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| Baumeister Mediasoft Engineering |
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Bartels AutoEngineer® |
| 1 | General |
| 1.1 | Installation |
| 1.2 | User Interface and General Functions |
| 1.3 | Symbol and Part Libraries |
| 2 | Schematic Editor |
| 2.1 | General |
| 2.2 | Symbols, Labels |
| 2.3 | Connections |
| 2.4 | Graphics |
| 2.5 | Text, Attributes |
| 2.6 | Group Functions |
| 2.7 | Plot Output |
| 2.9 | Backannotation |
| 3 | Packager |
| 3.1 | Name Assignments |
| 3.2 | Attribute Assignments |
| 4 | Layout Editor |
| 4.1 | General |
| 4.2 | Display, Design Rule Check |
| 4.3 | Parts, Placement |
| 4.4 | Traces, Routing |
| 4.5 | Graphic, Copper Areas |
| 4.6 | Text, Drill |
| 4.7 | Group Functions |
| 4.8 | Automatic Copper Fill |
| 5 | Autorouter |
| 5.1 | General |
| 6 | CAM Processor |
| 6.1 | Control Plot |
| 6.2 | Gerber Photo Plot |
| 6.3 | Insertion Data Output |
| 7 | CAM View |
| 7.1 | Data Import |
| 8 | Utilities |
| 8.1 | COPYDDB |
| 9 | Bartels User Language |
| 9.1 | General |
| 9.2 | System Functions |
| 9.3 | BAE User Language Programs |
The
Bartels AutoEngineer® Installation Guide (file
inst_en.htm from the
baedoc directory of the BAE-CD-ROM) provides detailed
Bartels AutoEngineer installation instructions for all supported hardware and software platforms.
The
hardlock directory in the
baelinux directory of the
BAE CD-ROM contains a number of sub-directories with updated hardlock drivers for some commonly used
Linux distributions. These drivers are intended for later
Linux versions which don't support the previously required
usbfs file system without new kernel compilation.
The
ALTCONFPATH_STD parameter for specifying an additional configuration file directory has been added to
bae.ini. The boxes for selecting color tables, aperture tables, macros and batches have been modified to display an additional selection column with elements from alternative configuration files if an
ALTCONFPATH_STD directory is configured. Alternative configuration file elements are read-only elements. The system can only save to standard configuration files. Batches from alternative configuration files can be started by double-clicking the batch name in the corresponding selection box.
The alternative configuration path is intended for network installations. It enables the system administrator to provide standard color tables, macros, etc., yet allow for user-specific overrides of such settings.
The
ALTCONFPRIO_STD parameter for setting a configuration file type priority has been added to
bae.ini for (legacy) element name specifications without config file name references in call sequence extensions for macros, shortcut keys, menu extensions and batch definitions. On default, the system picks the alternative configuration file. To force alternative or standard configuration file extensions, element names in call sequence extensions can be prefixed with either
! or
?, respectively.
The
and
buttons for loading these files from the location specific to the operating system and/or the current user to the application assigned to the
.txt file name extension has been added to the dialog of the
/ function.
The functions for loading additional configuration files such as
baeuser.ini and
baebase.ini have been modified to shorten redefined array variables to the last loaded array entry to prevent remnants from previously loaded longer arrays are reloaded.
The
PICKAPERTURE_STD parameter for setting the pick tolerance range for screen elements to a value different from the 3.0 mm default value has been added to
bae.ini. Please note that large pick tolerance values might lead to situations where context menu calls for empty areas become inaccessible.
It was not possible to activate the right mouse button context menu in BAE Windows versions if the BAE window extended over the left edge of the screen and/or was displayed on the left-hand monitor in multi-monitor configurations. This problem has been fixed.
The default setting of the
FSELMODE_STD bae.ini parameter configured file selection dialog boxes with initial dialog size changes according to the
Explorer style of older
Windows versions. However, in recent
Windows versions, the file selection dialog resize option is prone to create malformed and difficult to use dialog boxes. To counteract the fact that existing
bae.ini settings are not changed during BAE update installation and would therefore exaberate this problem, the system has been modified to ignore the
FSELMODE_STD parameter setting and use the
Windows default file selection dialog boxes instead. The
FILESELMODE_STD parameter has been introduced to re-activated the old auto-resize dialog behaviour.
Activating popup menus at the bottom and/or right-hand side of the screen in the BAE Windows versions generated unwanted display artifacts and triggered unnecessary screen redraw operations. This problem has been fixed.
The , , and functions for setting rules and rule system predicates have been added to the right mouse button context menus. Activating the context menus in an empty area or outside the element boundaries allows for the rules and predicates of the currently loaded element to be set.
The rule selection list boxes have been modified to list only those rules which are assigned to the group-selected elements rather than all rules from the rule database. This simplifies the rule selection and enables the selection of synthetically generated predicate rules.
