Cadsoft EAGLE (Easily Applicable Graphical Layout Editor) is an ECAD program produced by Cadsoft in Germany (American marketing division: Cadsoft USA). It is very commonly used by private electronics enthusiasts, because there is a very usable free demo version for nonprofit use and is available in English and German. Cadsoft has released versions for Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X.

EAGLE provides a schematic editor, for designing circuit diagrams and a tightly integrated PCB layout editor, which automatically starts off with all of the components required by the schematic. Components are manually arranged on the board, with the help of coloured lines showing the eventual connections between pins that are required by the schematic, to aid in finding a placement that will allow the most efficient track layout.

It also provides a good autorouter, which once the components have been placed will attempt to automatically find an optimal track layout to make the electrical connections. It does not always manage to find a way of routing all the signals, although it permits manual routing of critical paths such as power and high frequency lines before letting the autorouter handle the other connections.

EAGLE is very popular with hobbyists because the free demo is able to create usable PCBs. (Free ECADs from some companies are crippled so that they won't save or won't print.) The only limitations of boards made with the EAGLE demo are: 2 copper layers; a maximum size of 80mm x 100mm (½ Eurocard)(~3in x ~4in). The demo version of the schematic editor module can only create single-sheet schematics.

The licensing structure for the commercial version is very flexible. In order to use the demo version to make commercial products, it must be licensed for $49 USD. If more is needed, it is also possible to license the required extra modules (schematic capture, layout, autorouter) separately and simply purchase more if needs change.


Changes in Version 5.1
Platforms
- Now setting HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\eagle.exe\shell\open\command in the Windows registry to allow associating file extensions with the EAGLE executable.
- The installer now uses the User Access Control dialog to request Administrator rights when running under a limited user account on Windows Vista.
UPDATE command
- Rephrased the online help for 'UPDATE old_library_name = new_library_name', to make it clear that the library inside the board/schematic file will be renamed, not the external library file.
CAM Processor
- The CAM Processor's GERBER_RS274X driver now generates polygon area fill codes when drawing rotated rectangles.
Miscellaneous
- Decimal numbers beginning with a comma are now accepted in the command line, provided the locale settings define the comma as decimal delimiter.
- If a text like >ABC is placed directly in a board or schematic, and there is a global attribute with the same name and an empty value, the origin cross of that text is now displayed to allow the user to manipulate the text.
Bugfixes
- See the UPDATE file that comes with the installation archive for a list of fixes.

Home Page - http://www.cadsoft.de

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