{"id":642,"date":"2017-03-27T08:00:57","date_gmt":"2017-03-27T15:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/eagle\/blog\/?p=642"},"modified":"2023-09-26T15:15:18","modified_gmt":"2023-09-26T22:15:18","slug":"getting-started-with-eagle-top-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/getting-started-with-eagle-top-10\/","title":{"rendered":"New to Autodesk EAGLE? Here\u2019s the Top 10 Things You Need to Know When Getting Started"},"content":{"rendered":"

New to Autodesk EAGLE? <\/span><\/h1>\n

The Top 10 Things You Need to Know When Getting Started<\/span><\/h2>\n

We were all beginners at one point in time, and there\u2019s always that overwhelming and exciting feeling you get when using new software. Your PCB design software is no exception. There\u2019s a ton of features inside to explore, and an entirely new world to learn about if this is your first experience with electronics design. It doesn\u2019t make it any easier that each PCB design tool is widely differently with their own unique set of quirks and way of doing things.<\/span><\/p>\n

So whether this is your first time using PCB design software, or you\u2019re switching over from another tool, here\u2019s 10 things to know about Autodesk EAGLE to make your learning journey an enjoyable one. Think of this as a new user cheat sheet. Print it, save it, remember it!<\/span><\/p>\n

#1 – Always Keep Your Schematic and Board Editor Open Together<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re coming from another ECAD tool, then you might be used to working on just a schematic or PCB layout at one time. And to transfer your changes from one design stage to the next, you might have had to run an Engineering Change Order (ECO), or even export\/import your design files between multiple tools.<\/span><\/p>\n

Autodesk EAGLE takes a different approach to this problem. Rather than disconnecting your design process between a schematic and board layout, everything is seamlessly connected. So if you make a change in your schematic editor, this change will also be automatically reflected in your PCB editor without you having to do anything.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is a great feature that always keeps your design in sync across all stages of your workflow without hassling you with any intermediary busywork. Here\u2019s the problem, though – if you close either your schematic editor or PCB editor then you\u2019ll lose this real-time connection, and your changes won\u2019t be synced. So whenever you\u2019re working on a project, always keep both your schematic and board editor open at all times to maintain that open connection, otherwise you\u2019ll get to enjoy this lovely error message:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"fb-annotation-severed\"

Our changes are no longer being synced between schematic and PCB layout. Watch out for the F\/B annotation severed message.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

#2 – Stick with the Standard Schematic Grid Settings<\/h2>\n

By default when working on a schematic, you\u2019ll be set up with a 0.1\u201d (2.54mm) snap grid. This is fixed for a reason – all of the free libraries that ship with Autodesk EAGLE were made with this grid setting. So if you try to place parts or wire together connections with a different grid setting, then you\u2019ll have a heck of a time getting your parts properly connected and aligned.<\/span><\/p>\n

When in doubt, always leave your grid settings as is for your schematic design. This same guideline doesn\u2019t apply to your PCB layout, though, and you\u2019ll likely need to change your grid settings depending on the density and complexity of your board layout to make your routing job easier.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"default-schematic-grid-settings\"

The default grid settings you want to use when working on a schematic.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

#3 – Only Use the Line Tool for Artistic Features<\/h2>\n

Many new EAGLE users in the past have used the Line \"wire-icon\"\u00a0tool (previously the Wire tool) to connect nets on a schematic or PCB only to find out that none of their connections were actually made. Woops. They used the wrong tool. Here\u2019s how it works – you only need to use the Line tool for creating artistic features like symbols, notes, or title blocks.<\/span><\/p>\n

Outside of that, if you need to connect parts together on a schematic, then you\u2019ll always want to use the Net \"net-icon\"\u00a0tool. And for your PCB layout, you\u2019ll always want to use the Route tool to create net connections between all of your components. <\/span><\/p>\n

#4 – Search Precisely or Use Your Wildcard<\/h2>\n

We might all be a bit spoiled with Google these days. You can jumble your search entirely and still get a reasonably accurate set of results back. But Autodesk EAGLE isn\u2019t as forgiving with your misspelled search terms. If you misspell your search by even one letter, then the part you\u2019re looking for will never show up in your results.<\/span><\/p>\n

