Tech Arsenal 1

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ Tech Arsenal 1 / Tech Arsenal (Arsenal Computer).ISO / tek-19 / gcpvu.zip / GCPREVUE.DOC < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1991-02-20 | 153KB | 5,281 lines

GC-PREVUETM The Photoplot Data Viewer User's Guide If you have comments regarding GC-PREVUETM or this User's Guide, please fill out the user feedback form in the back of this manual and return it to GraphiCode, Inc. Copyright (C) GraphiCodeTM, Inc. 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991. All rights reserved. LICENSING AGREEMENT Shareware License Statement GraphiCode, Inc. grants you, the possessor of a GC-PREVUE program diskette, the right to make copies of this GC-PREVUE diskette, and to distribute copies of this diskette with the following restrictions and requirements: You must distribute ALL the GC-PREVUE files on this diskette at the same time. This diskette contains the files MAKEPVU.EXE and a README file that includes this License Statement. You may put the GC-PREVUE files on this diskette on a network or BBS as long as the contents are unchanged. You may distribute the GC-PREVUE files ONLY in the compressed form in which you received them on this diskette. You may NOT distribute the files that load onto your hard drive as a result of running the MAKEPVU.EXE decompression program. You must NOT modify any GC-PREVUE files or add any files to the diskette you distribute. You may sell copies of this GC-PREVUE diskette, but only at a price that does not exceed the cost of reproduction and distribution. If you advertise any GC-PREVUE diskettes, you must identify "GC-PREVUE" as a trademark of GraphiCode, Inc. You must NOT copy or distribute printed copies of the on-disk GC- PREVUE manual, or the printed GC-PREVUE manual published by GraphiCode, or any portion of those printed manuals. GC-PREVUE is the only GraphiCode product distributed as "shareware". You may NOT make copies of other GraphiCode software. You don't need to notify GraphiCode when you distribute copies of GC-PREVUE according to these rules. For user support call GraphiCode Technical Support at (206) 771- 5600 or call our technical support BBS at (206) 771-6980. To order printed copies of the GC-PREVUE user manual, or for more information about GraphiCode products, contact us at (206)-672- 1980. Our fax number is (206) 672-2705. Our address is: 19101 36th Avenue West, Suite 204 Lynnwood WA 98036 USA GC-PREVUE programs and manual are Copyright (C) 1987-1991 GraphiCode, Inc. GraphiCode, GC-, and GC-PREVUE are trademarks of GraphiCode, Inc. The information in this manual is subject to change at any time. Rev. C1 February, 1991 The following terms used in this manual are the trademarks of the indicated companies: MS-DOS, Microsoft Corp.; PC-DOS, IBM, IBM- PC,XT,AT,PS/2, International Business Machine Corp.; Hercules, Hercules Computer Technology; Gerber, The Gerber Scientific Instrument Co.; HPGL, Hewlett-Packard; Postscript, Adobe Systems Inc.; Quest and Emma, Marconi Quest CAE; Excellon, Excellon Automation. i Table of Contents 1. Introducing GC-PREVUE 1 1.1 What GC-PREVUE Does 1 1.2 GC-PREVUE Features: 2 1.3 About This Manual 2 1.4 Getting Help 3 1.5 The History of GC-PREVUE 3 2. Getting Started with GC-PREVUE 4 2.1 System Requirements 4 2.2 Installing GC-PREVUE 4 2.3 Starting the Program 4 2.3.1 If GC-PREVUE Does Not Run 5 2.4 Leaving the Program 5 2.5 Disk-Based Virtual Memory 5 3. GC-PREVUE Basics 7 3.1 Ctrl and Alt 7 3.2 Using a Mouse 7 3.2.1 Clicking 7 3.2.2 Dragging 8 3.3 Esc and Ctrl Break 8 3.4 Getting Help 9 3.4.1 The Help Line 9 3.4.2 ClickCenter or Ctrl M for Menu 9 ii 3.5 Using Menus 9 3.5.1 Horizontal Menus 9 3.5.2 Vertical Menus 10 3.6 Working with Data Input Windows 10 3.6.1 Moving from Field to Field 10 3.6.2 Editing a Data Field 10 3.6.3 Toggles (Limited Choice Data Fields) 11 3.6.4 Units (Ctrl U) 11 3.6.5 Scrolling Large Lists 11 3.6.6 Printing Lists (Alt P) 11 3.7 Special Features for Filename Entries 12 3.7.1 Interactive Directories 12 3.7.2 Default Filename Extensions 12 3.7.3 Hardware Devices as Output Files 13 3.8 Perform a DOS Command (Ctrl C) 13 4. GC-PREVUE Configuration 14 4.1 Load a Configuration 14 4.2 Save the Configuration 14 4.3 Bed Size 15 4.4 Reminder Interval 15 4.5 Graphics Display Type 15 4.6 Beep 16 4.7 Mouse Sensitivity 16 5. Aperture Lists 17 5.1 Special Aperture List Features 17 5.1.1 Aperture Position 17 5.1.2 Aperture Code 17 5.1.3 Drill 17 5.1.4 Rotate +/-90 (R90) 17 5.1.5 Dimensions 18 5.1.6 Aperture Type 18 5.1.7 Invisible Apertures 18 5.2 Working with Aperture Lists 19 5.2.1 Load/Create an Aperture List (F1) 19 iii 5.2.2 Unload an Aperture List (Ctrl F1) 19 5.2.3 Edit an Aperture List (F2) 19 5.2.4 Inspect an Aperture List (F3) 20 5.2.5 Write an Aperture List to Disk (F4) 21 5.2.6 Copy & Resize an Aperture List (F5) 21 6. The Drill Rack 22 6.1 Special Drill Rack Features 22 6.1.1 Diameter 22 6.1.2 Invisible Drills 22 6.2 Working with the Drill Rack 23 6.2.1 Load a Drill Rack 23 6.2.2 Save the Drill Rack 23 6.2.3 Edit the Drill Rack 23 6.2.4 Make a New Drill Rack 23 7. Working with Plotter and NC Data 24 7.1 The Layer List 24 7.1.1 Status: Empty or Loaded 24 7.1.2 Offset(inch/mm) X,Y 24 7.1.3 Aperture List ("Aps") 24 7.1.4 Filename 25 7.2 Loading Layers from Data Files 26 7.2.1 Gerber, NC Drill and NC Rout Files 27 7.2.2 HPGL Files 29 7.2.3 Quest Files 30 7.3 Working with the Layer List 31 7.3.1 Load (F1) 31 7.3.2 Unload Layers (Ctrl F1) 32 7.3.3 View Layer(s) (F2) 32 7.3.4 Layer Report (F3) 32 7.3.5 CheckPlot (Alt F4) 32 7.3.6 Copy Layers (F5) 33 7.3.7 Copy NC (Ctrl F5) 33 7.3.8 Save All Work (F6) 34 7.3.9 Restore All Work (F7) 34 7.3.10 Move Layer to Top of List (F8) 34 7.3.11 Set Layer Color (F9) 34 7.3.12 Set Display Units (Ctrl U) 34 7.3.13 Print Layer List (Alt P) 34 iv 8. View Data 35 8.1 The Viewer Display 35 8.1.1 The Help Line 35 8.1.2 Absolute X,Y 35 8.1.3 Relative X,Y 36 8.1.4 Grids: Step, Snap, & Show 36 8.1.5 Setup 36 8.2 Basic Editing Concepts 37 8.2.1 Getting Help 37 8.2.2 Getting Out of the Viewer 37 8.2.3 Saving Your Work (F6) 37 8.2.4 Preparing to View: Hide or View 37 8.2.5 Speed-up Keys (1...9) 37 8.3 Commands for Viewing 38 8.3.1 Undo (U) 38 8.3.2 Offset (O) 38 8.3.3 Rotate (R) 38 8.3.4 Mirror X/Y data (X) (Y) 39 8.4 Panning and Zooming 39 8.4.1 Pan the Display (DragCenter or P) 39 8.4.2 Zoom In (ClickLeft or +) 39 8.4.3 Zoom Out (ClickRight or -) 39 8.4.4 Unzoom (Alt -) 39 8.5 Drawing 39 8.5.1 reDraw Now (D) 39 8.5.2 Drawing Mode (Ctrl D) 39 8.5.3 Label Apertures (L) 40 8.5.4 Wait Between Layers (W) 41 8.5.5 Aspect Ratio (Ctrl A) 41 8.6 Grid 41 8.6.1 User-Defined Grid (Alt G) 41 8.6.2 Change the Step Grid Size (F1/F2) 42 8.6.3 Change the Snap Grid Size (Ctrl F1/Ctrl F2) 42 8.6.4 Snap to Grid (G) 42 8.6.5 Turn Grid Markers On/Off (Ctrl G) 42 8.6.6 Freehand Mouse (F) 43 8.6.7 Zero the Relative Readout (Z) 43 8.6.8 User Zero (Alt Z) 43 8.6.9 Units mm/inch (Ctrl U) 43 8.7 Miscellaneous Commands 43 8.7.1 Query (Q) 43 8.7.2 Bed Size (Ctrl B) 44 v 8.7.3 Inspect Aperture Lists and the Drill Rack (F10) 44 8.7.4 Jump to Absolute X,Y (J) 44 8.7.5 Jump to Relative X,Y (Alt J) 44 Appendix A: APER The GraphiCode Custom Aperture Generator 45 A.1 How GC-PREVUE Uses Custom Apertures 45 A.2 Using APER to Create Custom Apertures 45 A.2.1 APER Basics 45 A.2.2 CAT Files and CAP Files 45 A.3 Starting APER 46 A.3.1 Custom Aperture Text Descriptions 46 A.3.2 The CAT Data Header 47 A.3.3 CAT Syntax 48 A.3.4 Differences Between CAT Syntax and HPGL 50 A.4 APER Macro Feature 50 A.4.1 Help 51 A.4.2 Merge 51 A.4.3 Macro Commands Supported 51 A.4.4 Custom Aperture Generation Codes Macro APER Codes 51 A.5 View Custom Apertures While You Edit 66 A.5.1 Aper Viewing Features 66 A.6 Custom Apertures in Aperture Lists 67 Index 68 vi Table of Figures PLEASE NOTE: The Figures listed below are NOT contained in this Shareware version of GC-PREVUE. Figure 2.1 GC-PREVUE's Startup Screen 5 Figure 4.1 Configuration File Input Window 15 Figure 5.1 Aperture List Edit Screen 20 Figure 7.1 Layer List Menu 31 Figure 8.1 GC-PREVUE Viewer Screen 35 Figure 8.2 Commands for Editing 38 Figure 8.3 User-defined Grid 42 Figure 8.4 Query Feature 44 Figure A.1 APER Custom Aperture Generation Screen 46 vii Figure A.2 Supported HPGL & CAT Commands 48 Figure A.3 Oval 53 Figure A.4 Octagon 54 Figure A.5 Annulus 55 Figure A.6 Moire 57 Figure A.7 Crosshair 59 Figure A.8 Quad 60 Figure A.9 Double Quad 62 Figure A.10 Round Thermal 63 Figure A.11 Square Thermal 64 1: Introducing GC-PREVUE 1 1. Introducing GC-PREVUE 1.1 What GC-PREVUE Does GC-PREVUE is CAD/CAM software designed to help you work more efficiently with RS-274 (often called "Gerber") photoplotter and NC drill CAD output data, with a particular emphasis on Printed Circuit Board applications. GC-PREVUE also supports HPGL and Quest (Marconi Emma) plotter formats. By verifying your CAD data from the photoplotter's point of view you will save time, money and headaches due to miscommunication with your photoplotting service and fabrication facilities. Job files prepared using GC-PREVUE are fully compatible with GraphiCode's PCB CAM software GC-CAM and its many OEM cousins, and GraphiCode's PCB data editor GC-PREDITOR. Contact your photoplotting bureau or PCB fabrication house to see if they accept jobs in GC-PREVUE .PWK format. At the very least, feel free to offer them a copy of GC-PREVUE so that they can receive your aperture lists more easily. GC-PREVUE job files contain all layer data, aperture lists (including custom aperture shapes) and drill information needed to effectively communicate with your photoplotting vendor and fabrication house. 2 GC-PREVUE User's Guide 1.2 GC-PREVUE Features: Input of all popular PCB-related data formats, including: Gerber; HPGL; Quest/Emma; Excellon; Sieb & Meyer Multi-Layer Data Viewing Up to 35 layers, 12 assignable colors Up to 10 aperture lists Traces, pads and holes shown at size True WYSIWYG custom apertures Support for most popular aperture shapes Supports rectangular drawing apertures Windowed zoom Data Manipulation for Viewing Shift by window or Layer Rotate by window or Layer Intelligent rotation of asymmetrical pads Mirror (both axes) by window or Layer Check Plot: Output user-defined scaled graphics to HPGL and Postscript Disk-based Virtual Memory - Unlimited file size! LIM EMS Expanded Memory Support Instant Access to any DOS program or command Built-in Directory for easy file loading GC-PREVUE is designed for ease of use, with an intuitive graphics-based Viewer and commands that work with either a single keystroke or from a menu. 1.3 About This Manual This manual is written to get you working as quickly as possible. We recommend that you discover GC-PREVUE's power by running the software while you read this manual. The sections listed below are especially recommended to help get you up and running: Section 2 - Installing the program Section 3 - Basic GC-PREVUE operation Section 5 - Aperture lists Section 7 - Working with plotter and NC data Section 8 - Inspecting data Feel free to print this manual for your own use. If you would like to purchase a printed copy of this manual, contact GraphiCode or your local GraphiCode representative. 1: Introducing GC-PREVUE 3 1.4 Getting Help If you need further help with GC-PREVUE, you can contact GraphiCode Technical Support at (206) 771-5600 or call our technical support BBS at (206) 771-6980 (Courier HST high speed modem - 1200/2400/9600 Baud - No Parity, Eight Bits). 1.5 The History of GC-PREVUE Since its introduction in 1987, GC-PREVUE has been helping people who work with PCB CAD output data to develop a better understanding of that data. By giving the CAD operator and the photoplotter operator the ability to inspect the data before plotting, countless pieces of bad film have been avoided. Beginning with GC-PREVUE Version 5.0, GraphiCode is releasing GC- PREVUE as "Shareware" as a service to the PCB industry. This means that you are encouraged to use the software and pass it to your friends and co-workers. Mostly we just want to be sure that you to distribute the complete kit - please read the Shareware license for the very few restrictions that do apply. GraphiCode does not want you to pay for the use of GC-PREVUE, but does reserve the right to sell printed manuals. By easing access to CAD output data verification tools, GraphiCode is making a contribution to the PCB industry by helping to educate CAD operators in the nature of CAD output data and its pitfalls. Understanding the problem is half the battle. 2: Getting Started with GC-PREVUE 4 2. Getting Started with GC-PREVUE 2.1 System Requirements GC-PREVUE requires: IBM PC/XT/AT/PS-2 or compatible MSDOS or PCDOS version 2.0 or higher Parallel printer port LPT1 for copy-protect key Hercules, CGA, EGA, VGA, SuperVGA, or Hi Res (1024x768) compatible graphics GC-PREVUE is recommended for use with: 80286/80386 (AT-class) systems 80x87 math coprocessor hard disk drive EGA, VGA, SuperVGA, or Hi Res (1024x768) color graphics Microsoft-compatible mouse or equivalent (two or more buttons) 2.2 Installing GC-PREVUE Just make a new directory, if necessary, and copy the various GC- PREVUE files into it. We suggest you create a new directory called "C:\GC-PREVUE", but any name will do. It is a good idea to change your AUTOEXEC.BAT file so that the GC-PREVUE directory is automatically included in the PATH when your computer is turned on. Consult your DOS manual for more information. 2.3 Starting the Program To start GC-PREVUE, just type: PREVUE If you have certain data files in mind, you can add them to the command. Here is an example: PREVUE DEMODAT1.GBR DEMODAT2.GBR If you want to use a certain GC-PREVUE configuration (see Section 4) you can specify that too. For example, to use "MYCONFIG.PED", type: 2: Getting Started with GC-PREVUE 5 PREVUE /MYCONFIG Figure 2.1: GC-PREVUE's Startup Screen 2.3.1 If GC-PREVUE Does Not Run Common problems include insufficient memory due to too many memory resident programs (TSRs), or incompatibility with off- brand "clone" PCs. Try rebooting your system without any TSRs loaded. 