Symbol & pattern are missing in Place Component panel - how to show them?

Drawing Schematics, Hierarchical Design, BOM, Exporting net-lists, etc.
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dmattis
Posts: 3
Joined: 12 Jul 2017, 08:43

Symbol & pattern are missing in Place Component panel - how to show them?

#1 Post by dmattis » 03 Jan 2018, 01:09

Hi all, :)

While starting to use the schematic capture in Diptrace I'm wondering why the Symbol and Pattern parts of the Place Component panel are missing in the bottom left corner (see first attached picture). I can't find any way of enabling/disabling them in any view settings, no right-click options on adjacent panel areas revealing any hidden settings, and no handles to drag in order to get them into view. Can anybody please help me out? :oops:

Sometimes if I resize the window I can see the pattern window sticking out a bit under the working sheet (see second attached picture), but it never shows up in the proper positions in the Place Component panel. Overall the UI gives a very unfinished and unreliable impression with its non-centered button icons and the buggy way the graphics are repainted (see last attached pic), it doesn't really look like programs people normally pay money for.

I'm running DipTrace 3.2.0.1 on a Macbook Pro.

Thanks!
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Alex
Technical Support
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Joined: 13 Jun 2010, 23:43

Re: Symbol & pattern are missing in Place Component panel - how to show them?

#2 Post by Alex » 05 Jan 2018, 03:27

This is because resolution on your display is not enough to show component and pattern preview. The hight should be about 900 pixels and more. Otherwise component and pattern previews are automatically hidden.

dmattis
Posts: 3
Joined: 12 Jul 2017, 08:43

Re: Symbol & pattern are missing in Place Component panel - how to show them?

#3 Post by dmattis » 05 Jan 2018, 04:23

I have a retina display with a height of 1800 pixels.
Needless to say, the DipTrace experience is graphically underwhelming. 8-)
Is there any way to let DipTrace (Wine) use the retina resolution?

sneakers563
Posts: 6
Joined: 23 Jan 2018, 11:59

Re: Symbol & pattern are missing in Place Component panel - how to show them?

#4 Post by sneakers563 » 23 Jan 2018, 12:25

I'm also having this problem. The preview window is opening behind the schematic. It's particularly frustrating because the Library and Part lists are quite large and I would gladly resize them to make room for the preview, if I were able. I'm on a 2015 Macbook Pro with 2560x1600 resolution.

sneakers563
Posts: 6
Joined: 23 Jan 2018, 11:59

Re: Symbol & pattern are missing in Place Component panel - how to show them?

#5 Post by sneakers563 » 23 Jan 2018, 12:49

I managed to fix this. The problem (I think) is that Apple Retina displays run pixel doubled by default. To most apps, the 15" retina display looks like it's only 1440x900 pixels high. The extra pixels are used to make the image 4x more detailed. However, the total area available for drawing is reduced.

It's possible to turn off or reduce this effect by choosing a "scaled" resolution. Go to System Preferences, and then Displays. Under Resolution, choose "Scaled" instead of "Default for display". You'll want one of the ones to the right of "Default", towards the "More Space" options. Unfortunately, I had to set it to the maximum on my 13" Macbook, which makes for rather small type. A 15" display might be able to get by with just increasing the setting by one.

dmattis
Posts: 3
Joined: 12 Jul 2017, 08:43

Re: Symbol & pattern are missing in Place Component panel - how to show them?

#6 Post by dmattis » 24 Jan 2018, 09:25

sneakers563 wrote: 23 Jan 2018, 12:49It's possible to turn off or reduce this effect by choosing a "scaled" resolution. Go to System Preferences, and then Displays. Under Resolution, choose "Scaled" instead of "Default for display".
Ah, brilliant! Thanks! :D
It's almost as good as having DipTrace/Wine use the full resolution.

But as a note to DipTrace developers:
Unless there is some incredibly good reason not to, I'd really recommend that you consider supporting symbol & pattern views on 900px-height screens. This would make your product work well on all the millions of 15" Apple MacBook Pro from 2006 to present day. That's a lot of computers! :)
If you allow it also on 800px-height screens, it also works on all 13" MacBook Pro.

sneakers563
Posts: 6
Joined: 23 Jan 2018, 11:59

Re: Symbol & pattern are missing in Place Component panel - how to show them?

#7 Post by sneakers563 » 24 Jan 2018, 09:30

But as a note to DipTrace developers:
Unless there is some incredibly good reason not to, I'd really recommend that you consider supporting symbol & pattern views on 900px-height screens.
Yeah, the real issue is that the preview popup is broken on the Mac. It's clearly opening behind the schematic display where only the very bottom is visible.

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