RunScissors

Applied Parameters: Mode=Cut_Polygons

Summary

This command is used to slice one or more polygon pours into two or more separate polygon pours.

Access

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

Use

The slicer will only work provided the current layer is the layer that the polygon pour - to be sliced - resides on. Therefore, first ensure that the correct layer is made the current layer.

After launching the command, the cursor will change to a cross-hair and you will enter slice mode (which is essentially line placement mode). To slice a polygon:

1. Starting outside the boundary of the polygon, click, or press Enter, to anchor the starting point for the slicing line (the first track segment).
2. Move the cursor to define the track segment and click, or press Enter, to anchor the end point for this first segment, which is also the start point for the next connected segment.
3. Continue to position the cursor and click, or press Enter, to anchor a series of vertex points that define the series of connected track segments.
4. Once the slicing line has been placed across and out the other side of the polygon, right-click, or place Esc, to terminate line placement.
5. Repeat steps 1-4 to slice the same polygon pour, or another polygon pour, as required.
6. When you have finished all required slicing, right-click, or press Esc, to terminate slicing - a Confirm dialog will appear asking if you wish to split x polygons into y polygons. Click Yes to effect the split(s).

Placement Modes

While placing track segments 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 1 segment per click (the first 5 images just below), or 2 segments per click (the last image in the set just below). In the first mode the hollow track segment is referred to as the look-ahead segment.
• Press the Backspace key to remove the last vertex.

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

Tips

1. As the slicing line is the same color as the polygon pour, it helps if the polygon is repoured with the Fill Mode set to None (Outlines Only) before starting the slicing process, so the slicing line can easily be seen.
2. 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.

Applied Parameters: Mode=Cut_Polygons|ContextObject=Polygon

Summary

This command is used to slice the polygon pour currently under the cursor, into two or more separate polygon pours.

Access

This command is accessed from the PCB Editor by right-clicking over a placed polygon pour, and choosing the Polygon Actions » Slice Polygon Pour command, from the context menu.

Use

First, ensure that the cursor is positioned over the polygon pour that you wish to slice.

After launching the command, you will enter slice mode (which is essentially line placement mode). To slice the polygon:

1. Starting outside the boundary of the polygon, click, or press Enter, to anchor the starting point for the slicing line (the first track segment).
2. Move the cursor to define the track segment and click, or press Enter, to anchor the end point for this first segment, which is also the start point for the next connected segment.
3. Continue to position the cursor and click, or press Enter, to anchor a series of vertex points that define the series of connected track segments.
4. Once the slicing line has been placed across and out the other side of the polygon, right-click, or place Esc, to terminate line placement.
5. Repeat steps 1-4 to slice the polygon pour further, as required.
6. When you have finished all required slicing, right-click, or press Esc, to terminate slicing - a Confirm dialog will appear asking if you wish to split 1 polygon into x polygons. Click Yes to effect the split(s).

Placement Modes

While placing track segments 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 1 segment per click (the first 5 images just below), or 2 segments per click (the last image in the set just below). In the first mode the hollow track segment is referred to as the look-ahead segment.
• Press the Backspace key to remove the last vertex.

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

Tips

1. As the slicing line is the same color as the polygon pour, it helps if the polygon is repoured with the Fill Mode set to None (Outlines Only) before starting the slicing process, so the slicing line can easily be seen.
2. 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.

Applied Parameters: Mode=Cut_Tracks

Summary

This command is used to slice track segments using the Track Slicer tool. The Track Slicer provides an easy mechanism for cutting one or more track segments into two, and can slice tracks on the current signal layer, or all visible signal layers.

Access

This command is accessed from both PCB and PCB Library Editors, by choosing the Edit » Slice Tracks command from the main menus.

Use

After launching the command, the cursor will change to a cross-hair and you will be prompted to choose a starting location for the slice. In addition, filtering is applied to only show track objects within the workspace. This will either be all track across all visible signals layers, or only track on the current signal layer, depending on the active setup of the Track Slicer. To slice one or more tracks:

1. Position the cursor and click, or press Enter, to anchor the starting point for the slice.
2. Move the cursor across the point of the track, or tracks, where you want to slice - the path of the slicer is shown by a line, with the prospective cut(s) visually depicted.
3. Click, or press Enter, to anchor the end point of the slicer's track, effecting the slice.
4. Continue slicing further track segments, or right-click, or press Esc, to exit slice mode.

