What's Good About Allegro PCB Editor Polygon Selection? Look at SPB16.3 and See!

The Allegro PCB Editor allows selection of items by several means. In preselect mode, a single object or group of objects can be selected using a SHIFT left mouse button window select or by using a right mouse button Selection Set — Object browser. In the verb-noun mode, multiple items can be selected by windowing around the items to operate on, or by creating a temporary group of items to operate on. The window mechanism is conventional in that it requires a few steps in order to select multiple items. However, the window is orthogonal.

The Allegro PCB Editor SPB16.3 release now includes the ability to select elements by drawing a polygon around them. With this release, an enhanced windowing operation is available that permits a polygon selection window. Select-by-polygon is available in both the preselect and legacy mode. In verb-noun mode it's available on the right mouse button whenever a temp group is available. In preselect mode, it's available on the right mouse button as a submenu of the Selection Set menu (Selection Set — Select by Polygon).

When "Select by Polygon" is invoked, you are placed into a vertex entry mode. With each pick in the canvas, a line is drawn from the prior pick to the current pick. A dynamic line is displayed from the current cursor position to the initial pick maintaining a closed polygon at all times.

Read on for more details …

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Using Polygon Select Example

A common request for polygon selection is related to via replacement; especially on components rotated 45 degrees.

 
1.    Select General Edit application mode
2.    Set the Super Filter to Via
3.    Invoke the polygon window selection. Right mouse button Selection Set — Select by Polygon

 
4.    Enter picks around the BGA. Use right mouse button "Done" to close the polygon

 
5.    Hover over a via and use the right mouse button Replace Padstack — Selected Instance(s)

 
6.    You will be presented with the "Select Padstack GUI" to chose a replacement padstack from.
 

Please share your thoughts on using this new Allegro PCB Editor feature!

Jerry "GenPart" Grzenia