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Help tips for the latest version of software released in 2003-2007 How to view hidden pins
(SuperCAD) How to cut a trace (SuperPCB) To cut a vertical or horizontal trace, first select the trace by clicking at the cut point. Then push the F7 key. The trace will be cut at the selection point. How to re-route a trace The following trace is too close to the via. One way to re-route the trace is to cut it at four points, two on the left of the pad and two on the right. This creates three new trace segments. Click on the middle one and drag at either of the highlighted handles to move the trace segment away from the pad. This takes a little practice, but it's very easy with a few tries. You must be in rubberband mode.
After the re-route:
How to move any object from one layer to another (SuperPCB) To move a single
object or group of objects from on plane to another, first select the object (s).
Then just set the view to the target plane and click on the move button
How to flood fill an area (SuperPCB) SuperPCB V5/6 provides a flood fill feature in which you first draw a rectangle, polygon, or ellipse about the region you wish to flood fill. You then select the enclosing object (so that the handles are displayed). Then click on the flood fill button on the toolbar or enter "f" on the keyboard. The following dialog results:
If the Remove Enclosing Object checkbox is selected, the original selected object will be removed after the flood fill. The Fill Mask value represents the distance the fill will stay away from objects within the selected object, such as traces or pads. The Grid Size value represents the resolution at which the flood fill is drawn. A small Grid Size number represents a finer resolution, but will take longer to fill. A large Grid Size number yields a courser fill resolution, but will fill the area more quickly. When you have entered the values you want in the Flood Fill dialog, press Fill to complete the operation.
How to view hidden pin numbers (SuperCAD) Hidden pins are pins that are normally
not displayed such as the terminal pins on discrete parts such as resistors and
capacitors. However, sometimes we would like to view these (for example when a
netlist is being checked). To do this, just click on the pin display button
How to combine several schematic files into one multiple page
schematic (SuperCAD) If you just upgraded to SuperCAD V5 and you have a project
consisting of several schematic files you might want to combine these into a
single multiple page schematic. To do this first start SuperCAD and then do a
Save or SaveAs operation to establish a schematic name. Then load the first
schematic and draw an edit box around all the drawing elements. Enter control C
to copy all the drawing elements to the clipboard. Change to the new schematic
window and paste the drawing elements into the window; the drawing elements will
be on sheet 1. Next click on the add sheet button
How to add hidden power pins to a symbol (SuperCAD) SuperCAD allows four different types of hidden power pins to be specified for a part:
To add the pins, open the part up in the part editor (if it is not already there) and then check the Advanced check box. Click on the Edit Hidden Power Pins button. The dialog shown below will result. To add a pin, Enter the pin number and select the type from the list box; then click on the Insert button. You can also delete existing pin numbers with the dialog by clicking the Delete button. To exit the dialog click the close button in the upper right corner.
Note that hidden power pins are typically used with traditional TTL/CMOS gate and register symbols or OP Amp symbols, where power pins would tend to clutter up the display. For large ICs displayed as rectangular outlines (such as memories and microprocessors), the power pins are generally displayed explicitly. How to load multiple Gerber files (SuperPCB) You can load multiple Gerber files by first clicking on "Import" and then "Gerber" in the File menu. In the resulting Open files dialog, locate the Gerber files you wish to load. Then hold down the shift key and click on each of the files. Then click the Open button. This will load each of the files into the same SuperPCB and display them. For example if you just generated the top, bottom , and silk screen layers in SuperPCB for a design called "xyz.spc" then there would be three files generated:
If you then select these files in the import operation they are all loaded together and displayed in a single window. (You can also load files from other application that generate Gerber). How to use bookmarks (SuperPCB and SuperCAD) Bookmarks allow you to mark locations of interest in artwork or a schematic. For example, you might want to route an IC at the center of a circuit board and also monitor a connector on the edge of the board. TO quickly switch between both locations you can use bookmarks. To enter a bookmark at a location, place the cursor at the location and then enter Ctrl F2 on the keyboard. The bookmark is displayed as two concentric circles. To go to a bookmark press the F2 key; each time the F2 key is pressed, the display is moved to the bookmark location. If you have two bookmarks and you push the F2 key, the display will switch between the two bookmark locations; if you have more bookmarks, the display will be set to each bookmark in sequence. How to select multiple objects (SuperPCB and SuperCAD) Besides drawing a rectangle around objects, You can also select multiple objects by using the Ctrl key. To do this, hold down the Ctrl key and select each object by clicking on it; as you do this a single rectangle is drawn around the objects that you are selecting. The rectangle may enclose objects that were not clicked but these are not selected. When you are done selecting, you can then do any of the standard edit operations (move, copy delete, etc.). How to add connector dots (SuperCAD) (You don't) In version 5 of SuperCAD, connector dots are added automatically whenever a line or terminal is placed at the midpoint of a line. If you have a line that crosses another line at right angles and you want them joined by a dot, then you have to use two lines, one that goes to the crossing line, and one that continues on. The automatic dot feature speeds up drawing and reduces netlisting errors. How to do a Fourier Analysis (SuperCAD/mentalSPICE) The latest version of SuperCAD and mentalSPICE allow you to do a simple spectral analysis of a circuit having a time wave form. To do the analysis you set up the circuit for a standard .TRAN (transient analysis), and then specify a Fourier analysis to go with it. For example, in the following circuit:
The setup is as follows:
After you run the SPICE simulator you can both view the time waveform and view the Fourier display, which shows the waveform harmonic levels and phases:
How to connect pins on different pages of a schematic (SuperCAD) To wire a signal from one page of a schematic to another, you just use the same signal name for nets on the two pages. To add a signal name on any page, enter text mode and then place the cursor on a library part terminal or on a line that goes to a terminal and then click to start typing the signal name.
If the part is already built, you can type in an alternate designator in the
edit library part dialog---click on the designator letter in the reference group
box--you will get a dialog with the title: "New designator type"--type in the
new designator (you can even use the letter P here). The new designator just
effects the single part you edit, in this case. How to disable automatic dot mode (SuperCAD) You can disable automatic dot mode by entering "Alt c" on the keyboard. In this mode you enter dots by pushing the "c" key and then clicking at each point where you need a dot. You can selectively edit just dots by entering "shift C" on the keyboard. We have encouraged the use of automatic dot mode because it results in fewer schematic errors, but it may not be for everyone. How to view hidden pins (SuperCAD) Hidden pins are typically
used with discrete parts such as resistors and capacitors. To turn the hidden
display on, click on the hidden pin button
Here’s the same example with the hidden display turned off.
Note that this is much more readable; generally you only want to see hidden pins if you are checking a netlist or perhaps checking a circuit board. You can also control the
display of hidden pins by using the General setup dialog (under the
Library Parts tab). How to add a part value (SuperCAD)--To add a part value, first select the part (enter edit mode, then click over the part so that the part selection rectangle shows). Then right-mouse click over the part inside the selection rectangle. A part edit dialog will appear as follows:
Enter a value in the Value field, then click on the OK button.
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on the tool bar. The objects will then appear
on the plane, at the same x, y coordinates.
in the setup toolbar. You can also enable or
disable this display in the general setup dialog.
on the project tool bar; the sheet number
will change to 2. Then load the second schematic and copy the drawing elements as
before, and paste them into the new schematic. Repeat this for each schematic.
SuperCAD supports up to 5 sheets, while SuperCAD+ supports up to 32 sheets.
in
the setup toolbar. To hide the pin numbers, click on the button again. Here’s an
example display with hidden pins enabled:
