v9.6.2 bug: Align tool grayed out when selecting vias of the same signal

[jeffg28CLY]

Scenario: A bunch of vias that are all part of the same signal. Try to align them. The buttons for choosing the type of alignment are grayed out.

Attachments/steps to reproduce:

1) A cluster of connected vias, and a single via on a different layer.

2) Group-select the vias that are connected, and activate the Align tool. The alignment buttons, with the exception of Align to Grid, are grayed out.

3) Group-select the vias that are connected and the unconnected via, and activate the Align tool. All alignment buttons are now available.

[jorge_garcia]

Hi @jeffg28CLY ,

I hope you're doing well. It's not so much a bug as it is a missing feature. The align command only works on components as of right now.

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

Best Regards,

[jeffg28CLY]

But it does work, at least partially. The Help file says it works on: Element, text, pad, via, hole.

If I select the vias as described in Step 3, the alignment buttons are indeed available, and they work as expected.

Some additional odd behavior:

1) Group some components (or multiple vias on at least two different nets) and choose the Align tool.

2) Pick the alignment type that I want.

3) (Ctrl)Right-click. Align works as expected.

4) Select a group of vias on the same net.

5) Even though the buttons to pick a type of alignment are not available, if I (ctrl)right-click, Eagle still executes the "unavailable" alignment command.

Attached is the result of this, with vias all on the same net set to Align Bottom Edges, in spite of the alignment type buttons being grayed out.

So it looks like this is some kind of bug with the UI.

The alignment function can actually work on the vias, but the UI isn't making the buttons available.

[one-of-the-robs]

That does sound like a UI bug. Do you get the align button available if you select four vias, all on the same net, but leave other vias on that net not selected? I'm wondering whether there's some logic that identifies the current selection as being "a whole net", which would not be an alignable object even though it contains an alignable set of objects, or some such easily-overlookable corner case.

[jeffg28CLY]

Do you get the align button available if you select four vias, all on the same net, but leave other vias on that net not selected?

The alignment buttons remain unavailable in that scenario.

I'm wondering whether there's some logic that identifies the current selection as being "a whole net", which would not be an alignable object even though it contains an alignable set of objects, or some such easily-overlookable corner case.

That was my guess. The UI's filter sees one net and says "That's one object. I can't align one object," and leaves the buttons grayed out.

This doesn't appear to happen with anything else. Holes and text are unaffected because they don't have nets.

I also tried some connectors with all pins on the same net. Align worked normally.

And it looks like it works fine with pads in the Library, because they have different names and don't really have "nets" there.