Non-Standard X11 Application Resources
In addition to the toolkit resources, Pcb
defines the
following resources:
absoluteGrid (boolean)
- Selects if either the grid is relative to the position where it has changed
last or absolute, the default, to the origin (0,0).
alignmentDistance (dimension)
- Specifies the distance between the boards outline to the alignment targets.
allDirectionLines (boolean)
- Enables (default) or disables clipping of new lines to 45 degree angles.
backgroundImage (string)
- If specified, this image will be drawn as the background for the
board. The purpose of this option is to allow you to use a scan of an
existing layout as a prototype for your new layout. To do this, there
are some limitations as to what this image must be. The image must be
a PPM binary image (magic number
P6
). It must have a maximum
pixel value of 255 or less (i.e. no 16-bit images). It must represent
the entire board, as it will be scaled to fit the board dimensions
exactly. Note that it may be scaled unevenly if the image doesn't
have the same aspect ratio of your board. You must ensure that the
image does not use more colors than are available on your system
(mostly this is for pseudo-color displays, like old 8-bit displays).
For best results, I suggest the following procedure using The Gimp:
Load your image (any type). Image->Scale if needed.
Image->Colors->Curves and for each of Red, Green, and Blue channel
move the lower left point up to about the 3/4 line (value 192). This
will make your image pale so it doesn't interfere with the traces
you'll be adding. Image->Mode->Indexed and select, say, 32 colors
with Normal F-S dithering. File->Save As, file type by extension,
use .ppm
as the extension. Select Raw formatting.
backupInterval (int)
Pcb
has an automatic backup feature which saves the current data
every n seconds. The default is 300 seconds. A value of zero disables
the feature. The backup file is named /tmp/PCB.%i.backup
by
default (this may have been changed at compilation time via the
BACKUP_NAME
variable in globalconfig.h
).
%i is replaced by the process ID.
See also, the command-line option -backup.
Bloat (dimension)
- Specifies the minimum spacing design rule in mils.
charactersPerLine (int)
Pcb
uses this value to determine the page width when creating lists.
N, the number of characters per line, defaults to 80.
See also, the command-line option -c.
connectedColor (color)
- All pins, vias, lines and rectangles which are selected during a connection
search are drawn with this color. The default value is determined by
XtDefaultForeground.
cross hairColor (color)
- This color is used to draw the cross hair cursor. The color is a result of
a XOR operation with the contents of the Layout area. The result
also depends on the default colormap of the
X11
server because only
the colormap index is used in the boolean operation and Pcb
doesn't
create its own colormap. The default setting is XtDefaultForeground.
elementColor (color)
elementSelectedColor (color)
- The elements package part is drawn in these colors, for normal and selected
mode, respectively, which both default to XtDefaultForeground.
elementCommand (string)
Pcb
uses a user defined command to read element files. This resources
is used to set the command which is executed by the users default shell.
Two escape sequences are defined to pass the selected filename (%f) and the
current search path (%p). The command must write the element data
to its standard output. The default value is
M4PATH="%p";export M4PATH;echo 'include(%f)' | m4
Using the GNU version of m4
is highly recommended.
See also, the command-line option -lelement.
elementPath (string)
- A colon separated list of directories or commands (starts with '|').
The path is passed to the program specified in elementCommand together
with the selected element name. A specified command will be executed in order
to create entries for the fileselect box. It must write its results to
stdout one entry per line.
See also, the user-command le[!].
fileCommand (string)
- The command is executed by the user's default shell whenever existing layout
files are loaded. Data is read from the command's standard output.
Two escape sequences may be specified to pass the selected filename (%f)
and the current search path (%p). The default value is:
cat %f
See also, the command-line option -lfile.
filePath (string)
- A colon separated list of directories or commands (starts with '|').
The path is passed to the program specified in fileCommand together
with the selected filename. A specified command will be executed in order
to create entries for the fileselect box. It must write its results to
stdout one entry per line.
