Allegro X Scripting - TCL - Recent Threads

RE: How do I use the TCL command to save an image and a Visio drawing file from a DSN file as a new file?

FK202606088435 — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 05:53:42 GMT

Nice solution! Thank you very much.

Regarding retrieving the text content and formatting from a circuit page using TCL commands,
I need the text content, text size, font, and font style.

I'd like to ask if there are TCL commands that can extract the same information as in File→Export→Design XML in the following UI interface?

Below is an example of an error I encountered when trying to retrieve font format, text size, and text font:

# Retrieving LOGFONT object index (but pure TCL cannot parse its internal fields)
# set lFont [DboGraphicCommentTextInst_sGetFont $lTextInst $lStatus]

How do I use the TCL command to save an image and a Visio drawing file from a DSN file as a new file?

FK202606088435 — Tue, 28 Jul 2026 06:48:23 GMT

Hi,

My current version is 23.1. How do I use the TCL command to save an image and a Visio drawing file from a DSN file as a new file?

I've tried the Base64 decoding mentioned on pages 762 and 767 of the OrCAD_Capture_TclTk_Extensions.pdf file, but it's not working. The code snippet provided is:

Invalid command name "DboTclHelper_sGetBase64ImageData"

OrCAD how to create a correct Variant report through TCL

PatEscher — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 12:51:47 GMT

Hello,
we are trying to build a Variant BOM Report through tcl and have been inspired by the sample tcl file capCIS.tcl.

Everything works fine, as long as you do the Group assignment through the Part Manager.

However, if you do it through the Schematic Right Mouse button Action, you will most likely get into trouble as soon as you use Components with multiple parts (does not matter if homogenous or heterogenous).

So what I do is the following:

I place a multi part component, so let's say K401A and K401B in my schematic

Looking at the Part Manager I see that K401 (Designator A) is added to the common Group. --> so far so good --> the Component is Mounted
then I add it to a Variant group and set it to "Not present" --> so far so good --> the Component is Unmounted

Then I go ahead in the schematic, select the Part K401B and use the right Mouse button to add it to a Variant Group --> WOW, why I am allowed to do this, the "Physical Part" should already been added before.

Now,back in Part Manager, I still see that the Part K401 (Designator A) is set to "Not present"... but... when we now run the tcl code to get the Variant BOM, I see both part entries, K401A and K401B, both in the same group, but one as present and the other one as not present --> why is it be possible to have such a situation. I have ONE physical Component which is a MultiPart package (or fractured Symbol). I should be be able to assign the individual parts to different groups. If I add one part to a group, then it must be valid for all the parts (once again, we are dealing with one physical Component).

My debug output verifies this:

[DEBUG] 2026-07-30 11:22:34:557 SubGroup Ch4-Relay Duplicator unmounted PartId:4293 and refDes K401A

[DEBUG] 2026-07-30 11:22:34:557 SubGroup Ch4-Relay Duplicator MOUNTED PartId:4296 and refDes K401B

So what I am missing here? What is the usecase which makes this required/useful?

in addition, I have absolutely no possibility to visualize this issue nor to correct it. I would need to know what is going wrong somehow and then manually remove K401B through the Command action in the schematic.

How can we identify and deal with this situation and make sure, that the BOM is created on the physical components and not the instantiated parts. Not clear to me which tcl functions to use for this.

I though about considering the Reference Designator/Designator, but this would also not be really working, as I can manually assign a RefDes and therefore they could be the same but are indeed different physical components (--> yes, this is a design error, but we would need to deal with it somehow). So I would need to have a possibility to identify if a component is mounted or not across all available parts of this component (essentially it seems that if one part is set to not present, then the component is not present)

When I create a BOM report through the Part Manager, then everything is fine, so it means to me that there must be somehow a possibility to work on the physical components.

