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How to Set Shortcut Key in Cadence Allegro PCB Editor?

by: Sep 25,2023 1844 Views 0 Comments Posted in PCB Design Tutorial

shortcut key Allegro PCB Editor

Setting shortcut key in Allegro can significantly improve work efficiency and lower body burden. In this article, we will introduce the three methods to set shortcut key:

  • Directly defined in the Allegro PCB Editor command window;
  • By modifying the user variable env file;
  • Define strokes as shortcut keys.

Directly Defined in the Allegro PCB Editor Command Window

This kind of shortcut key can only be used in the present design and will be invalid if restarting the software. 

The command format is as follows:

  • alias F2 add connect
  • funckey a add connect

For example, set the shortcut key for routing command. As shown in the figure below, enter alias F2 add connect in the command window, and press Enter to use it.

There are two ways that allow us to check which commands can be set as shortcut keys:

1.Directly enter alias or funckey in the command window, and press Enter to pop up the shortcut key dialog box, as shown below:

2.View it by executing the Tools->Utilities->Keyboard Commands command, as shown below:

By Modifying the User Variable env File

There are two modes for this: alias and funckey.

If you use alias to define letters, you will need to enter the letter and press Enter for the shortcut to take effect. It is recommended not to define letters and instead use something like Fn or Del for quicker access.

The funckey command can be used to define individual shortcut key, and it is more powerful than alias. Anything that can be defined with alias can also be defined with funckey.

Funckey definitions are case-sensitive. For example, funckey C 'dbdoctor' assigns dbdoctor to the uppercase C, while funckey c 'copy' assigns copy to the lowercase c.

Funckey can also define two letters. For example, when we move the device and align the structure, select the center of the positioning hole, and set it as follows: funckey sa "prepopup;pop dyn_option_select 'Snap pick to@:@Arc/Circle Center'", which is quite convenient.

env File Path

Taking my computer as an example, in D:\Cadence\SPB_Data\pcbenv, open the env file with Notepad and you can add your own shortcut.

Note: Please back up the env file before modifying it.

Open the env file with Notepad, as shown in the picture below. In the red box are several of my customized shortcut keys. Users can define shortcut keys according to their own operating habits.

Define Strokes as Shortcut Keys

  • Create allegro stroke. Execute Tools->Utilities->Stroke Editor command.

After that, a window like the one below will pop up. You can use the right mouse button to draw the strokes you want to define in the blank area of the window and enter the content for the command, as shown in the figure below. In my case, I drew a line with the right mouse button and set the command as oops. After setting it up, if we want to perform the oops operation in the future, we can simply draw a line with the right mouse button.

  • Make sure the stroke is activated. Setup->User Preferences Editor>UI>input 

Check the no_dragpopup option, otherwise, you need to hold down the Ctrl key to take effect.

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