BoardSurfers: What's Happening Around 17.4-2019?

Allegro® and OrCAD® 17.4-2019 was released on October 18 and we have since then been getting a lot of queries about a lot of things. How do I install the products? What are the system requirements? What has changed? What's there in it for me? Is there something to quickly get me started? We, of course,  love answering these questions because providing solutions, making your designs better, making your processes more efficient, and enabling you to tackle newer challenges with ease are what motivates us at Cadence. And, that's why you will see a lot of activity happening in our community pages. It is the right time to subscribe to this page if you haven't done so already.

Some activities have already started, in the community pages as well as on Cadence Online Support. We will have a post on some exciting stuff on Cadence Online Support in a few days. So, be on the lookout. But Tyler Lockman has already posted three very pertinent and useful blogs in the IC Packaging and SiP Design page that might interest you but which you might have missed if you are not subscribed to that page. 

The three blog posts covering the important changes in the look and feel, scripting, and reusable pattern of vias in 17.4-2019 release are equally relevant to both the IC Packaging and the PCB Design worlds. I will recommend you to keep an eye on the IC Packaging and SiP Design page in the coming weeks as Tyler will be posting on many more new features.

17.4-2019 has a sleek and more modern look, to provide you enhanced usability. But a change is a change and, although the changes are intuitive by design, they require an introduction. As usual, with his deep insight of the products and experience of dealing with our users, Tyler does a great job of guiding us through the changes in menus, icons, and forms and, as a bonus also talks about the useful Compatibility Mode feature in the first blog in this series, IC Packagers: Welcome to 17.4!.

We always keep your productivity in mind. And, we know you must have automated many of your tasks. Are you wondering if your scripts are good as is or need minor tweaks and changes? Tyler guides us with real examples in his post titled IC Packagers: Scripting Updates in 17.4.

In a very intuitive change, all hierarchical structures AKA reusable patterns of vias are now organized to reflect their hierarchical structure. Easier to use once you know the changes. Tyler does exactly that with his post titled  IC Packagers: Plan Your Escape with Modernized Structures.

For a brief description of important new features, you can refer to our last blog announcing the 17.4-2019 release. Or, for a detailed description of all the changes, go through the Release Notes on Cadence Online Support.

See you soon with more information. And, if you have a query or want a post on a specific topic, do write to us.

Bon Voyage with 17.4-2019!