Hello Fritzing Fans,

We’re using images from a PCB design by Bob64 (who we thank for giving us permission) to illustrate the new DRC (Design Rules Check). On the left is the DRC from version 0.7.9 and earlier. In the middle is the same file using the DRC from version 0.7.10.  The image on the right is a close-up from the upper region of the middle image so you can see the new highlighting.

The new DRC has no trouble dealing with diagonal lines or rotated pinheaders. The tradeoff is that it is quite a bit slower than the old DRC (it puts up a progress bar while in process), but is much more accurate.

This means the results are much more specific, and we now display these in a modeless dialog. In other words, you can work with the PCB layout while the highlighting remains visible–you can see where you need to make changes, and make them on the spot. Here is what the dialog looks like after we run the DRC on the board illustrated above:

When you click on an entry in the list, the referenced parts are selected, thus making it easier to see where the problem is.

Hope you enjoy using it as much as we enjoyed building it.

Cheers,

The Fritzing Team.