What's Good About Allegro PCB Editor Line Width Retention? 16.6 Has It!

Currently, user line width overrides are permitted during the Add Connect command, but are reset back to constraint driven when the command is completed. New behavior in the Allegro PCB Editor 16.6 release maintains the user setting until it is manually reset. The line width override now appears in blue, similar to the model established in the Constraint Manager Worksheets or shape parameter form to represent an override state. The user can easily reset to constraint mode by selecting constraint from the drop-down menu.

Open an Allegro PCB Editor .brd file and invoke the ‘Add Connect’ command then open the Options Panel. Enter a value in the ‘Line Width’ field; 12 for example. Note the color change to blue, a format that is recognized by Allegro users as an override state:

 
Route any connection in the workspace then perform a RMB – Done.

Re-invoke ‘Add Connect’, noting the 12mil value has been retained. Prior to 16.6, the value would be aligned with the constraint driving line width for the net about to be routed.

User comments in the past suggest the constant resetting of line widths to be frustrating, but something they just live with. This is mainly heard from designers responsible for analog routing where sometimes, the design rule is ‘route as wide as possible’.

Choose a ‘Line width’, then select ‘Constraint’ to resume Constraint Driven routing.

Please share your experiences using this capability.

Jerry “GenPart” Grzenia