See also, the user-command l[!].
fontCommand (string)
- Loading new symbol sets also is handled by an external command. You again
may pass the selected filename and the current search path by passing
%f and %p in the command string. Data is read from the commands standard
output. This command defaults to
cat %f
See also, the command-line option -lfont.
fontFile (string)
- The default font for new layouts is read from this file which is searched
in the directories as defined by the resource fontPath.
Searching is only performed if the filename does not contain a directory
component.
The default filename is
default_font
.
See also, the command-line option -fontfile.
fontPath (string)
- This resource, a colon separated list of directories, defines the searchpath
for font files. See also, the resource fontFile.
grid (int)
- This resources defines the initial value of one cursor step. It defaults
to 100 mil and any changes are saved together with the layout data.
gridColor (color)
- This color is used to draw the grid. The color is a result of
a INVERT operation with the contents of the Layout area. The result
also depends on the default colormap of the
X11
server because only
the colormap index is used in the boolean operation and Pcb
doesn't
create its own colormap. The default setting is XtDefaultForeground.
elementColor (color)
- Elements located on the opposite side of the board are drawn in this color.
The default is XtDefaultForeground.
layerColor1..MAX_LAYER (color)
layerSelectedColor1..MAX_LAYER (color)
- These resources define the drawing colors of the different layers in
normal and selected state. All values are preset to XtDefaultForeground.
layerGroups (string)
- The argument to this resource is a colon separated list of comma separated
layer numbers (1..MAX_LAYER). All layers within one group are switched on/off
together. The default setting is 1:2:3:...:MAX_LAYER which means
all layers are handled separately. Grouping layers one to three looks like
1,2,3:4:...:MAX_LAYER
See also, the command-line option -lg.
layerName1..MAX_LAYER (string)
- The default name of the layers in a new layout are determined by these
resources. The defaults are empty strings.
libraryCommand (string)
Pcb
uses a command to read element data from libraries.
The resources is used to set the command which is executed by the users
default shell. Three escape sequences are defined to pass the selected
filename (%f), the current search path (%p) as well (%a) as the three
parameters template, value and package to the command.
It must write the element data to its standard output. The default value is
NONE/share/pcb/oldlib/QueryLibrary.sh %p %f %a
libraryContentsCommand (string)
- Similar to libraryCommand,
Pcb
uses the command specified
by this resource to list the contents of a library.
NONE/share/pcb/oldlib/ListLibraryContents.sh %p %f
is the default.
libraryFilename (string)
- The resource specifies the name of the library. The default value is
pcblib unless changed at compile time
with the
LIBRARYFILENAME
variable in globalconfig.h
.
libraryPath (string)
- A colon separated list of directories that will be passed to the commands
specified by elementCommand and elementContentsCommand.
lineThickness (dimension)
- The value, in the range [1..250] (the range may be changed at compile
time with the
MIN_LINESIZE
and MAX_LINESIZE
variables in
globalconfig.h
), defines the
initial thickness of new lines. The value is preset to ten mil.
media (<predefined> | <width>x<height>+-<left_margin>+-<top_margin>)
- The default (user defined) media of the
PostScript
device. Predefined
values are a3, a4, a5, letter, tabloit,
ledger, legal, and executive.
The second way is to specify the medias width, height and margins in mil.
The resource defaults to a4 size unless changed at compile time
with the DEFAULT_MEDIASIZE
variable in globalconfig.h
.
offLimitColor (color)
- The area outside the current maximum settings for width and height is drawn
with this color. The default value is determined by XtDefaultBackground.
pinColor (color)
pinSelectedColor(color)
- This resource defines the drawing color of pins and pads in both states.
The values are preset to XtDefaultForeground.
pinoutFont (string)
- This fonts are used to display pin names. There is one font for each zoom
value. The values are preset to XtdefaultFont.
pinoutNameLength (int)
- This resource limits the number of characters which are displayed for
pin names in the pinout window. By default the string length is limited
to eight characters per name.
See also, the command-line option -pnl.
pinoutOffsetX (int)
pinoutOffsetY (int)
- These resources determine the offset in mil of the circuit from the
upper left corner of the window when displaying pinout information.
Both default to 100 mil.
pinoutTextOffsetX (int)
pinoutTextOffsetY (int)
- The resources determine the distance in mil between the drilling hole of a pin
to the location where its name is displayed in the pinout window.
