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Transferring user defined property values between Capture and Allegro PCB Editor

FormerMember
FormerMember

If I would like to transfer, say, the component value between Capture and Allegro this is no problem, on the package .dra file I just add a text "*" using the "Component Value" class to some reasonable layer (Component Value -> Silk Top). From the Class dropdown menu it appears that I can also grab certain other property names, like "Tolerance" or "User Part Number".

Is it possible to transfer arbitrary properties between the schematic and layout, or only these ones? In this example I have a 10 position rotary switch. Ideally I would define properties called "position1", "position2" etc. in the schematic library, give them appropriate string labels in the schematic design, and then have those labels automatically transferred to some silk layer in Allegro. Currently I just have dummy text as package geometry > silk top, and then I edit the text manually whenever I place a switch... but this has the possibility of transcription errors.

Thanks!

  • steve
    Yes it's possible. Basics are you'll need to edit your allegro.cfg to include the properties you want to transfer from Capture to Allegro and also make sure when you netlist you check the box for Create User Defined Properties. Once in Allegro you should be able to use Display - Properties and then find your property names in the list to make them visible.
  • FormerMember
    FormerMember
    Thanks, good to know it's possible. After some reading and a number of attempts I still haven't been able to get it to show up on my board, although it seems that Capture is pushing the values to Allegro.
    Here's what I've done and where I'm at:

    * Find allegro.cfg in C:\Cadence\SPM_17.2\tools\capture
    * Add lines under [ComponentDefinitionProps] using notepad:
    CONTACT1=YES
    CONTACT2=YES etc
    * In Capture library add appropriate properties to the part, display name and value, update in the design cache, add appropriate labels in the schematic
    * In Capture, when pushing the netlist to Allegro with "Create Netlist":
    - check "Allow User Defined Property" box
    - use "Setup" button to pick the modified allegro.cfg file
    * In Allegro (which opened the .brd automatically after netlisting) use the "Show Element" tool to click on the part. Observe that the name/values as defined in Capture are there, so Capture must be doing its part

    That's all I've managed to do that I think is useful... next I've been trying to get them to show up on a silk layer with:
    * In Allegro open the .dra file for the part
    * Go to Display>Property and look for CONTACT1 etc, but they don't appear to be in the list under either "all" or "user defined" filter options. Then I'm stuck.

    They try all the above putting the modified allegro.cfg in both the root-level design directory as well as the allegro design directory.
    I think if I could get a layer for them to show up in Allegro I'd be set... does anybody know what I'm doing wrong?
  • steve

    It's not going to work at symbol (dra) level because the symbol is not netlist aware. Once you have imported the netlist into the board try the Display - Properties command and you should be able to see the properties you have added. You have to do this on a design by design basis.

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember

    Too bad it needs to be done on a design by design basis... but I can't get it to work there either. My options under design when I've got a .dra open are:

    But when I've got a .brd "Property": isn't there:

    Does this mean that my allegro.cfg isn't found?

  • redwire

    Any way you can post up a board with the symbol and associated netlist?  I try this on my system and it works fine.  I can display the custom properties added by the netlist just fine.

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