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View Full Version : Make wires intelligent



jbaker.233495
2010-03-24, 07:28 PM
Description:
PLEASE make wires intelligent, not just a bunch of separate line segments.

How Used:
(1) Instead of a bunch of wire segments with no real connection to each other, make each wire, no matter how many kinks and segments it has, be ONE entity. (Connecting wires would each be their own separate entities, but with connection intelligence.)

(2) Make it possible to drag one segment of a wire and have the rest of the wire (and any connections and jumps for crossing wires) either come along for the ride or stretch as appropriate. (Moving a middle segment should NOT result in breaks and overhangs in the connecting segments. Trimming wires should almost never be necessary.)

(3) Connections should "stick". It should not be possible to drag a connection dot or a connecting wire away from a connection, unless I do something deliberate to indicate the intention, like holding down CTRL or ALT while dragging.

(4) Wire properties should include WIRE NUMBER and WIRE FUNCTION (a short text description of the wire's purpose). It should be possible to make the wire number and/or function text appear as many places on the wire as desired (typically, both ends) by right-clicking the wire and selecting from the context menu. Ideally, properties should include a node number and a list of connections (other wire numbers, component pin numbers, etc.), or at least a link to a list of connections. It's supposed to be a wire, not a line segment.

Feature Affinity:
WIres, Wire Numbers

Comment:
The present lack of any wire intelligence is one of the most incomprehensible deficiencies in ACE. A user should not have to redraw a wire just because one segment, bend, or connection point needs to be moved a bit. ACE is the ONLY schematic software I know of that has this glaring defect. Even freeware like SolidEdge2D has wire intelligence!