Polygon Pour Manager

Modified by Susan Riege on Feb 27, 2018

Contents

Summary
Access
Options/Controls
- View/Edit
  - Grid
  - Buttons
- Pour Order

The Polygon Pour Manager dialog

Summary

The Polygon Pour Manager dialog provides a high-level view of all polygons on the PCB design. The dialog can also be used to rename polygons, set their pour order, perform re-pouring or disable pouring on selected polygons, add/scope the polygon connection style and clearance design rules, and add polygon classes for selected polygons.

Access

The dialog is accessed from the PCB editor by clicking Tools » Polygon Pours » Polygon Manager from the main menus.

Options/Controls

View/Edit

This is a list of all existing polygons in the PCB document; the columns show the current state of each polygon. Click a column heading to sort by that column. Polygon names can be edited. Once named, they can be used to scope polygon rules or create queries. You can select one or more polygons in the grid (Ctrl+click) then perform the grid functions described below.

Grid

Name - the name of the polygon.
Auto Assign Name - enable to auto-name the polygons.
Layer - the layer on which the polygon is located.
Net - the assigned net.
Shelved - enable to shelve the polygon.
IsModified - shows if te polygon has been modified.
Locked - toggle to lock/unlock the polygon.
Ignore On-Line DRC Violations - enable to ignore violations.

Buttons

Repour - use the sub-menus to select which polygon(s) to repour: Modified Polygons, Selected Polygons, Violating Polygons, or Force Repour All Polygons. The number listed in parentheses after the first three choices is the total number of polygons affected with that specific action.
Shelving - use the sub-menus to select which polygon(s) to Shelve or Unshelve: All Polygons or Selected Polygons. To commit the action, click Apply or OK.
Locking - use the sub-menus to select which polygon(s) to Lock or Unlock: All Polygons or Selected Polygons. To commit the action, click Apply or OK.

If you try to graphically move or edit a locked polygon, you will be prompted with a warning message before proceeding.

Violations - use the sub-menus to selectively Ignore Violations or Keep Violations of online DRC violations for All Polygons or Selected Polygons. To commit the action, click Apply or OK.

Do not forget to check and resolve the violations of all polygons before submitting the PCB for manufacturing!

Auto Name - use the sub-menus to set Auto Naming On or Auto Naming Off for All Polygons or Selected Polygons.
Create Clearance Rule - click to open the Edit PCB Rule dialog to create a clearance rule with a new query for the selected polygons. This rule specifies the minimum clearance between any two primitives on a copper layer.
Create Polygon Connect Style Rule - click to open the Edit PCB Rule dialog to create a polygon connection style rule with a new query for the selected polygons. This rule specifies the style of the connection from a component pin to a polygon plane.
Create Polygon Class - click to create a polygon class for the selected polygons. You will be required to provide a name for the new polygon class in the Object Class Name dialog. An object class is a set of objects treated as a group used by the design rules for example.
Create New Polygon from - click to create a new polygon then choose:
- Selected Polygon - the Polygon Pour dialog opens in which you can change the properties of the new pour such as name, net, layer, and other attributes. (The settings are cloned from the original polygon by default.) When you are satisfied these are set correctly, click OK to close the Polygon Pour dialog. The polygon is added to the list at the bottom of the Pour Order list.

To effect the changes made in the Polygon Pour Manager dialog and pass them into the actual design, you must click the Apply button in the dialog. In the viewing region of the dialog, you will see that the new polygon is indeed a clone of the original.

Board Outline - the Polygon Pour dialog opens in which you can define the properties for the pour as required, including its name and on which layer it is to be associated. Upon exiting the dialog, the new pour will be added to the list of existing pours in the View/Edit region.

To see the preview of the new board outline-based polygon pour, you will need to first click the Apply button, which commits and adds the polygon to the board.

Upon exiting the Polygon Pour dialog, the new pour will be added to the list of existing pours in the View/Edit region of the Polygon Pour Manager dialog.

The new polygon is inserted into the repour order according to the following logic:

Source Polygon	Other Polygon	New Polygon
Same layer	Same layer	Below Both
Same layer	Different layer	Below Source
Different layer	Same layer	Above Source
Different layer	Different layer	Above Source

Properties - Click to open Polygon Pour dialog in which you can edit the properties of the selected Polygon Pour.

The above commands also are accessible on the right-click menu from anywhere in the region although the name and order of the commands is different.

A Polygon Pour can be deleted by using the right-click menu Delete command.

Pour Order

This region lists the order in which polygons will be poured. The preview image to the right shows a graphical representation of the polygon pours.

Using the Auto Generate button will list the pour order from smallest to largest, which is typically the best order in which to pour polygons since it ensures that a small polygon is not prevented from being poured by a larger, surrounding polygon.

You also can change the Pour Order using your mouse drag-and-drop functionality. This is much more expedient in designs that have many polygon pours.

Move Up - click to move the selected polygon up in the repour order list. The higher the polygon is in the list, the earlier it gets re-poured relative to other polygons lower in the list.
Move Down - click to move the selected polygon down in the repour order list. The lower the polygon is in the list, the later it gets re-poured relative to other polygons higher in the list.
Auto Generate - click to have the system determine the pour order of polygons from smallest to largest. You can then use the Move Up and Move Down buttons to fine tune the pour order, if required.
Animate Pour Order - click to preview the order of polygon pours in the graphical representation of the PCB in the preview area.