Additional actions that can be performed - after the initial anchor point for the slice has been chosen, and while moving the 'slicing line' - are:

• Press the B key to cycle between cutting track on the current signal layer only, or track on all visible signal layers.
• Press the Spacebar to switch the cutting angle between 45 Degree increments, or Any Angle.
• Press the N key to cycle the slicer blade side between Left, Right, and Middle.
• Press the / key to select all sliced tracks.
• Press the , key to select sliced tracks to the left of the slicer.
• Press the . key to select sliced tracks to the right of the slicer.
• Press the M key to not have any sliced tracks selected.
• Press the Tab key to access the Slicer Properties dialog, from where properties for the Track Slicer can be changed on-the-fly.

Tips

1. A track segment is sliced such that the extents of the blade pass through what will become the centers of the hotspots of the resulting two segment ends.
2. You can feely define the width of the slicing blade through the Slicer Properties dialog. Alternatively, you can constrain the width of the blade based on the current Snap grid. If the value for the Blade Width is not a multiple of the Snap grid, it will be clipped so that it is on-grid. The resulting width is known as the Gridded Width. If this option is disabled, AND the Blade Width is not a multuple of the current Snap grid, one or both of the resulting track segment ends may reside off-grid. If the Blade Side is set to Left or Right, the track end at the extent of the blade will be located off-grid (the track end along the starting location axis will remain on-grid). If the Blade Side is set to Both, then both track ends will reside off-grid.
3. The Blade Side controls how the slice is made, in relation to the axis determined from the chosen starting location for the slice. In the workspace, the axis determined by the chosen starting location appears as a solid line, while the extent of the blade appears as a dashed line. The following options are available:
   1. Left - the slice will be made to the left of the starting location axis. The slice distance will be equal to the full Blade Width, or Gridded Width, as applicable.
   2. Right - the slice will be made to the right of the starting location axis. The slice distance will be equal to the full Blade Width, or Gridded Width, as applicable.
   3. Both - the slice will be made equally to the left and right of the starting location axis. The slice distance on each side will be equal to half the full Blade Width, or half the Gridded Width, as applicable.
4. The extent of masking applied when filtering can be manually adjusted using the Mask Control (Background Objects Factor) slider bar, accessed by clicking the Mask Level button at the bottom-right of the main design window. Clear filtering by using the Clear button, to the right of the Mask Level button.

Applied Parameters: Mode=Cut_Rooms

Summary

This command is used to slice one or more rooms into two or more separate rooms.

Access

This command can be accessed from the PCB Editor by:

• Choosing the Design » Rooms » Slice Room command, from the main menus.
• Clicking the  button on the Place Room drop-down () of the Utilities toolbar.

Use

The slicer will only work provided the current layer is the layer that the room - to be sliced - resides on. Therefore, first ensure that the correct layer is made the current layer.

After launching the command, the cursor will change to a cross-hair and you will enter slice mode (which is essentially line placement mode). To slice a room:

1. Starting outside the boundary of the room, click, or press Enter, to anchor the starting point for the slicing line (the first track segment).
2. Move the cursor to define the track segment and click, or press Enter, to anchor the end point for this first segment, which is also the start point for the next connected segment.
3. Continue to position the cursor and click, or press Enter, to anchor a series of vertex points that define the series of connected track segments.
4. Once the slicing line has been placed across and out the other side of the room, right-click, or place Esc, to terminate line placement.
5. Repeat steps 1-4 to slice the same room, or another room, as required.
6. When you have finished all required slicing, right-click, or press Esc, to terminate slicing - a Confirm dialog will appear asking if you wish to split x rooms into y rooms. Click Yes to effect the split(s) - the affected room(s) will be graphically redrawn, with a corresponding Room Definition Rule associated to any new room, and an Online DRC performed automatically if needed.

Placement Modes

While placing track segments 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 1 segment per click (the first 5 images just below), or 2 segments per click (the last image in the set just below). In the first mode the hollow track segment is referred to as the look-ahead segment.
• Press the Backspace key to remove the last vertex.