The option for configuring functions for repeat function calls through the left mouse button and inclusion in the right mouse button command history of the toolbar button has been added to the function property dialogs of the / function.
The BAE Windows version has been modified to allow for the specification of tooltips for function buttons.
The BAE Windows version has been modified to support the use of external bitmap files for dialog box and button and label backgrounds.
The parameter for displaying favorite dialog boxes with a minimized title bar has been added for the Windows versions.
To eliminate potential BAE installation problems on newer
Linux distributions, the BAE
Linux versions have been linked to the
Motif library of
libmotif4 instead of the now rarely used and difficult to source
openmotif21.
The BAE
Windows versions have been modified to automatically switch the focus between non-overlapping BAE windows and to bring the focussed BAE to the foreground if the mouse pointer is dragged from one BAE window to another. The
AUTORAISE_STD parameter for deactivating this feature has been added to
bae.ini.
The
DIALPOSMODE_STD parameter for controlling the dialog position memory has been added to
bae.ini and to the
/ menu. The
default setting saves the fixed full desktop dialog box position. The
setting saves the position relative to the next edge of the BAE window. The
setting saves the position on the monitor on which the BAE window is displayed. The latter two options are useful for multi-monitor configurations since they ensure that the dialog window can be moved with the BAE main window between different monitors.
The mode moves assistant dialog boxes attached to the BAE main window, thus keeping such dialog windows attached to the BAE main window.
The / / / function for removing position entries for BAE and dialog windows has been added to allow for dialog box positions to be reset.
The user interface of the BAE Windows versions has been modified to automatically switch the input focus between permanently open modal BAE dialog boxes and the BAE main window when moving the mouse. This saves extra mouse-clicks for focussing the BAE main window which were otherwise necessary prior to the activation of right mouse-click context menus after modifying settings in assistant dialog boxes.
Certain modal dialog functions of the BAE Motif versions caused the system to freeze. This problem has been fixed.
The BAE dialogs for selecting files with specific element types (e.g., in ) have been modified to display files from the current project file directory on default rather than files from the current working directory. This simplifies such file selections under Windows 7 where the current working directory is not necessarily the project file directory.
The
PREVIEWRANGE_STD parameter for setting the relative width of the element preview in the element selection dialogs to a value different from the 25% default value has been added to the
bae.ini file. This feature can be used to improve the display of landscape format elements, albeit at the cost of potentially reducing the number of simultaneously displayed list elements.
The three-column library macro selection dialog has been modified to keep any non-default library selection in the right column for subsequent center column macro selections. This simplifies the placement of multiple symbols from specific non-default libraries. The button has been added for switching back to the default / library.
A directory selection has been implemented in the / / function. Thus it is not necessary anymore to start BAE in the working directory for the function.
The Motif dialog boxes with multiple edit fields have been modified to mark the complete edit field content when focussing on an edit field with, e.g., the Tab key. This allows for the edit field content to be replaced by simply starting to type.
Some BAE import function ran into endless loops if the input files contained specific syntax errors. The import functions have been modified to handle such errors by way of issuing appropriate syntax error messages.
The warning messages issued when skipping invalid polygons when loading elements which were created with old BAE versions have been extended to display not only the polygon layer but also the polygon start coordinates and macro names and types for macro polygons. This makes it easier to locate the errors.
The functions for loading new character fonts have been modified to set the status of the currently loaded element to unsaved rather than saving that element without confirmation.
The following elements have been added to the symbol and part libraries supplied with the BAE software:
| Library | Type | Elements |
|---|---|---|
| ROUTE | Symbol | tag_symarea_infotext |
The
terminal pin macros have been replaced with
labelpin pin macros on symbol macros with the
att_ name prefix in the
route.ddb SCM symbol library. The
labelpin pin macro triggers the system to generate a new connection at the pin position when first placing the symbol at positions without connection.
Default
?? attribute values have been assigned to the symbol attribute values of the
route.ddb library to activate the
dialog for assigning attribute values when placement these symbols.
The
AUTOSAVEP_SCM parameter for specifying an alternative directory for saving
.bak files through the
Schematic Editor autosave feature has been added to
bae.ini.
The / function has been implemented for activating a modal dialog with controls for fading in or fading out element types from the different hierarchy levels. The dialog includes controls for selecting area polygon types, thus providing features for controlling the display of, e.g., specific net areas.
The element fade-outs of the are considered by DXF and EPS/PDF outputs without batch definitions.
The rules
var_docvis00only,
var_docvis01,
var_docvis02 etc. have been extended to allow for the variant-specific visibility of texts and graphics to be controlled not only in PCB layouts but also on schematic plans. In project files from older BAE versions which are already using these rules in the layout, a
/ / function call is required to activate these rules in the schematics.
