New features in Orcad Pro 17.2-2016 Quarterly Incremental Release (QIR) 7 - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: asmi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 16, 2018, 02:25:59 am
content: Just installed the update, and there is a bunch of new cool toys!1. Coupling analysis. You pick a set of traces or create "Directed group" (all traces connecting component X with component Y) and run analysis. Once it's done, you can see results either as a "heatmap" or as a table, which shows info on a per-segment basis.2. Impedance analysis. Same workflow as above, very useful for identifying things like parts of traces which are not over reference plane.3. New "Route Vision" which highlight various issues with layout like 90 degree turns, non-optimal pad entry, etc..4. More improvements for 3D Editor - now supports semi-transparent layers, window select allows to display 3D view of selected part of board only, now any objects that are placed on top of vias' and pads' barrels are eliminated (as they would "fall into" the barrel in reality unless the barrel is plugged).4. A whole bunch of features which were previously only available at Allegro license level now are available at Pro level:- Timing Path support for Z-Axis Delay. Basically this means that trace length now can include z-distance along portions of vias when signal transitions between layers.- Pin delays can be also included into calculating trace lengths for match groups and differential pairs.- Differential Pair Dynamic Phase Control is also now available at Pro license level!- Full support for backdrills.There are more features, but I didn't have a chance to play with them yet, and some might only be available at higher license levels only. There are also some improvements to Capture, but I too didn't get to try them out yet. Overall - very good update, certainly worth the price of sub!

author: hammy
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 17, 2018, 10:27:50 am
content: Thank you for showing the novelties.I installed the update yesterday, but apart from a look into the "what's new" section of the help/documentation there was no time to try the new stuff.But now the coupling/impedance analysis is something I give a try today!

author: U96
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: October 18, 2018, 08:09:43 am
content: I installed it aswell but only encountered new bugs yet. I did not use the tool long enough to play with new features yet.Most notable items:1. fonts not correctly working and inconsistently used throughout the program. Currently the UI uses different fonts in the same screen This is based on which license is selected. OrCAD PCB Designer Professional is bugged like this.2. crosshighlight between Capture and Allegro is not working anymore.

author: Neilm
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 18, 2018, 06:30:45 pm
content: Quote from: U96 on October 18, 2018, 08:09:43 amThat is always iffy at best.

author: U96
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: October 19, 2018, 05:31:16 am
content: Yep, True. Most of the time during PCB design process I disable this function.We made ourselves a custom implementation (in Skill) for cross probing, which is based on the built-in communication between Capture and Allegro. That function does not work anymore due to this bug.

author: hammy
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 19, 2018, 08:20:32 am
content: Quote from: U96 on October 18, 2018, 08:09:43 amIt is still working for me.Intertool communication is enabled in your preferences?Quote from: U96 on October 18, 2018, 08:09:43 amScreenshot? I did not notice something like this.Mabe your computer/windows is just screwed up.

author: U96
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: October 21, 2018, 01:09:03 pm
content: Quote from: hammy on October 19, 2018, 08:20:32 amyes ofcourse it is on ;) In previous hotfix it did work. I reverted to check it.So this issue is known and already has a hack around solution:unset the following variable in your env file: (found on the Cadence forums)Code:unset UNIQUE_MPS_SESSIONit is not something you can select via the UI so you have to add in manualy in the env fileQuote from: hammy on October 19, 2018, 08:20:32 amScreenshot is in the attachment. As you can see the font in the visibility tab is what I cal 'normal' or 'as usual' and in the find filter and quickplace windows you see the weird font. it's also a lot smaller than in visibility tab. (i turned it up by setting the font size in the user preferences)so once again this issue is only here when i start Allegro with the "orCAD PCB Designer Professional" license. "Allegro PCB Designer" works as espected.The font you set in user preferences ('fontface' and 'fontfixedface') gets ignored for orCad license, so i cannot manualy override it.

author: hammy
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 21, 2018, 08:07:23 pm
content: You're right. The font is in a different size. But I cannot say if it's new or I just never noticed it.Thank you for the hint about the unique MPS session. It looks like only a Allegro license is affected. How odd!