gEDA-user: random observations

[Andy Peters]

On Jan 4, 2007, at 12:41 PM, DJ Delorie wrote:

>
>> Oh, that's too bad.  It's an amazingly useful feature.
>
> Perhaps, but difficult logistically.  My initial question is, where on
> the net do you put the text?

On pads, pins or vias.  What's usually done is that the netname  
appears on the pad/pin/via only if the view is zoomed in "enough."   
Zoom out and the netnames turn off to prevent clutter.

> What we do have is the netlist dialog; you can click on a net to
> highlight it on the pcb.  Perhaps a reverse feature (click on the pcb,
> have the net name highlighted) would be a good short-term compromise?

That requires clicking on something.  The idea is that you can see  
the netnames and decide which signals to route first.

It's just a convenience, but like I said, it's one that's very useful.

Of course I realize that many people use netnames only for  
"significant" nets, or those that go to other sheets, so nets not  
given that attribute don't have a netname (other programs  
automatically assign a netname if one is not given) so perhaps this  
is less useful for others.

-a