Retain Selection Highlight when scrolling

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enly1
Posts: 7
Joined: 21 Dec 2013, 10:01

Retain Selection Highlight when scrolling

#1 Post by enly1 » 12 Jan 2014, 02:19

Hi

Fairly new to PCBs and Diptrace, but come from an IT background, so have expectations of the way 'Software' in a windows environment should work.

The first thing I would like to raise about diptrace is the ability for a selection / trace highlighted to remain highlighted when I scroll about.

For example, in the design manager, I select a net, which highlights the net across the board. I then click the window scroll bar to move around the PCB and the selected net becomes unselected and now no longer show the highlight.

I was using this to analyse some pcbs to see how nets were carried around a board and this is a real pain.

Thanks

Simon

uschott
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Posts: 96
Joined: 08 May 2011, 23:49

Re: Retain Selection Highlight when scrolling

#2 Post by uschott » 24 Jan 2014, 03:07

enly1 wrote: For example, in the design manager, I select a net, which highlights the net across the board. I then click the window scroll bar to move around the PCB and the selected net becomes unselected and now no longer show the highlight.
To click on a netname in the design manager is not a real selection rather than highlighting the net. It's only for panning the area to the highlighted net.

Real selection for example is by left clicking on the trace (trace turns into a dashed line). This selection then remains while you move the area around.

us

enly1
Posts: 7
Joined: 21 Dec 2013, 10:01

Re: Retain Selection Highlight when scrolling

#3 Post by enly1 » 24 Jan 2014, 22:44

uschott wrote:
enly1 wrote: For example, in the design manager, I select a net, which highlights the net across the board. I then click the window scroll bar to move around the PCB and the selected net becomes unselected and now no longer show the highlight.
To click on a netname in the design manager is not a real selection rather than highlighting the net. It's only for panning the area to the highlighted net.

Real selection for example is by left clicking on the trace (trace turns into a dashed line). This selection then remains while you move the area around.

us
Sorry, this makes no sense to me ?

If I select a net that runs around the whole board from design manager, the whole net is shown in highlight. I am able to delete the net with the delete key - which suggests that it is indeed a kind of selection .... and this is simply a bug where that kind of selection is not retained. From a user interface design and experience perspective, its at least a 'feature'.

But ... based on what you have said, I've had a look at actually selecting the net and am struggling to work out how to do it so I can pan around and see the whole net selected. I can select the trace segment, but can't work out how to select the whole net except from design manager.

To make matters more complicated, the ground net I wanted to look at is also part of a pour, so I can only get to select it using the edit trace tool without going to the effort of unpouring the copper pour to be able to look around. All of which are quite a pain compared with the design manager option.

I also tried Find object, which highlights the whole net, although you need to know the name - same issue with scrolling around as its not a selection.

Can I ask that we add another request for either a right click option in design manager to make selection from component/net selected, or add an option to the trace editor to allow select full net or simply retain the active highlight when scrolling around ( selection or not ) ?

Please advise.

Thanks

-- 25 Jan 2014, 11:00 --

PS. I'm resorting to changing net colour of the specific net i'm interested in to make it stand out as a workaround but still have to toggle the coper pour - but its easy enough to do.

uschott
Expert
Posts: 96
Joined: 08 May 2011, 23:49

Re: Retain Selection Highlight when scrolling

#4 Post by uschott » 25 Jan 2014, 01:59

enly1 wrote: If I select a net that runs around the whole board from design manager, the whole net is shown in highlight. I am able to delete the net with the delete key - which suggests that it is indeed a kind of selection ....
No, I cannot delete a net from Design Manager cause it's only an info tool. Click on the netnames (Net 0, Net 1, Net 2 ..) once so that they are highlighted or twice so that the design area ist panning. Remain in the design manager and press the delete button .. nothing happens.

But .. there is a situation where you are right. If I load a board (for example Astable_Flip_Flop.dip) and click Net 0 in the design manager, then press the delete button .. the net turns to be unrouted.

(I could avoid this behaving if I click once in the design area after loading a board)

I think this is a bit strange and a possible bug (ask alex).

us

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