Recommended project directories structure

Question

I am new to Cadence software. Before starting working on a large project, I would like to know if there is a recommended or most common structure for the directories and files. 
 One option is to a single directory and all the files in there, but it does not look very convenient for large project. Another option is to have global directories for footprints, symbols, etc. This works fine for a single project, but with multiple projects then everything gets mixed. 
 In other EDA software tools I usually set up things like this: 
 ``` . ├── libs │ ├── lib_1 │ │ ├── 3D │ │ │ └── a.step │ │ ├── a.footprint │ │ ├── a.symbol │ │ ├── b.footprint │ │ └── b.symbol │ └── lib_2 │ ├── 3D │ │ └── a.step │ ├── a.footprint │ ├── a.symbol │ ├── b.footprint │ └── b.symbol └── main.project ``` 
 which is very convenient because 
 
 It remain local to the project, 
 if I reuse say `lib_1` in another project, I can simply symlink to it and use it without duplicating information or having to update any path, and 
 the working directories stay clean. 
 
 I tried to setup something similar for Allegro X but ended up having a lot of issues with the paths. Right now I have everything in a single directory, but I see an inconvenience when the project starts to grow.

excellon1 · Answer

Hi 
 In Allegro you can basically create any structure that you like, no real limitations. I have found a Global structure for the libs to work best. If your doing a number of projects just keep them in their own folder, You don't need to include the libs etc in that folder only things like the Schematic .Dsn, .brd pcb, Netlist . By way of an example, I kind of like the plain English approach, for example. Allegro Padstacks TH Allegro Padstacks SMD Allegro Vias Allegro Step Models Allegro Libs Allegro Modules Allegro Clip Files Allegro Templates Allegro Stackup 
 Under Allegro Libs one could have additional folders that describe the contents such as. IC Capacitors Resistors Diodes These are basically the foofprint containers that reside on disk. Its an easy read if browsing the disk or if you need to schedule backups etc in a corporate situation. When you create PCB footprints or ,dra's be aware that the footprint will be made up of a number of items. Typically these are. .pad = Padstack, .psm = Package symbol, .dra = Footprint. Depending on how you name your footprint and padstack etc over time it can be difficult to find the complete footprint on disk. One way around this is to take the approach of having the same name for each item. For example assume you are creating a soic8 footprint then the naming would be like this. SOIC8.DRA SOIC8.PSM SOIC8.PAD On disk it would be fairly easy to identify a complete footprint done that way. The 3 parts would get put in the folder IC on disk. Usually I create the folders first using windows explorer then point to them when configuring Allegro paths from within Allegro. Best Regards

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