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

Tips

1. If the original room was associated to and contained components that were members of a component class, a newly generated room that inherits one or more of these components will not have a new component class created and assigned to it. Therefore, the components in this new room will still be members of the original component class. To have the components made members of a new component class as part of a slice, use the Smart Slice Room feature.
2. 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.

Applied Parameters: ContextObject=Room|Mode=Cut_Rooms

Summary

This command is used to slice the room currently under the cursor, into two or more separate rooms.

Access

This command is accessed from the PCB Editor by right-clicking over a placed room, and choosing the Room Actions » Slice Room command, from the context menu.

Use

First, ensure that the cursor is positioned over the room that you wish to slice.

After launching the command, you will enter slice mode (which is essentially line placement mode). To slice the room:

1. Starting outside the boundary of the room, click, or press Enter, to anchor the starting point for the slicing line (the first track segment).
2. Move the cursor to define the track segment and click, or press Enter, to anchor the end point for this first segment, which is also the start point for the next connected segment.
3. Continue to position the cursor and click, or press Enter, to anchor a series of vertex points that define the series of connected track segments.
4. Once the slicing line has been placed across and out the other side of the room, right-click, or place Esc, to terminate line placement.
5. Repeat steps 1-4 to slice the room further, as required.
6. When you have finished all required slicing, right-click, or press Esc, to terminate slicing - a Confirm dialog will appear asking if you wish to split 1 room into x rooms. Click Yes to effect the split(s) - the rooms will be graphically redrawn, with a corresponding Room Definition Rule associated to any new room, and an Online DRC performed automatically if needed.

Placement Modes

While placing track segments 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 1 segment per click (the first 5 images just below), or 2 segments per click (the last image in the set just below). In the first mode the hollow track segment is referred to as the look-ahead segment.
• Press the Backspace key to remove the last vertex.

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

Tips

1. If the original room was associated to and contained components that were members of a component class, a newly generated room that inherits one or more of these components will not have a new component class created and assigned to it. Therefore, the components in this new room will still be members of the original component class. To have the components made members of a new component class as part of a slice, use the Smart Slice Room feature.
2. 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.

Applied Parameters: ContextObject=Room|Mode=SmartCut_Rooms

Summary

This command is used to slice the room under the cursor into two or more separate rooms. Each new room created may inherit one or more of the components contained in the original room. Where such components belong to a component class, a new class will be created for each new room, and membership updated accordingly.

Access

This command is accessed from the PCB Editor by right-clicking over a placed room, and choosing the Room Actions » Slice and Create Classes command, from the context menu.

Use

First, ensure that the cursor is positioned over the room that you wish to slice.

After launching the command, you will enter smart slice mode (which is essentially line placement mode). To slice the room:

1. Starting outside the boundary of the room, click, or press Enter, to anchor the starting point for the slicing line (the first track segment).
2. Move the cursor to define the track segment and click, or press Enter, to anchor the end point for this first segment, which is also the start point for the next connected segment.
3. Continue to position the cursor and click, or press Enter, to anchor a series of vertex points that define the series of connected track segments.
4. Once the slicing line has been placed across and out the other side of the room, right-click, or place Esc, to terminate line placement.
5. Repeat steps 1-4 to slice the room further, as required.
6. When you have finished all required slicing, right-click, or press Esc, to terminate slicing - a Confirm dialog will appear asking if you wish to split 1 room into x rooms. Click Yes to effect the split(s) - the rooms will be graphically redrawn, with a corresponding Room Definition Rule associated to any new room, and an Online DRC performed automatically if needed. If the members of the original room were part of a component class and slicing results in members residing in the newly-generated rooms, then each new room will have a component class created and associated to it. The component class membership will be updated accordingly, so that each component in a new room will be added to the class for that room and removed from the original room class. Any room that is created that does not inherit a member component of the original room, will have no component class created and assigned to it.

Placement Modes

While placing track segments 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 1 segment per click (the first 5 images just below), or 2 segments per click (the last image in the set just below). In the first mode the hollow track segment is referred to as the look-ahead segment.
• Press the Backspace key to remove the last vertex.

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

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 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.