Allegro Free Viewer 15.0

1
Allegro Free Viewer 15.0

 Installation
Download from
http://www.cadence.com/products/si_pk_
bd/downloads/allegroviewers/index.aspx
 Opening Files
Allegro opens PCB files with a .brd
extension
Simply select File->Open and navigate to
the board file that you want to look at
3/22/2004
2

 Setting up the view
Always best to start with a clean slate
This example sets up the board for
viewing from the top side
Typically, start by zooming to fit the
board to the window
Also probably want to turn off the grid
dots if they are on
3/22/2004
3
 Click zoom-fit or hit F9 to see the whole board

Click on grid toggle, or hit Shift-F9 to toggle grid off
3/22/2004
4

Next, we need to clear the screen of the
last-saved view settings
Select Display->Color/Visibility
Set Global Visibility to “All Invisible” and
hit apply
3/22/2004
5
 Select Display->Color Visibility and set

to “All Invisible”
3/22/2004
6

Select Group = Geometry and scroll down
to check boxes next to
“Outline” under Board Geometry
“Silkscreen_Top” under Board Geometry
“Silkscreen_Top” under Package Geometry
“Assembly_Top” under Package Geometry
Then select “Apply”
3/22/2004
7
 Turn on the listed Geometry layers
3/22/2004
8

Select Group = Stack-Up and scroll down
to check boxes next to
“Top” under Pin
“Top” under Via
“Top” under Etch
Then select “Apply”
3/22/2004
9
 Turn on the listed Stack-Up layers
3/22/2004
10

 Layers
Allegro board files consist of many “layers”
There are, for example, “etch” layers which
are the actual copper connections
There are also soldermask and silkscreen
layers which correspond to the green outer
coating and white labeling respectively
And, there are other information-only layers
that show dimensions, part outlines, etc.
You will typically be focusing on the etch
layers
3/22/2004
11

 Layers
There is a quicker way to set
visibility for etch layers
On the right hand side of the
window there is a tab for
“Visibility”
You can use this to turn on and
off signal and plane layers and
the vias and device pads for
those layers
3/22/2004
12
 Finding Nets
You will normally want to look at a signal or set
of signals, referred to in Allegro as “nets”
To find a net, you can highlight it
There are two ways to highlight
Show Element (Temporary)
Hilight (Must Dehilight to turn off)
3/22/2004
13
 Finding Nets
After selecting either “Show
Element” or “Hilight”, select the
Find tab on the right
Under “Find By Name” type in the
name of the net and hit enter.
You may use * as a wildcard if you
are uncertain of the full net name
or if you want to highlight a group
of nets
3/22/2004
14
 Finding Nets
Show Element
will bring up an
information
window, zoom to
the net, and
highlight it
3/22/2004
15
 Finding Nets
Highlight will
simply zoom to
the net, and
highlight it
You must use
“De-highlight” to
turn off the net
highlighting
3/22/2004
16

 Finding a group of nets
As mentioned, you can
find multiple nets at
once using a * as a wild-
card
For example, most clock
signals include “CLK” as
part of the net name.
To find all clocks that
have “CLK” in the net
name, you can type in
“*clk*” in the find filter
This will highlight all
such nets
3/22/2004
17
 Hilight Color
You can change either the Temporary (Show Element)
or Permanent (Highlight) colors
Again select “Display-> Color/Visibility” then change
Group to “Display”
Click on the color you want from the palette and select
the colored box next to the appropriate highlight type
3/22/2004
18

 Finding and following long nets
Long nets that span a large section of the board will
be hard to see when Allegro zooms to fit the net
After highlighting one of these nets, you will need to
zoom in manually
Look in the lower right corner and you will see a
miniature display of the board outline along with the
highlighted net.
Click and drag a box around the net in this window to
zoom in on it
Then click on “Zoom Points” to allow you to draw a box
around the highlighted item in the main window and
zoom in further
3/22/2004
19
3/22/2004
20

After you have zoomed in on the net you will
want to turn on all signal etch layers and shadow
mode to make the net stand out
First, go back to the Visibility tab on the right
and check the box under “Etch” and next to
“Conductors”
Next, select “Display->Color/Visibility”, then the
“Display” Group and turn Shadow mode “On”,
check the box to “Dim active layer” and hit
“Apply”
3/22/2004
21
3/22/2004
22

To follow the net, or to pan in general, press
and hold the middle mouse button and drag
your cursor in the main viewing window
In this way you can follow the net where
ever it goes
3/22/2004
23
 Finding etch length

If you need to know the length of a net or a part of
a net, you can get that information from the
window that appears when you use “Show Element”
If you use Show Element for a net, the window will
list the entire net length
3/22/2004
24

 Finding etch length
If you want to find the length of a section of the
net, you can get either Cline or Cline Segment
lengths.
A Cline is any part of a net that routes on a single
layer until it runs into a pin, via, or other feature.
A Cline segment is any part of a net that routes
on a single layer until it runs into a bend, pin, via
or other feature. Basically, any single straight
segment.
This time, select Show Element, but instead,
check the box for Cline or Cline Segment and the
click on the segment you want to measure.
3/22/2004
25
3/22/2004

Allegro Free Viewer 15.0

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Allegro Free Viewer 15.0

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

1