Any idea appreciated

+Patrick

RE: OrCAD how to create a correct Variant report through TCL

TechnoBobby — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 15:06:21 GMT

Hi PatEscher ,

You can try the following script. Give it a RefDes and it will report all groups/subgroups where that part is present and whether it is marked as stuffed (present) or not stuffed (DNI).

set targetRefDes "C20"

proc cs {obj} {
if {$obj == "" || $obj == "NULL"} {
return ""
}
return [DboTclHelper_sGetConstCharPtr $obj]
}

set cisDesign [CPartMgmt_GetCisDesign [GetActivePMDesign]]
set grpCont [$cisDesign GetGroupsContainer]

puts "Checking $targetRefDes"

set groupCount [$grpCont GetGroupCount]

for {set g 0} {$g < $groupCount} {incr g} {

set groupCS [$grpCont GetGroupByIndex $g]
set groupName [cs $groupCS]

if {[$grpCont IsGroupHasSubGroups $groupCS]} {

set subCnt [$grpCont GetSubGroupCount $groupCS]

for {set s 0} {$s < $subCnt} {incr s} {

set subCS [$grpCont GetSubGroupByIndex $groupCS $s]
set subName [cs $subCS]

set partArr [CISTclHelper_sMakeCUIntArray]
$grpCont GetPartsFromSubGroup $groupCS $subCS $partArr

set cnt [CISTclHelper_sGetCUIntArraySize $partArr]

for {set i 0} {$i < $cnt} {incr i} {

set partId [CISTclHelper_sGetUInt $partArr $i]
set occ [$cisDesign GetPartOccForID [CISTclHelper_sGetUINTFromInt $partId]]

if {$occ == "NULL" || $occ == ""} {
continue
}

set rdObj [$occ GetPartRefDes]
set refdes [cs [$rdObj GetRefDes]]

if {[string equal -nocase $refdes $targetRefDes]} {

set stuffed [$grpCont IsPartStuffedSubGroup $groupCS $subCS [CISTclHelper_sGetUINTFromInt $partId]]

puts "Group=$groupName SubGroup=$subName PartId=$partId Stuffed=$stuffed"

if {$stuffed} {
puts " Status : PRESENT"
} else {
puts " Status : NOT PRESENT / DNI"
}
}

delete_CISInstOccurrence $occ
}
}
}
}

Hope this helps!

RE: OrCAD how to create a correct Variant report through TCL

PatEscher — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 14:01:56 GMT

ok, to make this a little bit simpler (hopefully)🙂

The idea now is to get the "Do Not Stuff" string (the name I can get from the CIS Configuration) and then use this as a filter
But I am not clear on how to get this information. I tried a lot of things like looking t the EffectiveProperties etc., but did not find this 'override' in case that a part is not stuffed

Can you provide me an example how to get to this info, assuming that I have the partId which is provided through the Part Manager

set uintPartId [CISTclHelper_sGetUINTFromInt $partId]
set cisInstOcc [$cisDesign GetPartOccForID $uintPartId]

Thanks

RE: How do I use the TCL command to save an image and a Visio drawing file from a DSN file as a new file?

TechnoBobby — Tue, 28 Jul 2026 08:50:58 GMT

Hi FK202606088435 ,

Please try the following TCL code on a selected image on schematic page:

set bmpInst [GetSelectedObjects]
set bmp [$bmpInst GetDboBitMap]

set outStr [DboTclHelper_sMakeStdStr ""]
set status [DboState]

DboBitMap_sGetBase64ImageData $bmp $outStr $status

set base64Data [DboTclHelper_sGetConstCharPtr $outStr]

COrBase64Encoder_decodeToFile $base64Data "c:/temp/image.png"

Hope this helps!

RE: Constraint setup via TCL in ASC?

Gelzone — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 05:41:25 GMT

The English ver: Applications of Electrical Constraint Sets for the first section; Automatic Topology and Updates for the first selection; Creating XNet and Differential Pairs Using the DML Model (same with SPB 16.6) for the second selection

Constraint setup via TCL in ASC?

Gelzone — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 05:36:55 GMT

I need to do a manual process for each schematic: Electrical Analysis -> Constraint Manager -> Edit -> a window popup (the screenshot) -> Tools -> Options and check the items below:

I found it is not a global setting so I need to set this one by one.

I'd like to know is there any command/script can handle this? I just find cnsmgr to open the window but can not manipulate the choice.

