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2 'gschem and Friends' Electronic Design Suite
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5 Copyright (C) 1998-2009 gEDA Developers
7 This file documents important user-visible changes in gEDA/gaf. For
8 more information, please consult the `ChangeLog' file.
10 Notable changes in gEDA/gaf 1.6.0
11 =================================
13 * Text rendering using native system fonts
15 - gEDA/gaf no longer uses its own built-in line font.
17 - Native system fonts are used for rendering, giving support for a
18 wider range of symbols, and better looking schematics.
20 * Numerous build system changes.
22 - gEDA/gaf is now distributed as a single source archive, called
23 gEDA-<version>.tar.gz.
25 - GTK+ 2.10 or newer and Guile 1.8 or newer are now required.
27 - `intltool' is no longer required.
29 - Documentation is now installed to ${docdir} (usually
30 ${prefix}/share/doc/gEDA).
32 * The attribute edit dialog in `gschem' now has completion of most
33 common attribute names.
35 * The multi-attribute edit dialog in `gschem' now shows unpromoted
38 * Menu items in `gschem' now have icons and properly aligned key
39 bindings. They also support accelerator keys.
41 * The `gschem2pcb' and `PCBboard' netlist backends have been removed.
42 It is recommended to use `gsch2pcb' instead.
44 Notable changes in gEDA/gaf 1.5.2
45 =================================
47 * `gschem' now uses Cairo for all rendering. This allows for
48 everything to be rendered anti-aliased.
50 * `gschem' now uses a mesh grid instead of dots by default.
52 * Net junction cues in `gschem' are drawn smaller now.
54 * Copy and paste now works between different `gschem' instances (using
57 * Recent files are no longer opened in a new `gschem' window.
59 * Major, *backwards-incompatible* changes to color handling in
60 `libgeda' and `gschem'.
62 - All colors are specified using hexadecimal `#RRGGBB' or
65 - The print and display color maps are now separate.
67 - A new Scheme syntax is used to inspect and modify color maps.
69 - If you wish to use a light background in `gschem', add the line:
71 (load (build-path geda-rc-path "gschem-colormap-lightbg"))
73 to your personal or project gschemrc file.
75 * Attributes of embedded objects are now shown in the right color.
77 * Bus pins are now supported by `gschem' and `libgeda', but are *not*
78 properly supported by the netlister. The pin type can be modified
79 by selecting a pin, then right-clicking it and selecting `Edit pin
82 * All of the symbols were modified to use overbar markup tags ("like
83 \_this\_") instead of separate lines.
85 * Log files are now saved to $HOME/.gEDA/logs rather than being
86 dropped in the current directory.
88 Notable changes in gEDA/gaf 1.5.1
89 =================================
91 * GTK+ version 2.8.x or later is now required.
93 * The selection behaviour in `gschem' was changed.
95 - Lines, unfilled boxes, unfilled circles, arcs, pins, nets, and
96 buses must be selected by clicking on the drawn path itself.
98 - Filled boxes, circles, text, and components, may be selected by
99 clicking anywhere in the bounding box.
101 - The default mouse click distance required to select an element was
102 increased to 10 pixels.
104 - Double-clicking on a net segment selects all connected net
107 * The percentage step in or out while zooming the display in `gschem'
108 is now configurable with the `zoom-gain' gschemrc parameter. The
109 default value is 20%.
111 * The size of steps when panning with the mouse wheel or with a
112 trackpad in `gschem' is now adjustable with the `scrollpan-steps'
113 gschemrc parameter. The default setting scrolls in steps of 1/8 of
116 * A number of improvements were made to the `gschem' component
119 - The dialog now shows a table of top-level attributes in the
122 - It is now possible to expand/collapse a library by clicking
125 * Changes to fill- and line-styles in `gschem' can now be undone.
127 * Arcs can now be adjusted in `gschem' using an arc angle dialog. It
128 can be accessed by selecting an arc and selecting Edit->Edit.
130 * It is now possible to rotate objects while placing them in `gschem'.
132 * Support for arbitrary filled and unfilled paths, using a subset of
133 the SVG path syntax. For more information, please see the file
134 format specification.
135 <http://geda.seul.org/wiki/geda:file_format_spec>
137 - `gschem' does not yet provide a GUI for creating or editing path
138 elements. However, it does support rendering them. They can also
141 - Some of the symbols in the component library were updated to use
144 * A Scheme evaluation prompt was added to `gschem'. It can be
145 accessed by typing `:'.
147 * Improved algorithm for drawing hatched fills both on screen and in
150 * Color selection dialogs and menus in `gschem' now show the actual
151 color as well as the description. Color names are now translatable.
153 * `gattrib' now prompts to save changes.
155 * All of the unimplemented menu items and pages in `gattrib' were
158 * The `always-promote-attributes' gafrc parameter now takes a list of
159 strings as an argument. The space-delimited string syntax is
162 * Some optimisations were made to the `gnetlist' connection traversal
163 algorithm to speed up netlisting large designs.
165 * A new netlist backend was added to support Liquid PCB.
166 <http://www.liquidpcb.org/>
168 * The `bom2' netlist backend now generates a `qty' column.
170 * Several improvements and fixes were made to the `systemc' backend.
172 * The `--gnetlist-arg' option to gsch2pcb can now be used to pass
173 extra `gnetlist' arguments.
175 * `gsch2pcb' now emits files with the latest `pcb' file format.
177 * The `gxyrs' pick-and-place tool was added.
179 Notable changes in gEDA/gaf 1.5.0
180 =================================
182 * Magnetic net mode in `gschem'. Magnetic mode lets you draw nets and
183 automatically connect to valid end points (such as pins and other
184 nets). The `magnetic-net-mode' gschemrc parameter can be used to
185 enable/disable this feature.
187 * Rotating a component while moving it in `gschem' now rotates around
188 the current mouse location.
190 * The `verilog' and `vhdl' backends now work again.
192 * Embedded components can now be mirrored.
194 * The `pads' netlist backend now uses CRLF line endings.
199 Release notes for older versions of gEDA/gaf are available on the gEDA
200 website. <http://www.gpleda.org/news/index.html>