2.4 Leaving the Program In GC-PREVUE you can always get out of whatever you are doing by pressing the Esc or Ctrl Break key. In the main menu, either Esc or the Exit option will get you out of GC-PREVUE and back to DOS. GC-PREVUE will ask you if you REALLY want to exit the program - just press Y or Enter. Y(es) is the default entry, so make sure you press N(o) if you do not wish to leave GC-PREVUE. 2.5 Disk-Based Virtual Memory One particularly useful feature of GC-PREVUE is its ability to use the disk for temporary storage ("virtual memory") when RAM and EMS memory are exhausted. This means that you never encounter the dreaded "Out of Memory" error message unless you run out of disk space as well. You can tell GC-PREVUE where to keep its temporary disk files by setting the environment variable "TMP". For example, you might set up a directory "c:\scratch". You could then type at the DOS ">" prompt: 6 GC-PREVUE User's Guide SET TMP=C:\SCRATCH If for some reason GC-PREVUE can't access the directory referred to by TMP, or the TMP environment variable is not set, then the temporary file will be written to the current directory. In any event, the file will be removed at the end of the GC-PREVUE session. A RAM disk is a nice place for temporary files, but it is likely to be too small for large jobs. 3: GC-PREVUE Basics 7 3. GC-PREVUE Basics This section will tell you what little you need to know about the GC-PREVUE operating environment, in order to gt you moving. While GC-PREVUE works with Hercules monochrome graphics adaptors, color devices are preferred (they convey more information). The CGA display is driven in its highest resolution mode, which is also black and white. This manual will make frequent references to color which users of monochrome and CGA systems may ignore. Note: Keystrokes in this User's Guide are shown in Boldface type. The GC-PREVUE Guide to Keystrokes included in your purchase, provides a list of the keystrokes you will need to operate GC- PREVUE easily. 3.1 Ctrl and Alt In GC-PREVUE, some single key commands are actually a combination of two keys pressed simultaneously. When you see, for instance, a reference to Ctrl M, what is meant is the combination of the Ctrl and M keys pressed at the same time. Similarly, Alt M refers to the Alt and M keys being pressed at the same time. GC- PREVUE makes no distinction between upper and lower case letters. 3.2 Using a Mouse The use of a mouse as a pointing device greatly eases the operation of GC-PREVUE. In this section we review a few basic mouse terms and concepts. 3.2.1 Clicking The act of "clicking" is simply the pressing and releasing one or more of the mouse buttons without moving the mouse. On two- button mice, the third button is emulated by using both button simultaneously. There are three types of clicking: 8 GC-PREVUE User's Guide ClickRight - click the right button only ClickLeft - click the left button only ClickCenter - click the middle button. On two button mice, click the left and right buttons together. 3.2.2 Dragging The act of dragging is similar to clicking, except that the mouse is moved around while the buttons are held down. A drag ends when the buttons are released. In GC-PREVUE, dragging is used only in the graphical editor. Dragging is used to move things around the screen, as if one had pressed one's fingers down on a piece of paper and dragged it around a desktop. There are three types of drags: DragLeft - move the mouse while holding down the left button only. DragRight - move the mouse while holding down the right button only. DragCenter - move the mouse while holding down the middle button. On two button mice, hold the left and right buttons together. Dragging can also be accomplished by holding down the appropriate mouse buttons while using the arrow keys. This can be useful for precise shifting of data. 3.3 Esc and Ctrl Break The Esc key always provides a way to leave from whatever GC- PREVUE action, area or menu you may be in. GC-PREVUE treats the Ctrl Break and Esc keys similarly, except that Ctrl Break works even when GC-PREVUE is not waiting for user input. This makes it useful for interrupting screen reDraws and plotter data read and write operations. GC-PREVUE uses the Ctrl C key as a means of issuing a Command to DOS at any time (see Section 3.8). We mention this here because some other programs use it as another BREAK key. 3: GC-PREVUE Basics 9 3.4 Getting Help 3.4.1 The Help Line The second line from the top of the GC-PREVUE screen (or the top line when in the graphical editor) always contains helpful information concerning the task at hand. Help text is always colored yellow. 3.4.2 ClickCenter or Ctrl M for Menu You can always review your current options by clicking the center button of the mouse, which causes a pop-up menu of commands to appear (see Section 3.5 to learn about menus). If your hands happen to be on the keyboard, you can press Ctrl M to achieve the same effect. You may select an action or ClickCenter/Ctrl M again to make the menu disappear. Any command that can be performed from a menu can also be performed with a single keystroke. Each entry in the pop-down menu has its single-key equivalent that is highlighted in yellow on color monitors or in brightened text on monochrome monitors. These pop-up menus serve as a teaching guide to single-key commands. As you begin to work faster, you will probably find yourself bypassing the menu system altogether, but it will always be there as a memory jogger. The choice between using menus or keyboard commands is largely a matter of personal taste, so GC- PREVUE leaves it up to you. ClickCenter/Ctrl M will always give you a way out of whatever you are doing, either by featuring an Exit option in the pop-up menu or by simply acting as if you had pressed the Esc key. 3.5 Using Menus 3.5.1 Horizontal Menus A horizontal menu presents a list of choices across a single line of the screen. Use the mouse or left and right arrow keys to position the cursor at the desired option. ClickLeft or press Enter to select the currently highlighted option. The main GC- PREVUE menu is an example of a horizontal menu. At the main menu, the Esc key causes GC-PREVUE to ask you if you want to quit the program altogether. ClickCenter/Ctrl M serves the same purpose as the Esc key here, since all your options are already presented in the menu at hand. Note that each menu entry has one character highlighted in yellow. Press the corresponding key for the same effect as if 10 GC-PREVUE User's Guide you had positioned the cursor on that menu entry then pressed Enter. 3.5.2 Vertical Menus Most menus in GC-PREVUE have their entries arrayed vertically. Vertical menus work much like horizontal menus, except that the up and down arrow keys are used. Each entry in a vertical menu indicates its single-key command equivalent by highlighting it in yellow. There are two kinds of vertical menus: Pop Down menus, which appear as a result of actions at a horizontal menu. Left and right movements take the cursor out of a pop down menu and on to the next horizontal menu entry. Pop Up menus, which appear as the result of actions other than those selected from a horizontal menu. Pop Up menus differ from Pop Down menus in that once an action is selected from a Pop Up menu, the menu goes away. To exit from a Pop Up menu either select an action, or press Esc or ClickCenter to escape with no action. 3.6 Working with Data Input Windows A common sight in GC-PREVUE is a window containing a list of data fields for you to fill in. Remember to watch the Help line for hints concerning the nature of the input required. When you have everything the way you want it, press Enter or ClickLeft to proceed. As ever, Esc cancels. 3.6.1 Moving from Field to Field The arrow keys and the mouse both serve to move the cursor from one data field to the next. The Home and End keys move to the extreme left and right respectively, while PgUp and PgDn move several lines up and down, respectively. To get to the top or bottom of a long list, press Ctrl PgUp or Ctrl PgDn. 3.6.2 Editing a Data Field GC-PREVUE features a complete built in line editor. To change an existing field, you can: 3: GC-PREVUE Basics 11 Erase it completely by pressing Ctrl Backspace. Type over it, or press the Ins key to insert. The cursor changes its shape to cover the entire character when in Insert mode. Use Del and Backspace to correct typing errors. Use Ctrl Left or Ctrl Right to move within the field. Use Ctrl Enter to see the effect of changes to the field without leaving the field. GC-PREVUE has special features to help with data fields that take filenames. These features are described in Section 3.7. 3.6.3 Toggles (Limited Choice Data Fields) Some fields have a limited range of values such as Yes/No or Inch/mm. Such fields are called "Toggle" fields and are indicated by a special cursor that fills one-half of a character's height. You can step through a toggle field's values using the Spacebar or ClickRight, or press F10 to see the entire range of choices. You can also enter a value directly by pressing the first letter of the value desired. 3.6.4 Units (Ctrl U) Anytime that you edit a data field that describes a distance or an offset, you can change between inch and millimeter units by pressing Ctrl U. 3.6.5 Scrolling Large Lists Some lists are too long to fit inside a window all at once. When this happens, an up or down arrow symbol appears in the left column of the window to indicate that there are more data to be seen. To get to these data, just keep pressing the up/down or PgUp/PgDn keys or use the mouse to move the cursor against the top or bottom of the visible list. 3.6.6 Printing Lists (Alt P) You can always print a list to a disk file or printer by pressing Alt P, or by selecting "Print" from the ClickCenter pop-up menu. Send the list directly to the printer by specifying PRN as the output filename. GC-PREVUE does not send a form feed. GC-PREVUE remembers the last-used filename for list printing and allows you to add subsequent printed lists to that file. This provides a convenient way to maintain a written record of your work. 12 GC-PREVUE User's Guide Alt P prints complete lists of data that are too long to be listed on the screen of your computer at one time. 3.7 Special Features for Filename Entries One special and frequently used type of data field is the filename. A filename can include a complete drive and path designation if desired. GC-PREVUE has two helpful features to speed your work with files, Interactive Directories and Default Filename Extensions. 3.7.1 Interactive Directories Whenever GC-PREVUE asks for a filename, you can press F10 to select from a directory of files. GC-PREVUE presents the most likely wildcard selection based on the type of file in question (for instance, *.PED for GC-PREVUE configuration files, or *.APR for aperture lists). You can modify this if desired, then press Enter to see a list of files matching the wildcard description. The wildcard description can contain a complete path designation, referring to directories other than the current working directory. For long lists of files, you can move around the list in the usual up/down manner, or search for a file by typing up to eight letters of a filename. The cursor moves to the right along the current line to indicate the number of search letters used. The Backspace key resets the last search character. Once the cursor is positioned on the name of the correct file, press Enter or ClickLeft to accept it. As always, the Esc key gets you out without selecting anything. 3.7.2 Default Filename Extensions When typing a filename directly, you can save a few keystrokes by letting GC-PREVUE attach the filename extension (that is, the ".ext" part of "filename.ext"). GC-PREVUE assumes the following filename extensions: .PED for configuration files .APR for aperture list files .PDF for plotter definition files .RCK for drill rack files .CAP for custom aperture files .PWK for GC-Prevue WorK files GC-PREVUE notes the last-used filename extension for plotter and NC data input files and treats it as the default. 3: GC-PREVUE Basics 13 3.7.3 Hardware Devices as Output Files GC-PREVUE recognizes certain output filenames as DOS device names, including PRN, LPT1, LPT2, COM1 through COM4, and AUX. This allows direct output from GC-PREVUE to printers and plotters, although you must use the DOS "MODE" command to set up communication parameters. 3.8 Perform a DOS Command (Ctrl C) One convenient feature of GC-PREVUE is the ability to execute any DOS command (subject to memory availability) from any part of GC- PREVUE, at any time, without leaving the program. Just press Ctrl C and GC-PREVUE will ask you for a command to execute. Once the command is completed, GC-PREVUE continues operating where you left off. GC-PREVUE presents "COMMAND.COM" as the default choice. This command creates a new copy of DOS, which allows you to execute any series of commands (not just one command). Use the EXIT command to return to GC-PREVUE (type EXIT at the DOS prompt after completing the commands). 