Or another way, if ASC has a config file just like OrCAD's Capture.ini? Maybe I can set them in this kind of file.

Disable CM updates or Audits during Component Replace through tcl

PatEscher — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 10:08:22 GMT

Hello,

we have written TCL code which programmatically replaces a component instance on the schematic with another one from the CIS library.

For this we do a full replace, set all the properties and also consider any user properties and merge them. so a quite complex process, but everything is working fine.

But we see some performance issues when doing this in OrCAD.

Apparently OrCAD tries to update CM connectivity and XNets when we do this. we see in the status bar messages like "Pushing Connectivity changes in CM" , "ECSet Audit on Net Connectivity" Change, etc.

is there any possibility to turn these updates off when we do the replace of the instance (it is not a single instance, but can be dozens or hundreds) and then later on turn it on again and do the 'full update' ?
Can this be done through a tcl command, maybe like DboDesign_SetConnectivityUpdateTracking or maybe some Preference Settings?

Thanks

Patrick

RE: Disable CM updates or Audits during Component Replace through tcl

PatEscher — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 13:16:52 GMT

I can confirm, CM flow is enabled

capIsCMFlowEnabled delivers 1

So is there a possibility to temporarily turn it off, then do the replace of the components and then turn it on again?I quickly checked the available tcl commands, but did not find a command/method which is selfspeaking

RE: Disable CM updates or Audits during Component Replace through tcl

PatEscher — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 14:19:22 GMT

I would need to confirm this with our client, but I am pretty sure that Constraint manager is enabled.

Cadence Version is SPB 23.1

RE: Disable CM updates or Audits during Component Replace through tcl

TechnoBobby — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 12:46:46 GMT

Hi PatEscher ,

Just to narrow this down, these connectivity updates are typically triggered when Constraint Manager is active in Capture. Could you please confirm if Constraint Manager is enabled from Schematic Capture in your setup and whether you are actively using it in this design? Also, it would be helpful to know which Capture version you are currently using.
These CM push and ECSet audit messages are generally observed only when Constraint Manager integration is enabled, so this information will help in understanding the behavior more accurately.

RE: How to successfully place a custom TitleBlock in the TCL instructions for creating an OPJ

FK202606088435 — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 08:37:58 GMT

Hi TechnoBobby,

No problem. Please refer to the following TCL command I'm currently experiencing issues with.

I've tried several times but still can't paste my TCL command content here. Please allow me to share it with you via a Google Drive shared link. The tcl and txt files contain the same content.

URL:drive.google.com/.../1xFMwL3FbEvZ0yQqglEbWdf-f9hRpPeyQ

Thank you for your assistance in replying.

How to successfully place a custom TitleBlock in the TCL instructions for creating an OPJ

FK202606088435 — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 03:00:04 GMT

Hi, Sir:

In the OrCAD Capture CIS 23.1,

In the DSN page of the manually created project, I can successfully place my custom TitleBlock using the same TCL commands.

However, it does not work in the OPJ I currently create using the following TCL commands,

and there are no error messages. After the entire circuit diagram is drawn, the lower right corner is still blank.

Thank you for your careful and patient guidance.

RE: How to successfully place a custom TitleBlock in the TCL instructions for creating an OPJ

TechnoBobby — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 08:32:18 GMT

Hi FK202606088435 ,

Could you please confirm how you are trying to share the TCL, are you attempting to upload the *.tcl file directly to the forum, or are you trying to copy‑paste the commands into the reply thread? you can try pasting the script in smaller parts or share only the relevant portion causing the issue.

RE: How to successfully place a custom TitleBlock in the TCL instructions for creating an OPJ

FK202606088435 — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 07:44:53 GMT

Hi TechnoBobby,

I've tried several times, but I still can't paste my TCL command here. I also can't share it with you via Google Drive sharing link. Is there any other way to share my TCL command?

Thank you for your assistance in replying.

RE: How to successfully place a custom TitleBlock in the TCL instructions for creating an OPJ

TechnoBobby — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 06:45:03 GMT

Hi FK202606088435 ,

Since the same TCL commands works in a manually created DSN, the issue is likely related to when and where the title block is being applied in the script.
Could you confirm whether your script places the title block after the DSN is fully open and the page is created and set as active?
Sharing your TCL snippet will help narrow this down.

