How to select routed trace between connections

[infinitemach]

After routing a connection, I often want to change the width of the trace. The trace is composed of several segments and I'm finding that I need to select each segment individually and change the width. Is there a way to select the entire trace between pads or vias?

[mtl_asm · Accepted solution]

i think the easiest way to do this is with the design manager tab.

change view to "signals"

select the net you want

then select the segments you want in the items list

once the segments you want are highlighted use the command line to change width on the group

something like

change width 50mil (>0 0);

(50mil is just an example, put the width you want here)

or you can use whatever other method to highlight the traces to begin with, then use change width on group. Also similar to the move group suggestion, you can omit the (>0 0) in the command then just right click on the pcb view window and "change group" should appear under the mouse cursor. (>0 0) simply means right click at coordinate  0 0 in the window. 

[infinitemach]

Thanks for the reply and assistance. I'll try your solution, but I was hoping for an easier way using a simple right click on the trace.

[mtl_asm]

yeah it would be nice. maybe someone from autodesk can confirm. i actually dont really use fusion electronics and still use eagle instead so its possible there is some added functionality, but i dont see it if it is there.

you could try to make a ulp that will select all of a net between pads based on a single segment selection or something like that, then bind it to a kb shortcut. after that its just change width on group so the missing part is just how to select the segments quickly/easily.

[jorge_garcia]

Hi @mtl_asm , Hi @infinitemach,

I wanted to share a little known shortcut. If you hold ctrl+shift when you select the segment it will select the entire trace. Polygon selection will behave in a similar way. This applies to both Fusion 360 Electronics and EAGLE.

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

Best Regards,

[mtl_asm]

yes thanks @jorge_garcia, however my interpretation was just the segment between 2 pads. It may be pedantic but that is not the same as selecting the whole net. 

For example, if you wanted to quickly just highlight the portion of N$2 shown in the image below, ctrl+ shift is not going to give that result. Perhaps it is what the OP wanted though and definitely worth mentioning

[infinitemach]

Yes, ctrl-shift click selects the entire net. I'm looking for a short cut to only select the portion of the trace between connections, i.e., pads or vias.

Here's a use case I often encounter. My power rails for my board are 0.6096mm. If I route that to an IC where the pins are 0.5mm in pitch, then I need to reduce the width of the portion of the trace that connects to the IC. It is tedious to have to select every trace segment up to the IC pin, so that I can reduce its width.

[jorge_garcia]

Hi @infinitemach ,

I hope you're doing well. The best you could do now is hold ctrl and select each individual segment. I'll put in a request for this.

Thank you for the feedback.

Best Regards,

[oleksandr_velihorskyi]

It would be great to have something like implemented in Altium - LM (select segment) - press "Tab" (select all segments until pad or via) - press "Tab" one more time (select whole net on all layers). 

[melisa.kaner]

Hi everyone, 

This request makes total sense - this feels like a great quality of live feature we're just plain missing. I'd love to learn more and run some ideas past some folks on this thread, if this sounds good - please DM me and we can set up a quick 30 mins call? 

I want to ensure I understand which shortcut makes sense, in which instances you might trigger it and what 'scopes' would be useful. I.e., I'm hearing between pads/vias/terminals would be super useful here. 

Best regards,

Melisa (Fusion Electronics product management)

[BeeAmaker]

I know I am late to the party - but any progress on this feature? (quick search didn't reveal anything)

In a different PCB design software, this was a simple task. Right click on any trace and get a select window.

This software functioned much like any other drawing software. Unfortunately, it does not have schematics. 

 

[jorge_garcia]

Hello @BeeAmaker ,

I hope you're doing well. This is actively being developed so expect to see something on this front soon.

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

Best Regards,