The solution?<\/span><\/p>\n

If there\u2019s a situation where you don’t know the exact name of the part you\u2019re looking for, then use the wildcard character (*) and the part of the name you do know. For example, using the search term *555 will show any results that have a 555 in its name, which would get us to the LM555 timer that we\u2019re looking. Outside of that, you\u2019ll always need to search for an exact part name to get the results you\u2019re looking for, so double check that spelling!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"wildcard-search-add\"

Don\u2019t know the full name? Use the wildcard (*) symbol.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

#5 – Choose Your Actions First, Then Your Object<\/h2>\n

When I first started using EAGLE, I was clicking all over the place, wondering why I wasn\u2019t able to select any of the objects on my design. Beginners mistake there. Autodesk EAGLE does things a little different from other applications. If you want to perform an action on an object, then you need first to select the action you want to perform in your toolbar, and then select the object to apply this action to.<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, if you want to delete an object on your PCB layout, you first need to select the Delete \"delete\"\u00a0tool, then choose the object you want to delete. This can take a bit of getting used to, and in future updates, we\u2019re planning to have it work where you can select an object first and then an action, or vice versa. Until that time arrives, get used to this action-object workflow!<\/span><\/p>\n

#6 – Know Where You\u2019re Saving Your Work<\/h2>\n

You might be tempted to save all of your work in Autodesk EAGLE\u2019s default installation directory, but what happens if you uninstall EAGLE? All of those years of work building libraries and designs have suddenly vanished before your eyes, and that\u2019s no fun.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rather than saving your work in the installation directly, Autodesk EAGLE creates a default eagle folder in your Documents folder (you\u2019ll find this in your Home directory on Mac or Linux). This folder is where you\u2019ll want to store all of your carefully crafted designs and part libraries. So if you ever need to uninstall EAGLE for any reason in the future, all of these files will still be intact.<\/span><\/p>\n

#7 – Always End Your Connections at the Exact End of a Pin<\/h2>\n

If you want to ensure that the pins on your schematic are always connected, then you\u2019ll need to connect them exactly at the end of a pin. Not before, or just a little past, right at the end. How will you know if a net is properly connected to a pin? Try moving a symbol around on your schematic to see if the connected nets follow it around. If they do, then you\u2019re successfully connected!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"connected-nets-moving\"

Just move around a schematic symbol to quickly see if its nets are connected.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

#8 – Redraw Your Nets Instead of Moving Them<\/h2>\n

If you find yourself placing down some nets that need to be reconnected to another pin on your schematic, don\u2019t bother using the Move tool to try and move them from one pin to another. This won\u2019t work. Rather, whenever you need to make a new connection or adjust an older one always use the Net tool to redraw the new connection path. And then use your Delete tool to remove that old connection path.<\/span><\/p>\n

#9 – Don\u2019t Freak Out If You Remove a Part From Your Library Search<\/h2>\n

There\u2019s a handy button called Un-Use that you can select to remove a part library from the search results in your Add Part dialog. When you select a library and then click this button, it will remove it from your list. But don\u2019t freak out! This doesn\u2019t mean that you have deleted that library forever, you just removed it from your search results temporarily.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is a great little feature to remove clutter from your search results. But if you find yourself deactivating a library on accident then you can always head on over to your Autodesk EAGLE Control Panel to restore it. To do this, right-click your library in the Libraries folder, and choose Use. You\u2019ll know that your library is back in action if it has a green dot next to it like the rest of your parts libraries.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"inactive-library\"

Not sure what library you disabled on accident? Just look for the gray dot in your Control Panel.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

#10 – Take Advantage of the Free Parts Libraries<\/h2>\n

We all know that creating and managing our own parts libraries can be a bit of a chore. And that\u2019s why one of the best things about Autodesk EAGLE is how many free parts libraries it ships with out of the box. What does this mean for you? Way less time spent having to make your own parts as most of them have been created for you! Just grab one from an included library, place it, and you\u2019re done. Here are some of the most useful libraries you\u2019ll want to keep an eye out for:<\/span><\/p>\n