libgeda: Make g_read_file() take a TOPLEVEL argument.

[geda-gaf.git] / NEWS

==============================================
 'gschem and Friends' Electronic Design Suite
==============================================

Copyright (C) 1998-2010 gEDA Developers

This file documents important user-visible changes in gEDA/gaf.  For
more information, please consult the `ChangeLog' file.

Notable changes in gEDA/gaf 1.6.1
=================================

* Added accelerator mnemonics for root menus in gschem

* Lots of updated and new language translations in libgeda, gschem, and
  gattrib.  (Courtesy of language translators and Launchpad) 

* Updated the shipped documentation from the official gEDA wiki

* Fixed the following bugs:

  - 2876373: Fix rendering with zoomed out dashed lines
  - 2901183: Fix for some manpage issues
  - 2904715: Don't update page connectivity from o_place_rotate()
  - 2949232: Fix slot editing routines to not edit inherited attributes 
  - Cherry picked some other bug fixes from master that should be in
    this release

Notable changes in gEDA/gaf 1.6.0
=================================

* Fixed the GtkItemEntry code inside of gattrib code so that it builds
  using gtk+ > 2.16.x.

* In gschem, rubberband pin to pin connections by adding nets.

* Cleanup of the slot handling code in libgeda.

* Fixes/updates to the MinGW port.

* Updated the shipped documentation from the online wiki.

Notable changes in gEDA/gaf 1.5.3/1.5.4
=======================================

* NOTE: gEDA/gaf 1.5.3 was released with some critical bugs, so
        it was withdrawn before it was widely distributed.

* Text rendering using native system fonts:

  - The various programs in gEDA/gaf no longer uses its own built-in
    line font.

  - Native system fonts are used for rendering, giving support for a
    wider range of symbols, and better looking schematics.

* Always use PostScript fonts in gschem's PostScript output.  The
  "output-text", "text-output" and "output-vector-threshold" config
  functions have been removed.

* Image rendering in 'gschem' uses cairo instead of GDK.

* Numerous build system changes:

  - gEDA/gaf is now distributed as a single source archive, called
    gEDA-<version>.tar.gz.

  - GTK+ 2.10 or newer and Guile 1.8 or newer are now required.

  - `intltool' is no longer required.

  - Documentation is now installed to ${docdir} (usually
    ${prefix}/share/doc/gEDA).

* The attribute edit dialog in `gschem' now has completion of most
  common attribute names.

* The multi-attribute edit dialog in `gschem' now shows unpromoted
  symbol attributes.

* Menu items in `gschem' now have icons and properly aligned key
  bindings. They also support accelerator keys.

* The `gschem2pcb' and `PCBboard' netlist backends have been removed.
  It is recommended to use `gsch2pcb' instead.

* Check for and reject non-footprint PCB files in 'gsch2pcb'.

* Removed unimplemented "File->Open" feature in 'gattrib'.

* Added --disable-gattrib command line flag to ./configure to disable the
  building of 'gattrib'.  This is useful if you are building against
  gtk+ 2.17.x which breaks 'gattrib'.

* 'gnetlist' does not recommend drc2 every time it runs.  The drc2
  backend is only useful in certain circumstances.

* Assign shortcuts "vd" and "vl" for changing between color schemes
  in 'gschem'.

* Fix problem with attached net attribute not being honored in 'gnetlist'.

* Focus the "save" button in the close confirmation dialog in 'gattrib' and
  'gschem'.

* Accept empty attributes in the src file in 'tragesym'.

* Cleaned up the slot dialog box in 'gschem'.

* Changed the grip size rendering in 'gschem' to be reasonably sized when
  zoomed in a lot.

* Introduction of a new attribute searching API in 'libgeda' and 'gschem'.

* Improvements and cleanup to the 'gnetlist' and 'gsymcheck' test suites.

* Fixed the following bugs:

  - 1758673: Combine source tarballs
  - 2058707: gschem, gattrib: Dangerous button focus in "Save changes"
             dialog at quit
  - 2430369: gschem: Deselect invisible attribs with their parent object.
  - 2449060: Graphic state left inconsistent cancelling from net mode
  - 2460301: libgeda: Make o_complex_promote_attribs() respect keep_invisible
             and libgeda: Make o_complex_copy() actually copy.
  - 2455061: Gnetlist output changed, and tests fail with recent GLib
  - 2655088: autogen.sh: Make sure to exit if autopoint fails.
  - 2823703: gnet-pcbpins.scm: Quote pins names if they contain comma
             or close parenthesis.
  - 2823755: gnetlist: Fix DEBUG builds.
  - 2836109: build-sys: Add check for groff html driver.

* Spanish translation were updated.

* Lots of code, infrastructure, and doxygen documentation cleanup and
  refactoring.

