topic Re: Unable to rename PCB layers in Fusion Electronics Forum

Unable to rename PCB layers

jmktym — Sun, 25 Jun 2023 00:57:55 GMT

I'm updating a PCB with the following layers:

1 DGND-TOP
2 5V
15 THM
16 DGND-BOT

I can rename the middle two layers, but not the top and bottom. I can rename the pours, but not the layers.

Re: Unable to rename PCB layers

marcel_kraemer73L7G — Fri, 22 Nov 2024 10:42:45 GMT

Hi,

I have the same ssue. Anyone can help? As you can see in the attached screenshots. Layer 1 can not be renamed. For Layer 2 renaming is working. Also the command "Layer 1 Top" shows the error message as can be seen in the screenshot.

Re: Unable to rename PCB layers

jorge_garcia — Fri, 22 Nov 2024 19:47:01 GMT

Hello @jmktym and @marcel_kraemer73L7G,

In general, it's not a good idea to rename the top and bottom layers since it can lead to issues with scripts and other command line operations. With that said there is work being done to improve the flexibility of the layers setup.

Could you elaborate on why having layers 1 and 16 named Top and bottom, creates issues for you? Trying to make sure I have a defendable use case.

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

Best Regards,

Re: Unable to rename PCB layers

marcel_kraemer73L7G — Tue, 26 Nov 2024 09:33:44 GMT

Hello @jorge_garcia ,

thank you for the fast reply. In my case the person who worked on that pcb design before, somehow manged to change the top and bottom layers name. I just wanted to revert it back.

In case I want to use the top or bottom layer as ground, it would also be pratical to assign the name accordingly.

Kind regards,

Marcel

Re: Unable to rename PCB layers

jorge_garcia — Tue, 26 Nov 2024 22:23:23 GMT

Hi @marcel_kraemer73L7G,

I hope you're doing well. Was that design originally made in Fusion? In EAGLE you could through the CLI change the layer names which led to issues. Fusion blocks it for that reason. If you have the original files you can edit the XML to clear it.

I'm going to speak with a developer because I'm sure there is a way to reset it. If you double click on the Top layer in the Display layers panel. On the bottom you'll see a Reset Changes button. Is it active?

Best Regards,

Re: Unable to rename PCB layers

jorge_garcia — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 20:29:48 GMT

Hello @marcel_kraemer73L7G,

I hope you're doing well. I spoke to the developer, unfortunately, the only fix is to export the files edit the XML and then re-upload the files. You can do this by going File > Export in the Electronics design file. Export the F3z file, change the extension to .zip, unzip the files and then inside you'll find the sch and the board files. Open the brd file in a text editor. Near the top you'll see the layer definitions. Change the layer names there and save the file. Now re-upload the schematic and board file.

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

Best Regards,

Re: Unable to rename PCB layers

SeanDBA — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 15:12:02 GMT

I really feel like there should be a simpler way to do this. Even if it's an "advanced feature" or something like that, this brute force method seems unnecessarily complicated, especially where people might NEED to change those layers due to them having been previously changed in EAGLE. I understand it would be ideal to never need to change them, but that's not the reality we're working in as designers.

Re: Unable to rename PCB layers

jorge_garcia — Fri, 13 Jun 2025 21:50:23 GMT

Hello @SeanDBA ,

If you scroll down in the display panel don't you see the restore default button like in the image below:

This came in relatively recently.

Let me know if you continue to run into problems.

Best Regards,

Re: Unable to rename PCB layers

SeanDBA — Fri, 13 Jun 2025 22:11:35 GMT

Hey Jorge,
You're a lifesaver! I found this and it was a massive help. Someone on an old board schematic from EAGLE either fell asleep on a keyboard or somehow got corrupted data in the name for layer 88 (usually SimResults), causing it to be a giant series of "í"s. This caused the layer name dropdown to take up the entire top menu bar and made the document very difficult to navigate. Maybe adding a maximum width to the layer dropdown could be a good feature in the future as well, but this was massively helpful, thank you very much!

Best,

Sean