Netlist Manager

Modified by Susan Riege on Aug 13, 2018
Contents
Other Related Resources
Edit Net (Dialog)
Pad (Dialog)
Netlist Tools

Parent page: PCB Dialogs

The Netlist Manager dialog

Summary

This dialog provides controls to effectively manage the netlist for the board. Nets can be added, edited or deleted, as required, and the pins (or rather pads) of the components in those nets also can be edited with respect to their properties. Access to other netlist management tools is also provided through this dialog, including the ability to create the netlist based on connected copper on the PCB and the ability to export the netlist from the PCB.

Access

The dialog is accessed from the PCB Editor by choosing the Tools | Netlist |  » Edit Nets command from the main menus.

Options/Controls

  • Nets In Board - this region presents all of the nets defined for the board by their name. Use the mask field above the list to quickly filter the list content.
The mask field is used to filter the list to only show strings that match the mask string. You can use the * (any characters) wildcard in the mask string - for example, "*" to display all nets, or "D*" to display all nets that start with the letter D.
  • Edit - click this button to access the Edit Net dialog, from where you can view and modify the properties of the currently selected net (or focused net when multiple nets are selected in the list. The focused net is presented with a dotted border).
  • Add - click this button to add a new net for the board. The Edit Net dialog will open in which you can define the properties of the net. The initial, default name for the new net will be NewNet; change this as required.
  • Delete - click this button to delete the currently selected net(s) from the board. A confirmation dialog will appear; click Yes to effect the removal.
Standard multi-select techniques (Ctrl+click, Shift+click, Click&Drag) are supported in the listing.
  • Pins In Focused Net - this region presents all of the pins (component pads) associated/belonging to the currently selected/focused net. For each entry in the list, the identifier for the pin is shown in the format <ComponentDesignator>-<PinDesignator>. Use the mask field above the list to quickly filter the latter's content.
The mask field is used to filter the list to only show strings that match the mask string. You can use the * (any characters) wildcard in the mask string - for example, "*" to display all pins in the selected/focused net, or "U*" to display only those pins associated with components whose designator start with the letter U.
  • Edit - click this button to access the Pad dialog, from where you can view and modify the properties of the currently selected pin (pad).
  • Menu - click this button to access a menu offering the following commands:
    • Add Net - use this command to add a new net for the board. The Edit Net dialog will open in which you can define the properties of the net
    • Delete Net - use this command to delete the currently selected net(s) from the board. A confirmation dialog will appear; click Yes to effect the removal.
    • Update Free Primitives From Component Pads - use this command to resynchronize the net name of the routing primitives to the net name on the padsto which they connect. After launching the command, a confirmation dialog appears asking whether you wish to update free primitive nets with the component-pad nets. After clicking Yes, starting from each pad, the connected copper is selected and the net name of each primitive is set to match that of the pad.
This operation does not affect the internal PCB netlist.
  • Clear All Nets - use this command to clear all nets from the current design document, essentially flushing the internal PCB netlist. This may be desirable if you have changed net information in the source schematic documents and you want to fully resynchronize your PCB with the source schematic netlist information. After launching the command, a confirmation dialog will appear alerting you to the fact that this operation will clear all net information from the PCB. After clicking Yes, all net information will be removed. Any routed track will remain routed, but will have a No Net assignment. Any unrouted logical connections will be removed.
  • Export Netlist From PCB - use this command to export to file the internal PCB netlist for the current document. After launching the command, a confirmation dialog will appear asking if you wish to export the netlist from the PCB. After clicking Yes, a netlist (Exported <PCBDocumentName>.Net) is created in the same folder as the PCB design document and is automatically opened as the active document in the main design window.
The netlist will be added to the Projects panel as a free document under the Documentation\Text Documents sub-folder.
  • Create Netlist From Connected Copper - use this command to create a netlist file based on the connectivity created by the routing in the current design. After launching the command, a confirmation dialog will appear asking if you wish to generate a netlist from the copper on the PCB. After clicking Yes, a netlist (Generated <PCBDocumentName>.Net) is created in the same folder as the PCB design document and is automatically opened as the active document in the main design window.
Each net in the netlist gets its name from one of the pads to which the routed copper connects.
The netlist will be added to the Projects panel as a free document under the Documentation\Text Documents sub-folder.
All commands available on the menu associated to the Menu button are also available from the right-click context menu for either region.

 

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