4: The GC-PREVUE Configuration 14 4. GC-PREVUE Configuration GC-PREVUE provides a means of saving its setup information for later use. In addition to the items shown in the "Configuration" area at the bottom of the main GC-PREVUE screen, GC-PREVUE saves information such as aperture list selections, drill rack selection, input data format, graphics display type, and more. 4.1 Load a Configuration At startup, GC-PREVUE will automatically load the configuration found in file "DEFAULT.PED". This is generally the easiest way to use configuration files - set GC-PREVUE up the way you like it, then save the configuration to "DEFAULT.PED". An alternative way to use configuration files is on the DOS command line. In order to start GC-PREVUE with the configuration found in "MYCONFIG.PED", you could type: PREVUE /MYCONFIG To load a configuration from inside GC-PREVUE, select the "Configure" option on the main GC-PREVUE menu. This produces a pop down menu from which you can select "Load Configuration". GC-PREVUE will prompt you for a filename. Aperture Lists and the Drill Rack are automatically loaded as part of the configuration loading process. 4.2 Save the Configuration To save the current GC-PREVUE configuration, select "Save Configuration" from the "Configure" pop down menu. GC-PREVUE will prompt you for a filename. If you want this configuration to be loaded automatically at the next start of GC-PREVUE, name the output file "DEFAULT.PED". 4: The GC-PREVUE Configuration 15 Figure 4.1: Configuration File Input Window 4.3 Bed Size When in the GC-PREVUE graphical Viewer, you will notice a dark grey rectangle (adjust your monitor if you don't see it) which represents the extents of the useful plotting area. You can set these extents using the "Bed Size" entry of the "Configure" pull- down menu. You can also access this from inside the GC-PREVUE Viewer. 4.4 Reminder Interval To help prevent you from losing work due to power outages and other mishaps, GC-PREVUE can periodically remind you to save your work (via the "Save All" command). In the Configuration pull- down menu, select "Reminder Interval" (I). Choose the time between reminders by typing in a specific number of minutes. If you would rather not be reminded to save, select "0" minutes. 4.5 Graphics Display Type Here you can tell GC-PREVUE what kind of graphics display system you use. GC-PREVUE supports the most popular graphics display types (Hercules, CGA, EGA, VGA, SuperVGA), and can recognize them automatically when "Autosense Graphics" is selected. Of course you can also select a specific graphics type, which is useful for "clone" machines which may not behave according to standard, making identification difficult. AutoSense will detect Hercules, CGA, EGA and VGA adapters. If you have SuperVGA, you must select 16 GC-PREVUE User's Guide it explicitly since there are several competing "standards" for SuperVGA graphics. GC-PREVUE supports SuperVGA adapters in 800x600 16 color mode. Select Graphics Display Type from the Configure menu to see a list of supported SuperVGA adapters. If your adapter's brand name is not in the list, try Tseng or Chips & Technologies. These are not adapter brands but rather brands of BIOS chips built into many popular SuperVGA adapters. For Hi Res graphics (1024x786), GC-PREVUE supports Video 7 and its emulators only. If GC-PREVUE thinks that the requested and detected display types do not match, a warning will be issued but the request will be granted. EGA displays can safely do CGA graphics, and VGA can do EGA or CGA graphics, however: NOTE THAT THERE IS SOME POSSIBILITY OF DAMAGE TO YOUR SYSTEM IF YOU SELECT A DISPLAY TYPE OTHER THAN THAT WHICH IS ACTUALLY INSTALLED! 4.6 Beep The GC-PREVUE warning tone toggles on and off each time Beep is selected. This feature is provided simply for the convenience of those who prefer a quiet work place. 4.7 Mouse Sensitivity Use this entry to set the responsiveness of your mouse. ClickRight decreases sensitivity (longer mouse moves), and ClickLeft increases sensitivity. When your mouse moves at an acceptable speed, press Enter. 5: Aperture Lists 17 5. Aperture Lists Each of the 35 layers can be associated with any one of up to 10 aperture lists via the "Aps" field of the Layer List. To change any of the aperture lists themselves, select "Apertures" from the main menu. The Aperture Lists selections are saved as part of the system configuration, and are loaded automatically when a configuration is loaded. GC-PREVUE is also capable of generating an aperture list from Gerber file data (see Section 7.1.3). This section is divided into 2 parts. The first part (Section 5.1) describes the GC-PREVUE features for working with apertures. The second part (Section 5.2) explains how you access these features and put them to work. 5.1 Special Aperture List Features GC-PREVUE aperture lists contain, as you would expect, information about each aperture's shape, size and selection ("D") code. In addition, GC-PREVUE aperture lists contain information regarding drill/router use and data rotation. In this section we describe each field of an aperture description. 5.1.1 Aperture Position Because a GC-PREVUE aperture contains so much more information than just its "D" code, an aperture is referred to by aperture position rather than by "D" code. 5.1.2 Aperture Code This is the "D" code used in Gerber data to select an aperture. This information is needed for reading Gerber-format data. 5.1.3 Drill Any one of the up to 254 drills/router bits in the drill rack may be associated with each aperture. A value of 0 here indicates that the aperture is not associated with any drill or router information. This information is of use only to the Copy NC function, which lets you visualize a drill layer created from a photoplot layer (see section 7.3.7). 5.1.4 Rotate +/-90 (R90) Rotating data is not as simple as it may seem at first. If your data uses apertures such as ovals and rectangles, which are not symmetrical in rotation, then a rotation of +/- 90 degrees could result in an erroneous plot. This is because pad locations 18 GC-PREVUE User's Guide rotate but the pads themselves do not, since the shape and orientation of an aperture is fixed. GC-PREVUE helps solve this problem by allowing you to specify a substitute aperture position to be used in such rotations. GC- PREVUE will automatically search for a suitable match whenever you describe an aperture which is not symmetrical. Note that this has no effect on Draw-type apertures, which are assumed to be round, or on non-Draw apertures used for drawing. 5.1.5 Dimensions For symmetrical shapes, the dimension is read as a diameter. For non-symmetric shapes, the first (major) and second (minor) dimensions are read as X and Y widths respectively. For shapes such as Annuals and Thermal, the dimensions represent Inner and Outer diameters. The "Target" shape is described by diameter and line weight. For custom apertures, the Dimension information is replaced by the name of the file containing the custom aperture description (see Appendix A). Once the filename is typed in, the F1 key loads the custom aperture description in that file. The description becomes a permanent part of the aperture list when the list is saved to an APR disk file. 5.1.6 Aperture Type GC-PREVUE supports the most popular standard pad shapes as well as custom aperture shapes. Standard shapes include: round; octagon; square; rectangle; oval; annulus; slit; and a stylized thermal relief and target. The APER program included with GC- PREVUE allows you to define custom apertures for true WYSIWYG viewing and plotting (see Appendix A). Custom apertures are kept in special-format files and are loaded into an aperture list by filename reference. GC-PREVUE supports the drawing of traces with rectangular apertures. A "Draw"-type aperture is assumed to be round. If a non-"Draw", non-rectangular aperture is used for drawing, it is assumed for display purposes to be round and of the diameter given in the major dimension. Attempting to draw a trace with a custom aperture will have unpredictable results. 5.1.7 Invisible Apertures Sometimes it is convenient to disable the display of data associated with certain positions in an aperture list. Disabled apertures are referred to as "Invisible". Any aperture can be made Invisible. Data associated with Invisible apertures;, like invisible drills, do not display. An Invisible aperture is marked by an asterisk ("*") next to its Type description. An Aperture List containing invisible apertures has an asterisk next to its name in the "Aperture Lists" area of the main GC-PREVUE 5: Aperture Lists 19 screen, and any layers using an Aperture List containing Invisible apertures will have an asterisk next to their entry in the Setup Status area of the graphical Viewer screen. The invisibility attribute of an aperture can be changed from within the graphical Viewer, making it a useful analysis tool. 5.2 Working with Aperture Lists To begin working with Aperture Lists, you must select "Apertures" from the main menu. Once in the Aperture Lists area, press Ctrl M or ClickCenter for a menu of options as described below. The chosen action applies to the Aperture list currently highlighted by the cursor. 5.2.1 Load/Create an Aperture List (F1) To load an Aperture List from disk, just type the name of the file, or press F10 to select one or more filenames from a directory. Once the filename is correct, press F1 to load the file. If the filename is empty, GC-PREVUE will offer to create a new aperture list. GC-PREVUE asks how many positions will be on the new list, then creates it for you and presents it for editing. For lists of 24 or fewer positions, the default D code numbering scheme is that which is used by traditional vector photoplotters. Be sure to fill in all the dimensions and set the Types correctly. A more convenient way to create an aperture list is to generate it from the plotter data (see Section 7.1.3). 5.2.2 Unload an Aperture List (Ctrl F1) If you are not using a loaded Aperture List, you can save some memory by removing it from the list of Aperture Lists. If the Aperture List has been edited, GC-PREVUE will give you a chance to save it before erasing it. 5.2.3 Edit an Aperture List (F2) F2 pops up a window containing the currently selected aperture list's aperture information. This information can be edited. 20 GC-PREVUE User's Guide Figure 5.1: Aperture List Edit Screen To change any numeric value, just position the cursor on the appropriate field and type in the new value. Use ClickCenter to see the menu of commands for editing an aperture list, which include the ability to: Add a position (Ctrl A) Remove a position (Ctrl R) Make a position "Invisible" (Ctrl I) Jump to a position (Ctrl J) Sort the aperture list on ascending D codes (Ctrl S) Automatically rotate asymmetric pads (Alt R) Set the units for dimensions (Ctrl U) The Shift key used in conjunction with function keys F1 through F12 set the aperture Type as indicated by an on-screen help display. If your keyboard does not have an F11 or F12 function key, press Alt F1 or Alt F2 instead. Review Section 5.1 for the meaning of each field in an aperture list. Press F10 to pop up a copy of the current drill rack for inspection. IMPORTANT: Editing an Aperture List after it has been used to load photoplot data will lead to unpredictable results, particularly if positions are removed. Any layers that use such a list should be reloaded. 5.2.4 Inspect an Aperture List (F3) To view an aperture list's contents without changing them, position the cursor on the list in question then press F3. You may also inspect an aperture list while you are checking data on the View screen by pressing F10. 5: Aperture Lists 21 5.2.5 Write an Aperture List to Disk (F4) Once you have set up an Aperture List to your satisfaction, you will want to save it for future use. It's best to save immediately using this option. However, GC-PREVUE will make sure you get a chance to save an edited Aperture List before leaving the program or loading a new Aperture List in its place. 5.2.6 Copy & Resize an Aperture List (F5) Sometimes it is convenient to have a copy of an aperture list with slightly larger or smaller dimensions for each aperture, for making a silkscreen or perhaps a ground plane isolation. When copying the currently selected aperture list to the first available Aperture List table slot, GC-PREVUE lets you add or subtract a given amount from the radius of each copied aperture. If the aperture list being copied contains custom apertures, GC- PREVUE will copy and adjust those too, then ask for new filenames for saving the new custom apertures. It is not strictly necessary to save these new custom apertures to individual files (they will be preserved by saving the new aperture list itself), so you can just ESCape out of the filename prompt. 6: The Drill Rack 22 6. The Drill Rack The Drill Rack is a list of up to 254 drill selection codes and diameters used when reading, writing, creating and especially viewing/editing NC Drill data layers. The diameter information allows drill locations to be displayed at width. All layers and all Aperture Lists refer to the same single Drill Rack. The current Drill Rack selection is displayed in the "Configuration" area at the bottom of the main GC-PREVUE screen. You can use GC-PREVUE's Aperture List editor to associate each aperture in an Aperture List with any one (or none) of the drills in the Drill Rack. This information is used by the "Copy NC" function in the GC-PREVUE Layer List to create NC drill data layers from photoplot data layers. You may inspect the Drill Rack while in the Aperture List editor, and you may inspect the Drill Rack or any Aperture List while in the Viewer. 6.1 Special Drill Rack Features 6.1.1 Diameter To change the display diameter of a drill, just position the cursor on that drill's diameter value and type in a new value. Press Ctrl U to change units. 