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pcb-rnd - [propedit]

Since 1.1.2, pcb-rnd core is able to attach user defined attributes (arbitrary textual key=value pairs) to any object. The original mainline pcb-rnd was forked from already supported attributes on some objects (e.g. board attributes, net attributes) but not on all. However, the user had very little access to the attributes - no GUI or action would handle them.

Propedit introduces a property editor window in gtk that is able to edit attributes and core properties of all selected objects. Core properties include all hardwired properties of objects, such as geometry (e.g. trace width, hole diameter, clearance) or textual data (e.g. string of a text).

[screenshot of Edit Properties menu]

Properties and attributes of the selected objects are collected in a sorted list - each row of the list is a property (starting with p/) or an attribute (starting with a/). For each row all values seen in the selection are also collected so that the following values can be presented on the list, per row:

the most common value
minimum value (for numeric value types)
maximum value (for numeric value types)
average value (for numeric value types)

When the user clicks on a row, an edit box is activated and the value can be changed. A combo box lists all existing values for the given row, so it is easy to unify the value of a property or attribute among all selected objects to one of the existing values, but the user is also free to enter a new value.

It is also possible to remove existing attributes or to add new attributes.

save/load and compatibility

Attributes of most objects can not be saved in the original .pcb format. The propedit feature is most useful when used with the lihata board format.

plans

Various improvements. Currently there's no plan to make this function available in the lesstif HID.