Swapping

The Swapping region includes commands that allow you to configure pin and part swapping. The region is available from the schematic and PCB editors in the following ways.

• From the schematic editor, choose Tools |Swapping.

• From the PCB editor, choose Tools |Swapping.

Schematic Editor

In the schematic editor, the Swapping region includes the Configure Pin Swapping command, which opens the schematic variation of the Configure Swapping Information In Components dialog that lists all components used in the design with their current swap settings. From this dialog, you can access the Configure Pin Swapping for <component> dialog (described below) by selecting a component then clicking the Configure Component button. The dialog contains additional columns that allow you to enable/disable swapping for each component on the board. 

Configure Swapping Information In Components Dialog

The dialog displays all relevant information about the listed components: designator, comment, footprint, library reference, number of pins, and number of parts.

• Component Information - displays all relevant information about the listed components: designator, comment, footprint, library reference, number of pins, and number of parts.
• Configure in Schematic

  • Pin Swap Data - displays how many of the component's pins have been added to a pin-swap group.  For example, [3/2] means that 2 out of 3 pins have been added to a pin-swap group. A green cross appears when a component has been modified to add pins to a pin-swap group. When a component has been modified to remove pins from the pin-swap group, a blue triangle appears.

  • Part Swap Data - displays how many of the component's parts have been added to a part-swap group. For example, [3/2] means that 2 out of 3 parts have been added to a part-swap group. A green cross appears when a component has been modified to add parts to a part-swap group. When a component has been modified to remove parts from the part-swap group, a blue triangle appears.
• Configure Component - click to open the Configure Pin Swapping for Component dialog (described below). This option is only available when a component is selected in the dialog.
• Only Show Components with Swap Information - enable to prevent the dialog from displaying components that have not been configured to enable pin and/or part swapping.
• Right-click Menu - the right-click menu includes options to quickly copy and paste the settings from one component to another, or enable/disable multiple components in a single click. 

Configure Pin Swapping for <component> Dialog

The Configure Pin Swapping for <component> dialog provides controls to configure swap settings for the pins and sub-parts of each component on the board. Use the dialog to enable or disable pin/part swapping and assign or change swap groups.

The dialog is accessed in the following ways:

• Double-click on any component in the Configure Swapping Information In Components dialog.
• Click Configure Component in the Configure Swapping Information In Components dialog (Tools | Swapping | Configure Pin Swapping).
• In a PCB document, right-click on the component then select Component Actions » Configure Pin/Part Swapping.
• In a schematic document, right-click on the component then select Part Actions » Configure Pin Swapping.

Pin Swapping Tab

A component pin is swappable with another pin in that component when it belongs to the same pin group. Use this tab of the dialog to view and organize the pin groups for your component.

• Pin Status - lists the Designator, Pin Name, Net, Bus, Type, and Part No., and Part Mode for each pin. You can group the data to your preference or project requirements by dragging and dropping column headers into the Drag a column header here to group by that column region. You can also reorder the column headers by dragging them into a different horizontal order.
• Swap Data - lists the Pin Group information for each pin to be swapped. Double-click within the Pin Group column to rename the group.

Right-click Menu

• Show/Hide Columns - use the sub-menu to configure which columns are visible.
• Assign Pin-Swap Groups By - automatically assign pin swap groups by either Designator, Pin Name, Net, Bus, Type, Part No., Part Mode, or Pin Properties. Select multiple pins before right-clicking in order to assign groups at the same time.
• Add To Pin-Swap Group - use to create new or add to existing pin-swap groups. New pin-swap groups are automatically named using numerical values (e.g., 1, 2, 3, etc.). You can add more than one pin at the same time by selecting multiple pins before right-clicking.
• Remove From Pin-Swap Group - use to remove the selected pin(s) from the pin-swap group. You can remove more than one pin at the same time by selecting multiple pins before right-clicking.

Differential Pair Swapping Tab

The swapping of differential pairs is governed by the value of the pair group for a differential pair. Use this tab to view and organize the pair groups for your component. 

• Pin Status - lists the Designator, Pin Name, Net, and Type for each pin. You can group the data to your preference or project requirements by dragging and dropping column headers into the Drag a column header here to group by that column region. You can also reorder the column headers by dragging them into a different horizontal order.
• Swap Data - lists the Pair Group information for each pair to be swapped. Double-click within the Pair Group column to rename the group.

Right-click Menu

• Show/Hide Columns - use the sub-menu to configure which columns are visible.
• Add To Pair-Swap Group - use to create new or add to existing pair-swap groups. New pair-swap groups are automatically named using numerical values (e.g., 1, 2, 3, etc.). You can add more than one pair at the same time by selecting multiple pairs before right-clicking.
• Remove From Pair-Swap Group - use to remove the selected pair(s) from the pair-swap group. You can remove more than one pair at the same time by selecting multiple pairs before right-clicking.

Part Swapping Tab

 
Part swapping for a component is configured with the part group and sequence ID attributes. The sequence ID attribute determines the equivalence of the pins between swappable sub-parts. Use this tab to view and organize the part groups for your components. 

• Left region - lists the Sub Part and associated Swap Data.

• Right region - lists the Pin Status information and associated Swap Data. 

  • Pin Status - lists the Designator, Pin Name, Net, Bus, Pin Type, and Mode for each pin. 
  • Swap Data - lists the Sequence ID information for each pin. Double-click within the Sequence ID column to rename.

Right-click Menu

• Show/Hide Columns - use the sub-menu to choose which columns are visible on the Pin Swapping tab of the dialog.
• Assign/Remove Part Sequence Number - the sequence ID attribute determines the equivalence of the pins between swappable sub-parts. Create new or add to existing sequence ID groups. You can add/remove more than one part to a sequence ID at the same time by selecting multiple parts before right-clicking. New groups are automatically named using numerical values (e.g., 1, 2, 3, etc.). Double-click within the Sequence ID column to rename the group.

PCB Editor

In the PCB editor, the Swapping region includes the Pin/Part Swapping command with a sub-menu of additional commands. Each command is described below.

Configure

The Configure command opens the PCB variation of the Configure Swapping Information In Components dialog (described above).

The PCB version varies from the schematic version in the following ways.

• Enable in PCB

  • Pin Swap - enable or disable pin swapping for each desired component by checking the box. The swap will take effect once you click OK then exit the dialog.

  • Part Swap - enable or disable part swapping for each desired component by checking the box. The swap will take effect once you click OK then exit the dialog.

Interactive Swapping Commands

The Interactive swapping commands allow pins, differential pairs, or sub-parts to be swapped one at a time in the PCB editor. Once an Interactive command is clicked, the pins that are available for swapping are highlighted. The steps required to perform a swap are displayed on the status line.

1. The first step is to select one of the highlighted pins that will become the source of the pin swap. In the case of pair or part swapping, the differential pair or sub-part that the pin belongs to will be subsequently swapped.
2. The second step is to select the target pin for the swap. For pair or part swapping, this pin will be representative of a differential pair or a sub-part.

Automatic Net/Pin Optimizer

The Automatic Pin/Net Optimizer command runs a fast single-pass optimizer that attempts to minimize cross overs and connection lengths, but may actually increase them. The iterative optimizer will perform multiple passes in an attempt to reduce the number of cross overs and connection lengths.