6.1.2 Invisible Drills Sometimes it is convenient to disable the display of data associated with certain positions in the Drill Rack. Data which use invisible drills do not display or write. If the Drill Rack contains Invisible entries, an asterisk ("*") appears by the "Drill Rack" entry in the Configuration display area of the main GC-PREVUE screen. In the graphical Viewer, an asterisk appears next to the Setup Status entry for each layer using the Drill Rack if the Drill Rack contains invisible drills. The Invisibility attribute of a drill can also be changed from within the graphical data Viewer, making it a useful analysis tool. 6: The Drill Rack 23 6.2 Working with the Drill Rack When you select the "Drills" option from the GC-PREVUE main menu, a menu appears allowing you to variously create, edit, save and recall Drill Racks. The menu selections are as follows: 6.2.1 Load a Drill Rack When "Load" is selected from the Drills menu, GC-PREVUE offers to save the current Drill Rack if it has been edited. GC-PREVUE then prompts for a filename for loading the next Drill rack. 6.2.2 Save the Drill Rack When "Save" is selected from the Drills menu, GC-PREVUE prompts for a filename for saving the current Drill Rack to disk. 6.2.3 Edit the Drill Rack When "Edit" is selected from the Drills menu, GC-PREVUE pops up a copy of the current Drill Rack for inspection and editing. To change a value, just position the cursor on the value and type in a new value. As usual, ClickCenter or Ctrl M present a menu of commands, as described below: Add and Remove Drills GC-PREVUE allows you to change the number of entries in a Drill Rack. Ctrl A and Ctrl R Add and Remove drills respectively. GC- PREVUE will ask you to verify the action before deleting a drill. Make a Drill Invisible Pressing Ctrl I toggles the Invisibility of the currently selected drill. Set Units Pressing Ctrl U sets the drill rack display units to inch, mm or mil. 6.2.4 Make a New Drill Rack When "New" is selected from the Drills menu GC-PREVUE offers to save the current Drill Rack if it has been edited, then prompts for the number of positions in the new rack. GC-PREVUE then brings up the new rack for editing. Drill Racks can also be created "on the fly", based on the T codes found while reading NC drill data files (see Section 7.1.3). Such racks still require editing to set tool diameters. 7: Working with Plotter and NC Data 24 7. Working with Plotter and NC Data This section covers the essentials of reading, and manipulating photoplotter, HPGL, NC drill/rout data. Section 8 covers viewing the data in greater detail. 7.1 The Layer List The Layer List takes up most of the main GC-PREVUE screen, and is where the majority of your work is done. Up to 35 layers can be in the list. To get to the Layer List, select the "Layers" entry from the main (horizontal) menu. Note that not all 35 layers fit on-screen at once - just scroll the list using the up/down keys. In this section we'll explain each of the columns in a Layer List entry. 7.1.1 Status: Empty or Loaded This field indicates the presence and status of data on a layer. "Empty" indicates that the layer is unused. When the status is "Loaded", data file has been read in to this layer. 7.1.2 Offset(inch/mm) X,Y The "Offset(inch/mm)" entries indicate the offset to be applied to each layer for display and output purposes. Such shifting can be achieved either by typing in the offsets directly at the appropriate field in the Layer List, or by entering the Viewer and using Offset. The shift values are displayed in inch or metric units depending on the last units used in the Viewer or while loading data. The Ctrl U key changes the display from inch to metric and back again. 7.1.3 Aperture List ("Aps") Each layer must be associated with any one of the up to ten different Aperture Lists, or with the Drill Rack if the layer contains NC drill/rout data. An Aperture List is referred to by the letter (A through J), which appears next to its name in the "Aperture Lists" table just below the Layer List area of the main GC-PREVUE screen. The Drill Rack is denoted by the letter "T". 7: Working with Plotter and NC Data 25 Automatic Generation of Aperture Lists and Drill Racks If the "Aps" selection for a layer refers to an empty Drill Rack or Aperture List entry, GC-PREVUE will offer to create an Aperture List or Drill Rack based on the input data file for that layer. When the layer is loaded (as described in Section 7.3.1), GC-PREVUE will confirm that the Aperture List or Drill Rack is intentionally blank and then will construct a list containing the aperture or drill selection codes found. Dimensions will be zeroed, meaning that you must edit the new Aperture List or Drill Rack to assign dimensions (see Section 5.2.3 for aperture editing, and Section 6.2.3 for Drill Rack editing). Additionally, if GC-PREVUE encounters an unknown tool code while reading a file using an existing Aperture List or Drill Rack, GC- PREVUE will offer to append the new code to the Aperture List or Drill Rack in use. Again the new aperture or drill will have a diameter of zero and must be edited to view properly. You can edit the aperture list or drill rack by placing the cursor in the "Aps" column and pressing F10. 7.1.4 Filename Most layers are associated with a disk file of plotter or NC data, although data layers can be created in the Viewer or by using the Copy and Copy NC functions. You can change the filename for a layer at any time, but the filename must be that of a real file when you go to load a layer from disk (see the following example). To enter or change a filename, just position the cursor in the Filename column and type in a new name. To enter one or more filenames selected from a directory, do the following: 26 GC-PREVUE User's Guide Position the cursor in the Filename column of the first layer which is to receive a filename and press F10. A wildcard entry window pops up. The default wildcards show the last used filename extension (for example, "*.GBR"). You can change the wildcards to match any set of files in any directory (consult your DOS manual for more information on wildcards and paths). Press Enter to pop up a list of filenames that match the wildcard selection. Select files from the list by positioning the cursor on each desired filename, followed by ClickRight or the Spacebar. Selected filenames are displayed in inverse video (black on white). Cancel file selections by repeating the ClickRight or Spacebar action. To find a filename in a long list of filenames, type in the first few letters of the desired name. The BackSpace key lets you change the search letters. ClickLeft or press Enter to copy all the selected filenames to the Layer List. EXAMPLE For a job that consists of the 3 layers "DEMODAT1.GBR", "DEMODAT2.GBR", and "DEMODAT3.NC", begin by positioning the cursor on the first unused line of the Layer List, then press F10. Set the wildcard window to read "DEMODAT?.*", and press Enter. The list of matched files pops up. Select the desired files from the list and press Enter again. Since DEMODAT3.NC contains drill information, the "Aps" aperture list selection for that layer should be set to "T", meaning that it uses the Drill Rack directly. The layers can now be loaded using F1. 7.2 Loading Layers from Data Files The Load (F1) option from the Layer List menu lets you load layers from the disk files indicated in the Filename column. To load a data file, type in its filename at the layer list then press F1. GC-PREVUE pops up a menu from which you can select one of several different input data formats, including: Gerber (RS274-D) NC Drill NC Rout HPGL Quest (Marconi Emma) The use of each of these input formats is explained in the following sections. 7: Working with Plotter and NC Data 27 GC-PREVUE can generate or add to Drill Racks and Aperture Lists while reading input data files (see Section 7.1.3). Drill Racks and Aperture Lists created or expanded in this manner require editing to set tool diameters for display. 7.2.1 Gerber, NC Drill and NC Rout Files Gerber (RS-274-D) and NC data files have very similar formats, so we'll treat them here in a single section. The main difference is that Gerber files are read using an aperture list while NC files are read using the Drill Rack. Gerber and NC data files tend to appear in dialect, which is to say that they adhere to format standards rather loosely. For this reason, GC-PREVUE asks you to specify a plotter definition file (PDF) and lets you change various PDF input parameter settings before attempting to read a file. Once the data files have been read, GC-PREVUE gives you a chance to save any PDF changes for future use. GC-PREVUE presents an input window containing the fields described below. Most of the fields describe aspects of the input data format. (If you are unfamiliar with the terms, see Section 7.1). Layers Any or all layers can be specified for loading. Note that if multiple layers are to be loaded at once, they must use identical data formats. Layers are specified by number. Acceptable specifications include: all 3 1,2,4,6 1-7 not 4,8 Error File Typical errors while reading a file include misuse of flash/draw apertures and use of apertures not declared in the aperture list. To log such errors to a file in addition to displaying them on- screen, provide a filename here. Plotter Enter the name of a previously created plotter definition file (PDF), or leave this field blank and fill in the following fields manually. You can also specify a PDF here then modify it by changing the following fields. GC-PREVUE lets you save any modifications after the data are loaded. 28 GC-PREVUE User's Guide Whole Digits This field specifies the input format in terms of the number of digits to be read as whole units. Precision This field specifies the input format in terms of the number of digits to be read as fractional units. Absolute/Incremental This field specifies absolute or relative input data. This setting may be overridden by codes in the data file. Zero Suppression Choose from "Leading," "Trailing" or "None." Leading zero suppression is the most common. Units This field specifies inch or metric (mm) input data. This setting may be overridden by codes in the data file. Coordinate System This selects the coordinate system for loading the data. Choose Absolute or User Coordinates. If User Coordinates are selected, data will be loaded using the User Coordinate system origin. Arc Style Select either "Quadrant" or "Full 360." Most photoplotters and NC machines use only Quadrant arc styles, which allow for positive-only I and J codes. You can toggle to Full 360 if the data are intended for a plotter with Full 360 degree (signed I and J) arc data recognition. This entry is useful for NC Drill input files, since drill files may also contain rout information, and vice versa. Flash/Draw Check (Gerber only) GC-PREVUE will warn you of the cross-use of apertures (Flash with Draw-type aperture, or vice versa) if the Flash/Draw check is set to "Yes". This is primarily of use on older vector plotters. Set Flash/Draw check to "No" if your target plotter is a laser plotter or some other raster device. Modal Tool Peck (Gerber only) On most photoplotters, a Flash occurs only when a data block contains a D03 code. This is the Modal Tool Peck "No" case, and 7: Working with Plotter and NC Data 29 is standard for photoplotters. Some plotters depart from the standard and flash at each block after a D03 code until a D02 or D01 comes along, whether each block contains a D03 or not. This is the Modal Tool Peck "Yes" case. Character Set GC-PREVUE can read and write ASCII, EIA, or EBCDIC data. ASCII is by far the most commonly used character set, while EBCDIC is common in files downloaded from IBM mainframe computers. Many NC drill and rout machines read EIA data. Magtape Filter (Gerber only) Enabling the Magtape Filter causes GC-PREVUE to ignore carriage returns, linefeeds, nulls and spaces when reading Gerber data. This is useful for data files that have been received from mainframes or other workstations that insert padding characters and new lines at regular intervals (sometimes in the middle of a data value). X and Y Offsets These fields allow you to read data for devices with fixed coordinates systems, which differ from the selected coordinate system. Any X or Y offset given will be added to all coordinates read. This feature works independent of the selected coordinate system. 7.2.2 HPGL Files HPGL files can be loaded on layers using either the Drill rack or an aperture list. Pen 1 corresponds to position 1 of the aperture list or drill rack, pen 2 to position 2, and so forth. The entire HPGL instruction set is implemented, including polygons. Polygons are scan-converted to vectors (filled) as they are loaded. Layers Any or all layers can be specified for loading. Note that if multiple layers are to be loaded at once, they must use identical data formats. Layers are specified by number. Error File To log any data errors to a file in addition to displaying them on-screen, provide a filename here. Plotter Proper interpretation of HPGL depends heavily on certain scaling parameters. Many CAD programs fail to include these in their output HPGL data, depending instead on the default scaling 30 GC-PREVUE User's Guide parameters for the target plotter. GC-PREVUE can achieve the proper scaling if it knows the plotter model and paper size for which the data were intended. Press F10 to select from a list of plotters and paper sizes. Selections marked "EXPAND" assume that the EXPAND hardware feature for this plotter is Yes. If your HPGL data files include IP and SC commands, the Plotter selection is unimportant since these commands override the default scaling. Ignore chord tolerances GC-PREVUE can load HPGL arc information two different ways: as true arcs or as connected line segments (vectorized arcs). When "Ignore chord tolerances" is "Yes," arcs are stored as true arcs (endpoints and arc center). When "Ignore chord tolerances" is "No", GC-PREVUE converts arcs to vectors based on the HPGL CT (Chord Tolerance) command, or to a default of one vector per 5 degrees of arc. Fill Adjust When reading HPGL polygon information, GC-PREVUE can compensate for tool width so that polygons fill exactly to the programmed dimensions. This is done by shrinking the programmed polygon edges in by one tool radius, which is the Fill Adjust "Yes" state. When Fill Adjust is "No", polygons will be filled based on the programmed centerlines of the polygon edges, which results in a polygon whose actual dimensions are one tool radius greater than programmed. Units Adjust A surprisingly common error in CAD output data is the assumption that one HPGL unit is equal to .001 inch. This is not true! HP defines the HPGL unit as follows: 1 HPGL unit = 0.025 mm (0.0098425 inches) 40 HPGL units = 1.0 mm 1016 HPGL units = 1.0 inch By setting Units Adjust to "Yes", you tell GC-PREVUE to correct for this scaling error when reading HPGL data. 7.2.3 Quest Files Quest files (or Marconi Emma, as they are sometimes known) can be loaded on layers using either the Drill rack or an aperture list. Slide I0 corresponds to position 1 of the aperture list or drill rack, slide I1 to position 2, and so forth. 