[sdiy] EAGLE beginner question

[ChristianH]

On Sat, 26 Jul 2008 12:43:31 +0200 Ingo Debus <igg.debus at t-online.de> wrote:

> Am 25.07.2008 um 20:46 schrieb ASSI:
> > You cannot get rid of an "unrouted" line.  You have to provide an
> > actual route.  Most often, these are caused by pins that are
> > placed off-grid, which happens a lot if you mix libraries using
> > metric and imperial units or use a too coarse grid while routing.
> > Also you really have to end a route on the pin of the pad, not
> > just touching the pad at one corner.

It's obvious that you can't just delete yellow lines at will, because
they (have to) reflect the schematic. However, by definition those lines
should only appear between pins (or routed traces), but occasionally I
get yellow lines ending nowhere (i.e. on the black board background). 
As suggested by two people, I will try the ratsnest button if it
happens again.

> It's essential to have the sound of your computer turned on. When a  
> trace is routed sucessfully, Eagle responds with a plonck sound.  
> (Unfortunately it doesn't do that in the schematics editor.)

Yep, I think it's a serious omission. There are so many checks done on
board level - there should be some warning or visual indication if there
is a net (almost) touching, but not connecting to a pin, both in
schematic and board editors. But with visible pins and grid in the
schematic, I now can kinda live with it.

> The trouble begins when there are still unrouted traces and you can't  
> see them because they are so short. Then turn off all layers except  
> the unrouted layer and try to find a tiny yellow dot on a black  
> screen. Good luck! :->

Aren't those reported in the Design Rule Check as well ?
I always try to keep that report as tidy as possible, even though I'm a
bit sloppy in some other respect.

Maybe I should just spend some time to seriously read the FM beyond the
first steps... By the way, I was quite surprised to receive a printed
manual :-)

thanks for all replies
Christian