be a problem even if the monitor's focus was completely sharp; but focus is also very important. I have one 21 inch monitor from Mag Innovision which was quite highly recommended. But it could not be focused, apparently; it was sent back four times, each time another one was provided, so this was not a problem with just one unit, though it might be a problem with the technician who was adjusting them. (The monitor was sharp at the left and right edges and relatively fuzzy in the middle; I verified this with test patterns; Mag kept telling me this was impossible, but that I could send the monitor back. In the end they wore me down; I should have simply returned it for refund.... but I didn't.) Now I have two newer monitors, a Mitsubishi Diamond Prol 91TXM and a Dell 1600HS, I think that's the number. Both of them are quite sharp. And both were quite cheap, under $200 on ubid.com. I'm 57, and as is normal for my age, focus can be a problem; part of the solution, for me, is glasses that I use just for the computer, they are bifocals, with the upper section made for focus at monitor distance and the lower section made for focus a little closer, i.e., papers on my desk in front of the monitor. >i have the go-ahead to buy anything that costs less (total, >including shipping) than $2500US. Now, that is a *huge* budget for monitor purchasing at the present time. You can buy two LCD monitors for that, or one high-end LCD monitor which might even be 1600x1200. LCDs are definitely sharper than CRTs, sharpness is inherent with active-matrix and similar displays since there are real and distinct pixels lighting up. But that only deals with one of three sources of readability problems. (To recapitulate, they are [1] poor monitor focus; [2] angular size of pixels as seen from user's position is too small; [3] improperly corrected or incorrectable vision of user -- the latter two are related.). You will get better results with two monitors than with one. Now that I am using two (both are at 1600x1200, so I now have a 3200x1200 desktop), I would never go voluntarily back to one monitor unless it was truly enormous. Trust me. Even if you went back to lower image resolution, say 1280x1024, two monitors would give you a desktop of 2560x1024 or 1280x2048, which is not only larger than you are likely to get with a single monitor, but the actual size of the letters will be larger, i.e., it should be more readable even if the eyes are having problems. Windows 98 SE and Windows 2000 support dual monitors (or even more than two, I think) with two video cards, but I'm using a Matrox Dual Head card that handles two monitors together, and it comes with software that makes managing the desktop easier; for example, web pages can ping-pong, so you always see from where you came, or, right now, I am reading and writing mail on the left screen and I have the mailbox for this mailing list open on the right. Or I can write about PCB commands with PCB open on the other monitor, lots of room for both, or I can have the schematic open on one monitor and PCB open on the other, etc. I'm thinking of adding a third monitor; after all, I have that Mag with poor focus, but there were some suggestions on this list a few weeks back about how to focus a monitor.... There is a web design business on the ground floor of this building, not a fancy place, pretty small; there were three people working in there when I walked by the other day. Each one of them had at least two monitors. Whether they were separate computers, I don't know... I would not now hire someone to do professional work on a computer without giving them two monitors, just as I wouldn't give the person that old 486-25 sitting in the storage loft.... I'd give a *receptionist* two monitors.... 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] * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
