Summary of Eagle CAD Tips and Tricks
Eagle CAD is a popular tool for schematic design and PCB layout. This article shares essential tips to improve efficiency, emphasizing keyboard command usage over mouse reliance. Key strategies include using abbreviated commands for tools like "add" (a) and "route" (rou), leveraging the "Show" command to highlight specific components, and utilizing Enter key shortcuts for text editing. These methods streamline workflow by reducing search time and repetitive actions.
Parts used in the Eagle CAD Project:
- Schematic Editor
- Board Editor
- Command Line
- Mouse
- Keyboard
- Text Tool
- Show Tool
- Add element tool
- Net tool
- Move tool
- Copy tool
- Name tool
- Value tool
- Label tool
- Text tool
- Route tool
- Ripup tool
- Via tool
- Ratsnest tool
Tip #1: Keep One Hand on the Keyboard, One on the Mouse
I see a lot of friends and colleagues use the mouse as their main tool for routing and selecting tools in the sidebar, but it’s much easier and faster to use the command line whenever you can.
By using your keyboard, you will omit the time you spend searching for the desired icon and moving mouse pointer back and forth.
My advice is to keep one hand on the mouse to do wiring, etc. inside the editor workspace and use the other hand on the keyboard to write commands and select tools. My advice of using the keyboard is not only for selecting tools. You will see the other benefits of using the keyboard in Eagle CAD in the rest of this series.
It can be difficult to remember the spelling and the name of every tool. The good news that the command line only needs the smallest accepted spelling to select the tool for you, so you don’t have to write down the complete word.
The table below shows the most-used tools and their corresponding shortest commands. To avoid duplication, the common tools between the schematic and board will not be listed twice:
| Tool Name | Command (All accepted for command editor) |
| Add element to schematic | a,ad,add |
| Net | ne,Net |
| Move | Mov,move |
| Copy | Cop,copy |
| Name | n,na,nam,name |
| Value | v,va,value |
| Label | l,la,lab,labe,label |
| Text | T,tex,text |
| Tool Name | Command (All accepted for command editor) |
| Route | rou,rout,route |
| Ripup | ri,rip,ripu,ripup |
| Via | Vi,via |
| Ratsnest | r,ra,rat,rasts,ratsn,ratsne,ratsnest |
Other useful and exclusive uses of the keyboard can be mapped as below (just two examples for now):
1- Text Tool:
When you select the text tool, you write your sentence in the pop-up window and then drop it wherever you want. But what if you want to add more?
In this case, just write down your sentence and hit enter without needing to select the text tool icon again.
2- Show Tool:
This tool is used exclusively with the keyboard. You need to enter the element name using the command line to highlight it. For example:
>Show R1
Or
>Show R1* (to show all elements start with R1)
This applies also for signal names.
Read more: Eagle CAD Tips and Tricks
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What is the most efficient way to use Eagle CAD?
Keep one hand on the mouse for wiring and the other on the keyboard to write commands and select tools. -
Do I need to type the full name of a tool command?
No, the command line only requires the smallest accepted spelling to select a tool. -
How do I add more text without selecting the text tool icon again?
Write your sentence and hit enter while the text tool is active. -
How can I highlight a specific component using the keyboard?
Use the Show tool by entering the element name, such as Show R1. -
Can I show multiple elements starting with the same prefix?
Yes, you can use an asterisk like Show R1* to show all elements starting with R1. -
Which command is used to route in the Board Editor?
The commands rou, rout, or route are used to route in the Board Editor. -
What is the purpose of the Show tool?
The Show tool is used exclusively with the keyboard to highlight elements or signal names by their name. -
Why should I avoid using the mouse for selecting tools?
Using the mouse takes more time searching for icons and moving the pointer compared to typing commands.
