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Date: Fri, 12 Feb 2016 13:38:46 -0900
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Subject: Re: [geda-user] [PATCH] Elements Window
From: "Britton Kerin (britton DOT kerin AT gmail DOT com) [via geda-user AT delorie DOT com]" <geda-user AT delorie DOT com>
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On Fri, Feb 12, 2016 at 12:53 PM, Nicklas Karlsson
(nicklas DOT karlsson17 AT gmail DOT com) [via geda-user AT delorie DOT com]
<geda-user AT delorie DOT com> wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> When I'm editing a PCB, I often find that I want to find a group of
>> components on it.  For example, I want to find a certain set of
>> decoupling capacitors to make sure they're positioned appropriately.
>> This is quite a slow process in pcb at the moment, as one has to use the
>> "Select by name" menu a lot etc.
>
> Seems like a really good search and select window.
>
> There is another selection problem. It is quite common a circuit have be moved a little bit or reused for example a power supply. I had an idea to add a sub layout switch so that all objects added while working would belong to the selected sub laout. Then they could be select --> copied, moved or reused.

Something along these lines does seem like the most realistic way to
get more graceful hierarchical layout.  Rather than changing the type
hierarchy just add a list-of-objects type thing that groups existing
stuff.  A copy of the layer structure is needed as well because lines
etc. don't know where they are intrinsically (or else you have to
mangle the objects themselves).  The IDs would have to be made
permanent (ie saved, rather than reassigned each session).  And of
course actually doing useful things with the sets.

I wouldn't make a switch that makes other additions automatically add
to sets though.  Just tell users to select what they want to include.
There are already a number of global options that influence the
per-object flag settings of subsequently created objects, and though
it's not at all obvious how to do some of the things they do
otherwise, they make for confusing and buggy behavior.  Explicitly
selecting the set is a very small amount of additional work compared
to doing the module design and layout.

Britton