DIY Layout Creator - software for easy drawing PCB, vero and perfboard layouts

[bancika]

I agree. Deep text search would solve that...but let's wait for the first working version and we'll build on top of that

Noooo....

I don't mean deep search in XML, but in title, description and keywords. Keywords can be auto generated at the time of upload as a comma list of important characteristics.

[SuzukiScottie]

Yes, that sounds quite reasonable to me. It's the way I do it when I store projects in Evernote (tag them with relevant words). Evernote can also be searched by part number types too.

I see my use of Evernote becoming redundant shortly, keeping everything instead in DIYLC! :-)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bancika]

anyone wants access to beta version? Major functionalities are working, so it may be good to get some public opinion

[bancika]

I have published the first beta version to https://github.com/bancika/diy-layout-creator/releases/tag/REL_3_32_Beta

The main new feature is "Project Cloud" that allows project sharing between users. You can upload your projects, search for and download other people's projects and post public comments on any project.

Feel free to give it a go. The new feature can be accessed from the main menu. You'll need to create an account (takes only few seconds) to publish projects and post comments.

Please note that at the end of the testing period, the cloud storage will be cleared to remove rubbish test data and we will start from scratch.

Stuff that's not yet ready:

• "Manage My Projects" feature doesn't do anything. I plan to make it possible to update and delete projects.
• Categories need some refinement (please suggest new categories)
• Keywords will be auto-generated when the project is selected to contain key project information, this doesn't work at the moment

Thank you for testing and please make sure to report any feedback to bancika@gmail.com

[bancika]

Just updated the beta release at the same location. The missing features have been implemented.

Let me know with any comments.

Cheers

[bancika]

After few weeks of testing and underwhelming response from the public, I have released the new version to production. Everything should be functional. To seed the cloud, I added ~80 projects drawn by MarkM. Will be adding more legacy projects drawn in V1 over the next few days.

https://github.com/bancika/diy-layout-creator/releases/tag/REL_3_32

Cheers,
Bane

[bloxstompboxes]

Perusing through Mark's uploads and downloading all of them for future use maybe. I like this thing so far. I have one problem with all releases though. I am using a HD7950 graphic card and with every driver I have used with it, this program has issues. It will graphically distort when the mouse passes over the menu or outside edge it seems. It happens seemingly random and not every time. I'll try to upload a pic if possible. The only way to clear it up is to close and restart. It is probably the main reason I haven't been using the software. It did not do this with my old card which was a different model and an NVIDIA card as well.

Edit: It took a while but it finally did it again. Image below is an example:

Oh, and thanks again for a wonderful tool!!!

[bancika]

did you report the issue before? Which java version/OS do you run?

[bloxstompboxes]

Thanks for the reply. Good to see someone cares about the product they create and the ones who use it. I edited my previous post after you replied so you might look back there a moment. I never reported it before. This is the java version I have been using. There is an update and I will try it and see what happens. I have no idea if it did the same thing on previous versions or not. I can't remember the last time I updated and when exactly the issues started.

[bancika]

ok, seems to be a bug that was introduced either with newer Java or in NVidia drivers, but together they don't work very well.

Here's what you could try: Set the global environment variable "J2D_D3D" to "false" inside the OS.

If this doesn't work, you can try

Right-click on desktop and click NVIDIA Control Panel
Select 'Manage 3D Settings' in the left pane
Select the "Program Settings" tab in the main window
Click 'Add'
Navigate to your java folder (C:\Program Files\Java\jre<version>\bin) and select javaw.exe and press 'open'(this step will probably depend on your operating system but should be pretty easy to find)
Where it says 'Select the preferred graphics processor for this program' click the drop-down and choose 'High Performance NVIDIA processor'
Click 'Apply' in the bottom right and you're good to go.

If that doesn't work, some people say that you can disable Anti Aliasing or FXAA on your graphics card

Cheers

[bloxstompboxes]

Mine says AMD Radeon Settings since it is an HD7950 or AMD based card and not NVIDIA like my old card but you get the idea. It did it again after a long while after I updated JAVA. I haven't tried these latest suggestions and will give them a go when I get a chance. Thanks again for the assistance.

[bloxstompboxes]

Hey bancika, how about a feature where you can choose to download all designs by a certain author?

[bancika]

yes, I was going to make text search include the author, so you can just type a name.

Btw...I was thinking about a way to incentivize authors to draw great layouts, publish them and benefit from it...what about making it possible for authors to sell layouts? Something like stock photography websites. When you upload a layout, you can specify if it's free or "premium". Premium layouts can be download only after paying a small amount of money. Similarly to stock photography platforms, the author and I would split the fee in a way that's fair for both parties. Users would be able to upload funds to their account using paypal and after earning some minimum amount from selling layouts (say 10 bucks), they can request a withdrawal (also paypal).

What does everyone think?

[~arph]

I would be fine with that. You put in a lot of effort and this way you get a little back. The premium layouts must be verified though.
I do have a concern. Right now I have a feeling that you are steering in the same direction as a lot of recent CAD tools are going. Towards  a web based, subscription model. Not saying that you will go this route, but in my opinion the core of the program should always remain that you can edit and save the layouts to your local disk and not be dependent on a remote server.

[bancika]

I'm not looking to get rich from it. That kind of platform would require (relatively) lot of maintenance/administration/security work, that's why I thought it would be fair for all that way.

Btw, don't worry, I will not touch the core functionality of the application. All this cloud work is just another layer on top of that that will allow users to quickly find what they need, download locally and be done with it. Once you download, it's on your drive, you have no connection to the cloud.

[~arph]

Perfect, you have my support

[swever]

First time user. The program looks like this when I start. Apparently the toolbox is missing. Does it not work right on my system or am  I doing something wrong?

[bancika]

Did you extract thr whole zip? How does the folder look?

[swever]

I was about to reply that it was the full zip and post a screenshot when my gut feeling told me that it might have something to do with the path. Then I extracted the zip to a different location, and tried moving the folder around with the following results:

D:\diylc-3.31.0 - starts and works fine
D:\!Soft\!DIY\diylc-3.31.0 (the "original" path where I had it before moving) - does not start at all now
D:\!test\diylc-3.31.0 - does not start
D:\test\diylc-3.31.0 - works fine
D:\~test\diylc-3.31.0 - works fine

Apparently it has a problem with "!" symbol in the path. I was not able to reproduce the situation when it runs but there is no toolbox after once running (normally) from a location with no "!" in its path.

[bancika]

Interesting. Never tried it before