The
option for assigning element comments to color tables in the
scm.dat file has been added to the
/ / submenu. These element comments are then dislayed with color table selections.
A fixed header line which displays the number of copied elements and the number of missing source file elements has been added to the final report of the function.
The p key property dialog box has been modified to display the symbol name pattern for the used symbol macro in the symbol attribute/pin list subwindow. This allows for symbol names deviating from symbol name patterns to be immediately identified.
The button for rotating the selected symbol around the center of the surrounding rectangle of the symbol pins has been added to the p key symbol properties dialog.
The option for activating and/or deactivating automatic signal re-routing for symbol/label move and rotate functions has been added to the p key symbol/label properties dialog.
The attrset:'?last' command for automatically providing the attribute set of the previously placed symbol without symbol selection requirement has been added to the call sequence of the function for macros, key programming, etc. The attrset:'?last' command supports an attribute name suffix as attrset:'?last':'$plname' for automatically setting the input focus of the attribute assignment dialog to the selected attribute. This allows for the programming of symbol placement macros with subsequent attribute assignment.
Attributes can be enclosed with questionmarks when defined on symbol macro level with the function. When the symbol is placed in the schematic plan, these questionmarks will be removed and the attribute assignment dialog is automatically activated with focus on the attribute. This allows for important symbol attributes to be preset and automatically controlled and/or changed upon symbol placement.
The
ATTR_BASEVAR_STD parameter for defining a list of attributes which can only be set in the base variant has been added to
bae.ini.
The symbol move functions replicated attributes under specific circumstances. This could cause problems in attribute processing functions. Such attribute replications are now avoided, and replicated attribute assignments in existing projects are automatically eliminated by the Packager.
The function has been modified to load and set all header symbol variant attributes regardless of the currently active variant selection. In cases where a project contains multiple variants, the current variant name is displayed in the first line of the value assignment dialog, and the and buttons can be used to step through the variants. Complete variant attribute settings are useful when inserting new schematic sheets into projects, as this eliminates the need for individually setting the header attributes for each and every variant.
The
/ / / has been modified to reset
$ symbol attributes if the project file does not contain a layout net list. This feature ensures that, after copying schematic sheets from different project files into a new project file, the copied symbols are displayed with their logical part names rather than any obsolete
$ layout part names.
The / / submenu functions have been modified to preserve the group selection status of renamed parts.
A layout package name column has been added to the symbol/part output of the / / function.
The bus tap count column of the output did not contain any data. This problem has been fixed.
Some column headers of the output have been shortened to create a more compact and more legible cross reference listing.
The for loading the macro in a new Schematic Editor window has been added to the context menus for symbols, labels, bustaps and pins. The is useful when controlling symbol macros in large schematic sheets as it eliminates potentially time-consuming schematic sheet reload operations. Please note that, if the loaded macro is modified, the elements referring the macro must be reloaded to reflect the macro changes.
buttons for easily selecting the standard macros of the default library have been added to the junction point, standard label, bus tap label, port label and pin symbol macro name input fields of the / dialog in the Schematic Editor.
The function for saving schematic symbols has been modified to issue a warning if the symbol contains pin names with numeric parts at the end and pins are not consecutively numbered.
The functions from the
/ / submenu only listed the first pin for
net internal command configurations with double signal names. This problem has been fixed.
The
has been modified to provide an option for creating a logical part definition when saving a schematic symbol. The logical library definition is copied from the source project/library file and stored with new logical
part name to the destination project or standard library file.
On symbol macro level, the
function sometimes displayed
Library as source for the logical library definition, even for logical definitions originating from the project file. The
function has been modified to display the logical library definition source file name.
A project data from the symbol database issued redundant symbol macro change warnings for parts with multiple symbols. These warnings are now suppressed.
Settings such as
SSELPDF2_SCM/SSELWWW2_SCM,
SSELPDF3_SCM/SSELWWW3_SCM, etc. for specifying columns for the symbol database are now supported in the
bae.ini file in addition to the
SSELPDF_SCM/SSELWWW_SCM settings. A selection of table fields with documentation assignments is displayed if a documentation query for a symbol matches mutliple documentation files. The
bae.ini entries contain the PDF keyword only for historical reasons. The corresponding database fields have been modified to support any file type. The standard web browser is activated if no default application is assigned to the selected file type.
The
DOCATTR_STD parameter for specifying a symbol attribute for referencing a documentation file independently from the symbol database has been added to
bae.ini. Since this attribute supports different variants, it can be used on plan header symbols to refer variant-specific documentation. If the plan header macro contains context functions, then the call sequence for the
context function is
symsel:"docu":ml. Once the documentation attribute is transferred to the layout it can also be queried through the corresponding layout part.
Junction point markers are now included in group highlights if at least one adjacent connection segment is group-selected.
