DipTrace 3.2 release

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novarm44
DipTrace Lead Developer
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DipTrace 3.2 release

#1 Post by novarm44 » 26 Oct 2017, 01:36

Hi All,

We have published new version 3.2 today, the major thing we changed in it is polishing of existing features (added in 3.0 and 3.1). However some new tricks have been added too:
1. DRC same net clearance check (Trace to Trace, SMD to Pad, SMD to Via, SMD to SMD).
2. Improved highlight and selection of objects in PCB Layout (traces and all other objects under footprints are highlighted and can be edited in default mode).
3. Polishing of length matching and meander features.
4. Storing common solder mask swell and paste mask shrink with the project file.
5. Always open/soldered option in custom mask/paste settings for pads and vias.
6. Rotate Group and Flip Group commands in Component and Pattern Editors.
7. Additional fields in Pick and Place, tab divider in text files for BOM and Pick and Place.

You can download it here: http://diptrace.com/download-diptrace/

Also we have reduced the price of DipTrace Full Edition to $995. The price was fair at the time, but today's EDA market conditions have changed: some products are offered on subscription basis, some new and quite powerful ones appear. All team is here and company is profitable, but we have real drop of Full Edition sales. So we decided to speed-up development, reduce the price and publish new minor updates more often to be more competitive.

What we are working on:
1. Interactive push and shove router and trace editor. You will not get power of PADs or other high-end EDAs in the first versions, but this is what we want to reach for this feature.
2. Overall improvements of routing usability and bus routing.
3. RF circuits support.
4. Controlled impedance.
5. KiCAD import/export
6. Eagle export (import is already here).
7. Also some smaller features like BOM in PCB Layout, tear-drops, etc.

Regards,
Your DipTrace Team!

Tomg
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Re: DipTrace 3.2 release

#2 Post by Tomg » 26 Oct 2017, 03:34

1) The Net Highlight tool still throws highlighted traces off of the PCB when the view is mirrored.
2) The Zoom Extents tool still has a bug - http://www.diptrace.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=11713
3) It looks like the Flip Group tool needs more work. (See the attached video.) After saving the pattern and then reloading it, the Flip Group tool works as expected. But when creating a new pattern, which is how most users will be using the tool, the Flip Group tool goes bonkers as shown in the video.

And now with that out of the way...

Thanks for all of these improvements. So far, item 2 is working well and has made trace editing easier. Item 6 is a very helpful addition, but it took me a while to figure out how it worked because I started looking for a way to group the selected components first (not possible in the pattern and component editors). After discovering that the selected components can be rotated as a group by merely using the hotkey combination Ctrl + R, I started looking for a similar hotkey combination for flipping the selected components as a group. Unfortunately, using the Edit menu is the only way to execute that function (as far as I know) which makes it a little cumbersome. Would it be possible to add "Flip Objects Vertically as Group" and "Flip Objects Horizontally as Group" to the Hotkey tool's settings? You might also want to consider adding access to these tools through the right-click context menu.

Thanks again for implementing these improvements and for continuing to improve the usability and functionality of DipTrace. We are all looking forward to seeing your plans for DipTrace become reality.
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Tom

novarm44
DipTrace Lead Developer
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Re: DipTrace 3.2 release

#3 Post by novarm44 » 26 Oct 2017, 07:17

1) The Net Highlight tool still throws highlighted traces off of the PCB when the view is mirrored.
2) The Zoom Extents tool still has a bug - http://www.diptrace.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=11713
3) It looks like the Flip Group tool needs more work. (See the attached video.) After saving the pattern and then reloading it, the Flip Group tool works as expected. But when creating a new pattern, which is how most users will be using the tool, the Flip Group tool goes bonkers as shown in the video.
1. Fixed.
2. Fixed for component editor, schematic capture seems doesn't have such issue.
3. Fixed.
4. I was unable to reproduce issue with Pick and Place - it seems something with CSV separators. Did you remove this item because it is not actual?

I will add short cuts for flip commands in all programs (empty by default, but you will be able to assign them).
p.s. We will collect and fix issues and update 3.2 to 3.2.0.1 in a week. So please report them here, it looks like my supporters and testers were unable to sort serious and not serious issues (we have tons of reports and their task to find real bugs and send them to me and other developers).

Regards,
Stanislav Ruev

Tomg
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Re: DipTrace 3.2 release

#4 Post by Tomg » 26 Oct 2017, 07:28

Thanks for the reply. I removed the PnP comment because I'm unsure about how Excel defines separators.
* I had commas in some of my custom pattern names, which messed up the *.csv file; so I decided to rename those custom patterns.

-- 27 Oct 2017, 07:55 --

Bugs in v3.2
1) Pattern Editor DXF import to pads bug (refer to this thread - http://www.diptrace.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=11724).
2) A case where two pins on different nets are superimposed is not producing an ERC error message (see illustration below).
3) Bus name letter-case trap (refer to this thread - http://www.diptrace.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=11785).
4) The grid size entry box at the top of screen still accepts and displays values too small for Diptrace to process. For example: enter a grid size of 0.001 mm, select a component and move it by pressing an arrow key once and watch the component's coordinates change by 0.003 mm.
5) The distance between a BGA pad edge and its fanout-via edge still does not match the setting.
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Tom

mgriebling
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Re: DipTrace 3.2 release

#5 Post by mgriebling » 30 Oct 2017, 01:29

Really was hoping we would finally get a native Mac version.
If your PC market is shrinking perhaps target additional markets like the Mac?

