1 ==============================================
2 'gschem and Friends' Electronic Design Suite
3 ==============================================
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 1.5.3
11 =================================
13 * Text rendering using native system fonts:
15 - The various programs in gEDA/gaf no longer uses its own built-in
18 - Native system fonts are used for rendering, giving support for a
19 wider range of symbols, and better looking schematics.
21 * Always use PostScript fonts in gschem's PostScript output. The
22 "output-text", "text-output" and "output-vector-threshold" config
23 functions have been removed.
25 * Image rendering in 'gschem' uses cairo instead of GDK.
27 * Numerous build system changes:
29 - gEDA/gaf is now distributed as a single source archive, called
30 gEDA-<version>.tar.gz.
32 - GTK+ 2.10 or newer and Guile 1.8 or newer are now required.
34 - `intltool' is no longer required.
36 - Documentation is now installed to ${docdir} (usually
37 ${prefix}/share/doc/gEDA).
39 * The attribute edit dialog in `gschem' now has completion of most
40 common attribute names.
42 * The multi-attribute edit dialog in `gschem' now shows unpromoted
45 * Menu items in `gschem' now have icons and properly aligned key
46 bindings. They also support accelerator keys.
48 * The `gschem2pcb' and `PCBboard' netlist backends have been removed.
49 It is recommended to use `gsch2pcb' instead.
51 * Check for and reject non-footprint PCB files in 'gsch2pcb'.
53 * Removed unimplemented "File->Open" feature in 'gattrib'.
55 * Added --disable-gattrib command line flag to ./configure to disable the
56 building of 'gattrib'. This is useful if you are building against
57 gtk+ 2.17.x which breaks 'gattrib'.
59 * 'gnetlist' does not recommend drc2 every time it runs. The drc2
60 backend is only useful in certain circumstances.
62 * Assign shortcuts "vd" and "vl" for changing between color schemes
65 * Fix problem with attached net attribute not being honored in 'gnetlist'.
67 * Focus the "save" button in the close confirmation dialog in 'gattrib' and
70 * Accept empty attributes in the src file in 'tragesym'.
72 * Cleaned up the slot dialog box in 'gschem'.
74 * Changed the grip size rendering in 'gschem' to be reasonably sized when
77 * Introduction of a new attribute searching API in 'libgeda' and 'gschem'.
79 * Improvements and cleanup to the 'gnetlist' and 'gsymcheck' test suites.
81 * Fixed the following bugs:
83 - 1758673: Combine source tarballs
84 - 2058707: gschem, gattrib: Dangerous button focus in "Save changes"
86 - 2430369: gschem: Deselect invisible attribs with their parent object.
87 - 2449060: Graphic state left inconsistent cancelling from net mode
88 - 2460301: libgeda: Make o_complex_promote_attribs() respect keep_invisible
89 and libgeda: Make o_complex_copy() actually copy.
90 - 2455061: Gnetlist output changed, and tests fail with recent GLib
91 - 2655088: autogen.sh: Make sure to exit if autopoint fails.
92 - 2823703: gnet-pcbpins.scm: Quote pins names if they contain comma
94 - 2823755: gnetlist: Fix DEBUG builds.
95 - 2836109: build-sys: Add check for groff html driver.
97 * Spanish translation were updated.
99 * Lots of code, infrastructure, and doxygen documentation cleanup and
102 Notable changes in gEDA/gaf 1.5.2
103 =================================
105 * `gschem' now uses Cairo for all rendering. This allows for
106 everything to be rendered anti-aliased.
108 * `gschem' now uses a mesh grid instead of dots by default.
110 * Net junction cues in `gschem' are drawn smaller now.
112 * Copy and paste now works between different `gschem' instances (using
115 * Recent files are no longer opened in a new `gschem' window.
117 * Major, *backwards-incompatible* changes to color handling in
118 `libgeda' and `gschem'.
120 - All colors are specified using hexadecimal `#RRGGBB' or
123 - The print and display color maps are now separate.
125 - A new Scheme syntax is used to inspect and modify color maps.
