Douglas Electronics Home autorouter AutoRtr BasExt basicextended breadboard ColorDup DEhome DesWorks diskduplicator DiskDup Manufact Order Output prolayout ProLay prosystem ProSys utilities CAD Software Professional System Utilities Layout Lite <--- index Upgrades Hardware Services Request Literature Orders Tech Support Douglas History Contact Information	Layout Lite Professional Layout Features - Entry-Level Price Layout Lite was created to give designers with simpler needs a more cost-effective CAD/CAM solution for printed circuit boards. The Lite version is based on the same code as the Professional program so that updates and additions can be easily made over time. The Lite program brings you almost all of the features of the Professional Layout program at a substantially reduced price. The only restrictions are: Maximum of 3 layers per design (usually 2 metal, 1 silk-screen) No net/part lists or interaction with DesignWorks or AutoRouter No label or panel files (can't create libraries or easily transfer between files) No ground planes Pen Plotters are not supported without the purchase of third-party software Layout Lite supports all other Professional Layout features and utilities. Users can choose to upgrade to the Professional program at any time. Lite features include: 32" x 32" Layout area 0.001" Resolution Throughout the database Fifty levels of magnification Zoom to your heart's content! Complete SMT capability Both component side and solder side SMT footprint libraries are available for downloading to use with the program. Line widths from 0.001" to 0.250" in 0.001" increments Squares from 0.001" to 0.250" in 0.001" increments Hole sizes from 0.001" to 32" in 0.001" increments While a manufacturing warning is issued upon specifying absurdly large hole sizes, any of these sizes may be specified. Board Outline Elements These special line elements control final contour routing in the manufacturing process, and may also be used to define large or irregular internal cutouts. Plenty of hierarchical Palettes 144 palettes per design are available to define multilayered objects or groups of any kind. Palette types are completely user-selectable on the fly. The default is 70 Pad types (Pads automatically generate their own solder mask relief), 70 Pattern types (Patterns are simply arbitrary groups of objects up to the full 32" x 32" area), and 4 ShortBars (all objects except ShortBars automatically generate their own ground plane clearances, ShortBars are the exception, and are used to span these clearances to make connections to the plane), but any Palette may be changed to be any type with a single menu command. Groups may be nested within other groups with no depth restrictions (pattern recursion is automatically prevented). This hierarchical structure of Layout is a very powerful feature that enables global changes to the design to be made quickly and easily. Sortable Palette Window Makes finding palette items a breeze. All palette items are presented in a floating window that can be resized,scrolled, positioned anywhere (including a second monitor) or dismissed altogether to make more screen area available for editing the main layout. The palette window contents (groups) can be sorted by number, alphabetically by name, by number of pins, by overall size, by number of placements on the layout, by rotation angle, by recentness of use, or a reverse sort by any of the above. Each of the three palette types, as well as unused palettes may selectively included or excluded as a class when sorting. Scalable Vector Fonts Vector Font objects can be any collection of lines and squares, on a single layer, which are assigned to specific keys on the keyboard. The program automatically scales them within a 0.020" to 2.000" height range and places characters reverse-reading when applied to the solder side of the board. Three character sets are included with the program, and two more sets are available for custom entries (the original three may also be overwritten if desired). The ability to create your own custom font entries (or entire character sets) provides for special characters, company logos, etc. which then become permanent program resources. This makes it simple to format text graphics to fit the ever shrinking free space on a board. Grids from 0.001" to 1.000" in 0.001" increments Ten common choices as menu presets, or set to any grid increment you want. Metric grids are also fully supported. All object placements are made to the current grid. Grids may be displayed as lines, dots, or not at all. Snap to Grid function Snaps (moves) selected object(s) to current grid intersections (which may be different from when object was placed). Rulers They tell you where you are at a glance, even at very high magnifications. Inch or Metric, Absolute or Relative, Show or Hide. Cross Hairs from cursor Helps you line things up, easily and precisely. 90 or 45 degree, Show or Hide. Coordinates Display Inch and/or Metric, Cartesian and/or Polar, Absolute and/or Relative, any combination or none at all. Stretch and Drag Editing Tools Facilitates rubberbanding of Lines, or rigid moves. Selection can be of a single vertex or Pad, or contain multiple elements on multiple layers, up to every graphical element in the entire design. "Nudging" In Edit Modes Arrow keys allow moving the selected object(s) by one grid increment (any grid) per keystroke, in any direction, in either drag or stretch editing mode. Move To... function Moves selected object(s) to specific X,Y coordinates via numerical keyboard entry. Absolute and relative coordinate systems are both supported. Feed Through Function Works by first specifying any pad as the Feed Through via. Then as lines are being drawn to route the board, a single keyboard command will automatically place that Pad at the endpoint of the last line drawn and switch layers, allowing the routing to continue uninterrupted on the new layer. -Very handy. Rotations Clockwise or counterclockwise, individual parts or large area selections, menu commands support 90 degree increments quickly, and a dialog allows entry of any rotation angle in one degree increments. Curve and Chamfer Functions One vertex, or any number of lines at a time. Taper Function Great for creating "teardrop" Pads. Construct Functions Built-in macros create circles, ovals, rectangles, regular polygons, stars, wagon wheels, cross-hatched areas, and rectangular board outlines, quickly and easily. Paste In Polygon Function Quickly creates circular arrays of pads, footprints, or any other copied objects. Polygon Fill Function Fills any closed polygon solid, regardless of shape or size. Editable Item List Lets you query the database to find parameter values (line widths, hole sizes, palette group, etc.) of selected item(s) and effect global edits, or remove whole classes of items from the selection prior to further editing. -Lots of power here. Interruptable Updates Screen updates are interruptable by all editing functions, so no need to wait for a full redraw. An Update Now command forces a full screen redraw at any time. Dimensioning Tool (three clicks simple: click one end, click the other end, and click the desired location for the dimension line; Option key or not on the third click determines orthogonal (default) or oblique (option) dimensioning, and a comprehensive dialog box allows presetting all other dimensioning parameters (font size, line weights, etc.). The program does all the hard stuff, while you just click.) Manufacturing Checks Layout Lite is always working in the background to detect possible manufacturing problems such as off-board items, holes without pads (which could cause a short between power planes) objects whose dimensions violate standard range values, etc. Warning dialogues alert the user to potential problems early in the design phase, and while these warnings may be silenced if desired at the user's option, their inclusion helps to ensure a finished product that is robust and highly manufacturable. Balloon Help Available under Mac OS version 7 or later. Hole Count Function Quickly shows all Hole sizes and drilling totals at any time in the development. Find Connections Function The program will trace, find, and highlight everything that is electrically connected to the initially selected object(s). Full Color Support Millions of screen color choices are available through the Mac's color picker, and a handy Layer Matrix dialog allows fast and easy color setup. Color printing is also supported as a standard feature. To Order Layout Lite Use the Software & Support Order Form to order this or any of our software products.
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