They default to X:50 and Y:0.
pinoutZoom (int)
- Sets the zoom factor for the pinout window according to the formula:
scale = 1:(2 power value). Its default value is two which results in
a 1:4 scale.
See also, the command-line option -pz.
printCommand (string)
- Default file for printouts. If the name starts with a '|' the output
is piped through the command. A %f is replaced by the current filename.
There is no default file or command.
raiseLogWindow (boolean)
- The log window will be raised when new messages arrive if this resource
is set true, the default.
ratCommand (string)
- Default command for reading a netlist. A %f is replaced by the netlist
filename. Its default value is "cat %f".
ratPath (string)
- Default path to look for netlist files. It's default value is "."
resetAfterElement (boolean)
- If set to true, all found connections will be reset before a new
element is scanned. This will produce long lists when scanning the whole
layout for connections. The resource is set to false by default.
The feature is only used while looking up connections of all elements.
See also, the command-line option -reset, +reset.
ringBellWhenFinished (boolean)
- Whether to ring the bell (the default) when a possibly lengthy operation
has finished or not.
See also, the command-line option -ring, +ring.
routeStyle (string)
- Default values for the menu of routing styles (seen in the sizes menu).
The string is a comma separated list of name, line thickness,
via diameter, and via drill size.
e.g. "Fat,50,100,40:Skinny,8,35,20:75Ohm,110,110,20"
See also, the command-line option -rs and Sizes Menu
rubberBandMode (boolean)
- Whether rubberband move and rotate (attached lines stretch like
rubberbands) is enabled (the default).
saveCommand (string)
- This command is used to save data to a layout file. The filename may be
indicated by placing
%f
in the string. It must read the data from
its standard input. The default command is:
cat - > %f
See also, the command-line option -sfile.
saveInTMP (boolean)
- Enabling this resource will save all data which would otherwise be lost
in a temporary file
/tmp/PCB.%i.save
. The file name may
be changed at compile time
with the EMERGENCY_NAME
variable in globalconfig.h
.
.
%i is replaced by the process ID.
As an example, loading a new layout when the old one hasn't been saved would
use this resource.
See also, the command-line option -save, +save.
saveLastCommand (boolean)
- Enables the saving of the last entered user command. The option is
disabled by default.
See also, the command-line option -s, +s.
Shrink (dimension)
- Specifies the minimum overlap (touching) design rule in mils.
size (<width>x<height>)
- Defines the width and height of a new layout. The default is
7000x5000 unless changed at compile time
with the
DEFAULT_SIZE
variable in globalconfig.h
.
stipllePolygons (boolean)
- Determines whether to display polygons on the screen with a stippled
pattern. Stippling can create some amount of transparency so that
you can still (to some extent) see layers beneath polygons.
It defaults to False.
textScale (dimension)
- The font scaling in percent is defined by this resource. The default is
100 percent.
useLogWindow (boolean)
- Several subroutines send messages to the user if an error occurs.
This resource determines if they appear inside the log window or as a separate
dialog box. See also, the resource raiseLogWindow and the command line
option -loggeometry.
The default value is true.
viaColor (color)
viaSelectedColor (color)
- This resource defines the drawing color of vias in both states.
The values are preset to XtDefaultForeground.
viaThickness (dimension)
viaDrillingHole (dimension)
- The initial thickness and drilling hole of new vias. The values must be in the
range [30..400] (the range may be changed at compile
time with the
MIN_PINORVIASIZE
and MAX_PINEORVIASIZE
variables in
globalconfig.h
), with at least 20
mil of copper.
The default thickness is 40 mil and the default drilling hole is
20 mil.
volume (int)
- The value is passed to
XBell()
which sets the volume of the X
speaker.
The value lies in the range -100..100 and it defaults to the maximum volume of
100.
warnColor (color)
- This resources defines the color to be used for drawing pins and pads when
a warning has been issued about them.
zoom (int)
- The initial value for output scaling is set according to the following
formula: scale = 1:(2 power value). It defaults to three which results
in an output scale of 1:8.
Refer also to Command-Line Options.