The menu item in the menu has been renamed to .
The context function for moving single polygon points has been modified to automatically insert additional 45 degree segments at both neighbouring segments if the option is active.
The and functions have been modified to allow for polygons to be picked not only at corners but also at segments. This ensures that the and functions in the right mouse button context menus for polygons can process the context polygon even it has been picked at a segment rather than a corner point. The reference point for the move operations is still the polygon corner point closest to the pick point.
With the option activated through / , the graphic cursor jumps to the closest area corner point when selecting areas.
The arc radius control for arc center points in the p key element property dialog has been modified to allow for changing the arc radius rather than only displaying it. Arc start and end points are automatically re-positioned according to modified radius settings.
The function only partially imported filled areas with arcs in the outline. This problem has been fixed.
The option has been added to the text placement functions.
The / / has been modified to search for texts on all rather than the currently loaded element hierarchy level. This allows for symbol macro texts and attribute value settings to be found on SCM plan level. The symbol/label and/or the attribute name of the matched text is included in the status line message. The currently matched text index and the total number of matches is also displayed in the status line if the search returns multiple texts
The function has been extended to support text pattern searches.
The
Ctrl-V key function for assigning clipboard attribute values has been modified to support
!not_set! attribute value settings for clearing attribute value assignments.
The button for copying symbol attribute values as texts to the clipboard has been added to the p key property dialog. This simplifies the attribute transfer between different Schematic Editor windows.
The functions for moving and copying groups have been modified to allow for arbitrary rotation angles if no connections or connected pins are inlcuded in the group.
The functions for rerouting connections for group movement operations have been modified to consider mirror modes and/or rotations for selected group elements when calculating the vectors to extisting connection destination points. This ensures that connections to non-group elements are preserved when moving mirrored and/or rotated groups and/or group elements.
The function has been added to the right mouse button context menu for named groups. resets the current group, selects all elements with a group name assignment equal to the group name of the selected element, performs a operation and resets the group selection again. This simplifies the movement of named function blocks as it eliminates the need for explicitely selecting the function block elements prior to the move operation.
The function has been modified to provide options for deselecting or moving glued group elements or cancel the function if glued elements are in the group.
The / / function has been modified to include group-selected dotted lines not only in the total number of group-selected items, but also in the polygon type listings.
The option for restricting the output/export to group-selected elements has been added to the function. The option can be used to adapt the output sheet size to the group area.
The clipping and group options have also been added to the EPS/PDF batch output dialogs.
The output element definitions for EPS/PDF batches have been extended to allow for the selection of net areas through a polygon type specification. When loading/starting batches which were created with older BAE versions, the settings for grafic areas on plan level are transferred to net areas.
Multi-line texts on symbols macros saved with were sometimes exchanged in plan level EPS/PDF outputs. This problem has been fixed.
The DXF export function did not export tag links for tags. This problem has been fixed. The DXF outputs have been extended by dotted tag pin to tag destination connection lines.
To reduce the number of backannotation confirmation prompts, the automatic backannotation request check in the function for loading schematic plans has been modified to include the net list name for single backannotation requests with the backannotation confirmation prompt.
When changing layout part name preferences in
$rpname attributes, previously set part names remained in the net list with empty package assignments until a second
Packager run was carried out. This problem has been fixed.
Synthetically generated internal tag names of part range tags were transferred to the
$orgname and
$sym attributes of the symbols in the part area. This generated irritating attribute values and attribute mismatch packager warnings for multi-symbol parts. This problem has been fixed. The
$orgname and
$sym attributes are not modified by tag symbols anymore.
To prevent name conflicts caused by
$spname settings in duplicated and/or copied circuitry, the
Packager has been modified to reset any
$spname settings from net list import and symbol rename processes for assigning symbol names for the first
Packager run.
Tab controls and a number of parameter settings which were previously only implemented through different menus and submenus have been added to the / dialog of the BAE Windows versions.
The
AUTOSAVEP_GED parameter for specifying an alternative directory for saving
.bak files through the
Layout Editor autosave feature has been added to
bae.ini.
The option for restricting the output/export to group-selected elements has been added to the function. The option can be used to adapt the output sheet size to the group area.
The clipping and group options have also been added to the EPS/PDF batch output dialogs.
The
and
options for overriding the standard mirror and text mode visibility settings for layer-specific texts have been added to the output layer setups for PDF batches, thus providing new options for mixed outputs of layers with
LOGICAL and
PHYSICAL texts.
The PDF batch definitions have been extended to allow for the specification of page-specific page size markers with names different from the default marker reference names
pdf_lx and
pdf_uy.
This allows for the setup of specific "output windows" for different output batches.
The netlist import function issued erroneous pin reference error messages for part macros with missing pins. This problem has been fixed.
