2

I am looking for the snap to grid option? Any idea how to enable it? I did try looking on Cadence forums and documentations, but I did not find anything.

Also any idea how I can move wires/components without making them auto connect to something else but just reroute to the same place were they are connected to?

KingsInnerSoul
  • 829
  • 14
  • 29

2 Answers2

2

Clarification: Cadence (the company) markets two separate tools for schematics entry: HDL and OrCAD. These two tools are very different because they originate from different developments/acquisitions.

The details below refer to OrCAD

This question comes up in both the schematic entry phase, and also in the PCB layout phase. I'll explain both cases. These answers are for version 16.6 (S025), but I expect they'll work for your version.

Schematic Entry

In this case, general Grid settings can be found in the toolbar, by clicking on Options -> Preferences. In the screen that comes up, choose the "Grid Display" tab:

griddisplay

You can see the display and snap setting. If the grid is still not appearing, the click on Tools, and make sure the following settings are selected:

gridrefs

When moving a component or wire, the trick is to make sure you don't place pins or wire vertices onto other connection points. Once you pick up the part (by clicking and holding), you will see red warning flags as you move the part over other components. If you drop the part when these flags are displayed, it will make automatic connections for you. In the following picture, I am holding the LED over the wire. The red circle is the warning that an automatic connection will be made:

dontdrop

PCB Layout

The Grids setting are found in Setup -> Grids. You can set each layer to a different grid spacing, and it will automatically change depending on your active layer. Make sure you check the box in the upper-left corner:

grids

As far as moving traces (or vias), you'll want to use the Slide command:

slide

Unfortunately, this doesn't work for components. Cadence tells me that the only way to move components without disconnecting the traces is to enable "Stretch Etch" in the Move options. First go into Move mode:

move

Then, click "Stretch Etch" in the options screen (which is hidden by default, on the right-hand edge of your screen):

options

Use Stretch Etch with care; it doesn't always do what you want, and can get messy :)

As of version 16.6, there is a "Slide Etch" option as well, although I haven't played with it yet...

I hope this helps!

OrCADExpert
  • 3
  • 2
bitsmack
  • 16,747
  • 9
  • 52
  • 108
  • It seems I have different window setup than yours. I am using Allegro Design Entry HDL V16.5. I do not see/have the menus/buttons you refer to – KingsInnerSoul Apr 14 '14 at 16:33
  • @KingsInnerSoul Ah, I'm sorry. Are you working on a schematic entry, or a PCB layout? – bitsmack Apr 14 '14 at 16:56
  • Its a schematic page in the Board Layout Design part. After Allegro Design Authoring opens up, I click on Design Entry, and working on a schematic for a layout with Allegro Design Entry HDL. – KingsInnerSoul Apr 14 '14 at 17:00
  • @KingsInnerSoul Thanks! I was assuming you were laying out the PCB. Give me a few minutes, and I'll update the answer :) – bitsmack Apr 14 '14 at 17:03
0

In Design Entry HDL, go to: Tools ==> Options ==> Grid, Set the grids to "Show...", "Dots" and multiple set to "1". Also make sure you have View ==> Grid, checked. Grid may not be visible when you are zoomed out because it would be to fine and cover the whole drawing. You need to zoom in and it will turn visible.

OrCADExpert
  • 3
  • 2