topic Re: "Save selection as design block not working" in EAGLE Forum

"Save selection as design block not working"

scottH36AU — Mon, 24 May 2021 00:29:50 GMT

The normal option to save a design as a design block is working fine, but saving a selection does not work. After selecting, then choosing "Save selection as design block", nothing happens. No status text, no popups etc. I currently have to copy the project to a new folder, remove all the parts I don't want as a module, then save the whole thing as a design module.

Please fix this bug. It would be really useful to be able to save a selection.

Re: "Save selection as design block not working"

jorge_garcia — Mon, 24 May 2021 19:33:59 GMT

Hi @scottH36AU ,

I hope you're doing well. If you look at the bottom left of the screen you'll see the description. Here's the procedure:

1) Click File > save selection as design block

2) Group the parts you want to make a block from

3) Ctrl+right click

4) It will now jump to the other editor

5) If the selected parts are enough, ctrl+right click to complete the design block

Let me know if there's anything else I can do for you.

Best Regards,

Re: "Save selection as design block not working"

csvanberg — Sat, 16 May 2026 19:54:50 GMT

The above instructions leaves out a few steps and details.

Looking at the old March 6, 2017 instruction https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/blog/whats-new-in-autodesk-eagle-modular-design-blocks/

and some YouTube videos likewise does not show completely how it is done, because mouse click plus keyboard actions do not show up in video.

After some investigation I found the correct completely unintuitive steps to perform. As per usual, the guy who writes the technical instruction needs to test it on some unwitting test subjects.

From the link above

4. To add these objects to your design block, just Ctrl+left-click each trace, and via that you want to include. As you click each one, it will be highlighted like your components.

The above step does not work in 9.6.2.

After hours of testing I found that I can select a schematic area, have it open in board, BUT selecting traces, vias, polygons does not add to the selection. The saved Design Block will have a schematic but the board will not have any traces or even ratlines?

The ancient paradigm of group select, copy and paste seem to have been completely ignored.

Despite 15 years of almost daily use of this program, with its uncorrected quirks, I cannot get the "File > Save Selection as Design Block... " to work as expected.

My only remedy is to save the whole schematic and board design as a Design Block, and then delete everything except the required features.
Just like Objects in C++, Design Blocks are a very useful feature in PCB layout.