The name of the first missing pin together with the part macro name is now included in the missing pin processing mode prompt. Thus, the user can recognize part/pin name patterns before deciding to ignore missing pins.
The net list import function has been extended to support net lists in
NDF format.
NDF net lists are identified through the keyword
NDF in the input file header.
The
and
option for assigning element comments to color tables and aperture tables in the
ged.dat and
cam.dat files have been added to the
/ / submenu. These element comments are then dislayed with color and aperture table selections, respectively.
A fixed header line which displays the number of copied elements and the number of missing source file elements has been added to the final report of the function.
The
lbaedmp.ulp ULP program for exporting
Eagle layout data in BAE ASCII format stopped with an error message if the project/library contains an SMD macro with bottom layer pads. This problem has been fixed.
The corner scan will be deactivated if an already activated / / submenu option is selected. This is useful for toggle key assignments.
The options from the 11 submenu have been made available in the / dialog.
The parameter has been added to the / dialog. The rather than the area display mode during polygon, part and via move operations is set as default, thus allowing for pads to be more easily distinguished from surrounding distance lines when, e.g., moving parts with activated.
The right mouse-click behaviour of the layer color buttons in the colour settings dialog and the toolbar has been modified to switch the layer color to white instead of the somewhat useless faded-out black setting. This makes it easier to partially display layers without color assignment.
New
TB_DLCOLN1_LAY,
TB_DLCOLN2_LAY, etc. parameters for defining documentary layer labels in the toolbar have been added to
bae.ini. This feature can be used for, e.g., substituting the numeric documentary layer labels in vertically oriented toolbars with more descriptive documentary layer names.
Color tables saved with layout elements were not always restored when automatically loading the last processed element upon Layout Editor startup, This problem has been fixed.
The and options for restricing documentary layer displays to documentary layer solder or part sides has been added to the / / dialog.
The
DEFLIBDRC_GED parameter for setting a default for the
/ / mode to be used when creating a new layout has been added to
bae.ini.
The / / function has been modified to include multi-layer padstacks without drill holes.
The functions for moving parts have been extended by a middle mouse button function for an orthogonal direction angle lock to be applied to support part movement operation along the existing X or Y coordinate of the part.
The option for activating a continuous online DRC for keepout areas on documentary layers during part movement operations has been added to the / dialog. Keepout area pairs causing distance violations are highlighted with different error color patterns. This allows for the recognition of part and/or keepout area collisions before finishing part placement operations, even if the corresponding DRC layers are faded out in the current color table.
The / / function for replacing incorrect part layout macros has been modified to display the list of incorrect part package type assignments which allows for part package type assignments to be excluded from the subsequent package type replacement operation.
The DRC error marker display for net list parts placed with incorrect package types has been changed from a dotted line matching the element outline to a dotted line exceeding the element outline by 10 percent to improve the error marker visibility for parts where the part insertion plan outline matches the part macro element outline.
The / / function for replacing incorrect part layout macros has been modified to display the list of incorrect part package type assignments which allows for part package type assignments to be excluded from the subsequent package type replacement operation.
The p key part property dialog function for assigning a net list part name to a constructive non-netlist part has been modified to keep the existing part macro instead of switching to the net list part default macro if the existing part macro is in the alternative package type list of the net list part. This simplifies the process of updating part names after duplicating similar circuitry as it eliminates the need for specific package assignments.
The
and
options for specifying part placement side name suffices have been added to the parameter dialog of the
/ / / function. Regardless of any placement side suffix settings, the part numbering algorithm still creates unique numbers for each name prefix to avoid the creation of part names such as, e.g.,
R100T and
R100B in a part renumbering process.
The / / submenu functions have been modified to preserve the group selection status of renamed symbols.
The p key property dialog for parts with $rpname attribute assignments has been modified to reset and deactivate the control such net list name changes for parts with $rpname attribute assignments would be reversed by the next Packager run.
The function for saving part macro symbols has been modified to issue a warning if the symbol contains pin names with numeric parts at the end and pins are not consecutively numbered.
The for loading the macro in a new Schematic Editor window has been added to the context menus for part, vias, pins and pads. The is useful when controlling symbol macros in large layouts as it eliminates potentially time-consuming layout reload operations. Please note that, if the loaded macro is modified, the elements referring the macro must be reloaded to reflect the macro changes.
The menu item in the menu has been renamed to .
The context function for moving trace corners has been modified to automatically insert additional 45 degree segments at both neighbouring segments if the option is active.
The trace edit scan function for identifying the elements of connected traces recognized pin connections only if the connecting pad layer was visible. This could cause different behaviour for different color table settings, e.g., when fixing traces, connecting different traces from different directions to the same pin, etc. This behaviour has been changed. Pin connections are now reliably recognized independently of any color table settings.
The has been modified to allow for the generation of fixed traces through the dialog which is available through the start point context menu.
