kicad-developers team mailing list archive

[Lorenzo Marcantonio <l.marcantonio@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Tue, Aug 06, 2013 at 07:44:59AM -0500, Dick Hollenbeck wrote:
> > Lastly, I feel a subsetting mechanism other than visibility, or layer, which we have now,
> > must be done using a python or other type of expression, not just some noisy dialog with a
> > million checkboxes.

I don't know, in mcads I don't see the usefulness of selecting only
lines or arcs or point (but some designer swear it's useful...). However
in pcb CAMs I find filtering for pads/tracks/lines often useful.

I'm the one to say that I wouldn't use such a filter in pcbnew but maybe
someone else has a different workflow and prefer to do in another way.

Even if you don't use a feature it doesn't mean it's useless (of course
you're free to make it made by someone else:P)

A programmable filter for such kind of selection filtering OTOH would be
impratical, it would be faster to confirm each clarification than to
program the filter... it would need something really quick to select
(unless you provide some kind of combo of last used filters and a way to
store them). So from a toolbar full of checkbutton you'll have a toolbar
to select a filter program... I'm not so sure it would be useful (but at
least would be programmable!)

IMHO programmable selection would be better with a multiselect-then-command
paradigm (like in blender); since most operations are done on *one*
object anyway more complex things would have to do by scripting anyway.

-- 
Lorenzo Marcantonio
Logos Srl