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Hi there,
I have been using Orcad 16.6 on and off for the last year. One of my biggest criticisms is the difficulty i have in creating keyboard shortcuts.
Nearly every other PCB layout package I have used right from protel 99 had the ability to create keyboard shortcuts in a simple and straight forward manor. I suggest that some form of .env file keyboard wizard would be a good idea. I (and i suspect many other users) don't want to use gestures or SKIL, I just want to tap a button to use a tool. I don't want to open the .env file in note pad and waist 30mins trying to make a short cut work. Orcad is marketed as being an efficient tool to use, I spend more time trying to implement shortcuts (and other preferences) that applications like PCD Designer, Protel and altium have as standard that it has totally diminished any efficiency gains.
Is there a reason why this doesn't exist already?
Many thanks
Rob,
I'm pretty sure that you can't create your own shorcuts in the likes of altium, you have to sue the default ones that they supply. Remember the Cadence tools have lots of ways of doing things not just shortcut keys but anyway are you aware of the scriptmode +e command ? If not try typing this at the command line then all the commands are listed so you can quickly build the shortcuts of choice. I'd also recommend looking at:- http://www.parallel-systems.co.uk/images/PDF/PCB_Editor_Tips.pdf There are many shorcuts here that you can put in your env file. You only have to do this once...
Thank you for your reply unfortunately for a new user having a number of ways to achieve a goal isn't always a good thing. The documentation for Orcad online is overwhelming to say the least, the PS documentation is certainly some of the best I have seen for Orcad but its still an incredibly broad subject to teach.
Altium does indeed allow you to create shotcuts in a simple and straight forward manor from within the application. If you have a copy? Press control and the left mouse button. From here you can assign a new key command. Further the standard shortcut keys already assigned out the box are logical and easy to learn which just is not the case with Orcad. It is a given that when placing components on a PCB you will need to at the very least rotate some of them by 90deg, why not just have the 'R' button setup for rotate out the box?
I spoke with our resellers this week and was pointed towards some documentation and the scriptmode +e command which is helpful and should be of great aid. Unfortunately for now I have encountered another snag and cannot locate the .env file within the pcbenv folder however I will start another post regarding this.
Ultimately having such a customisable tool is fantastic in the short term however it is a ball ache and has already soaked up hours of my time to setup. Its 2014 and really I think a simple to setup keyboard shortcut tool is a prerequisite for professional grade software.
Best regards
Woking, Surrey.... do you work for PS?
Regards