The
and
modes have been added to the trace width context menu which is available through the
s (Size) key during trace corner point manipulations to set the trace width to the selected pin pad.
generates a connection to the pin position according to the
p key shortcut. The
SPINPICK_GED parameter for automatical;ly using the current mouse position for the pin pick when pressing the
s key has been added to the
bae.ini file.
The
TRCCOLLDST_GED parameter for
configuring the automatic conflict trace recognition in such a way that only short circuits are considered to be conflicts and pure clearance errors are accepted without verification has been added to
bae.ini.
Trace arc segments with a radius smaller than half the trace width could cause display and CAM output problems due to overlapping segment end caps. This problem has been fixed.
The option for controlling the behaviour of the and functions has been added to the c corner processing dialog. The mode processes each selected trace corner with the same radius and/or the same angulation. The mode prompts for the selection of two 90 degree corners, and the radius/angulation of the second corner is automatically adapted under the assumption that differential pairs are being processed and the trace arc and diagonal segment clearances must match those of the neighbouring parallel segments. The mode allows for corner radius/angulation settings for multiple bus traces through the selection of the first, second and last bus corner. The trace corner pick sequence (inside to outside or outside to inside) determines whether the radius/angulation increases or decreases with each trace corner step.
The has been modified to use the trace segment selection pick point as first insertion point for the new segment and to carry out the selection of the second insertion point and the segment distance in one go. this reduces the number of mouse clicks required for inserting a trace segment from 4 to 2.
The functions for automatically joining same direction diagonal trace segments have been significantly improved. This increases the number of diagonal trace segments which can be automatically joined when being moved towards each other.
The option has been added to the right mouse button context menu of the segment function. Unlike , refrains from skipping over neighbouring segments within trace width distance. This simplifies the manipulation of wide traces with frequent direction changes in densely routed areas.
The function has been modified to re-calculate and display the complete routing rather than only neighbouring trace segments during segment move operations. The continously updated total length of the processed trace in the status line includes rerouted neighbouring segments.
The function for moving bundles of parallel traces in a single step has been added. After selecting the first segment, the system scans at the gridless mouse cursor position for further segments on the same layer and with the same direction to be included in the segment move operation. The parameter with the and modes has been added to the / dialog. prompts for the selection of the first and last trace bundle segment. prompts for the selection of the firts trace bundle segment and searches for further segments on the same layer and in the same direction at the grid-free mouse position. With set to filled traces and pick mode set to , moved traces will be displayed in hatch fill mode to distinguish traces which have been selected for the move operation from those which have not yet been selected.
The mode for automatically splitting trace segments at obstacles has been added to the parameter of the / dialog. When encountering a DRC conflict, the mode searches for a long grid-based remaining segment for carrying out the segment move operation at the mouse position and leaves partial segments in conflict areas at their original position. Please note that the trace segments are adapted according to the sequence of the bundle selection if the mode is used together with . The segment in line with the segment move direction should therefore be selected first to ensure that a segment bundle is routed around an obstacle.
The / / / has been modified to consider same net elements as obstacles when generating meandering structures. This prevents the system from generating meandering structures over a pin if segments of the same net are running alongside that pin.
The and processing modes have been added to the meander parameter dialog. starts meandering at the trace end point closest to the pick point. starts meandering at any pick segment end point of the trace, thus allowing for meandering to be carried out in free board ares rather than in part fanout areas.
The and functions from the / / submenu have been modified to store the end coordinates of the processed segments with the trace. The / / / function has been added to straighten the traces which have been marked in such a way.
The option for generating a net length semicolon-separated net length table without space characters with field content information (trace counts, via counts, etc.) documented in a single table header line has been added to the dialogs of the , , and trace length report functions from the / / / submenu. Output files created with the function using the format can be easily imported into third party spreadsheet applications for further processing.
Activating the
p key property dialog for traces with net connections to many vias and traces can trigger a lengthy scan for calculating the total net length. This scan can now be cancelled through a keystroke. The
PROPNETSCAN_GED parameter for specifying a maximum net pin count for automatic total net length calculations has been added to the
bae.ini file.
Please note that total net lengths can always be queried using the
button of the
p key dialog.
The online trace length display for manual routing operations displayed inaccurate values for arcs with non-orthogonal start radius. This problem has been fixed.
The / / / function for changing the spacing between parallel traces has been added. Only parallel segments with the lowest distance between the traces are processed.
The system has been modified to save Autorouter options not only when starting an Autorouter run but also when saving the layout. This allows for the permanent definition of layout-specific Autorouter parameters for future Autorouter runs without having to start the Autorouter.
The extended x key coordinate snap functions have been made available in the functions for moving inner trace corner points.
The and functions have been modified to set the placement reference point to the closest trace corner point rather than the closest end point. Thus, the trace does not "jump" anymore if an inside point is picked, and trace placements with trace inside point pick can be performed.
