Electronics > KiCad

Find out all paths between two nets

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pcprogrammer:
Darned, I can't recall the name of the project and the thread it was mentioned in, but it had to do with reversing FPGA net lists into verilog. My google foo did not bring it back either.  :palm:

Sure not the same as this, but it did traverse the net list to find relations through the logic, so it is something a computer can do, but it needs to be programmed for it. For every object in the schematic the in and out's need to be defined with their interconnecting relationship.

It might be possible to use such a net list project to work with an export of a net list from Kicad, but it will involve quite a bit of work, and probably not worth the effort.

Like 2N3055 wrote, it is knowing your schematic that teaches you the most.

@max.wwwang, there is a saying "Don't byte the hand that feeds you". A lot of the senior members here help out of free will. You might not always agree with them, but being snarky about it will lead to them not helping you anymore.

Doctorandus_P:

--- Quote from: ebastler on March 12, 2023, 08:36:55 pm ---
Thanks! Yes, I had played with the colors a while ago, but did not find anything much better. I guess the thin lines just don't convey color very strongly to me.

Something like the "glow" effect used for the currently selected items would be nice, but that is not user-configurable I believe?

--- End quote ---
No, I don't thing that is configurable (without modifying the source code, KiCad is an Open Source program after all...) But you can keep the highlight key depressed, then the highlighting will start blinking and that is almost guaranteed to catch some attention.

2N3055:

--- Quote from: max.wwwang on March 12, 2023, 07:10:01 pm ---
--- Quote from: 2N3055 on March 12, 2023, 09:52:15 am ---
--- Quote from: max.wwwang on March 09, 2023, 04:59:50 am ---
What I want is to find out the possible path of signal (not a direct electrical connection, of course!) between two nets. I don't think I misunderstood the term net in this context.


--- End quote ---

I reread this and answer is very easy...

You already have it on screen all the time.

It is called the schematic..
THAT is the purpose of it's existence, to show interconnection of components and allows us to figure out how it works..

The whole knowledge of electronics is about looking at the schematics and figuring out what it does... OR inventing something and making a schematic that does it..
You need to learn and work to be smart and knowledgeable. You can't fake it.

--- End quote ---
This is brilliant. Thanks.

Please don’t use the net highlight function. That’s the purpose of schematics, labels and other convenient facilities. You can figure it all out!

--- End quote ---

Reading this back (and reading the answer by Ebastler, thanks buddy!) i realize it came out cynical.
Sorry for not being more PC.
Let me explain better.

Yes I use highlight NET. It is a great visual aid.
But you want software to analyze (think) for you. It cannot do that. It would be nice, but it cannot.
You can use simulators (I use LtSpice for analog, there are digital simulators too) to help you understand the circuit, I.E. "where signal goes".  What do you mean by signal by the way? It is obvious what a signal is in an amplifier, for instance.. But what is signal in a power supply (current and voltage regulator)? How do you follow the signal in mixed signal design that takes analog input , digitizes it through the ADC, transforms it in DSP and then converts with DAC back to analog output.. What are the possible signal paths there?

And to answer to you, I can, and in fact did, for many years, analyze schematics on paper without any computer help.. This how it was done for many years. We all did. You would use magic markers and "highlight net". Pun intended.
So yeah, I can understand "where signal goes" just by looking into schematics... Also can cursory look at the board and quickly analyze what basic blocks are and general block diagram.

Having intuition of how something works from schematics is a skill well worth developing...

That was my point and not trying to be snarky..

max.wwwang:
Thanks for all the good input on the subject (as always!), cynical or not.

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