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9, is
already easier to use and more powerful than the old Parts Editor, but you still have to do a lot of preliminary
work using an SVG editor like Inkscape, Illustrator, or CorelDRAW. In the next phase we hope to eliminate
much of the need to use these programs.
How to start
The new approach is very different from that of the old Parts Editor, and explaining that difference is the
purpose of this document. The first big change is that you cannot create a new part from scratch--you must
begin with a part that already exists. So the best thing to do is to find a part that is pretty close to what you
eventually want. If your part is really different from anything else, then just to try to match the number of
connectors. For example, if your part needs 39 pins, then start with a generic IC part, change it to a SIP (single
inline package) and give it 39 pins. Though finding a part to begin with may seem like a burden, it will save
you effort as you go through the process.
You can open the new parts editor by right-clicking a part in a sketch and choosing the 'Edit' option; choosing
'Edit' from the Part menu; right clicking a part in the Parts Bin and choosing the 'Edit' option; or using the Parts
Bin drop down menu.
Six views
The new Parts Editor no longer tries to display everything in a single view. Instead, it works like the sketch
window which has multiple tabs with only one tab visible at a time. In the new Parts Editor there are six tabs:
Breadboard view, Schematic view, PCB view, Icon view, Metadata view, and Connectors view. As you might
expect, the first four views are for the part images; the Metadata view is where you enter the part's title, author,
and other properties; and the Connectors view is for editing connector metadata, and for adding or removing
connectors. For the latter, you just type in the number of connectors you want.
Loading PNG or JPG images directly is possible, but since these become SVG images with only a single
element, there is no way to place individual connectors. We also discourage the use of PNG and JPG because
these are raster-based rather than vector-based, so they don't look good when scaled. If you still prefer to use
PNG or JPG, we recommend that for now you open them in an external SVG editor and add connector
elements there (see below for more about 'connector elements'). Save the result as an SVG, and use that in the
Parts Editor. In phase 2 you will be able to add connector elements directly in the Parts Editor.
Since you have already begun with a part, it may be that you will only have to load a single image for a
particular view--you do not have to replace all the images in the original part.
It is still necessary to prepare SVGs for PCB view by grouping elements in layers: copper0, silkscreen,
copper1, etc. (Layering will be handled in the phase 2 parts editor.) The best way to understand the layers is to
open up one of the core pcb svg files, For example have a look at the file crystal_hc49U.svg. Silkscreen layer
has four while lines, the two copper layers share a pair of circles as connector elements.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<svg baseProfile="tiny" height="0.20306in" version="1.2" viewBox="0 0 46684 20306"
width="0.46684in" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
</g>
<g id="copper1"><g id="copper0">
</g></g>
</svg>
Sometimes you will want to reuse the breadboard image as your icon image. There is a shortcut for this under
File > Reuse breadboard image. You can also find the options: File > Reuse schematic image, and File >
Reuse PCB image.
For certain parts--like a breadboard--there is only one view image. For technical reasons, you have to tell the
Parts Editor this is what you want. Use View > Make only this view visible from the current view (one of
Breadboard, Schematic, or PCB) to make the part invisible in the other two views.
If you start with a core part (i.e. a part from the Fritzing distro), saving from the Parts Editor is disabled. You
must use Save as new part, because you cannot change a core part. Save as new part creates a new part in
your local storage area (explained below) and this part is added to the "My Parts" Bin--it is a copy of the
original part (plus whatever changes you have already made so far using the Parts Editor). If you are editing a
custom part that was in a sketch, the part will be updated whenever you save. If you want the new part to
display in the My Parts Bin the next time you run Fritzing, remember to save the bin (use the drop down menu
at the upper left of the bin). If you start editing from a part in the My Parts Bin you have a choice between
Save (which will overwrite the part), and Save As New Part (which will create a new part and add it to the My
Parts Bin). If you copy a part into My Parts Bin from some other bin, then probably Save will be disabled.
The new part will have 39 pins, so we begin with a Generic IC part and drag it into an empty sketch. There we
use the Inspector to change it a to SIP and give it 39 pins. Then we open that in the new Parts Editor with a
right-click.
Next we load the new breadboard image using File > Load image for view. In the Tools widget at the upper
right, you see a list of connectors. Choose one to make it the current or active connector. If it has already
been associated with an SVG element, that element will display a marquee highlight. Since we are just starting
out, we will choose pin1 which is not currently associated with any SVG element.
To create the actual association click the "Select graphic" button over in the Connectors widget. This basically
puts you in a "mode" that lasts until the next time you mouse down. If you want to escape the mode, click
anywhere outside the part or use the escape key. You can only make the association when you are in this mode
(this keeps you from accidentally associating a connector to a graphic when you didn't intend to).
In the mode, move your mouse over the SVG. As you do so, different SVG elements will highlight. It is often
the case that any given mouse location can refer to multiple SVG elements (or groups of elements). Use the
shift-key plus the mouse wheel to highlight other elements above or beneath the currently highlighted one (in
the z-order)--the mouse wheel without the shift key will pan or zoom as usual (depending on your preferences
setting for wheel events). If you are already on the bottom layer then the next wheel "downward" will make the
element flash white; a similar white flash will occur if you are already at the top layer and wheel "upward". In
other words, the flash signifies you can't move any further in the z-order in that direction.
Here are three highlights from the same mouse position, using the mouse wheel + shift:
The first highlight is the one we want so we mouse down when the wheel gets us back to that small rectangle.
Now the element has a marquee to show that it is the current pin, and you also see the terminal point as a
crosshair which defaults to the center. The terminal point is the place where a wire attaches to the connector.
You can use the buttons or spinners to adjust the terminal point. Here is a close up after hitting the W button,
and clicking the X spinner twice (look at the pin marked 'AN2'):
You can also drag the terminal point directly by mousing down on it when its SVG element is highlighted.
Known limitations
The following feature are due in phase two:
• adding holes
• mixing THT and SMD connectors--for now you must start with an SMD part to create a new SMD part,
and start with a through-hole part to create a new through-hole part.
• control over SVG element layering
• direct manipulation of SVG elements
• setting up parts with bendable legs.