7: Working with Plotter and NC Data 31 Layers Any or all layers can be specified for loading. Note that if multiple layers are to be loaded at once, they must use identical data formats. Layers are specified by number. Error File To log any data errors to a file in addition to displaying them on-screen, provide a filename here. Units This field specifies inch or metric(mm) input data. Character Set GC-PREVUE can read and write ASCII, EIA or EBCDIC data. ASCII is by far the most commonly used character set, while EBCDIC is common in files downloaded from IBM mainframe computers. Many NC drill and rout machines read EIA data. 7.3 Working with the Layer List Most of the action in GC-PREVUE centers on the Layer List area, including reading, writing, editing and copying data layers. Figure 7.1: Layer List Menu 7.3.1 Load (F1) This function provides for loading layers from disk data files of various formats. See Section 7.2 for specific information on using each of these input formats. 32 GC-PREVUE User's Guide 7.3.2 Unload Layers (Ctrl F1) Unloading a layer means erasing all data on the layer. GC-PREVUE will ask you to confirm this action, since once data is erased it cannot be recovered except by re-reading a data file, and any manipulation is lost permanently unless it has saved (F6). 7.3.3 View Layer(s) (F2) F2 takes you to GC-PREVUE's multi-layer graphical data Viewer, which is described in detail in Section 8. 7.3.4 Layer Report (F3) F3 produces a description of the current layer. This report includes: Layer's data extents Aperture list (or drill rack) used Pad and trace counts by aperture Sample X,Y location for each aperture used Total pad and trace count The data extents take the dimensions of apertures and drills into account. 7.3.5 CheckPlot (Alt F4) This feature enables you to output data to HPGL penplotters or to printers that support Postscript, with user-defined scale. Press Alt F4 to pop up menu of CheckPlot controls, which are: 7: Working with Plotter and NC Data 33 Output file: select the output filename (press F10 for a list of possible names). Layers: specify layer(s) that you wish to CheckPlot. Plotter: choose either Postscript or one of the many HP plotters, which may be displayed on a list by pressing F10. Style: pick from the output drawing styles of Normal, Transparent, and Ball & Stick. Pen Width: type in pen width for filled penplots and unfilled Postscript output. Fill Adjust: select "ON" to adjust pen thickness on polygon fills (reducing fill by one pen width). "OFF" fills following the center line instructions. X Y Scaling: Establish the scale of the output relative to the data. Pads: output pads by turning "ON." Traces: output traces by turning "ON." 7.3.6 Copy Layers (F5) "Copy" copies data from one or more layers to a single target layer. If the target layer is not empty, GC-PREVUE offers to clear it first, otherwise the copied data is appended to the existing data. The new layer uses the filename of the source layer, substitutes the filename extension ".CPY", then encloses the new filename in parenthesis. Layers are copied with their XY offsets added in. A layer cannot be copied to itself. Mixing layers which use different Aperture Lists will have unpredictable results. 7.3.7 Copy NC (Ctrl F5) The Copy NC function is provided to allow quick and easy generation of NC drill and router information from photoplot pad and trace data. (Note: It will not generate NC information from HPGL data.) This powerful GC-PREVUE function behaves like Copy (F5) except that the target layer is automatically set to use the Drill Rack (the "Aps" selection is set to "T" to indicate the presence of NC data). The aperture selection for each copied pad or trace is translated to a drill selection, based on the T code translation values found in the source layer's Aperture List. The new layer uses the copied layer's filename except that it replaces the filename's extension with ".NC" and encloses the new filename in parenthesis. 34 GC-PREVUE User's Guide Pads and traces using aperture positions with a T code translation value of zero do not copy. Mixing layers that use different Aperture Lists is quite acceptable, since all layers use the same Drill Rack. 7.3.8 Save All Work (F6) This feature, which also appears in the graphical Viewer, allows you to quickly save the work in progress on all layers to a single PWK (gc-Prevue WorK) disk file. It is a good idea to save your work often, since you never know when power failures or other disasters might come along. A PWK file contains all your layer data, aperture lists, custom apertures, and drill rack information. As such, it represents a complete representation of your job and is a convenient way to communicate with your plotting service or board house if they also have GC-PREVUE or another GraphiCode software product. 7.3.9 Restore All Work (F7) This feature allows you to restore work saved using "Save All" (F6). This can be a lifesaver, but it can't work if you don't use Save All first! 7.3.10 Move Layer to Top of List (F8) This moves the current layer to the top of the list (layer 1). In the Viewer, the top (lowest-numbered) layer is the last to draw and it overwrites any layers that may be below it. It is generally convenient to place NC data layers at the top of the layer list so that drill positions can be viewed when the Viewer is in its normal (non-transparent) drawing mode. You may also reorder the layers inside the Viewer. 7.3.11 Set Layer Color (F9) This option sets the color for displaying a layer. GC-PREVUE pops up a window containing the available colors. Select a color by positioning the cursor on the bar with the desired color and pressing Enter, or press the indicated key to quick-select a color. You may also set color within the Viewer. 7.3.12 Set Display Units (Ctrl U) This sets the units for displaying the X and Y layer offsets. 7.3.13 Print Layer List (Alt P) In addition to the contents of the Layer List, Alt P prints the current Aperture List and Drill Rack filename selections. This provides a complete record of the current job status. 8: Viewing Data 35 8. View Data The GC-PREVUE Viewer provides for the graphical manipulation of pads and traces of data layers. 8.1 The Viewer Display The GC-PREVUE Viewer display consists of two principal areas: The larger area being the data display area; and the smaller being the help/status/setup area along the top and right of the screen. The data cursor, a white crosshair, stays in the data area unless it is directed the Setup area. Place the cursor in the Setup area by pressing the S key or simply by moving the data cursor to the far right of the screen. Press Esc or move cursor with mouse or arrow keys to re-enter the data display. Figure 8.1: GC-PREVUE Viewer Screen 8.1.1 The Help Line The top line of the screen displays helpful messages concerning the state of the Viewer and hints concerning data entry. 8.1.2 Absolute X,Y This gives the current data cursor position in absolute plotter bed coordinates. 36 GC-PREVUE User's Guide 8.1.3 Relative X,Y This gives the current data cursor position in coordinates relative to the last position at which the Relative display was zeroed (via pop-up menu or the Z key). This is useful for measuring. 8.1.4 Grids: Step, Snap, & Show The GC-PREVUE data cursor moves on a user-defined grid. The Step Grid display indicates the current data cursor movement step size. The data cursor always moves on the Step Grid, regardless of whether grid markers are displayed. The Snap Grid display indicates the grid that the cursor will be aligned to when the Snap to Grid command is used. When grid markers are displayed, they represent the Snap Grid. When grid markers are displayed, a third display, "Grid Shown", indicates the resolution of the displayed markers. The grid markers are often spaced 5, 10, or 50 times farther apart than the actual Snap Grid points, depending on the current zoom scale. GC-PREVUE spaces the markers this way to avoid completely flooding the screen with grid markers. 8.1.5 Setup The Setup Status Explained The Setup area contains parameters for viewing and editing layers. Information for each layer, which is both displayed and changeable here, includes: Aperture List selection The View/hide setting (see Section 8.2.4) An asterisk after the Aperture List selection for a layer shows that the selection contains Invisible entries, which may affect the display and editing of data for that layer. Change the Setup To modify the Setup area, press the S key, or move the data cursor to the right until it moves out of the Viewer area and into the Setup area. To change a setup value for any layer, just put the cursor on the current value and type in the new one. Also, certain commands from the Layer list also work here: 8: Viewing Data 37 Move Top (F8): make the current layer the top layer. Set Color (F9): set the display color for the current layer. F10 pops up a copy of the layer's aperture list selection for inspection. Inside the Setup area, ClickCenter/Ctrl M presents a pop up menu of these commands. ClickLeft, Enter and Esc all return the cursor to the Viewer area. 8.2 Basic Editing Concepts 8.2.1 Getting Help Use ClickCenter/Ctrl M to see a pop-up menu of commands (see Figure 8.2). Press H or ? for a few more hints. 8.2.2 Getting Out of the Viewer All you have to do is press the Esc key. Since Esc is also a way to quit actions within the Viewer, GC-PREVUE will ask you to press Esc again if you want to return to the main GC-PREVUE screen. If you don't, just press any other key, or move the mouse. 8.2.3 Saving Your Work (F6) It's a good idea to save your work frequently, in case you change your mind about something, or perhaps there's a power loss. The F6 works here just as it does in the Layer List area of the main GC-PREVUE screen. To reload previously saved work, return to the Layer List area and use Restore (F7). The Configure menu off the main menu provides for a reminder interval to occasionally prompt you to save your work. We strongly recommend that you use it. 8.2.4 Preparing to View: Hide or View Each layer can be hidden (does not display), or viewed (displays). The setting for each layer is displayed and may be changed in the third column of the Setup area and is indicated by the character "h" or "V". 8.2.5 Speed-up Keys (1...9) The keys 1 through 9 act as multipliers in cursor moves and zooming. That is, once the 4 key is pressed the cursor moves four times as far with a single press of an arrow key, an unwindowed zoom changes the scale by 8x instead of 2x, and a zoom out goes up four levels instead of one. A zoom resets the speed- up level to 1. 38 GC-PREVUE User's Guide 8.3 Commands for Viewing In this and the following sections, each subsection describes a command and lists its single-key implementation in parenthesis. Figure 8.2: Commands for Editing 8.3.1 Undo (U) This extremely useful command allows you to reverse the most recent viewing action, such as, Offset or Rotate. 8.3.2 Offset (O) This feature allows you to shift marked data by an explicit X,Y amount. GC-PREVUE presents an input window asking for a list of data and the X and Y shift values. Further shifting can be achieved using DragRight or by repeating the Offset command. The default X,Y offset values are those found in the "rel" display. This allows easy point-to-point data shifting when used with the Zero Relative command. 8.3.3 Rotate (R) This rotates any layer by 90, 180 or -90 degrees (GC-PREVUE asks you for the rotation). The center of rotation is user-defined, the default being the center of the window, or the current cursor position. GC-PREVUE has special features to aid in the rotation of apertures which are not symmetrical (see Section 5.1.5). 8: Viewing Data 39 8.3.4 Mirror X/Y data (X) (Y) Mirroring Y means that the Y values of marked data are reflected or "flipped" top to bottom about a line parallel to the X axis. The default reflecting line is centered in the Y range of the window, or the current cursor Y if pointed to. GC-PREVUE presents an input window that allows you to change this value if desired. Mirror X behaves similarly except that data flip left and right instead of top and bottom. 8.4 Panning and Zooming 8.4.1 Pan the Display (DragCenter or P) To pan the display with a mouse, use DragCenter. The start-of- drag position will be panned to the end-of-drag position. For keyboard panning, press P and move the cursor with the arrow keys. Press P again to end panning. 8.4.2 Zoom In (ClickLeft or +) To zoom in on a selected area, DragLeft to make a window around that area, then position the cursor inside it and ClickLeft or press the + key. Without a window, the zoom is centered on the cursor with a 2x magnification. The speed-up keys (1...9) cause a corresponding 2x(speed-up) x zoom when there is no window involved. 