How to place a component in a specific location

Hi if you are starting out there are a bunch of videos available over on youtube which can help.

Allegro is similar to traditional cad but there is as some have described it a difficult learning curve. Hang in there you will get it . Your questions are good ones.

So the first thing to think about is the coordinate system and a way to use that to your advantage. In allegro there is both an absolute and relative coordinate system. The relative part would be relative to the absolute. Or relative to a click point with the mouse on the canvas.

First thing you need to do is draw a "Board Outline" for the size of the board you need. To practice things it can be any size you choose. When you get the board outline drawn you next need to set the origin point of the board. This is done using "Change Drawing Origin" which is under setup. Click on that and then click the bottom left corner of your board outline. This sets the absolute origin of your board to be 0,0 in the bottom left corner of the  board.

Here is a pic.

In the picture you can see the board origin. That is the green marker. In the bottom of the window you can also see the current cursor location and a button marked "A". This button toggles between Relative and absolute coordinates.

Click that A button and change it to R which is relative mode. Click on add a line and draw a line inside your board outline. When you start drawing your line you will be drawing it "Relative to where you clicked to start the line. You should
notice that the X,Y coordinates on the bottom of the window start at 0,0 and as you draw in the line they will change. In relative mode you can draw a line of a specific length etc fairly easily.

Next change back to "Absolute mode" & the button will be just like in the picture "A".

Go ahead and select a part for placement so that it is on your cursor. Don't place it but move it around inside your board outline. Notice how the X,Y coordinates change. What this is telling you is that that the "Origin Point" of your footprint
is an absolute distance in (X,Y) away from your board origin.

Another picture.

In the picture you can see the mouse has the part ready for placement. If you look at the (X,Y) location in the bottom of the screen you will see a x of 1000 and a y of 500. So the part is 1 inch away from the origin and 1/2 an inch up from the origin. I use mills so 1000 mils is 1 inch etc. Notice also the origin inside the part. This is what the mouse is snapped to.

When parts are created an origin for the part is specified. The origin can be either pin 1 which is typical or the dead center of the part. My preference is to use the dead center of the part.

Go ahead and place your part anywhere on your board. On the tool bar there is icon that looks like a ruler with 123 printed on it. You can use this to measure how far the part is from your board origin or anything else. Another option is to use draw a line and keep an eye on the x,y coordinate. An easier option would be to select the part first so it is highlighted and then click on the "I" icon which will give info on the part.

In the picture below you can see the part is indeed located at  (x1000,y500) relative to the board origin which is at (0,0)

Lastly there are commands that you can punch in to physically specify where you want that part to be which is based on the "Part Origin" but I think it is better for you to maybe play around with things first so you become comfortable
with the coordinate system and using the mouse to move and place items.

Maybe this will help you out. Give it a go and see how you do. Hopefully this will give you some insight. When you get up to speed the next thing I suggest you take a look at is how to set the grid etc. More than likely you will be needing to
change the grid. "Alot" :)

All the best.

That was an awesome explanation, thank you so much!