Enhanced Display of DRC Violations
Contents
The Summer 09 release extends the use of detailed custom violation graphics to include the majority of design rules that can be checked as part of Online and/or Batch DRC. Complemented through the provision of a definable violation overlay, you now have even greater flexibility over how DRC violations are displayed in the workspace.
Custom Violation Graphics
Most design rules that can be included in either Online and/or Batch design rule checking (DRC) now have associated custom violation graphics – appearing within the workspace when a particular rule is violated.
In many cases, the graphic (or drawing) used to flag the violation will be the same, for example a violation of a Width or Minimum Annular Ring rule will display a similar graphic that shows not only where the violation is occurring, but also why – displaying the constraint value you have defined for the rule and indicating how the offending primitive(s) are either below or above this value.
The graphic - similar in each case - depicts a certain distance is incorrect
(using the arrows) and indicates why, in terms of the defined constraint
value for the violated rule.
Other graphics, including those used to represent violations of Net Antennae, Short-Circuit, Room Definition, Layer Pairs and Vias Under SMD rules, will simply be a graphic, as there is no definable constraint value to be displayed.
The color used for the detailed custom violation graphics is that defined for the DRC Detail Markers system color, on the Board Layers and Colors tab of the View Configurations dialog (Design»Board Layers & Colors) – see Defining Violation Colors.
The use of custom violation graphics provides you with a visually cleaner DRC landscape. When a particular design rule is violated, the associated custom violation graphics (where applicable) are only drawn on the layer(s) involved with that violation.
You will soon become familiar with the intuitive graphics, quickly identifying what type of rule is in violation and why, directly within the workspace. Gone are the days of browsing through and interrogating, a list of overlapping green violation 'highlights' that previously dotted the landscape. Armed with this new enhancement to your DRC arsenal, you can confidently mop-up any design violations in an efficient and timely manner!
The GDI display of violations remains unchanged between the Winter 09 and Summer 09 releases of Altium Designer. To make use of these custom violation graphics, ensure you are working within the DirectX display mode.
When you open a PCB document saved in a previous release of Altium Designer, you will be alerted to the fact that it contains old violation objects (assuming a DRC had been run and violations existed). Older violation objects are no longer supported and will not be loaded. You will need to run a DRC after opening the document in the Summer 09 release, in order to refresh the violations.
Improved Violation Handling
Handling of rule violations has been given a 'fresh lick of paint' in the Summer 09 release of Altium Designer. First off, browsing of rules and violations is now carried out from the dedicated PCB Rules and Violations panel. No longer a browsing 'sub-mode' of the PCB panel, you are now free to browse nets and components with the one panel, whilst always keeping rule and violation information to hand with the other.
Violations themselves – or the new custom violation graphics to be more specific – are drawn only on the layer(s) involved in the rule violation (the layers on which the offending primitives reside). Clicking on a particular violation will cause the layer on which that violation is associated to become the active layer in the workspace, provided of course that the layer is enabled for display!
Note that if you have the Zoom highlighting method enabled, the workspace will be zoomed-in to fit the bounding rectangle of the browsed violation, rather than the bounding rectangle of the offending primitive(s), giving a much more precise 'view' of the violating area.
Similary, when browsing violations directly in the workspace using the Board Insight panel (Shift+V), the panel is conditioned to only appear if the cursor is over the violation AND the layer on which the violation resides is the active layer.
You can still access violations from the right-click context menu for the workspace, with the cursor over an offending primitive, irrespective of whether the layer on which the associated violation resides is active or not.
Controlling the Display of DRC Violations
In addition to the custom violation graphics, a violations 'overlay' is available for setup and use. The overlay draws over design primitives in a similar fashion to the way in which DRC violations were displayed in previous releases of Altium Designer. The major difference is that you are able to choose what pattern to display on the primitives, from a selection of styles.
As with custom violation graphics, to make use of a violation overlay ensure you are working within the DirectX display mode.
when displaying DRC violations.
Accessing Violation Display Preferences
Control over how DRC violations are displayed – using the custom violation graphics and/or a defined violation overlay – is specified on the PCB Editor – DRC Violations Display page of the Preferences dialog (DXP»Preferences).
Specifying Overlay Style
Use the options in the Violation Overlay Style region of the page to specify the style of violation overlay to use. Table 1 illustrates example results for a routed track on the Top Layer, in violation of a Width rule, based on the chosen violation overlay style.
Table 1. The various violation overlay styles available.
Selected Style
|
Description
|
Example Result
|
|---|---|---|
None (Layer Color) | The DRC override color is ignored, |
|
Solid (Override Color) | The DRC override color is used, |
|
Style A | The DRC override color is used in the display |
|
Style B | The DRC override color is used in the display |
|
The override color – the color associated with the display of a violation overlay – is that defined for the DRC Error Markers system color, on the Board Layers and Colors tab of the View Configurations dialog (Design»Board Layers & Colors) – see Defining Violation Colors.
Zoom Behavior
The dialog provides controls for determining how both violation display styles are handled when you zoom in and out:
- Violation Overlay – use the Overlay Zoom Out Behavior region to determine how the overlay displays when you zoom out. For example, you can elect to have the override color become more dominant the further you zoom out, until the layer color is not noticeable - and vice-versa. Play with the options to find the setting that best suits your needs and working preference.
- Custom Violation Graphics – use the Show Violation Detail region to determine, when displaying violations using custom graphics, the point at which the graphics for a violated design rule will be displayed. Setting the slider bar more towards
Closewill result in the violation details appearing when you are more 'zoomed in'. Conversely, to keep the details visible while zooming out to a greater extent, set the slider bar more towardsFar. To keep the violation details displayed, irrespective of zoom level, set the slider bar toAlways.
Specifying Violation Display Style for each Rule Type
The Choose DRC Violations Display Style region of the dialog presents a grid allowing you to choose the display style used, on a per-rule basis. Enabling the Violation Details field for a rule type will use the associated custom violation graphics to display the DRC violations of that rule. Enabling the Violation Overlay field will display the violations using the specified overlay style.
Right-click within the grid to access a menu of commands to quickly enable or disable use of a violation display type for all rule types. You can also quickly enable the display of violations – detailed graphics or overlay styles – for only those rules currently being used in the design.
By default, the Violation Details display option is enabled for all rule types and the Violation Overlay display option is enabled only for Clearance, Width and Component Clearance rules.
the workspace.
Using the two display types together can prove useful in terms of providing a 'coarse' and 'fine' indication of violations. When zoomed out, the violation overlay can flag where a violation exists, then zoom in to view the detail delivered by the associated custom violation graphic.
By enabling the Violation Overlay option and disabling the Violation Details option, for each rule, you can essentially mimic the behavior of DRC violation display found in prior releases of Altium Designer.
Defining Violation Colors
To give further flexibility when displaying rule violations in the workspace, the two violation display types – violation details (custom violation graphics) and violation overlay – have separate associated system colors. This allows you to differentiate between the two using different, distinct colors. Color assignment is performed in the View Configurations dialog (Design»Board Layers & Colors):
- Violation Details – uses the color assigned to the DRC Detail Markers system color.
- Violation Overlay – uses the color assigned to the DRC Error Markers system color.
For the violation display type you wish to use, ensure that the Show option next to the system color entry is enabled, otherwise the associated violation details or violation overlay will not be displayed.