PCB_Cmd-PlaceRegionPlaceRegion_AD

Applied Parameters: None

Summary

This command is used to place a Region object onto the active document, whose Kind property is set to Copper. Referred to thereafter as a copper (or solid) region, it is a polygonal-shaped primitive object that can be placed on any layer. It can have any number of sides and vertices (corners). It can be placed on a signal layer to define an area of solid copper, to be used to provide shielding or to carry large currents. Positive regions can be combined with tracks or arc segments and be connected to a net. In the PCB Library Editor, regions can be used to create custom pad shapes on copper layers, or special mask shapes on the solder and paste masks. On non-electrical layers regions can be used to define custom shapes for tasks such as logos.

Access

This command is accessed from the PCB Editor, and PCB Library Editor, by choosing the Place » Solid Region command from the main menus.

Use

After launching the command, the cursor will change to a cross-hair and you will enter region placement mode. Placement is made by performing the following sequence of actions:

1. Position the cursor and click, or press Enter, to anchor the starting vertex for the region.
2. Move the cursor ready to place the second vertex. The default behavior is to place 2 edges with each click, with a user-defined corner shape between them. Refer to the Placement Modes section below for more details on changing corner modes.
3. Continue to move the mouse and click, or press Enter, to place further vertices.
4. After placing the final vertex, right-click, or press Esc, to close and complete placement of the region. There is no need to manually close the region as the software will automatically complete the shape by connecting the start point to the final point placed.
5. Continue placing further regions, or right-click, or press Esc, to exit placement mode.

Additional actions that can be performed during placement include:

• Press the + and - keys on the numeric keypad to cycle forward and backward through all layers currently visible in the design.
• Press the * key to cycle through the visible signal layers.
• Press the Tab key to access the Region dialog, from where properties for the region can be changed on-the-fly.

Placement Modes

While placing a region there are 5 available corner modes, 4 of which also have corner direction sub-modes. During placement:

• Press Shift+Spacebar to cycle through the 5 available corner modes: 45 degree, 45 degree with arc, 90 degree, 90 degree with arc, and Any Angle.
• Press Spacebar to toggle between the two corner direction sub-modes.
• When in either of the arc corner modes, hold the  or  keys to shrink or grow the arc. Hold the Shift key as you press to accelerate arc resizing.
• Press the 1 shortcut key to toggle between placing 2 edges per click, or one edge per click. In this second mode the dashed edge is referred to as the look-ahead segment (as shown in the last image in the set below).
• Press the Backspace key to remove the last vertex.

Press Shift+Spacebar to cycle through the 5 available corner modes, press the 1 shortcut to toggle placement between
2 edges, or 1 edge.

Tips

1. A region will adopt a net name if it is placed over an object that is already connected to a net.
2. A solid (copper) region can be placed as a layer-specific keepout object, or an all-layer keepout to act, for example, as a placement or routing barrier. Objects defined as keepouts are ignored during output generation, such as photo plotting and printing. A layer-specific keepout region is simply a region object with its Keepout property enabled, an all-layer keepout is a region that has been placed on the Keepout layer.
3. While attributes can be modified during placement (Tab to bring up associated properties dialog), bear in mind that these will become the default settings for further placement unless the Permanent option on the PCB – Defaults page of the Preferences dialog is enabled. When this option is enabled, changes made will affect only the object being placed and subsequent objects placed during the same placement session.

Applied Parameters: RegionKind=Cutout

Summary

This command is used to place a Region object onto the active document, whose Kind property is set to Polygon cutout. Referred to thereafter as a polygon pour cutout, it is a polygonal-shaped primitive object that can be placed on any layer. It can have any number of sides and vertices (corners). Since it is placed as a negative, this type of region can create a cutout (a void) in a polygon pour. In this mode the region will not be filled with copper when the polygon is poured.

Access

This command is accessed from the PCB Editor, and PCB Library Editor, by choosing the Place » Polygon Pour Cutout command from the main menus.