8.4.3 Zoom Out (ClickRight or -) This takes you to the previous zoom level. The speed-up keys (1...9) zoom out by (speed-up) zoom levels. 8.4.4 Unzoom (Alt -) The Alt key pressed together with the minus key on the typewriter area of the keyboard (not the numeric keypad area) zooms out to the maximum-scale zoom level. 8.5 Drawing 8.5.1 reDraw Now (D) This immediately updates the screen with all viewing changes. Screen redraws can be interrupted by pressing Ctrl Break. 8.5.2 Drawing Mode (Ctrl D) This command presents an input window for changing the drawing behavior of GC-PREVUE, as described below. 40 GC-PREVUE User's Guide Style This toggle field has sets the style for drawing pads and traces. Three styles are available: Normal: Pads and Traces are drawn filled at width. Transparent: Pads and Traces are drawn unfilled at width. Ball and Stick: Pads are shown in outline while traces are shown as centerlines only. This is the fastest drawing style. autoDraw The shifting of data requires constant updating of the display. While GC-PREVUE attempts to update only those parts of the display which require it, this can still be time consuming. You can gain some speed by turning off the autoDraw automatic screen update and just issuing a reDraw command when needed. Slowdown Slowdown sets a timer for slowing down reDraw, which can sometimes be useful for data analysis. The larger the number entered the slower the redraw speed. Enter "0" for maximum redrawing speed. Zoom Capture On/Off When you zoom in, GC-PREVUE saves the current screen image prior to zooming. When you zoom out again, GC-PREVUE restores the saved screen image. This generally results in faster operation of GC-PREVUE, but in some cases it is actually faster to redraw the screen than to restore it, and in any event it can require a great deal of memory or disk space. You can disable the zoom capture feature if you wish by selecting Zoom Capture "Off." Inverted Y Axis Orientation Some CAD systems represent data on an "inverted" Y axis. An inverted Y axis increases in value as it moves down the screen away from the X,Y axes intersection. The value of the standard Y axis increases as it moves up the screen away from the XY, axes intersection. Turn this feature "ON" if you are more comfortable with the inverted display style. 8.5.3 Label Apertures (L) This feature allows you to label pads and traces on-screen, by aperture position. Pads are labeled at the center while traces are labeled at the midpoint. GC-PREVUE waits for a keystroke after labeling each layer. Any key will cause the next layer to be labeled, except for F10, which allows you to inspect any Aperture List or the Drill Rack. 8: Viewing Data 41 8.5.4 Wait Between Layers (W) "Wait Between Layers" causes the screen to be redrawn one layer at a time. After each layer, GC-PREVUE waits for almost any keystroke before drawing the next layer. Pressing L at this time labels the last drawn layer, and pressing F10 displays its Aperture List or Drill Rack. 8.5.5 Aspect Ratio (Ctrl A) Each brand of monitor has a slightly different screen height to width ratio, or aspect ratio. This can result in distortion of the displayed image. GC-PREVUE provides the ability to interactively correct for this distortion. When you press Ctrl A, a rectangle appears on the screen. If your aspect ratio is properly adjusted, the rectangle should appear to be a square. If it is not square, use the up/down arrow keys to make it square. Once adjusted, press Enter. VGA displays are assumed to have 1:1 aspect ratios. 8.6 Grid GC-PREVUE works with two grids, Step and Snap, which have the same basic resolution. The Step Grid determines the fineness of cursor moves. The Snap Grid provides a convenient means of aligning the cursor or an entity to a (usually coarser) design grid. Both the Step and Snap grids are taken from a user-defined grid selection, which is described in the next section. A Freehand feature is provided that allows gridless moves using the mouse. 8.6.1 User-Defined Grid (Alt G) GC-PREVUE allows you to pick the grid sizes that best suit your work. Press Alt G to pop up the grid selection window. The first line G0 contains the smallest cursor movement step desired. On each subsequent line, Gn specifies a multiple of the previous line. The Step Grid readout shows the effective grid size for the current line as you move up and down in the window. Example: if you desire an 1/8 mil grid, enter ".000125" for G0. This is the smallest grid step. On the next line G1, enter 2 for a grid step of 1/4 mil. For G2, enter 2 for a grid step of 1/2 mil. For G3, enter 2 for a 1 mil grid. Now for G4 you might enter 5 (5 mil) then for G5, 2 (10 mil), and so on down to G10. (See Figure 8.3.) 42 GC-PREVUE User's Guide Figure 8.3: User-defined Grid 8.6.2 Change the Step Grid Size (F1/F2) Use the F1 key to increase the Step Grid size (i.e. move from the Gn grid level to the Gn+1) and the F2 key to decrease it. 8.6.3 Change the Snap Grid Size (Ctrl F1/Ctrl F2) Increase the Snap Grid size (i.e move from the Gn grid level to the Gn+1) by pressing Ctrl F1, and decrease it by pressing Ctrl F2. 8.6.4 Snap to Grid (G) Press G to position the cursor, or an entity the cursor is marking, on the nearest Snap Grid point. This allows you to manipulate the cursor with small moves, then "snap" onto the larger Snap Grid. EXAMPLE To align an errant pad to the Snap Grid, set the Step Grid to a fine enough value (or use the Freehand mode described in Section 8.6.6) to allow centering the cursor on the pad. Now Mark and Shift the pad using DragRight. Press G and the pad Snaps to the nearest Snap Grid point. You may also Mark an entity, press G, and the entity will Snap to the nearest Snap Grid point. 8.6.5 Turn Grid Markers On/Off (Ctrl G) Press Ctrl G to toggle the grid markers display. Grid markers reflect the current Snap Grid value, although they may be placed 5, 10, 50 or more times farther apart to avoid crowding the screen.. 8: Viewing Data 43 8.6.6 Freehand Mouse (F) Sometimes it is convenient to move the data cursor completely unrestrained by grids. The F key toggles the use of the mouse between Freehand (gridless) moves and normal (grid-oriented) moves. The arrow keys are always grid oriented. 8.6.7 Zero the Relative Readout (Z) This command causes relative X Y offsets to be measured from the current data cursor position. 8.6.8 User Zero (Alt Z) Specify your own absolute 0,0 position rather than using GC- PREVUE's absolute 0,0, which is determined from the bedsize. This allows you to place your data anywhere on the bed and use absolute offsets of X0,Y0. 8.6.9 Units mm/inch (Ctrl U) Ctrl U toggles the display units from inch to mm. 8.7 Miscellaneous Commands 8.7.1 Query (Q) Query describes data more specifically than Label with a pop up window that displays pointed-to data by layer number, aperture, and XY location. Simply point to or window the data that you are curious about and press Q. As you scroll through the list, the data cursor moves to the item currently indicated by the text cursor. Use Esc to quit and return the cursor to its former position, or press Enter to leave the cursor where it is in the list. 44 GC-PREVUE User's Guide Figure 8.4: Query Feature 8.7.2 Bed Size (Ctrl B) Set the size of your plotter's bed here. Press Ctrl B and type in the bed dimensions. 8.7.3 Inspect Aperture Lists and the Drill Rack (F10) You can inspect any Aperture List or the Drill Rack by pressing F10. When inspecting an Aperture List, press F10 again to inspect the drill rack. While inspecting an Aperture List or Drill Rack you can change the Invisibility of any aperture or drill using Ctrl I. Such changes take effect the next time the screen is redrawn. Remember that data using Invisible apertures or drills do not display. Layers which use Aperture Lists containing Invisible entries are marked with an asterisk in the Setup Status area. 8.7.4 Jump to Absolute X,Y (J) Press J to "dial in" a new cursor X,Y position. Subsequent Jumps default to the previous Jump position, forming a convenient way to move between two areas of the plot. 8.7.5 Jump to Relative X,Y (Alt J) Jump to Relative works just like Jump to Absolute, except that pressing Alt J jumps the cursor to a relative X,Y position. Appendix A: Aper, The Custom Aperture Generator 45 Appendix A: APER The GraphiCode Custom Aperture Generator A.1 How GC-PREVUE Uses Custom Apertures Custom apertures differ from other apertures in that they cannot be described as a simple shape such as Round, Square or Octagon. A custom aperture consists of a series of lines, arcs and shapes in a coordinate system that centers on the current plotter X,Y position. Using the APER program, you can easily describe the shape of a custom aperture in an HPGL-like language. APER takes this description and translates it to a format that GC-PREVUE uses to display the aperture. GC-PREVUE can also output the aperture as a series of draws and flashes, allowing you to use custom apertures on non-programmable photoplotters. GC-PREVUE supports the use of custom apertures for pads only. A.2 Using APER to Create Custom Apertures A.2.1 APER Basics APER is a simple text editor and translator that reads or creates human-readable (text) custom aperture description files and translates them to machine-readable (binary) files for maximum speed when used by GC-PREVUE. To create a custom aperture, you must first create a description of the aperture using APER's HPGL-like aperture description language. This description can consist of rectangles, circles, straight lines, and arcs. Lines and arcs can be drawn at any width. APER operates in graphics mode. As you edit the aperture description text in one window, APER shows the resulting custom aperture shape in another window. A.2.2 CAT Files and CAP Files APER deals with two kinds of files: Custom Aperture Text (.CAT) files and Custom Aperture Description (.CAP) files. CAT files contain human-readable aperture descriptions, and can be prepared within APER or by using any word processor. CAT files can also be largely prepared using any CAD system with HPGL 46 GC-PREVUE User's Guide output, but will require some modification in APER to deal with scaling and line weights. CAP files contain machine-readable custom aperture descriptions, and can be produced only by APER. APER reads CAT files and uses that information to produce CAP files. CAP files can be read only by GC-PREVUE and related GraphiCode software products. A.3 Starting APER APER is a stand-alone program, so you must quit GC-PREVUE or use Ctrl-C to get a DOS command line. At the DOS command line, type: APER APER uses the GC-PREVUE configuration file DEFAULT.PED to determine your graphics display type. If this file is missing, APER will automatically determine the graphics adaptor type. A.3.1 Custom Aperture Text Descriptions Once APER is running, select Files from the main menu. A pop down menu appears, with the following entries: Load Use Load to read in existing aperture description text (CAT) files. Once the text is loaded, APER displays the custom aperture shape and places the cursor in the text editing window. For a list of CAT files, press F10 when APER prompts you for a filename. To return to the Files menu, press Esc. Figure A.1: APER Custom Aperture Generation Screen Appendix A: Aper, The Custom Aperture Generator 47 Save Use Save to write text files back to disk after editing. Generate Use this option to generate a CAP file for use by GC-PREVUE. Generate cannot work unless a valid CAT file has been loaded (i.e., its contents are shown both in the text and graphics windows). Edit To continue editing the current CAT text after Save or Generate, select Edit. The cursor returns to the text editing window. A.3.2 The CAT Data Header The first thing a CAT aperture description must do is declare the working units (inch, mil, mm or micron) and any optional mirroring or rotation of the working coordinate system. This header takes the form: <units>[MX][MY][RT<degrees>]: <units> is one of the following: MM MICRON INCH MIL MX, MY and RT are used to mirror and rotate the aperture description. This allows the generation of CAP files for several different applications, such as, emulsion up, down, and data rotation, with minimal editing to a single CAT file. 48 GC-PREVUE User's Guide Header HPGL Commands Supported MM unit type LT line type MICRON PT pen thickness INCH PU pen up MIL PD pen down PA plot absolute MX mirror X PR plot relative MY mirror Y AR arc relative RT rotate AA arc absolute coordinates RR rectangle relative RA rectangle absolute CI circle Figure A.2: Supported HPGL & CAT Commands A.3.3 CAT Syntax Other than in the header just described, APER CAT files use HPGL to describe custom apertures. The following is a list of supported instructions and their arguments. The BOLDFACE UPPERCASE letters are the supported instructions. <Brackets> indicate required arguments, and [braces] indicate optional arguments. (See Figure A.2 for a list of all supported commands). LT (Line Type) Format: LT[draw style] To select the Line Type of an aperture, choose either LT0 or LT1. LT0 draws with a round aperture, which results in rounded or half-circle end points. LT1 draws with GraphiCode's "Slit" aperture, which leaves flat or squared end points. LT0 is the default. PT (Pen Thickness) Format: PT<thickness> Set line thickness for lines and arcs. Stays in effect until next PT instruction. PU (Pen Up) Format: PU[x,y,[x,y,[...]]] Following drawing commands update the pen position but do not actually draw anything. Optional x,y movement arguments are Appendix A: Aper, The Custom Aperture Generator 49 interpreted as absolute or relative based on last seen PA/PR instruction (default is PA). PD (Pen Down) Format: PD[x,y,[,x,y,[...]]] Following drawing commands result in actual images. Optional x,y line draw arguments are interpreted as absolute or relative based on last seen PA/PR instruction (default is PA). PA (Plot Absolute) Format: PA[xa,ya[,xa,ya[...]]] X,Y pairs for following PU and PD instructions (and optional movement arguments) are to be interpreted as absolute locations. PR (Plot Relative) Format: PR[xr,yr[,xr,yr[...]]] X,Y pairs for following PU and PD instructions (and optional movement arguments) are to be interpreted as relative offset locations. AR (Arc Relative) Format: AR<xr,yr,sweep> Draw an arc of "sweep" degrees from the current pen x,y around center x+xr,y+yr. Negative sweep angles result in clockwise arcs. Pen position moves to the end of the resulting arc. PA/PR state is not affected. AA (Arc Absolute) Format: AA<xa,ya,sweep> Draw an arc of "sweep" degrees from the current pen x,y around center xa,ya. Negative sweep angles result in clockwise arcs. Pen position moves to the end of the resulting arc. PA/PR state is not affected. RR (Rectangle Relative) Format: RR<xr,yr> Draw a filled rectangle having one corner at the current pen position x,y and the opposite corner at the relative location xr,yr. Pen position becomes x+xr,y+yr. PA/PR state is not affected. RA (Rectangle Absolute) Format: RA<xa,ya> Draw a filled rectangle having one corner at the current pen position x,y and the opposite corner at the absolute location xa,ya. Pen position becomes xa,ya. PA/PR state is not affected. 