Notable changes in gEDA/gaf 1.5.2
=================================

* `gschem' now uses Cairo for all rendering.  This allows for
  everything to be rendered anti-aliased.

* `gschem' now uses a mesh grid instead of dots by default.

* Net junction cues in `gschem' are drawn smaller now.

* Copy and paste now works between different `gschem' instances (using
  the X selection).

* Recent files are no longer opened in a new `gschem' window.

* Major, *backwards-incompatible* changes to color handling in
  `libgeda' and `gschem'.

  - All colors are specified using hexadecimal `#RRGGBB' or
    `#RRGGBBAA' syntax.

  - The print and display color maps are now separate.

  - A new Scheme syntax is used to inspect and modify color maps.

  - If you wish to use a light background in `gschem', add the line:

      (load (build-path geda-rc-path "gschem-colormap-lightbg"))

    to your personal or project gschemrc file.

* Attributes of embedded objects are now shown in the right color.

* Bus pins are now supported by `gschem' and `libgeda', but are *not*
  properly supported by the netlister.  The pin type can be modified
  by selecting a pin, then right-clicking it and selecting `Edit pin
  type...'.

* All of the symbols were modified to use overbar markup tags ("like
  \_this\_") instead of separate lines.

* Log files are now saved to $HOME/.gEDA/logs rather than being
  dropped in the current directory.

Notable changes in gEDA/gaf 1.5.1
=================================

* GTK+ version 2.8.x or later is now required.

* The selection behaviour in `gschem' was changed. 

  - Lines, unfilled boxes, unfilled circles, arcs, pins, nets, and
    buses must be selected by clicking on the drawn path itself.

  - Filled boxes, circles, text, and components, may be selected by
    clicking anywhere in the bounding box.

  - The default mouse click distance required to select an element was
    increased to 10 pixels.

  - Double-clicking on a net segment selects all connected net
    segments.

* The percentage step in or out while zooming the display in `gschem'
  is now configurable with the `zoom-gain' gschemrc parameter.  The
  default value is 20%.

* The size of steps when panning with the mouse wheel or with a
  trackpad in `gschem' is now adjustable with the `scrollpan-steps'
  gschemrc parameter.  The default setting scrolls in steps of 1/8 of
  a screen.

* A number of improvements were made to the `gschem' component
  selection dialog.

  - The dialog now shows a table of top-level attributes in the
    selected symbol.

  - It is now possible to expand/collapse a library by clicking
    anywhere on its row.

* Changes to fill- and line-styles in `gschem' can now be undone.

* Arcs can now be adjusted in `gschem' using an arc angle dialog.  It
  can be accessed by selecting an arc and selecting Edit->Edit.

* It is now possible to rotate objects while placing them in `gschem'.

* Support for arbitrary filled and unfilled paths, using a subset of
  the SVG path syntax.  For more information, please see the file
  format specification.
  <http://geda.seul.org/wiki/geda:file_format_spec>

  - `gschem' does not yet provide a GUI for creating or editing path
    elements.  However, it does support rendering them.  They can also
    be printed.

  - Some of the symbols in the component library were updated to use
    paths.

* A Scheme evaluation prompt was added to `gschem'.  It can be
  accessed by typing `:'.

* Improved algorithm for drawing hatched fills both on screen and in
  PostScript output.

* Color selection dialogs and menus in `gschem' now show the actual
  color as well as the description.  Color names are now translatable.

* `gattrib' now prompts to save changes.

* All of the unimplemented menu items and pages in `gattrib' were
  removed.

* The `always-promote-attributes' gafrc parameter now takes a list of
  strings as an argument.  The space-delimited string syntax is
  deprecated.

* Some optimisations were made to the `gnetlist' connection traversal
  algorithm to speed up netlisting large designs.

* A new netlist backend was added to support Liquid PCB.
  <http://www.liquidpcb.org/>

* The `bom2' netlist backend now generates a `qty' column.

* Several improvements and fixes were made to the `systemc' backend.

* The `--gnetlist-arg' option to gsch2pcb can now be used to pass
  extra `gnetlist' arguments.

* `gsch2pcb' now emits files with the latest `pcb' file format.

* The `gxyrs' pick-and-place tool was added.

Notable changes in gEDA/gaf 1.5.0
=================================

* Magnetic net mode in `gschem'. Magnetic mode lets you draw nets and
  automatically connect to valid end points (such as pins and other
  nets).  The `magnetic-net-mode' gschemrc parameter can be used to
  enable/disable this feature.

* Rotating a component while moving it in `gschem' now rotates around
  the current mouse location.

* The `verilog' and `vhdl' backends now work again.

* Embedded components can now be mirrored.

* The `pads' netlist backend now uses CRLF line endings.

Older versions
==============

Release notes for older versions of gEDA/gaf are available on the gEDA
website.  <http://www.gpleda.org/news/index.html>

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