Use

After launching the command, the cursor will change to a cross-hair and you will enter region placement mode. You can either place the region within the bounds of the intended polygon pour object, or place elsewhere and move into position afterwards. Placement is made by performing the following sequence of actions:

1. Position the cursor and click, or press Enter, to anchor the starting vertex for the region.
2. Move the cursor ready to place the second vertex. The default behavior is to place 2 edges with each click, with a user-defined corner shape between them. Refer to the Placement Modes section below for more details on changing corner modes.
3. Continue to move the mouse and click, or press Enter, to place further vertices.
4. After placing the final vertex, right-click, or press Esc, to close and complete placement of the region. There is no need to manually close the region as the software will automatically complete the shape by connecting the start point to the final point placed.
5. Continue placing further regions, or right-click, or press Esc, to exit placement mode.

Additional actions that can be performed during placement include:

• Press the + and - keys on the numeric keypad to cycle forward and backward through all layers currently visible in the design.
• Press the * key to cycle through the visible signal layers.
• Press the Tab key to access the Region dialog, from where properties for the region can be changed on-the-fly.

Placement Modes

While placing a region there are 5 available corner modes, 4 of which also have corner direction sub-modes. During placement:

• Press Shift+Spacebar to cycle through the 5 available corner modes: 45 degree, 45 degree with arc, 90 degree, 90 degree with arc, and Any Angle.
• Press Spacebar to toggle between the two corner direction sub-modes.
• When in either of the arc corner modes, hold the  or  keys to shrink or grow the arc. Hold the Shift key as you press to accelerate arc resizing.
• Press the 1 shortcut key to toggle between placing 2 edges per click, or one edge per click. In this second mode the dashed edge is referred to as the look-ahead segment (as shown in the last image in the set below).
• Press the Backspace key to remove the last vertex.

Press Shift+Spacebar to cycle through the 5 available corner modes, press the 1 shortcut to toggle placement between
2 edges, or 1 edge.

Tips

1. While attributes can be modified during placement (Tab to bring up associated properties dialog), bear in mind that these will become the default settings for further placement unless the Permanent option on the PCB – Defaults page of the Preferences dialog is enabled. When this option is enabled, changes made will affect only the object being placed and subsequent objects placed during the same placement session.

Applied Parameters: RegionKind=BoardCutout

Summary

This command is used to place a Region object onto the active document, whose Kind property is set to Board cutout. Referred to thereafter as a board cutout, it is a polygonal-shaped primitive object that is placed on the Multilayer layer. It can have any number of sides and vertices (corners). Since it is placed as a negative, this type of region defines an area that becomes a hole through the finished board. Board cutout regions are transferred to Gerber and ODB++ files for manufacturing purposes.

Access

This command is accessed from the PCB Editor by choosing the Design » Board Shape » Define Board Cutout command from the main menus.

Use

After launching the command, the cursor will change to a cross-hair and you will enter region placement mode. Placement is made by performing the following sequence of actions:

1. Position the cursor and click, or press Enter, to anchor the starting vertex for the region.
2. Move the cursor ready to place the second vertex. The default behavior is to place 2 edges with each click, with a user-defined corner shape between them. Refer to the Placement Modes section below for more details on changing corner modes.
3. Continue to move the mouse and click, or press Enter, to place further vertices.
4. After placing the final vertex, right-click, or press Esc, to close and complete placement of the region. There is no need to manually close the region as the software will automatically complete the shape by connecting the start point to the final point placed.
5. Continue placing further regions, or right-click, or press Esc, to exit placement mode.

Additional actions that can be performed during placement include:

• Press the + and - keys on the numeric keypad to cycle forward and backward through all layers currently visible in the design.
• Press the * key to cycle through the visible signal layers.
• Press the Tab key to access the Region dialog, from where properties for the region can be changed on-the-fly.

Placement Modes

While placing a region there are 5 available corner modes, 4 of which also have corner direction sub-modes. During placement:

• Press Shift+Spacebar to cycle through the 5 available corner modes: 45 degree, 45 degree with arc, 90 degree, 90 degree with arc, and Any Angle.
• Press Spacebar to toggle between the two corner direction sub-modes.
• When in either of the arc corner modes, hold the  or  keys to shrink or grow the arc. Hold the Shift key as you press to accelerate arc resizing.
• Press the 1 shortcut key to toggle between placing 2 edges per click, or one edge per click. In this second mode the dashed edge is referred to as the look-ahead segment (as shown in the last image in the set below).
• Press the Backspace key to remove the last vertex.

Press Shift+Spacebar to cycle through the 5 available corner modes, press the 1 shortcut to toggle placement between
2 edges, or 1 edge.