50 GC-PREVUE User's Guide CI (Circle) Format: CI<radius> Draw a filled circle with the given radius, centered at the current pen position. Pen position is unchanged. A.3.4 Differences Between CAT Syntax and HPGL Instead of the usual HPGL scaling instructions (IP, SC, etc) an APER CAT file must begin with one of the following key words to define units: INCH MIL MM MICRON The MX (mirror X), MY (mirror Y) and RT (rotate coordinates) commands are not HPGL commands and can appear only as part of the data header following the units declaration. The PT (Pen Thickness) instruction uses the same units as other CAT instructions. In HPGL, PT units are always mm. The PT instruction affects only line and arc drawing. Rectangles (RR,RA) and rounds (CI) do not use the PT information since they are not arcs or lines. The RR and RA instructions always create a filled rectangle, and leave the logical pen at the far corner of the rectangle. In HPGL, they create an outline unless commanded to fill, and they do not update the pen position. The CI instruction always creates a filled circle. In HPGL, CI creates an outline unless commanded to fill. A.4 APER Macro Feature APER gives you the power to create a sophisticated custom aperture with a Macro Command. APER's Macro Command comes with on-line help, merge capacity, and pre-defined aperture shapes, which require only minor size adjustments for true custom shapes. Below is a summary of the Macro feature: Appendix A: Aper, The Custom Aperture Generator 51 Help: Describes APER formats Merge: Combines APER custom aperture files Macro APER codes: Creates popular custom apertures with user- defined dimensions quickly A.4.1 Help Help describes formats that APER accepts for creating custom aperture text (CAT) files. Help lists an example CAT file, data header commands, HPGL-like commands, and APER Macro Commands. A.4.2 Merge Merge allows for CAT files to be appended to current APER editor data. When a file is merged, the header will be stripped off the file being read in. If no data currently exists in the editor, the header will remain as part of the aperture description. Remember, merge does not negotiate differences between headers. If headers are not alike, APER will create an aperture different from the one in the file being merged. Another feature that Merge allows is the power merge feature. To perform a power merge, press F10 and a list of CAT files will appear. Move the cursor to the files that are to be merged. Press Spacebar to highlight each file. When all selections are made, press Esc, and the new CAT data should appear at the editor. A.4.3 Macro Commands Supported ANNULUS (circular and square) CROSSHAIR OCTAGON OVAL MOIRE (circular and square) QUAD DOUBLE QUAD THERMAL (circular and square) The following section describes how to use these Macro Commands. A.4.4 Custom Aperture Generation Codes Macro APER Codes Along with the HPGL supported commands are APER specific codes. These codes allow the user to easily specify common apertures types without having to know the corresponding HPGL data. The aperture designs are general in nature and allow for complete user specification. There are 11 supported symbols which include: Oval, Octagon, Annulus (Square and Round), Moire (Square and Round), Crosshair, Quad, Double Quad, and Thermal (Square and Round). 52 GC-PREVUE User's Guide A feature that is allowed by APER is to enter minimum formats to create the APER symbol. Part of this feature is the ability to input partial APER code descriptions. For instance, instead of entering CROSSHAIR, CR or anything in between represents a crosshair. The minimum formats will be described in more detail below. Parameters declared along with the APER syntax range from 0 to 169.092414 inches. If the parameters are larger than the limits, typically, APER will not draw anything, or in some cases it will draw incorrectly. APER will treat such values in a relatively friendly manner, but it seems extreme to require a 14 foot long aperture for a PCB board. Another restriction APER has is that apertures over 12 inches in diameter will not be fully displayed inside the graphical window extents. Negative values are not used by APER and will be made positive by stripping the sign and using the magnitude. (This does not apply to angles, where any angle will be used.) If parameters do not correspond to specified values, APER will try to create the aperture in the most logical manner. For instance, if the inside diameter is greater than the outside diameter, APER will swap the values assuming that you just entered the data incorrectly. Also, if APER cannot use the data, it will use default values instead. Default values are discussed individually for each aperture. However, some parameters do not have default values, and must accompany the APER code. The following describes each APER macro: OVAL Format: OVAL<major,minor> Minimum format: OV<major,minor> To create an oval, type the key word: OV (or OVAL for more descriptive APER code). Then enter the major and minor values, such as: OVAL50,30; (See Figure A.3 below.) Appendix A: Aper, The Custom Aperture Generator 53 Figure A.3: Oval OVAL will draw a filled oval with the major and minor axes centered at the origin. The major parameter represents the diameter of the oval along the x-axis. Likewise, minor describes the diameter along the y-axis. There are no default values for OVAL, therefore both major and minor `parameters must be indicated to generate an oval of any kind. If an incorrect entry is made, an error message stating "Syntax Error" will be displayed. OCTAGON Format: OCTAGON<diameter,ratio> Minimum Format: OCT<diameter> To create an octagon, use the key word: OCT (or OCTAGON for more descriptive APER code) Then enter the diameter and ratio, such as: 54 GC-PREVUE User's Guide OCTAGON50,.414; (See Figure A.4 below.) Figure A.4: Octagon The OCT function will draw a filled octagon centered at the origin. Diameter determines the diameter along the x and y axis. There is no default value for diameter. If it is unspecified, a "Syntax error" message will be displayed. Ratio is used to determine the lengths of sides. The calculations are as follows: Lengths[top/bottom/left/right] = diameter/(1+2*ratio). Lengths[diagonal] = sqrt(2*(ratio*length[top])*(ratio*length[top])). The value for ratio must be between 0 and 1. If a value outside of 0 and 1 is given, ratio will default to .414, which will produce an octagon with equal length sides. The OCTAGON function allows for minimal inputs to describe the octagon. When a default value corresponds with the octagon being generated, that value does not need to be entered. The following case defines rules for using minimal inputs: Appendix A: Aper, The Custom Aperture Generator 55 1.) If only one input is given, it will be used by diameter and ratio will default to 0.414. One input is the minimum number required to generate an octagon. If at least one value is not entered the "Syntax Error" message will be displayed. ANNULUS Format: ANNULUS<outside diameter, inside diameter, shape> Minimum Format: AN<outside diameter> To create an annulus, use the keyword: AN (or use ANNULUS for more descriptive APER code) Then enter the outside diameter, inside diameter and shape of the annulus , such as: ANNULUS50,40,0; (See Figure A.5 below.) Figure A.5: Annulus The AN function draws a circular or square annulus centered around the origin. Outside diameter determines the outer diameter along the x and y axes. There is no default value for outside diameter. If it is unspecified a "Syntax error" message will be displayed. Inside diameter indicates the diameter of the inner unfilled area of an annulus. It is also used to determine the pen width the 56 GC-PREVUE User's Guide annulus is drawn with. The mathematical expression for the pen width is as follows: pen width = (outside diameter-inside diameter)/2. The default for inside diameter is 0. If APER uses the default for inside diameter, the annulus will appear as a filled circle. Shape specifies whether the annulus is circular or square. A 1 indicates that the annulus is square. 0 represents a circular annulus. If an invalid value is entered for shape, the annulus will default to circular. If the inside diameter is set to a larger number than the outside diameter, the outside diameter will be set to the larger number. The ANNULUS function allows for minimal inputs to describe the annulus. When a default value corresponds with the annulus being generated, that value does not need to be entered. The following cases define rules for using minimal inputs: 1.) If only two inputs are given, shape will default to 0 or circular. 2.) If one input is specified, MOIRE will use the defaults for inside diameter, and shape. The first value is used for the outside diameter. One input is the minimum number required to generate an annulus . If at least one value is not entered the "Syntax Error" message will be displayed. MOIRE Format: MOIRE<outside diameter, inside diameter, thickness, distance, shape> Minimum Format: MO<outside diameter, thickness, distance>. To create a moire, use the key word: MO (or use MOIRE for more descriptive APER code) Then type the outside diameter, inside diameter, thickness of a ring, the distance between each ring, and the shape of the moire, such as: Appendix A: Aper, The Custom Aperture Generator 57 MOIRE50,0,5,5,0; (See Figure A.6 below.) Figure A.6: Moire The MO function draws a circular or square moire centered around the origin. The outside diameter is the outer diameter of the outer ring. There is no default value for outside diameter. If it is unspecified a "Syntax error" message will be displayed. Inner diameter determines the inside diameter of the innermost ring. The default for inside diameter is 0. If the minimum format for MOIRE is used, the default value will be used. The thickness parameter determines the line weight each ring is drawn with. Aper will draw a figure with a lineweight of zero (one pixel width), but be warned, ZERO LINEWEIGHTS MAY NOT SHOW UP ON PHOTOPLOTTING machines. There is no default value for the thickness. If it is unspecified in the MOIRE format, a "Syntax error" message will be displayed. Distance is the space between each ring. There is no default value for distance. If distance is unspecified then the "Syntax error" message will be displayed. Shape specifies whether the moire is circular or square. A 1 indicates that the moire is square. 0 represents a circular moire. If an invalid value is entered for shape, it will default to circular. 58 GC-PREVUE User's Guide If any parameter is larger than the outside diameter, the outside diameter will use that value, and substitute the smaller value to the other parameter. The MOIRE function allows for minimal inputs to describe the moire. When a default value corresponds with the moire being generated, that value does not need to be entered. The following cases define rules for using minimal inputs: 1.) If only four inputs are given, MOIRE will use the default for shape, which is 0 or circular. 