PCB layout
At a glance
- Lay out rigid 2, 4, 6 or 8-layer boards with THT and SMD footprints
- Draw exact outlines and cutouts, place on either side and keep imported arbitrary rotations
- Update from the schematic without losing reviewed placement or manual copper
- Manual routing supports vias, walkaround and push/shove while locks protect finished work
- Copper zones and planes refill as source-fingerprinted derived geometry
Open Board Layout under the board in the browser tree. The layout owns the board outline, cutouts, stackup, placements, traces, vias, zones, keepouts, rules and manufacturing profile.
From schematic to board
Schematic components with assigned footprints appear automatically in Board Layout, arranged in a spaced grid. Footprint sizes, outlines and visible text determine the spacing. Drag them into position; later additions appear clear of existing work. Footprints selects and frames them for placement.
Update PCB from Schematic… compares stable physical package and pad identities. Added, removed or changed schematic packages appear as an explicit update; reviewed placement and manual copper remain where their physical identities still match. Cross-probing can show a schematic part on the board and the corresponding footprint back on the sheet.
A reference designator is a label, not the package identity. Renaming it does not create a new physical part.
Board setup and placement
Rigid boards support 2, 4, 6 or 8 copper layers and plated through vias. Draw the outer profile and cutouts exactly, then place components on the top or bottom. Click corners and choose Finish Outline, press Enter, or click the first corner to close the profile. Cutouts use Finish Cutout. Backspace removes the last corner; Escape cancels the unfinished drawing. Bottom footprints use one documented mirror/rotation transform shared by layout, 3D, assembly files and fabrication checks.
Move, rotate, flip and lock footprints manually. Check → Optimize PCB Placement… opens Guided PCB Placement, where whole-board, selection, functional-group or local-region candidates can be compared before one is applied. Board/cutout clearance, allowed regions, access edges, orientations, proximity and locks are hard constraints.
Select, lock and remove objects
Use Selection filter in the bottom-center controls to choose which object types can be selected. Routes only selects traces and vias. Drag left to right to enclose objects, or right to left to include anything the box touches. Cmd/Ctrl+A selects all eligible objects on visible layers. Changing filters also removes excluded types from your current selection.
To try the autorouter on a routed import, choose Select all routes — all layers from the filter menu or the canvas context menu. This includes hidden and opposite-side traces and vias. Right-click, choose Unlock selection, then press Delete. Footprints, pads, zones and the board outline stay in place. Undo restores the copper.
Lock selection and Unlock selection work on multiple objects, even with mixed lock states. You can right-click empty canvas to act on an existing selection. Filtered selections stay within the chosen object types, including when objects belong to a group.
Copper
Finish the board outline before routing. Route offers Draw Outline when the board has no profile yet. Click a pad, via or trace belonging to a net, move to its destination and click to commit the checked route. Use M for routing mode, V for a layer change and W for width. Escape cancels pending copper. Route manually with walkaround or push/shove and add vias within the effective rules. Locked and manual copper remains fixed when the full-board router runs. Zones support priorities, holes, keepouts, thermal/direct/isolated connections, island policy and explicit signal, ground, power and chassis nets.
A fill is derived from one exact source state. Changing the outline, stackup, footprint, placement, copper, keepout, rule or profile makes it stale. Refill before DRC or fabrication.