Problems with custom pad shape...

 Roger,

Thanks for the good luck wishes - I'm afraid I need it!

Did you actually try to open/place my symbol from the initial zip file? I'm quite curious if I'm only battling my Allegro incompetence or I'm also dealing with an actual 16.2 error....

Regarding error sources, I acknowledge that the caching might sometime play tricks on me. But as things generally does not change until updated/replaced, I think it's not the real issue. With the insane amount of time I've wasted on this, I'd also count on flukes saving me at some point if caching was the sole problem.
Likewise, I do actually run the 16.2 under Win7-64. But I'd expect crashes or something obvious - like the missing check boxes in the placement dialogue. (The latter nearly broke me - thanks to NordCad.dk for helping me out there!). But I should probably get a XP running again for testing if the issues remain. Might be worth a few hours...
I fail to understand how the grids can mess things up? Should I avoid changing them? Or start parts with a certain grid setting?

I do realise that the (seemingly) only sane thing to do would be to upgrade to the newest version and buy some support - or just pay someone to do the darn libraries and possibly other stuff that cause problems. But I've just gone "all in" on a huge development project. Absolutely no income and lots of expenses (currently "sponsored" by my savings account along with my rent ;-). So when it comes down to upgrading tools etc. or actually being able to finance the  hardware for the prototype... well working long hours seems like the only right thing to do. (I just need to remember to slam my fist (head?! ;-) into the table and not the screen/PC when frustration inevitably kicks in). After all I've got no use for the tools if I don't survive to do another design. If I know Cadence right, I can't even sell my new license to another company... ;-P

Best regards,
 Anders

PS: On a final note I do acknowledge that the Allegro is a capable tool. But for us poor souls starting out without an expert in the next office - it's simply frustrating. Definitely the efforts has not been focused on usability (at least not successfully). Undoubtedly everyday Allegro users get used to the quirks - but the learning curve is devastatingly steep. I might be missing quite a few things - but I often end up wondering if it's "just me". For instance I still find my self calculating and keying in coordinates every time I need something done to measurements. Feels insane - but I have not yet found a better way! (More like a early-eighties AutoCad version than what I'd expect of an UI today. I guess AutoCad at least improved after SolidWorks etc.  started stealing their engineering customers big time. ;-)
It's also frustrating that previews are either non-existing or non-working. No decent libraries (well, almost) to start out with - and no "best practise" guides available. The library work is just plain frustrating. You either have to accept that you need to clean up symbols (line widths, text sizes etc) in every design or spend a lot of time grooming the libraries (and remember to write down your own "best practises"). I'm sure a seasoned Allegro user will be able to write skill (?) macro stuff to help out with both libraries and in-design cleanup. But I'm not venturing there yet - plenty of problems already.
For now I've actually given up on getting any inter-tool communication going (Orcad PCB to Orcad Capture - how hard can it be?! ;-) - but at least I've seen some working with 16.0 under XP (not easy though!). Need to revisit that problem at some point - it'll save a lot of time if it works. Other current things I gave up on include finding the setting that avoid dynamic copper island to keep appearing, not being able to show drill holes in the editor, removing parts of pads (thought anti-etch would do the trick, but no) etc. Guess I should keep a list and write a beginners guide when there's nothing else to do... ;-)

Btw. I'd recommend any other desperate newbie out there to start on YouTube (!) or these foras (but search them with google) - because imho the documentation and online help is mostly just a waste of time.:-O

 Roger,

Thanks for the good luck wishes - I'm afraid I need it!

Did you actually try to open/place my symbol from the initial zip file? I'm quite curious if I'm only battling my Allegro incompetence or I'm also dealing with an actual 16.2 error....

Regarding error sources, I acknowledge that the caching might sometime play tricks on me. But as things generally does not change until updated/replaced, I think it's not the real issue. With the insane amount of time I've wasted on this, I'd also count on flukes saving me at some point if caching was the sole problem.
Likewise, I do actually run the 16.2 under Win7-64. But I'd expect crashes or something obvious - like the missing check boxes in the placement dialogue. (The latter nearly broke me - thanks to NordCad.dk for helping me out there!). But I should probably get a XP running again for testing if the issues remain. Might be worth a few hours...
I fail to understand how the grids can mess things up? Should I avoid changing them? Or start parts with a certain grid setting?

I do realise that the (seemingly) only sane thing to do would be to upgrade to the newest version and buy some support - or just pay someone to do the darn libraries and possibly other stuff that cause problems. But I've just gone "all in" on a huge development project. Absolutely no income and lots of expenses (currently "sponsored" by my savings account along with my rent ;-). So when it comes down to upgrading tools etc. or actually being able to finance the  hardware for the prototype... well working long hours seems like the only right thing to do. (I just need to remember to slam my fist (head?! ;-) into the table and not the screen/PC when frustration inevitably kicks in). After all I've got no use for the tools if I don't survive to do another design. If I know Cadence right, I can't even sell my new license to another company... ;-P

Best regards,
 Anders

PS: On a final note I do acknowledge that the Allegro is a capable tool. But for us poor souls starting out without an expert in the next office - it's simply frustrating. Definitely the efforts has not been focused on usability (at least not successfully). Undoubtedly everyday Allegro users get used to the quirks - but the learning curve is devastatingly steep. I might be missing quite a few things - but I often end up wondering if it's "just me". For instance I still find my self calculating and keying in coordinates every time I need something done to measurements. Feels insane - but I have not yet found a better way! (More like a early-eighties AutoCad version than what I'd expect of an UI today. I guess AutoCad at least improved after SolidWorks etc.  started stealing their engineering customers big time. ;-)
It's also frustrating that previews are either non-existing or non-working. No decent libraries (well, almost) to start out with - and no "best practise" guides available. The library work is just plain frustrating. You either have to accept that you need to clean up symbols (line widths, text sizes etc) in every design or spend a lot of time grooming the libraries (and remember to write down your own "best practises"). I'm sure a seasoned Allegro user will be able to write skill (?) macro stuff to help out with both libraries and in-design cleanup. But I'm not venturing there yet - plenty of problems already.
For now I've actually given up on getting any inter-tool communication going (Orcad PCB to Orcad Capture - how hard can it be?! ;-) - but at least I've seen some working with 16.0 under XP (not easy though!). Need to revisit that problem at some point - it'll save a lot of time if it works. Other current things I gave up on include finding the setting that avoid dynamic copper island to keep appearing, not being able to show drill holes in the editor, removing parts of pads (thought anti-etch would do the trick, but no) etc. Guess I should keep a list and write a beginners guide when there's nothing else to do... ;-)

Btw. I'd recommend any other desperate newbie out there to start on YouTube (!) or these foras (but search them with google) - because imho the documentation and online help is mostly just a waste of time.:-O