Automatic Route to Mouse Modes

Related articles: PCB Routing, Interactively Routing a Net

This feature delivers the following two additional interactive modes:

• Autoroute to the current cursor location on the current layer.
• Autoroute to the current cursor location across different layers – vias will be placed as required to change to alternate signal layers.

Related options can be found in the Routing Conflict Resolution region, on the PCB – Interactive Routing page of the Preferences dialog (DXP » Preferences):

Enable an option to make use of the corresponding automatic path mode as required. Use the Shift+R keyboard shortcut to cycle to the required mode while interactively routing your board. These two routing modes will attempt to provide a routed path, where possible, in accordance with applicable design rule constraints and other options specified for interactive routing, on the PCB Editor – Interactive Routing page of the Preferences dialog.

These modes are called autoroute modes because they can adaptively choose between different routing strategies. For example, using one of these modes an existing route that is blocking the path might be pushed initially, but as the cost of pushing increases, it can switch to use a walkaround path if this is a cheaper routing solution. If you were using the autoroute on multiple layers mode, then it might choose to switch layers rather than walking around, if this provided a cheaper routing solution.

Use these interactive autoroute modes to help complete a tight design, where you are struggling to identify route paths for those final few routes. They are not designed to help when there is an abundance of easily identified route paths.