1 ******************************************************************
2 ************* DANGER!! Read the entirety of this **************
3 ************ README before you try runing gattrib! *************
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9 Gattrib is gEDA's attribute editor. It reads a set of gschem .sch
10 files (schematic files), and creates a spreadsheet showing all
11 components in rows, with the associated component attributes listed in
12 the columns. It allows the user to add, modify, or delete component
13 attributes outside of gschem, and then save the .sch files back
14 out. When it is completed, it will allow the user to edit attributes
15 attached to components, nets, and pins. (Currently, only component
16 attribute editing is implemented; pin attributes are displayed only,
17 and net attributes are TBD.)
19 Gattrib is useful in situations where you need to view, add, modify,
20 or delete a number of attributes all at once. It saves you the pain
21 of clicking on each component and repeatedly using gschem's attribute
22 editor to modify component attributes. For example, if you create a
23 large design with generic components, and then later want to attach
24 "footprint" attributes to your components, it is a real hassle to do
25 so using gschem. In this situation, you can run gattrib on your
26 design files to attach the "footprint" attributes all at once using an
27 easy-to-use spreadsheet.
29 WARNING NOTE: Gattrib is currently PRE-ALPHA SOFTWARE!
30 It has been tested on several designs, but is not garuanteed to work.
31 It may even trash your design! Therefore, if you wish to try gattrib
32 out, please create a backup copy of your design before you run it!
34 ------------------------------------------------------------------
37 You can invoke gattrib on your design from the command line in the
40 gattrib my_design_*.sch
42 (This assumes you have a multi-page design with file names
43 "my_design_1.sch", "my_design_2.sch", etc.) Gattrib will then read in
44 your design, and present you with a spreadsheet showing all components
45 and associated attributes.
47 You can also just run gattrib, and specify the input files using the
48 file->open dialog box.
50 To edit your attributes, just edit the cells in the spreadsheet.
52 To save your design, just select "save" from the command menu. Note
53 that no checks are currently done when you select save. Be careful!
55 To quit, just select "quit" from the command menu. Note that
56 currently no checks thet you have saved your design are done when you
59 If you want to add an entirely new attribute to your design (i.e. one
60 which doesn't exist on any component), you must first attach at least
61 one instance of that attribute to a component using gschem. Then you
62 can use gattrib to attach the attribute to the remaining components.
63 (The reason for this is that gattrib creates its spreadsheet columns
64 based upon all attributes it finds when reading in the design.
65 Therefore, to create a column for a new attribute, you need to make
66 sure that that new attribute pre-exists in the design.) In the future,
67 you will be able to add new attribute columns directly from gattrib,
68 but this feature is currently unimplemented.
70 ------------------------------------------------------------------
73 The following features are currently implemented:
75 * .sch file read in from command line.
76 * .sch file read in from menu.
77 * .sch file save out from menu.
78 * Component attribute editing (of course).
79 * Pin attribute viewing.
82 The following features are currently unimplemented, but will be
83 incorporated at some future date:
85 * Throw up "Are you sure" dialog boxes upon selecting "save" and
87 * Alphabetic sort of rows. (Should happen automatically upon read-in
89 * Editing of net attributes (important for setting routing
91 * Adding/deleting attribute columns (to add/delete entire sets of
92 attributes from a design.)
93 * Search/replace of individual attributes.
94 * Search for component refdeses & netnames.
95 * Set/view component & net visibility (through options pull-down
96 menu). Currently, visibility is "invisible", and both name & value
97 are displayed (if you turn on the visibility).
99 Note that if you select unimplemented features from the menu, nothing
102 ------------------------------------------------------------------
105 To install gattrib, place the tarball in the directory where your gEDA
106 sources live. Then do:
108 tar -zxvf geda-gattrib-20040806.tar.gz
109 cd geda-gattrib-20040806
110 ./configure --prefix=/path/to/your/geda/stuff
114 Note that you may need to set some environment variables first. If
115 your compilation barfs, try setting these (for csh):
117 setenv LD_LIBRARY_PATH /usr/local/geda/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
118 setenv PATH /usr/local/geda/bin:$PATH
119 setenv PKG_CONFIG_PATH /usr/local/geda/lib/pkgconfig:$PKG_CONFIG_PATH
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124 Gattrib was cobbled together by Stuart Brorson starting in December
125 2003 from parts culled from GtkSheet (GTK+Extra) and gEDA. Please
126 mail bug reports to: sdb@cloud9.net