Copy Paste via SKILL from one board to another

Hi Catalin

I did some prototype work at some point for this and have the code here to share, notice that it is dirty code just to show the point.

It has functionality to select an area and export to a text file.

It can then import the data and show it as a skeleton, but when you place it nothing will happen - but all you have to do for that is to mimic code for skeleton in order to create real data.

Note that is also has a layer map in the beginning, you will need to get rid og that and just create your own use model for that.

So use it as a starting point for your own code.

Best regards

Ole

0317.ns_movelayer.zip

There are two other ways to do this:

1) open the 'source' design and extract all information and store it in memory. With this data you can re-create those items in the destination board. Obviously this only works within the same Allegro session.

Since you cannot use/store the dbId's you need to come up with your own data structures.

For example for vias you need to transfer padstack(name), location, net, properties.  For sure there are other items to consider.

For (c)lines you can use axlPath structures to store the data into memory. You can then simply call a path create function in the desitination board.

I've used this mechanism in a tool that can place a board (boundaries, holes, outline etc) in another board.

Some starting code to work from:
defun( copy_boundary ()
    let( (brd_current placebound)
        brd_from = "test.brd"
        brd_current     = axlGetDrawingName()
        when(axlOpenDesignForBatch(brd_from "wf")
            ;only want to keep polygons, shape dbid will become invalid after switching design
            ;axlPolyFromDB returns always a list. Using mapcar('car  to make flat list
            placebound = mapcar('car mapcar('axlPolyFromDB axlDBGetShapes("PACKAGE GEOMETRY/PLACE_BOUND_TOP")))
            axlOpenDesignForBatch(brd_current "wf")
        )

        foreach(poly placebound   axlDBCreateShape(poly t "PACKAGE GEOMETRY/PLACE_BOUND_TOP" nil nil))
        )
)

2) use axlDBCreateModuleDef().  With this you can create a complete 'module' which you can save and 'place' in the destination design with axlDBCreateModuleInstance().

The allegro clip file is in fact a skill file, so you can use a load("test.clp")  to import the clip drawing...

Bram