I have extensive protel libs that I will have to replicate and many hundreds of active designs that will also have to be brought across before retiring protel.
As you can imagine, the components in use are many and varied, however the migration could be done over a period of time.
I have extensive protel libs that I will have to replicate and many hundreds of active designs that will also have to be brought across before retiring protel.
You can directly import Protel netlists & PCBs into the DipTrace PCB module.
You can directly import Altium files into DipTrace Schematic & DipTrace PCB.QuoteAs you can imagine, the components in use are many and varied, however the migration could be done over a period of time.
I moved over from Altium to DipTrace some 3 years ago. It was one of the best decisions I have made in recent years.
ADDED: DipTrace allows you to set up your own keyboard shortcuts. This is great as it means you can replicate most of your Protel keyboard shortcuts to speed up your leaning curve.
Altium 18 allows you to bind many (more than 4) footprint options to one component.
Can you tell me more about the migration from Protel to DipTrace?
How is the import achieved if the PCB footprint and schematic symbol used in Protel is not present in Diptrace?
Can you tell me more about the migration from Protel to DipTrace?
The Protel netlist can be imported into the DipTrace PCB module by selecting:
File
Import
Protel netlist
I have not tried to import a Protel schematic directly as no import filter is listed, however you can use the 30 day free trial of Altium, convert the Protel schematic into the Altium ASCII format, then open that directly in DipTrace.
Like Protel, you can highlight each component in your workspace & add them to your personal DipTrace library. I'm not aware of any automatic way to do this. This works for both the schematic & PCB modules.QuoteHow is the import achieved if the PCB footprint and schematic symbol used in Protel is not present in Diptrace?
Using the import methods I have described above, the components are accurately reproduced in DipTrace. You just need to highlight each component & individually add them to your personal DipTrace library. When adding it to the library you will need to give it a name etc.
When importing Protel PCBs into DipTrace, your original layout is preserved.
Be aware that the supplied DipTrace libraries are "locked" for security reasons. You cannot add new components to them & you cannot modify the components within them. You can however (with 2 clicks) send a component to your own personal library & modify it to your heart's content.
My advice would be to add a pile of your components into your Protel workspace, then import them into DipTrace, then add them to your personal DipTrace library one by one.
I was (still am) dissatisfied with Altium Designer not long after Protel moved across to Altium. I tried out about a dozen alternative packages over some 13 or 14 years before deciding to move over to DipTrace (which became very usable once ver 2.4 was released).
However, since it (Protel 99SE) is long not supported and almost 20 years old I expect it to stop working one day with the rounds of Win10 updates.
Can you tell me more about the migration from Protel to DipTrace?
The Protel netlist can be imported into the DipTrace PCB module by selecting:
File
Import
Protel netlist
I have not tried to import a Protel schematic directly as no import filter is listed, however you can use the 30 day free trial of Altium, convert the Protel schematic into the Altium ASCII format, then open that directly in DipTrace.
Like Protel, you can highlight each component in your workspace & add them to your personal DipTrace library. I'm not aware of any automatic way to do this. This works for both the schematic & PCB modules.QuoteHow is the import achieved if the PCB footprint and schematic symbol used in Protel is not present in Diptrace?
Using the import methods I have described above, the components are accurately reproduced in DipTrace. You just need to highlight each component & individually add them to your personal DipTrace library. When adding it to the library you will need to give it a name etc.
When importing Protel PCBs into DipTrace, your original layout is preserved.
Be aware that the supplied DipTrace libraries are "locked" for security reasons. You cannot add new components to them & you cannot modify the components within them. You can however (with 2 clicks) send a component to your own personal library & modify it to your heart's content.
My advice would be to add a pile of your components into your Protel workspace, then import them into DipTrace, then add them to your personal DipTrace library one by one.
I was (still am) dissatisfied with Altium Designer not long after Protel moved across to Altium. I tried out about a dozen alternative packages over some 13 or 14 years before deciding to move over to DipTrace (which became very usable once ver 2.4 was released).
I wondered if you had tried it or had a way to take a pattern in a PCB layout and make a library pattern out of it?
OK, thanks.
I'll have to consider this.
It means the schematic library will rapidly be bloated once the IC footprints go in for SMD and DIP version of each, plus SMD and through-hole version of many capacitor types.
This may make it unusable in a practical sense. Pity.
OK, thanks.
I'll have to consider this.
It means the schematic library will rapidly be bloated once the IC footprints go in for SMD and DIP version of each, plus SMD and through-hole version of many capacitor types.
This may make it unusable in a practical sense. Pity.
I understand and agree with this being an annoying shortfall, that you'll get in most PCB packages.
But you have to realize that the general case is not so simple at all. Of course it seems so for simple passives. But in the general case, a lot of components (especially ICs) have different pinout for different packages, so the symbols themselves may be different in that way. So in the end, it would be very close to having one symbol/one footprint anyway.
That could be better dealt with by using more sophisticated database structures for storing and retrieving them though, for instance by being able to group parts as "variants" of a single part.
Completed the PCB layout OK. Created gerbers and drill file which look OK. No problems with using the layout editor, just coming to terms with different shortcuts.
in the schematic editor it would be nice to be able to create your own title block and sheet frame (I used a custom sheet design in Protel for all schematics).
Anyone know if this is possible or is it just the built-in ones for now?
Also, in PCB printout, I could not see any way to select the layers, orders or colours for the printout (I used greyscales for specific layers in Protel). Is it possible in the current version?
text on a PCB..
upper right corner select the layer you want to put text to, may it be an assembly layer, silk or signal.
then press the "T" icon.
Click on the working area.
Type your text.
click again.
done.
for signal layers you can also specify if the text will be for the tob, bottom or both layers. I don't like how true type font renders (in 2.4 for mac they rendered differenctly based on zoom.. and it affected gerbers! yikes. so i try to use the fixed size font. One thing i wish that the keepout they have from pours would be smaller...
I don't like how true type font renders (in 2.4 for mac they rendered differenctly based on zoom.. and it affected gerbers! yikes. so i try to use the fixed size font.