This dialog allows you to choose the type of library report to create for the footprint library and the various types of symbol libraries. There is a 3D packages report available on the 3D Packages dialog, this differs slightly and is detailed here.
Locating this option
Available from: Setup menu > Libraries > All Libraries Pages > Rename button
Using the Find Symbol dialog
Which Reports
User Report
Check this button to choose from the formattable reports (reports controlled by Report Maker format files) applicable to the current library type. Double-Click on the required report to generate it, or select it and use the Generate Report button at the bottom of the dialog.
Below the list of report names is a box that shows a description of the currently selected report. Click on one of the reports in the list to see its description and the name and location of the report format file.
Report Maker - Click on this button to use the Report Maker to create or modify a User Report. New reports created will be automatically added to the list in this reports dialog.
List Contents of Library
Selecting List Contents of Library will provide you a standard report. This lists the full contents of the selected libraries, showing the name of all the footprints or symbols in each library.
Choose Give Details to give information about Last Saved Time and Number of Pins.
Find Parts Using Selected Items
This report lists the Parts in which the selected footprints or symbols are used. This report can be helpful in finding out which parts might be affected by a change to one of your footprints.
Check For Duplicate Items
This will scan all currently enabled libraries, looking for any items that appear more than once. This report can be used to find all those library items where you may have placed your own item ‘ahead’ of the same named items in other libraries further down the search order.
Folder For Report Files
This section defines where the library report files are written when generated from this dialog. You can choose from four different settings by selecting from the drop-down list.
- Library Folder : report files will be written to the same folder as the library file itself. If the report is for all libraries it will be written to the general folder. (See General Folders).
- This Folder : you specify the folder where all library report files are written. Either type the required folder path, if you type a relative path it will be applied to the current working directory, or use the Browse… button to use an explorer dialog to choose the folder. You can use the pop-up menu to the right of the folder name box to insert keywords that will be replaced with the correct text when the report file is generated. These keywords are explained in the Library Report File Names Template section below.
- This Folder below Library file : you specify a folder name which will be appended to the folder in which the library is stored. For example, if your library is stored in “C:\My Projects\Board 6\Local.pal”, you can set the reports folder name to “Reports” and all the library report files will be written to the folder called “C:\My Projects\Board 6\Reports”. If the report is for all libraries it will be written to the general folder. (See General Folders). You can use the pop-up menu to the right of the folder name box to insert keywords that will be replaced with the correct text when the report file is generated. These keywords are explained in the Library Report File Names Template section below.
- General Folder : Use the folder defined in the General Folders dialog. The name of the General folder pre-defined will be shown greyed out as not selectable in the box.
Report File Names Template
This section defines how the library report file names are constructed. You can type fixed text into the box, and use the drop down menu button to the right of the file name box to insert keywords that will be replaced with the appropriate text when the report is run. The first set of keywords, above the menu dividing line, are only inserted once and therefore show a tick on the menu when inserted. Click on an inserted keyword in the menu to remove it from the template. The keywords below the line can be added multiply and so do not show as selected when inserted, and have to be removed by editing the template. The keywords you can use are described below:
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Library Name : The name of the library the report is being generated for. If the report is for all libraries, the name “AllLibraries” will be used.
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Report Group : The name of report group that the report is in. User Reports can have a report group assigned by including the Set Report Group command in their script. Other types of reports will be in a group. If the report being run is not in a group this keyword will simply be removed from the file name.
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Report Title : The title of the Report.
e.g. “Symbol Pad Report”
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Date and Time - The Date or Time when the file is produced. The format used is the short form of the system time format, but with all special file path characters replaced with a dash character.
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Start Pre-Text and End Post-Text: Most keywords are obvious, but the ”$(PRE)” and ”$(POST)” keywords are a little different. They are used to add text either side of another optional keyword, but only if it is not blank. So if the optional keyword has a value then the text between the pre-text keyword and the optional keyword will be included and the text between the optional keyword and the post-text keyword will be included. If the optional keyword results in blank text the pre-text and post-text keywords, and all text between them, will be removed from the filename.
For example, ”$(PRE)[$(ReportGroup)]$(POST)” will be replaced by “[footprints]” for a user report that has group “footprints” and will produce nothing for a report with no report group.
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If Then Else: There is also a set of advanced keywords that can be used to create conditional folder and filename templates. See the Design Reports help for more details on these keywords.
Note: If you have selected a report in the list and are not using Change Report File Name then the file name with the keywords replaced will be shown in the file name box.
If the template is for a file name rather than a folder, all folder path special characters will be removed from the name when the template is applied.
Change Report File Name
This shows the name of the report. The report name can be changed by checking the box then typing a specified name. The file name and location where the report will be written are shown. If the name is too long for the box, hover over it to see a tooltip window with the full name.
If you leave the file extension off, the default report extension will be added. If you just type a file name with no directory, the reports folder defined above will be used.
Which Symbols
Check the Selected Symbols Only box to run the report on only the selected symbols in the Libraries dialog. Leave unchecked to report all symbols in the selected libraries. This is only available for a User Report.
Output To
Choose whether you want the report to be saved to a file and if it is to be viewed now.
- File Only - Saved to file, but not viewed via editor.
- File and View Report - Saved to file and viewed using Notepad or the editor associated with this type of file.
- View Report Only - The report is viewed using Notepad or the editor associated with this type of file. A file is produced but there will be an attempt to delete it after running up the editor.
Generate Report
Use the Generate Report button to generate the required report.
3D Package Libraries
For 3D Libraries, the options available are slightly different, and the report folder and name template are not shown. The following reports are available:
List Contents of Libraries
This standard report lists the full contents of the selected libraries, showing the name of each 3D item. Choose Give Details to give information about all the footprints covered by each item.
Cross Check Footprints With Packages
This standard report will examine your footprint libraries and 3D libraries, and give you a report of all the footprints that do not have 3D packages, and all the 3D packages that cover footprints not in your footprint libraries.