The / / submenu functions have been modified to detect whether contour segments of the generated areas intersect each other and produce the outer contour without any invalid inner segments in such cases. This allows for otherwise unjoinable recesses to be joined as, e.g., intended when generating trace clearance keepout areas.
The trace area generator created invalid trace end caps rotated by 90 degrees when applied to traces with arc segments at the start or end point. This problem has been fixed.
The and functions from the / have been modified to allow for the specification of a group name for the generated vias. This simplifies the removal of these vias if a redesign is necessary lateron.
The function has been modified to place vias at the outside of acute angle corners on an arc rather than on straight lines. This creates an improved via placement pattern and prevents the system from placing obsolete long parallel via rows at acute ("needle-shaped") trace corners. Segment parallel lines at the inside angles of short segments are now crossed and merged to prevent the system from creating invalid via row loops with clearance violations.
The
pstk_minwidth and
pstk_maxwidth plan double predicates for setting padstack-specific connection width ranges for vias have been added for padstacks. If multiple via padstacks are defined with identical layer assignments, the system automatically picks the via padstack which best matches the current trace width when switching layers during manual routing.
When editing traces, the automatic via selection function sometimes selected a wrong via macro for stacked blind/buried vias, thus potentially causing short-circuits. This problem has been fixed.
The / dialog has been modified to display the number of visible and/or invisible nets in the column headers for the net visibility function buttons to indicate the current extend of net visibility changes without having to run these functions.
The menu item in the menu has been renamed to .
The context function for moving polygon corners has been modified to automatically insert additional 45 degree segments at both neighbouring segments if the option is active.
The dashed line input grid display used for edit direction indication for adjacent segments during polygon corner modifications could cause display performance problems when working with very small input grid settings. To eliminate this problem, the system has been modified to switch to a standard 2.0mm dashed line display when the input grid is set below a certain minimum value.
The and functions have been modified to allow for areas to be picked not only at corners but also at segments. This ensures that the and functions in the right mouse button context menus for areas can process the context area even it has been picked at a segment rather than a corner point. The reference point for the move operations is still the area corner point closest to the pick point.
With the option activated through / , the graphic cursor jumps to the closest area corner point when selecting areas.
The function which is available through the right mouse button context menu during polygon move operations has been modified to ignore end points of closed polygons. This allows for symmetric closed polygons to be placed relative to the symmetric center point.
The arc radius control for arc center points in the p key property dialog has been modified to allow for changing the arc radius rather than only displaying it. Arc start and end points are automatically re-positioned according to modified radius settings.
The functions from the submenus for processing trace and polygon corner points which can also be activated through the c key have been modified to remove an existing arc and create a new arc with specified radius when clicking the center point of an existing arc. Unlike the p functions, the c functions move the arc center point in such a way that the position and direction of neighbouring segments is preserved.
The function only partially imported filled areas with arcs in the outline. This problem has been fixed.
The option has been added to the text placement functions.
The
function ignored text center alignment and text frame settings when importing
.dmp files. This problem has been fixed.
The design rule check has been modified to check signal layer texts with pen width settings using the text line geometry rather than the surrounding rectangle when carrying out text clearance checks against other signal layer elements. This allows for signal layer texts with lower case characters to be placed closer to pins and/or other structures without triggering redundant clearance check error messages.
Attribute name texts have been modified to support the
$U prefix for displaying the attribute text in upper case and the
$l prefix for displaying the attribute text in lower case. I.e., the
$U$llname attribute text definition causes the lower case
$llname (logical library name) attribute from the
Packager to be displayed in upper case.
The and batch options of the / / function have been modified to transfer the source text center alignment definitions to the target texts.
The
GRPDISPMODE_GED,
GRPANGMODE_GED and
GRPVISMODE_GEDbae.ini settings for initialyzing
/ parameters upon
Layout Editor startup were not processed. This problem has been fixed.
The default option for displaying airlines from group-selected net list pins to the rest of the layout during interactive function group placement operations has been added to / .
The function has been added to the right mouse button context menu for named groups. resets the current group, selects all elements with a group name assignment equal to the group name of the selected element, performs a operation and resets the group selection again. This simplifies the movement of named function blocks as it eliminates the need for explicitely selecting the function block elements prior to the move operation.
The / / submenu functions on padstack level have been modified to place drill holes from source elements and/or source element references directly on the currently loaded padstack element.
The function has been modified to provide options for deselecting or moving glued group elements or cancel the function if glued elements are in the group.
The net name selection box of the / / / function has been modified to accept net name patterns for the selection of net elements.
Some of the selection and deselection functions from the / submenu reported incorrect (double) selected element counts when called through the menu bar rather than the F9 key. This problem has been fixed.
