Coloring a component in the schematic

[mpaalanen]

Would it be a big deal to implement the feature that is so common in the other pcb cad programs, i.e. a selectable component fill color.
I am a very happy user of the pcb editor trace coloring option and consider it a real benefit in helping to visually parse the network.
IMO a similar benefit could be had if the schematic supported more visual aids, the primary one being color. Also configurable line weights and styles would be a real nice addition.
Any chance of seeing those in the future?

[KevinA]

Would it be a big deal to implement the feature that is so common in the other pcb cad programs, i.e. a selectable component fill color.
I am a very happy user of the pcb editor trace coloring option and consider it a real benefit in helping to visually parse the network.
IMO a similar benefit could be had if the schematic supported more visual aids, the primary one being color. Also configurable line weights and styles would be a real nice addition.
Any chance of seeing those in the future?

Print out and use:

cray.jpg

Taken care of Alex, keep working on push&shove

[mpaalanen]

Thanks for your 2 cents.
And what would the Diptrace team think of this?

[KevinA]

Thanks for your 2 cents.
And what would the Diptrace team think of this?

As a person that owns the DipTrace Full package and designs PCBs having Push and Shove completed before I die from old age would be a good thing but watching every new user of DipTrace post their wondrous new features needed knowing that the programmers might try to add that 'wondrous feature' during a break just to end up spending weeks on it and meanwhile Push & Shove creeps along.

by Alex
26 Mar 2012, 05:24
The "push&shove" is option of interactive routing. We plan to implement interactive routing in future, but it is complex feature and cannot be developed quickly.

[Tomg]

mpaalanen wrote:
Would it be a big deal to implement the feature that is so common in the other pcb cad programs, i.e. a selectable component fill color.
I am a very happy user of the pcb editor trace coloring option and consider it a real benefit in helping to visually parse the network.
IMO a similar benefit could be had if the schematic supported more visual aids, the primary one being color. Also configurable line weights and styles would be a real nice addition.
Any chance of seeing those in the future?

For what it's worth, I think they are relevant and important suggestions. There have been previous requests for these features, but so far nothing has come of them. Here are two from the past...
* Component colors - viewtopic.php?f=8&t=13175&p=27647
* Line styles - viewtopic.php?f=8&t=3964&p=18401

I'm guessing Novarm/DipTrace have other priorities right now and are presently devoting their limited resources to developing a new "push & shove" tool. They are not one of the larger EDA corporations like Altium/Cadence/Autodesk with seemingly unlimited manpower, but I do hope these ideas can be implemented soon after the new tool is introduced.

p.s. As a temporary workaround for not having colored components in the schematic editor, I often create filled/colored drawing objects of the same shape and size and place them over their respective components.

[mpaalanen]

While i agree that push & shove far exceeds nice colors in practical significance, i am also sure that implementation would be a (almost) trivial thing compared to the first one. I also don't see the harm in requesting features, especially as i have no problem taking no for an answer.
As far as DipTrace usage is concerned, i have been a regular user since version 1.2 or 1.3, i forget which. I too have the full package and use it as the tool of choice when designing PCBs in my profession as a private consultant. Only when the customer demands or situation warrants, will i use other tools such as Altium.

[Alex]

Thank you for the feature request. We will consider selectable component fill color and line styles (solid, dashed, dotted) for future versions.