Bob Axtell wrote: > My client here decided on Eagle. It is very reasonable, and doesn't > lockup on WinXP. I am not familiar with it yet, but plan to. Like all large software packages, Eagle has its quirks but in the end is quite usable, you can get your job done without fighting with the tool, and it's affordable. We have 3 full licenses here at Embed, for example. If we needed another one I wouldn't hestitate to get it. It's only something like $400. Once you get somewhat used to Eagle but before you get set on your own way of doing things, you should really check out my Eagle tools, http://www.embedinc.com/pic/dload.htm. One of the things that makes Eagle so powerful is that you can write your own code using what they call user language programs (ULPs). It's a C-like language that has built in access to the internal data structures of the schematic, boards, and libraries. One rule I discovered with Eagle is to never use the supplied libraries. They generally suck, and I've converged on various conventions for library part definitions that of course Cadsoft doesn't adhere to. These conventions have substantial advantages in documenting the board, making board drawings for assembly, a parts locator index, and especially creating the BOM. The Cadsoft parts often just look sloppy, both in the schematic and on the board. I take the extra care to do them right since this only needs to be done once. Compare my PIC symbols to the Cadsoft ones, for example. Generating the BOM for a board used to be very tedius because in version 4 there was no way to save manufacturer, part number, and related information in Eagle from when you looked up the part during the design to when you needed to make the BOM after the board was done. Version 5 provides facilities that make this possible, but there is no standard or suggested way to use them. I have tried to think this thru and defined such conventions and have updated most of my library parts (still some work in progress) to correspond to them. I have also created ULPs and host programs that use the conventions and automate a good part of BOM generation. My conventions for using the Eagle facilities in version 5 for BOM generation are documented in the EAGLE_ATTR file, which will be in the DOC directory after you install the Eagle tools release. I urge everyone using Eagle 5 to at least look at this before implementing something incompatible. I'm willing discuss the conventions and make changes if I can be convinced they make sense. My public Eagle tools release only contains a few of our libraries. I don't want to give everything away to anyone, but if you send me a private message I can send you our full release. ******************************************************************** Embed Inc, Littleton Massachusetts, http://www.embedinc.com/products (978) 742-9014. Gold level PIC consultants since 2000. -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist