The Component Groups tool allows you to save groups of selected components so they can be reselected later.
Adding New Groups
In Place mode, select the components that you want to add to a new group.
Type in a name for your group in the ‘New Group Name’ box. This name can be anything you want it to be, for example: “U4 decoupling caps.”
While the components are still selected, press the “Add New Group with Selected Components’ button to add the group to the list.
A given component can be in more than one group.
Groups are saved in the design database so they will be there after lunch if you close out, then come back to work later.
Using Existing Groups
Once you have created a Group, there are several functions you can use to modify groups and reselect components.
Select Group Components in PCB
Choose from the list of your created groups from the drop-down menu and then press the ‘Select Group Components in PCB’ button. The components that are part of the group will be selected in Layout.
Dissolve Group
Choose a group from the list and then press the ‘Dissolve Group’ button to remove the group from the list. The group definition will be permanently deleted. PCB Components that were in the group will not be deleted from the board.
Delete Selected PCB Components from Group
If you wish to remove components from a group so they will no longer be selected, select the components in Layout, use the Get Group of Selected Component function or choose the group from the drop-down menu, and press the ‘Delete Selected PCB Components from Group’button.
Add Selected PCB Components to Group
To add components to an existing group, choose the group from the drop-down menu, select the components you wish to add in Layout, and press the ‘Add Selected PCB Components to Group’button.
Find Group of Selected Component
Whenever you would like to quickly find the group that a component belongs to, you can select the component in Layout and press the ‘Get Group of Selected Component’ button. The group will automatically be selected from the drop-down menu and can be used for other functions.
Draw Group Outlines
For a visual representation of the groups in a design, use this function to draw outlines around the groups on a userlayer. You will be prompted to input a userlayer for this. The ‘Clear’ button to the right will delete these outlines if you don’t want to keep them.