Tips

1. While attributes can be modified during placement (Tab to bring up associated properties dialog), bear in mind that these will become the default settings for further placement unless the Permanent option on the PCB – Defaults page of the Preferences dialog is enabled. When this option is enabled, changes made will affect only the object being placed and subsequent objects placed during the same placement session.

Applied Parameters: Keepout=True

Summary

This command is used to place a Keepout Solid Region object onto the active document. A Keepout in PCB design is a user defined area or perimeter placed in the layout that copper objects cannot intersect. Typically included to control the area used by automated copper placement actions, such as polygon pours and interactive routing, a Keepout also represents an invalid location when manually placing copper objects. 

As specified ‘no go’ areas during design layout, Keepout objects use the existing Clearance Constraint Rules to control routing and detect placement violations, but unlike other placed objects, cannot be assigned to a Net and are not shown in generated Outputs or printouts. In its simplest sense, a Keepout acts as an ‘interference’ object that prevents other copper objects from intersecting its area, as specified by the global Clearance Rule.

Access

This command is accessed from the PCB Editor by choosing the Place » Keepout » Solid Region command, from the main menus.

Use

After launching the command, the cursor will change to a cross-hair and you will enter region placement mode. Placement is made by performing the following sequence of actions:

1. Position the cursor and click, or press Enter, to anchor the starting vertex for the region.
2. Move the cursor ready to place the second vertex. The default behavior is to place 2 edges with each click, with a user-defined corner shape between them. Refer to the Placement Modes section below for more details on changing corner modes.
3. Continue to move the mouse and click, or press Enter, to place further vertices.
4. After placing the final vertex, right-click, or press Esc, to close and complete placement of the region. There is no need to manually close the region as the software will automatically complete the shape by connecting the start point to the final point placed.
5. Continue placing further regions, or right-click, or press Esc, to exit placement mode.

Additional actions that can be performed during placement include:

• Press the + and - keys on the numeric keypad to cycle forward and backward through all layers currently visible in the design.
• Press the * key to cycle through the visible signal layers.
• Press the Tab key to access the Region dialog, from where properties for the region can be changed on-the-fly.

Placement Modes

While placing a region there are 5 available corner modes, 4 of which also have corner direction sub-modes. During placement:

• Press Shift+Spacebar to cycle through the 5 available corner modes: 45 degree, 45 degree with arc, 90 degree, 90 degree with arc, and Any Angle.
• Press Spacebar to toggle between the two corner direction sub-modes.
• When in either of the arc corner modes, hold the  or  keys to shrink or grow the arc. Hold the Shift key as you press to accelerate arc resizing.
• Press the 1 shortcut key to toggle between placing 2 edges per click, or one edge per click. In this second mode the dashed edge is referred to as the look-ahead segment (as shown in the last image in the set below).
• Press the Backspace key to remove the last vertex.

Press Shift+Spacebar to cycle through the 5 available corner modes, press the 1 shortcut to toggle placement between
2 edges, or 1 edge.

Tips

1. To place an all-layer keepout, make the Keepout layer the active layer, then place keepout solid region on that layer. Alternatively, after placement, select the keepout solid region and set its Restricted for Layer field to All Layers. Keepouts are indicated by the current Keep-Out layer color. Keepout objects set to a specific signal layer are outlined by the Keep-Out color, whereas Keepouts set to All Layers show as solid color – and appear on the Keep-Out Layer itself.
2. When editing the properties of the placed keepout solid region, the associated Keepout Restrictions options determine which object types will be restricted by the Keepout. Deselecting an object type will cause the Keepout to allow transgressions by that type of object (not kept out), by not imposing the applicable Clearance Rule.
3. Keepouts are automatically restricted to the Layer they are placed on, so Keepouts applied directly to the Keep-Out layer will become All Layer Keepouts. When the Keepout Layer is changed, the Keepout will be limited to, and appear on, the specified Layer. Note that a conventional (non Keepout) object cannot be placed on the Keep-Out Layer.
4. While attributes can be modified during placement (Tab to bring up associated properties dialog), bear in mind that these will become the default settings for further placement unless the Permanent option on the PCB Editor – Defaults page of the Preferences dialog is enabled. When this option is enabled, changes made will affect only the object being placed and subsequent objects placed during the same placement session.