127 - If you wish to use a light background in `gschem', add the line:
129 (load (build-path geda-rc-path "gschem-colormap-lightbg"))
131 to your personal or project gschemrc file.
133 * Attributes of embedded objects are now shown in the right color.
135 * Bus pins are now supported by `gschem' and `libgeda', but are *not*
136 properly supported by the netlister. The pin type can be modified
137 by selecting a pin, then right-clicking it and selecting `Edit pin
140 * All of the symbols were modified to use overbar markup tags ("like
141 \_this\_") instead of separate lines.
143 * Log files are now saved to $HOME/.gEDA/logs rather than being
144 dropped in the current directory.
146 Notable changes in gEDA/gaf 1.5.1
147 =================================
149 * GTK+ version 2.8.x or later is now required.
151 * The selection behaviour in `gschem' was changed.
153 - Lines, unfilled boxes, unfilled circles, arcs, pins, nets, and
154 buses must be selected by clicking on the drawn path itself.
156 - Filled boxes, circles, text, and components, may be selected by
157 clicking anywhere in the bounding box.
159 - The default mouse click distance required to select an element was
160 increased to 10 pixels.
162 - Double-clicking on a net segment selects all connected net
165 * The percentage step in or out while zooming the display in `gschem'
166 is now configurable with the `zoom-gain' gschemrc parameter. The
167 default value is 20%.
169 * The size of steps when panning with the mouse wheel or with a
170 trackpad in `gschem' is now adjustable with the `scrollpan-steps'
171 gschemrc parameter. The default setting scrolls in steps of 1/8 of
174 * A number of improvements were made to the `gschem' component
177 - The dialog now shows a table of top-level attributes in the
180 - It is now possible to expand/collapse a library by clicking
183 * Changes to fill- and line-styles in `gschem' can now be undone.
185 * Arcs can now be adjusted in `gschem' using an arc angle dialog. It
186 can be accessed by selecting an arc and selecting Edit->Edit.
188 * It is now possible to rotate objects while placing them in `gschem'.
190 * Support for arbitrary filled and unfilled paths, using a subset of
191 the SVG path syntax. For more information, please see the file
192 format specification.
193 <http://geda.seul.org/wiki/geda:file_format_spec>
195 - `gschem' does not yet provide a GUI for creating or editing path
196 elements. However, it does support rendering them. They can also
199 - Some of the symbols in the component library were updated to use
202 * A Scheme evaluation prompt was added to `gschem'. It can be
203 accessed by typing `:'.
205 * Improved algorithm for drawing hatched fills both on screen and in
208 * Color selection dialogs and menus in `gschem' now show the actual
209 color as well as the description. Color names are now translatable.
211 * `gattrib' now prompts to save changes.
213 * All of the unimplemented menu items and pages in `gattrib' were
216 * The `always-promote-attributes' gafrc parameter now takes a list of
217 strings as an argument. The space-delimited string syntax is
220 * Some optimisations were made to the `gnetlist' connection traversal
221 algorithm to speed up netlisting large designs.
223 * A new netlist backend was added to support Liquid PCB.
224 <http://www.liquidpcb.org/>
226 * The `bom2' netlist backend now generates a `qty' column.
228 * Several improvements and fixes were made to the `systemc' backend.
230 * The `--gnetlist-arg' option to gsch2pcb can now be used to pass
231 extra `gnetlist' arguments.
233 * `gsch2pcb' now emits files with the latest `pcb' file format.
235 * The `gxyrs' pick-and-place tool was added.
237 Notable changes in gEDA/gaf 1.5.0
238 =================================
240 * Magnetic net mode in `gschem'. Magnetic mode lets you draw nets and
241 automatically connect to valid end points (such as pins and other
242 nets). The `magnetic-net-mode' gschemrc parameter can be used to
243 enable/disable this feature.
245 * Rotating a component while moving it in `gschem' now rotates around
246 the current mouse location.
248 * The `verilog' and `vhdl' backends now work again.
250 * Embedded components can now be mirrored.
252 * The `pads' netlist backend now uses CRLF line endings.
257 Release notes for older versions of gEDA/gaf are available on the gEDA
258 website. <http://www.gpleda.org/news/index.html>