For further details, you can refer to below article on ASK portal:
Article (20498203) Title: How to place custom title blocks based on page sizes in OrCAD X Capture
URL: support.cadence.com/.../ArticleAttachmentPortal

RE: Generate ORCAD netlist (with orWirelist.dll) using TCL Script

TechnoBobby — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 06:34:22 GMT

Hi CA20240926987 ,

If you're looking to export similar format data using TCL script, you can try below code.

Hope this helps!

proc pinConnectivityReport {} {

if {[file exists "pinConnectivity.txt"] == 1} {

file delete "pinConnectivity.txt"

}
set lPathCS [DboTclHelper_sMakeCString]
[GetActivePMDesign] GetName $lPathCS
set lPath [file dirname [DboTclHelper_sGetConstCharPtr $lPathCS]]
set lSession $::DboSession_s_pDboSession
DboSession -this $lSession
set lNullObj NULL
set lStatus [DboState]
set lDesign [$lSession GetActiveDesign]
if {$lDesign == $lNullObj} {
puts "ERROR: No active design."
return
}
set lSchi_Name [DboTclHelper_sMakeCString]
set lPinNameCS [DboTclHelper_sMakeCString]
set lPinNumberCS [DboTclHelper_sMakeCString]
set lNetNameCS [DboTclHelper_sMakeCString]
set lRefdesNameCS [DboTclHelper_sMakeCString]
set lReport [open "pinConnectivity.txt" a+]
if {$lDesign != $lNullObj} {

set lSchematicIter [$lDesign NewViewsIter $lStatus $::IterDefs_SCHEMATICS]
#get the first schematic view
set lView [$lSchematicIter NextView $lStatus]
set lPage_Name [DboTclHelper_sMakeCString]
while { $lView != $lNullObj} {
#dynamic cast from DboView to DboSchematic
set lSchematic [DboViewToDboSchematic $lView]
$lSchematic GetName $lSchi_Name
set lPagesIter [$lSchematic NewPagesIter $lStatus]
#get the first page
set lPage [$lPagesIter NextPage $lStatus]
# puts [DboTclHelper_sGetConstCharPtr $lSchi_Name]
while {$lPage!=$lNullObj} {
#placeholder: do your processing on $lPage
$lPage GetName $lPage_Name
# puts [DboTclHelper_sGetConstCharPtr $lPage_Name]
set lPageName [DboTclHelper_sGetConstCharPtr $lPage_Name]
set lPartInstIter [$lPage NewPartInstsIter $lStatus]
set lInst [$lPartInstIter NextPartInst $lStatus]
while {$lInst != $lNullObj} {
puts $lReport "++++++++++===========+++++++++++++"
$lInst GetReferenceDesignator $lRefdesNameCS
set lRefdes [DboTclHelper_sGetConstCharPtr $lRefdesNameCS]
set lPinIter [$lInst NewPinsIter $lStatus]
set lPin [$lPinIter NextPin $lStatus]

while {$lPin !=$lNullObj } {
# puts $lPin
$lPin GetPinName $lPinNameCS
set lPinName [DboTclHelper_sGetConstCharPtr $lPinNameCS]
# puts "$lPinName pinName"
$lPin GetPinNumber $lPinNumberCS
set lPinNumber [DboTclHelper_sGetConstCharPtr $lPinNumberCS]
# puts "$lPinNumber pinNumber"
set lWire [$lPin GetNet $lStatus]
# puts $lWire
if {$lWire != $lNullObj} {
$lWire GetNetName $lNetNameCS
set lNetName [DboTclHelper_sGetConstCharPtr $lNetNameCS]
# puts "$lRefdes.$lPinNumber.$lNetName.$lPageName"
puts $lReport "$lRefdes.$lPinNumber.$lPinName.$lNetName.$lPageName"
# puts [DboTclHelper_sGetConstCharPtr $lNetNameCS]
}
#get the next pin of the part
set lPin [$lPinIter NextPin $lStatus]