2.) If three inputs are specified, MOIRE will use the defaults for inside diameter, and shape. This means that the first value is used for the outside diameter, thickness is set to the second, and distance uses the third value. Three inputs is the minimum number required to generate a MOIRE. If less than three are entered the "Syntax Error" message will be displayed. CROSSHAIR Format: CROSSHAIR<diameter, thickness> Minimum Format: CH<diameter> To create a crosshair use the key word: CR (or use CROSSHAIR for more descriptive Aper code) Then type the outside diameter, inside diameter, thickness of a ring, the distance between each ring, and the shape of the crosshair, such as: Appendix A: Aper, The Custom Aperture Generator 59 CROSSHAIR50,5; (See Figure A.7 below.) Figure A.7: Crosshair The CH function draws a crosshair centered around the origin. Diameter is the length of the line along the x-axis. There is no default value for diameter. If it is unspecified a "Syntax error" message will be displayed. Thickness determines the line width of each line in the crosshair. The default value for thickness is 0. APER will draw a crosshair with a line width of zero (one pixel width), but be warned, ZERO LINEWEIGHTS MAY NOT SHOW UP ON PHOTOPLOTTING machines. If thickness is larger than the outside diameter, the outside diameter will take that value, and substitute the smaller value to thickness. The CROSSHAIR function allows for minimal inputs to describe the crosshair. When a default value corresponds with the crosshair being generated, that value does not need to be entered. The following case defines rules for using minimal inputs: 60 GC-PREVUE User's Guide 1.) If only one input is given, CROSSHAIR will use the default for thickness, which is 0. QUAD Format: QUAD<diameter, gap, angle of rotation> Minimum Format: QD<diameter> To create a quad use the key word: QD (or use QUAD for more descriptive APER code) Then type the diameter, the gap, and the angle of rotation, such as: QUAD50,0,0; (See Figure A.8 below.) Figure A.8: Quad The QD function draws a quad centered around the origin. The diameter is the diameter of the quad. There is no default value for diameter. If it is unspecified a "Syntax error" message will be displayed. Gap is the space between each section of the quad. If gap is specified it is guaranteed that all entities of the quad will be the gap distance from other entities. The default value for gap is 0. QUAD allows the user to specify any amount of angular rotation. Positive and negative angles are valid. The default value for Appendix A: Aper, The Custom Aperture Generator 61 the angle of rotation is 0. If an invalid value is entered for angle, it will be set to 0. If any parameter is larger than the diameter, Quad will set diameter equal to that value, and will substitute the smaller value to the other parameter. The QUAD function allows for minimal inputs to describe the quad. When a default value corresponds with the quad being generated, that value does not need to be entered. The following cases define rules for using minimal inputs: 1.) If only two inputs are given, QUAD will use the default for angle, which is 0. 2.) If one input is specified, QUAD will use the defaults for gap, and angle. The first value will be used for the diameter. One input is the minimum number required to generate a quad. If no inputs are entered the "Syntax Error" message will be displayed. DOUBLE QUAD Format: DQUAD<diameter, thickness, gap, angle of rotation> Minimum Format: DQ<diameter, thickness> To create a double quad, use the key word: DQ (or use DQUAD for more descriptive APER code) Then type the diameter, thickness, gap, and angle of rotation, such as: 62 GC-PREVUE User's Guide DQUAD50,5,0,0; (See Figure A.9 below.) Figure A.9: Double Quad The DQ function draws a double quad centered around the origin. The diameter is the diameter of the whole double quad(not the diameter of the inside quad). There is no default value for diameter. If it is unspecified a "Syntax error" message will be displayed. Thickness determines the width of the two outside quarter rings. There is no default value for thickness. If it is unspecified a "Syntax Error" message will be displayed. Gap is the space between each section of the quad. If gap is specified it is guaranteed that all entities of the double quad will be spaced gap distance from other entities. The default value for gap is 0. DQUAD allows the user to specify any amount of angular rotation. Positive and negative angles are valid. The default value for the angle of rotation is 0. If no value is entered for angle, it will be set to 0. If any parameter is larger than the diameter, DQUAD will set diameter equal to that value, and will substitute the smaller value to the other parameter. The DQUAD function allows for minimal inputs to describe the double quad. When a default value corresponds with the double Appendix A: Aper, The Custom Aperture Generator 63 quad being generated, that value does not need to be entered. The following cases define rules for using minimal inputs: 1.) If only three inputs are given, DQUAD will use the default for angle, which is 0 and set the other parameters to their respective inputs. 2.) If two inputs are specified, DQUAD will use the defaults for gap, and angle of rotation. The other values will be assign to their respective parameters. Two inputs is the minimum number of parameters required to generate a double quad. If less inputs are entered the "Syntax Error" message will be displayed. THERMAL Format: THERMAL<outside diameter, inside diameter, gap, number of spokes, shape, rotation, angle> Minimum Format: TH<outside diameter, insides diameter> To create a thermal, use the key word: TH (or use THERMAL for more descriptive APER code) Then type the outside diameter, inside diameter, gap, number of spokes, shape, rotation, and angle, such as: THERMAL60,45,15,2,0,45; (See Figure A.10 below.) or TH60,45,15,4,1,45; (See Figure A.11 below.) Figure A.10: Round Thermal 64 GC-PREVUE User's Guide Figure A.11: Square Thermal The TH function draws a square or circular thermal centered around the origin. Outside diameter is the outside diameter of the outer ring. There is no default value for diameter. If it is unspecified a "Syntax error" message will be displayed. Inside diameter specifies the inside diameter of the outer ring. Inside diameter is used along with outside diameter to determine the line width for drawing the outer ring. The mathematical equation for the width is: width = (outside diameter - inside diameter)/2.0; There is no default value for inside diameter. If it is unspecified a "Syntax Error" message will be displayed. Gap is the space between each section of the quad. If gap is specified it is guaranteed that all entities of the double quad will be spaced gap distance from other entities. The default value for gap is 0. Number of spokes parameter represents the number of gaps that will be available in the thermal. This value can be set to any number using the circular thermal. The square thermal limits the number of gaps to 1 to 4,6 and 8. If other values are entered square THERMAL will adjust the number to the closest legal value. The default value for the number of gaps is 0. Appendix A: Aper, The Custom Aperture Generator 65 Shape determines whether thermal is circular or square. A 0 input corresponds to a circular thermal. 1 makes the thermal square. If an invalid value for shape is entered, shape will default to 0 or circular. Rotation specifies the angle at which a gap center will be placed. For example, the thermal in Figure 9 has a gap centered at 45 degrees. This is the default value for rotation. If this is the angle of rotation that is needed the value does not need to be entered. Angle is used for the circular thermal only. This parameter is a limit angle that places boundaries on the arc angle of each spoke. For example, if angle is set to 90 degrees, and a 2 gap thermal was declared the spokes would not be the full length. Plus the gap would be larger than the specified gap distance. This feature was added to allow for more flexibility. Angle must be a positive value. If it is negative, the sign will be stripped. The default value for angle is 360.0 degrees. This value allows for a spoke to be fully drawn with no limits. THERMAL does the best it can to correct possible input errors. It will check for the following possibilities and perform logical steps. 1.) If the inside diameter is larger than the outside diameter, THERMAL will swap diameter values. 2.) If the number of sides makes it impossible to draw the thermal with the specified gap, the thermal will be drawn with the maximum number of spokes that it can without corrupting the gap distance. 3.) If the gap is larger than the inside diameter, the inside diameter will be set equal to the gap. The THERMAL function allows for minimal inputs to describe the thermal. When a default value corresponds with the thermal, that value does not need to be entered. The following cases define rules for using minimal inputs: 66 GC-PREVUE User's Guide 1.) If seven inputs are entered, then the inputs will correspond to their respective parameters. 2.) If six inputs are given, the inputs will correspond to their respective parameters but angle will default to 360 degrees. For a square thermal, angle is not used and therefore does not need to be entered. 3.) If five inputs are specified, the inputs will correspond to their respective parameters, but the default values for rotation and angle will be used. 4.) If four inputs are specified, the inputs will correspond to their respective parameters, but the default values for shape, rotation, and angle will be used. 5.) If three inputs are specified, the inputs will correspond to their respective parameters, but the default values for number of spokes, shape, rotation and angle will be used. 6.) If two inputs are specified, the inputs will correspond to their respective parameters, but the default values for gap, number of spokes, shape, rotation, and angle will be used. Two inputs is the minimum description for thermal. If less entries are input, the "Syntax error" message will be displayed. A.5 View Custom Apertures While You Edit When APER first reads a CAT file, it graphically displays the contents (unless the CAT file contains an invalid aperture description). As you edit an aperture text description, pressing Ctrl Enter causes APER to re-evaluate the description text and re-display the aperture shape. A.5.1 Aper Viewing Features To inspect the aperture shape more thoroughly, press Enter to move the cursor into the graphics window. Now you can access GC- PREVUE-style viewing features (press ClickCenter/Ctrl M to pop up menu). The APER Viewer is a subset of the GC-PREVUE graphical Viewer. The features included are: Appendix A: Aper, The Custom Aperture Generator 67 Pan Speed Up Keys Windowed Zoom Zoom In/Out Unzoom Query Step/Snap Grid Freehand mouse Jump Absolute/Relative Zero Relative Query operates differently in APER. Position the cursor on an item of interest and press Q. The cursor returns to the text editing area, pointing to the text that describes the item of interest. In addition to the familiar relative XY display, APER provides a third relative indicator L, which stands for Linear. This readout indicates the straight line distance between the current cursor position and the last position where the Zero relative key was pressed. Note that the displayed image takes into account any mirroring or rotation arguments in the CAT data header. Editing is done only by changing the description text - press Esc to return to the text window. A.6 Custom Apertures in Aperture Lists To use a custom aperture in GC-PREVUE, it must be part of an aperture list. To include a custom aperture in an aperture list, use the APER Generate function to save the custom aperture as a CAP file. Note the filename, exit APER, and return to GC-PREVUE. Use the GC-PREVUE Aperture List editor (see Section 5.2.3) to set any aperture position's type to Custom. Then, type the CAP filename in the Dimensions column for that aperture position. When you press F1, GC-PREVUE will load the description contained in the CAP file. When you save this aperture list, the custom aperture will be be saved as part of the aperture list. When the aperture list is loaded next time, the CAP file need not be present since its contents are preserved as part of the APR file. Index 68 Index * 18, 22 .PWK 1 AA (Arc Absolute) 49 Absolute X,Y 35 Alt 7 ANNULUS 55 Aperture List 44 Aperture Lists 14 Aperture position 17 Aperture Type 18 Apertures 17 APR 12 AR (Arc Relative) 49 Arc Style 28 Aspect ratio 41 Asterisk 18, 22, 36 AutoDraw 40 Automatic screen update 40 Autosense Graphics 15 AUX 13 Ball and Stick 40 Break 8 CAP 12 CAT Data Header 47 CAT Syntax 48 CGA 7 Character set 29 CheckPlot (Alt F4) 32 CI (Circle) 50 Click 8 ClickCenter 8 ClickLeft 8 ClickRight 8 COM1 13 COMMAND.COM 13 Copy & Resize an Aperture List (F5) 21 Create an Aperture List or Drill Rack 25 CROSSHAIR 58 Ctrl 7 Ctrl C 8 Cursor 11 Custom aperture 45 Custom Aperture Description (.CAP) files 45 Custom Aperture Text (.CAT) files 45 Custom Apertures in Aperture Lists 67 DEFAULT.PED 14 Directory 12 Display the aperture shape 66 Does Not Run 5 Index 69 DOS 8, 13 DOUBLE QUAD 61 Drag 8 DragCenter 8 DragLeft 8 DragRight 8 Drill Rack 14, 17, 22, 44 Edit an aperture 66 Editing an aperture list 20 Erase 11 EXPAND 30 F11 20 F12 20 Filename extension 12 Fill Adjust 30 Flash/Draw check 28 Freehand 43 Gerber (RS-274-D) 27 Graphics display types 15 Grid 36 Grid markers 36, 42 Grid Shown 36 Hercules 7 HPGL files 29 HPGL output 45 HPGL scaling instructions 50 Ignore chord tolerances 30 Inch 11 Inverted Y Axis 40 Invisibility 44 Invisible 18 Invisible drills 22 Job files 1 Jump 44 Label pads and traces 40 Laser plotter 28 Layers 24 LICENSING AGREEMENT 2 Linear 67 Load a data file 26 Load an Aperture List 19 LPT1 13 LT (Line Type) 48 Millimeter 11 Mirroring 39 Modal Tool Peck 28 MOIRE 56 Mouse 7 Mouse Sensitivity 16 NC drill and router 33 Normal 40 OCTAGON 53 Offset(inch/mm) 24 Out of Memory 5 70 GC-PREVUE User's Guide OVAL 52 PA (Plot Absolute) 49 Pan 39 PD (Pen Down) 49 PDF 12 PED 12 Plotting service 34 Point-to-point data shifting 38 Pop-up menu 9 Postscript 32 PR (Plot Relative) 49 Print 11 PRN 13 PT (Pen Thickness) 48 PU (Pen Up) 48 PWK 12 PWK file 34 QUAD 60 Query 43, 67 Quest files 30 RA (Rectangle Absolute) 49 Raster 28 RCK 12 Relative X,Y 36 Reminder Interval 15, 37 Restore work 34 Rotation 17, 38 RR (Rectangle Relative) 49 Save an edited Aperture List 21 Save your work 34, 37 Setup 35 Shareware License 2 Slowdown 40 Snap Grid 36 Snap Grid Size 42 Step Grid 36 Step Grid Size 42 T code 33 THERMAL 63 TMP environment variable 6 Toggle 11 Transparent 40 User-Defined Grid (Alt G) 41 View Custom Apertures While You Edit 66 View Layer(s) 32 Virtual memory 5 Wait Between Layers 41 Wildcard selection 12 Zoom Capture 40 Zoom in 39 Zoom out 39