The copper fill option has been modified to overlap other fill areas of the same net within the selected fill area with half of the minimum structure size rather than keeping the specified isolation distance. This allows for the generation of connected copper areas for the same net with varying isolation distances.
The option for marking the fill areas as an Autorouter keepout areas has been added to the p key property dialog for fill areas. BAE HighEnd provides additional options for restricting the keepout to vias or traces.
The copper fill functions used the default net clearance settings instead of non-default net-sepcific clearance settings for traces on part level, thus producing DRC errors for traces on part level with increased net-specific clearance settings. This problem has been fixed.
Special trace width, pad radius and fill clearance parameter combinations caused diagonal trace clearance DRC errors when creating fill areas at diagonal pad connections. This problem has been fixed.
The / / function has been implemented for automatically creating copper fill keepout areas at narrow gaps between round pins and vias, thus preventing the copper fill functions from creating copper fill structures which might cause problems in the manufacturing process.
During autorouting, the routing wave display can be toggled with the @ key. The Ctrl-C keystroke has been added for stopping the autorouting wave display after each routing step and activating a key prompt for continuing the routing. Pressing the space bar starts the next routing step. Pressing any other key resumes the autorouting and routing wave display without interruption after each routing step. Being able to look at the routing wave propagation after each routing step can help to understand why the routing of a connection can not be completed.
A option for restricting bitmaps outputs to a layout clipping area has been added to the .
The batch step of the function has been modified to optionally allow for the clipping area to be selected through the specification of two parts names. This allows for the output to be automatically restricted to the area between two fiducial parts with predefined names.
The integer predicate
pad_allplot for inside layer pads on padstack level has been added to enable the output of unconnected pads regardless of any
setting. This feature is required for manufacturing processes where partial drill holes must be terminated with pads.
The
function has been modified to support the
PINNET output field for exporting the net name of a pin. This is useful for insertion data outputs from insertion layers which only contain insertion texts for test point macros with fixed pin names, thus generating test point coordinate outputs with test net listings.
Rectangular apertures were not correctly converted when importing aperture tables from extended Gerber files if the aperture definitions contained spaces between the dimension values. This problem has been fixed.
The copyddb utility program has been modified to include file names with file-related error messages to simplify error tracking when running batches with multiple copyddb calls.
This section describes general changes to the User Language specification. See Bartels User Language Programmer's Guide - Chapter 2 for a detailed description of the User Language specification.
This section lists new and changed User Language system functions. See Bartels User Language Programmer's Guide - Appendix C for a detailed description of all system functions.
The following User Language system functions have been implemented:
| IP | System Function | Short Description |
|---|---|---|
| CAP | cap_getscclass | Get currently scanned SCM element class |
| AR | ar_getstrpar | Get Autorouter string parameter |
| AR | ar_setstrpar | Set Autorouter string parameter |
Support for additional parameter queries/settings has been added to the bae_getdblpar, bae_setdblpar, bae_getintpar, bae_setintpar, bae_getstrpar, bae_setstrpar, scm_getintpar, scm_setintpar, scm_getstrpar, scm_setstrpar, ged_getintpar, ged_setintpar, ged_getstrpar and ged_setstrpar functions.
The bae_dialaddcontrol / bae_dialadvcontrol functions have been modified to support the definition of tooltip strings for action buttons and references to external bitmap files for display in bitmap labels and buttons. In the BAE Windows versions, the bae_dialaddcontrol / bae_dialadvcontrol functions have been extended to support tab controls.
The strlistitemadd function did not add the item to the list string. This problem has been fixed.
A new net selection mode has been added to the ged_asktreeidx function.
The ged_drcpath, ged_drcpoly and ged_drcvia functions have been extended by a path connectivity checking mode for displaying violations against any tree beside the pick element.
The ged_getsegmovmode and ged_setsegmovmode functions have been extended to support the trace segment move mode "Adjust next neighbours only".
BAE installs
more than 220 pre-compiled
User Language programs to the
ulcprog.vdb file of the BAE programs directory. Additionally, the
User Language source files
(more than 10 Mbytes; some 330,000 lines) are installed to a special directory
(baeulc). See
Bartels User Language Programmer's Guide - Chapter 4 for a complete listing and short descriptions of the BAE User Language programs.
The User Language include files have been revised and extended by a series of new definitions and functions.
The User Language programs already delivered with the previous BAE Version have been revised and extended by many new features and functions.
 » Bartels AutoEngineer » BAE Documentation » BAE Next Version Release Notes Preliminary |
Bartels AutoEngineer® - Next Version - Release Notes - * Preliminary Information * • © 1985-2013 Oliver Bartels F+E • Updated: 11 May 2013, 00:33 [UTC]
| Baumeister Mediasoft Engineering, Clontarf, Dublin 3, Ireland © 2013 Manfred Baumeister |
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