}
delete_DboPartInstPinsIter $lPinIter
puts $lReport "++++++++++===========+++++++++++++"
set lInst [$lPartInstIter NextPartInst $lStatus]

}
delete_DboPagePartInstsIter $lPartInstIter
#get the next page
set lPage [$lPagesIter NextPage $lStatus]
}
#get the next schematic view
delete_DboSchematicPagesIter $lPagesIter
set lView [$lSchematicIter NextView $lStatus]
}
delete_DboLibViewsIter $lSchematicIter

}
close $lReport
exec {*}[auto_execok start] "" "$lPath\\pinConnectivity.txt"
}

pinConnectivityReport

Generate ORCAD netlist (with orWirelist.dll) using TCL Script

Shanmugi — Tue, 10 May 2022 12:19:20 GMT

Hi,

I need to generate netlist with orWirelist.dll (as if from the 'other' tab in OrCAD) from orcad using TCL script.

I manually generated the script from tools->create netlist->other option -> orWirelist.dll (under formatters option).

But trying to generate the same using TCL scripts.

Is there a way to do, if so kindly help me on the same.

Thanks for your help in advance!

RE: Generate ORCAD netlist (with orWirelist.dll) using TCL Script

CA20240926987 — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 01:57:17 GMT

Did you ever figure this out? I am trying to solve this problem as well.

RE: Add a tcl command I created and registered to the toolbar and also assign an icon to it programmatically for capture 17.2 version

CadAP — Wed, 13 May 2026 16:44:38 GMT

RS202512234819 I would suggest add a separate menu or menu under Accessories tab and assign you custom proc to it.

AddAccessoryMenu(lVendorName, lMenuName, proc) : returns bool
Parameters:
lVendorName: char const *
lMenuName: char const *
proc: char const *

For adding custom menu

Article (20240311) Title: How to add a custom menu in OrCAD Capture?
URL: support.cadence.com/.../ArticleAttachmentPortal

Try and let me know in case of any concern.

Add a tcl command I created and registered to the toolbar and also assign an icon to it programmatically for capture 17.2 version

RS202512234819 — Sun, 10 May 2026 13:27:23 GMT

Hi,Sir:

I had create a tcl command, and I want to register to the toolbar and assign an icon to it for capture 17.2,

I had try the "new" button from menu "Tool"--->"Customize"---->"Toolbars",but it can't bind the tcl command,

please kindly help to give a method to achieve it?

thanks!

TCL to set active page in the treeview using SelectPMItem

fSeyer — Mon, 04 May 2026 08:51:01 GMT

Hi,

Could anyone suggest an alternative to SelectPMItem?
I’m using it to set the active page in a tree view, but it ignores page names that contain "0".

RE: TCL to set active page in the treeview using SelectPMItem

fSeyer — Mon, 04 May 2026 15:33:14 GMT

Hi TechnoBobby,

Thanks for respond!
i have a UI that listed all the pages, my intend is to to print pdf or generate Bom for either per page or all page.
usually we set page name stars from 01_circuit name ~ 10_circuit name.
i notice that only page name without "0" can used by SelectPMItem.

here's my code

set sel [.pageReport.lb curselection]
if {$sel eq ""} return
set idx [lindex $sel 0]
set text [string trim [.pageReport.lb get $idx]]
if {$text eq "ALL PAGES"} {
set lDesign [GetActivePMDesign]
set lDesignName [DboTclHelper_sMakeCString]
set lsts [$lDesign GetName $lDesignName]
$lsts -delete
set fullPath [DboTclHelper_sGetConstCharPtr $lDesignName]
set splitPath [file split $fullPath]
set dsnName [file rootname [lindex $splitPath end]]
SelectPMItem "./$dsnName.DSN"
}
catch {SelectPMItem "$text"}

RE: TCL to set active page in the treeview using SelectPMItem

TechnoBobby — Mon, 04 May 2026 11:36:28 GMT

Hi fSeyer ,

Could you clarify what you do after selecting the page in the Project Manager tree?
Do you need the page selected only to make it active in the UI, or are you selecting it to obtain a DboPage and perform further operations on it?