On 1/29/07, Gerhard Fiedler <lists@connectionbrazil.com> wrote:
>
> David VanHorn wrote:
>
> > Maybe some day, we'll get the ability to insert links into schematics
> and
> > source code. Click here on the schematic to see the data sheet, click
> > there to see the definition of the pins on port B or the chip pinout in
> > the source code.
>
> While I'm still using a package that doesn't support this, I add the
> datasheet URL into a custom field in the parts library. Since I export my
> BOMs always into CSV files which I import into a spreadsheet (where I then
> create the real BOMs), the links can become "clickable" there.


Right, I can do this with my favorite, old dos orcad.  But what I want is to
be able to right click on a part in the schematic, and pull up the data
sheet, and probably a mathcad file (or similar) on how it's value was
selected.  For bonus points, I'd see the whole circuit set up in mathcad (or
similar) and have component values calculated on the fly.  Right click on a
resistor, and click on "change value", and all the parts affected go yellow,
then enter the new value, and the calculations are done, and new values
picked from the appropriate 5%, or 1% resistor values, and so on.

I often wonder why even the most modern tools are so primitive.

The current versions of "orcad" by cadence have pretty good BOM generation,
and are more oriented like eagle, where there are no "generic" parts, every
part is a specific part, with specific values, and footprint.
But as far as I'm aware, they still suck more than all the hoovers ever
built.
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