Anyway, nice to see the upgrades will be coming faster.

novarm44
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Re: DipTrace 3.2 release

#6 Post by novarm44 » 30 Oct 2017, 11:56

1) Pattern Editor DXF import to pads bug (refer to this thread - http://www.diptrace.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=11724).
2) A case where two pins on different nets are superimposed is not producing an ERC error message (see illustration below).
3) Bus name letter-case trap (refer to this thread - http://www.diptrace.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=11785).
4) The grid size entry box at the top of screen still accepts and displays values too small for Diptrace to process. For example: enter a grid size of 0.001 mm, select a component and move it by pressing an arrow key once and watch the component's coordinates change by 0.003 mm.
5) The distance between a BGA pad edge and its fanout-via edge still does not match the setting.
1. Seems pad recognition algorithm doesn't think this shape is pad (this is not bug). You can import it as top copper shape and then convert to pad in DipTrace pattern editor. I'm not sure we will modify that algorithm at the nearest time (it was made by me and now DXF is responsibility of another programmer, of course I can see and improve it, but I will lose much time, which I can spend for interactive router). Priority of this improvement is not high and necessary time is big.
2. This has been fixed for 3.2.0.1.
3. This is feature. In DipTrace names are not case-sensitive. Bus is common object and net-list is made by nets, so I don't think it may make problems. If change this (it is easy), I should also change all other names and foresee special algorithms to keep existing projects without net-list breaks.
4. There is minimum grid size - I have reduced it to 0.00003. Hope this will be enough, entering any value is possible though (if change while entering, that may make problems when user edit value and have intermediate zero).
5. For BGA pads distance is always calculated from pad-to-pad distance, via is placed in the centre of it. I have blocked Pad to Via property for BGA fanout type.

Other changes:
1. I have fixed all issues with Flip/Rotate Group, added these features to Schematic, added possibility to assign hotkeys to them.
2. Datasheet field in BOM.
3. Save selection when use Undo in Component and Pattern Editor
4. All fixes listed in previous messages of this thread and several other bugs and usability issues we noticed during tests since 3.2 release.

We plan to publish 3.2.0.1 at November 1.
Really was hoping we would finally get a native Mac version.
If your PC market is shrinking perhaps target additional markets like the Mac?
There is no shrink, there is change and more interesting competitors. Generally for customers it promises better software for less money, that is why we made price drop. After all tests and trying to port Pattern Editor, we know how to port our software to Mac (without some features yet), but it is VERY time/resource consuming task and requires full project structure redesign to be able to support both platforms from single Delphi source code (it may stop main development line for the term from several months to 1.5 years, then will require full polishing of a new structure). Or another way to go is to write separate native application for Mac from scratch and don't touch main Windows application, how bigger companies with less complex software actually do. We still plan to do one of these steps, but at the moment have tasks with bigger priority within main development line and don't have resources for separate Mac or Web-based application.

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KevinA
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Re: DipTrace 3.2 release

#7 Post by KevinA » 30 Oct 2017, 13:12

novarm44 wrote:
Really was hoping we would finally get a native Mac version.
If your PC market is shrinking perhaps target additional markets like the Mac?
There is no shrink, there is change and more interesting competitors.
The ROI would be a long time coming
main.jpg
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"Delphi source code" Is this the reason DipTrace works with Wine? (Works great Ubuntu 17.10 x64 + Wine x86 + Diptrace x86) None of the IMSIDesign products work with Wine, that I've tried

novarm44
DipTrace Lead Developer
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Joined: 08 Jun 2010, 23:24
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Re: DipTrace 3.2 release

#8 Post by novarm44 » 01 Nov 2017, 04:28

3.2.0.1 with all improvements and fixes listed above has been published today.

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KevinA
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Re: DipTrace 3.2 release

#9 Post by KevinA » 01 Nov 2017, 05:59

Please add the version number to the download file, makes it easier to track and with your new update cycle that would help.
The download diptrace_en.exe I save as diptrace_en-32_1.exe and diptrace_en64-32_1.exe

Tomg
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Re: DipTrace 3.2 release

#10 Post by Tomg » 01 Nov 2017, 07:47

Thanks for all of the bug fixes and, especially, the increase in resolution in version 3.2.0.1. Much to your delight I have found what appear to be a few working resolution-related problems in need of your expert attention...
1) While being able to specify a grid size down to 0.00003 mm is a helpful improvement, any value less than 0.003 mm entered as a Custom Grid setting will be displayed as 0.003 mm in both the Custom Grid choices and, eventually, the Grid Size entry box after using the Ctrl +/- hotkeys.
2) Setting the grid size to (for example) 0.0001 mm in the Grid Size entry box at the top of the PCB Layout editor's screen, and then moving an object with an arrow key (once), will result in a move of 0.0001 mm; but the object's new coordinates will not display the fourth decimal place needed to show its actual position. It is limited to three decimal places.
3) Dimensions will not display the extra decimal place(s) needed for the increase in working resolution. They won't even display the 3rd decimal place needed for DipTrace's older working resolution.
Tom

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