Newbie to Diptrace, point me in the right direction?

"How-to" questions from new engineers and designers. Please ask and respond here.
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boioioing
Posts: 2
Joined: 09 Sep 2016, 04:03

Newbie to Diptrace, point me in the right direction?

#1 Post by boioioing » 09 Sep 2016, 04:09

Hi all, I just started using Diptrace and I'm pretty happy with it; it's pretty impressive. I've been doing the tutorial in the manual but I'm having trouble finding a few things.

One thing is that I'm using a somewhat rare IC that doesn't seem to be in its libraries. It has a row of 1x10 pins. Right now I just put that in the schematic as a 1x10 HDR component, but I'd like to label the pins so they correspond to the IC pins. How can I do this? Also, is there a better way?

The other thing with that IC is that it actually takes up a pretty large footprint on the board, so when I turn this schematic into a PCB, I want to be able to make it mark out the large area other components can't be in. Is there a way to do this?

I've also found where pots are, but I can't find any dual pots in the libraries...are they not built in?

Lastly, I have several power lines (9V, 5V, GND) that appear at many places throughout the circuit. I found how to place those symbols (for example, I've placed all the GND ones in the appropriate places), but how can I make it so Diptrace knows all the 9V ones are connected? (so when I make the PCB, it includes that.) Thanks for any help in advance.

Tomg
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Posts: 2028
Joined: 20 Jun 2015, 07:39

Re: Newbie to Diptrace, point me in the right direction?

#2 Post by Tomg » 16 Sep 2016, 12:43

boioioing wrote:"...I'd like to label the pins so they correspond to the IC pins. How can I do this? Also, is there a better way?..."
Standard DipTrace-supplied components and patterns cannot be modified. You will need to copy the desired standard DipTrace-supplied component into a custom library before you can modify it. Here's how...
1) Designate file locations for your custom libraries by creating subfolders inside DipTrace's default custom libraries parent folder (C:\Users\[username]\Documents\DipTrace\My Libraries). Give the sub-folders names like "Components", "Patterns", "3D", "Spice", etc.
2) Launch the Component Editor and choose the User Components library group in the Current Library Group selection box near the top left side of the screen.
3) Click on the Library Tools box (just below the library listing box) and select New Library... in the fly-out menu.
4) In the Create New Library dialog window make sure the User Components library group is selected, type in a name for a new custom component library, enter a hint (a brief description that will appear when mousing-over the library name) and left-click on OK.
5) In the Standard Toolbar, left-click on the Save Library icon.
6) In the Save As dialog window, navigate to the Components sub-folder that was created in step 1 above, enter in a file name for the new custom component library and left-click on Save.
7) Click on the Component Tools box (just below the Library Tools box) and select Insert Components from Another Library... in the fly-out menu.
8) In the Insert Components dialog window, choose the Components group in the Libraries drop-down list, find and select/highlight the library that contains the component you wish to copy, select/highlight the desired component and click on Insert.
9) Modify the component pin names to satisfy your requirements and resave the new custom component library by clicking on the Save Library icon once more.
Note: See this thread for a rudimentary explanation of the DipTrace library system - http://www.diptrace.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=10937
boioioing wrote:"...The other thing with that IC is that it actually takes up a pretty large footprint on the board, so when I turn this schematic into a PCB, I want to be able to make it mark out the large area other components can't be in. Is there a way to do this?..."
You will need to create a custom pattern with a box drawn on the silkscreen layer to show the desired perimeter and then link it to the corresponding custom component.
boioioing wrote:"...I've also found where pots are, but I can't find any dual pots in the libraries...are they not built in?..."
Look for components with more than one part. Observe tabs ("Part 1", "Part 2", etc.) on the bottom-left side of design area while scrolling through the component list.
boioioing wrote:"...I have several power lines (9V, 5V, GND) that appear at many places throughout the circuit. I found how to place those symbols (for example, I've placed all the GND ones in the appropriate places), but how can I make it so Diptrace knows all the 9V ones are connected?..."
Any Net Port with the same name is automatically connected to the same Net. Mouse-over any wire and all wires connected to the same net will highlight.
Tom

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