Mail Archives: geda-user/2017/06/06/14:09:45
On Tue, 6 Jun 2017, Erich Heinzle (a1039181 AT gmail DOT com) [via geda-user AT delorie DOT com] wrote:
> The recent stable 1.2.3 release of pcb-rnd and current svn development
> version of pcb-rnd include the ability to use PCB layout files as
> libraries which can serve as a source of footprint elements for
> insertion into new layouts or designs.
>
Some trick and tips how to best use this feature:
1. "I remember the passive smd footprints I used on my previous design
were better than the ones in the stock library"; since the new feature
presents a board as a library, it plugs into the normal search mechanism.
Just add your previous design as a lib in the first slot of the libraries
(e.g. using drag&drop in the preferences window) and the footprints
extracted from there will have precedence over the stock lib. This will
affect import schematics, gsch2pcb-rnd, genxproj, manual footprint
selection.
2. From time to time there's some user interest in introducing a file
format for storing multiple footprints in a single file. This is now
possible without having to invent a new file format: just start a fresh
design, place your favorite footprints on it, save it in lihata, .pcb,
kicad s-expression board or whatever format we may support in the future
and it can be used as a single-file footprint library. Editing the lib is
done by editing the board.
3. Programming aid when coding new format io_ plugins: if the other
software has a single-file footprint lib, a trivial way to "convert" it
into a pcb-rnd footprint library is to load the lib as if it was a board.
This means parsing the footprints one by one and just adding them on the
current (blank) board. When this is done, with our new feature this
already means the alien library can be plugged in as a pcb-rnd library.
Bonus: load the library as a board, disperse elements: this makes it easy
to see if the loader worked.
Regards,
Igor2
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