Yes, ive been playing a bit with the Eagle
schematic drawing program.
Firstly it does work ok on my 640 x 480 desktop,
but its toolbar won't reposition, so i cant get to
the items at the bottom.
I expect to find the items repeated somewhere
under 'File' anyway.
Im still getting used to it, so far i still prefer
my own 'Library' of BMPs, maybe it will grow on me.
It does have an extensive list of chips and functions.
On a few occasions you have mentioned the lack of autoplace in some software.
It is not as good as you may think.
On small circuits with not too many nodes it will work fine - autoplace and autoroute with no unrouted tracks. Provided the pcb is big enough.
Once you exceed a certain number of nodes - or reduce the pcb size - then you start getting unrouted tracks. If, like me, you do a fair bit of singlesided routeing, topside as full copper groundplane, then it can be a pain in the backside.
Use it if you must but be prepared to manually move some components to different positions on the pcb and then try to reroute.
On a different note - my brother has just upgraded his system and software and has given me Proteus 5.2 and Blazerouter for PowerPcb - he's just upgraded to Blazerouter HSD. Just had a quick go and WOW what speed.
It looks like Ultiboard may take a back seat.
Proteus 5.2 Has anyone else got this? Is it any good?
i really appreciate eagle being offered as free, but of course we all know that it does not include its own simulation tool.
another drawback that i experienced in using eagle is that whenever you have to move to another location to free up space for components placement, you have to zoom out and zoom in to the desired free space. i find it very tiring and time consuming even though my mouse has wheels.